The House of Lords’ interview with South Sea whaling entrepreneur Charles Enderby on 6 April 1838

An item referred to the interview with Charles Enderby of the firm of Charles, Henry and George Enderby, which firm for several years was involved in the South whaling. His father [Samuel, 17 January 1719 September 1797] started with whaling in the South in 1775. Before he he was involved via his agents in the USA. He did not gave an exact number of the number of whalers possessed by his firm, just saying a good many although less then in the past. Enderby thought that in 1794 the first time ws that one of their whalers visited New Zealand. Since then they continued visiting New Zealand for obtaining supplies for instance spars. The timber there was of a very good quality. A voyage to and back from New Zealand took 4 months; trading vessels commonly returned via Cape Horn. Natives were also hired as crew member now and in the past and considered generally to be good and well-behaven seaman. Enderby even stated much better that British sailors. They served the whole voyage. Some of them were chiefs and some served as harpooners.

Enderby was asked if he believed that a tax could cause excesses elsewhere particularly at the Society Islands. He denied the latter but saying that heavy taxes would result in visits to Papua New Guinea, in fact all Pacific islands. At the moment was the annual number 100 ships and it was possible that 40-50 should go elsewhere. He referred to the very high charges in Chilean and Peruvian harbours with as results that whalers just occasionally paid a visit. He could not confirm what the charges were in Valparaiso, Chile while none of his whalers had been there in the last decades. His whalers were active between the poles, Japan and Sandwich Islands and made voyages of 2-4 years with an average of 3 years 3 months. One of his ships had been involved in an excess at the Friendly Islands when an apprentice deserted and the native refused to assist to get this man. He fired with his six with grape loaded guns and afterwards landed with a boat of which the crew was cut off. Such excesses were usually to blaim the masters although quite a lot of the problems was caused when sailors interfered with women.

Source

Report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords appointed to inquire into the present state of the islands of New Zealand and The Expediency of regulating the Settlement of British Subjects therein; with the minutes of evidence taken before the committee and an index thereto. Ordered to be printed 3 April 1838.