Foreign Relations of the United States, 1902, Whaling and Sealing Claims Against Russia, On Account of Arrest and Seizure of the American Vessels “Cape Horn Pigeon,” “James Hamilton Lewis,” “C. H. White,” and “Kate and Anna,” Appendix I
EXHIBIT V.
In the matter of the claim of the United States of America against the Empire of Russia on account of the claim of J. and W. R. Wing, agents and managing owners of the bark Cape Horn Pigeon, for damages arising out of the seizure of said bark in the Okhotsk Sea by an officer of the Russian navy on the 10th day of September, 1892.
Deposition of William R. Wing, taken at New Bedford, Mass., 8th January, 1900, before William F. Caswell, a notary public, duly commissioned and qualified, and residing at said New Bedford.
And thereupon the said William R. Wing, being duly sworn, doth depose and say in answer to questions propounded by Charles W. Clifford, attorney for the complainants:
1. State your name, age, residence, and occupation.—A William R. Wing; age, 69 years; New Bedford; merchant.
2. Are you the surviving partner of the firm of J. and W. R. Wing?—A. I am.
[Page 54]3. Who was your partner; and if he has deceased, state when.—A. My brother, Joseph Wing, who deceased in 1895.
4. Are you the William R. Wing who signed and verified the memorial in this case?—A. I am.
5. Are the facts stated in that memorial, so far as they are within your personal knowledge, true?—A. They are.
6. And so far as they are stated on information and belief?—A. Yes.
7. Please examine the book now handed you, and state what it is.—A. It is the log book of the bark Cape Horn Pigeon, upon its voyage in 1892, upon which it was seized. It sailed from San Francisco on the 7th day of December, 1891, and arrived back there on the 5th of November, 1892.
(Log book presented and marked “Exhibit No. 1, W. F. C.”)
8. What are the two papers I now hand you?—A. A chart of the North Pacific Ocean covering the east coast of Asia from Bering Strait to the Philippine Islands.
(Papers produced and marked “Exhibits 2 and 3, W. F. C.”)
9. Will you please mark upon this chart the position of the Cape Horn Pigeon at the time it was seized?—A. The vessel was seized in latitude 46° 30’ north, and longitude 146° 35’ east, as stated by Captain Scullun, and as appears in the log book. I have marked upon the chart this position by a cross with my initials. The place is about 90 miles distant from the nearest land in a southeasterly direction, and about 125 miles from the nearest land in a westerly direction.
10. How long have you been in the whaling business?—A. Nearly fifty years, and as manager of whaling enterprises for about forty years.
11. How many whaling vessels have you had under your charge at one time?—A. Fourteen or fifteen.
12. Has your experience covered all kinds and classes of whaling?—A. It has.
13. And in all oceans?—A. Yes; except the Antarctic.
14. Has the management of this business been carried on by you personally?—A. I have always personally managed it.
15. Will you please state, Mr. Wing, what, in your opinion, was the value of the Cape Horn Pigeon, with its outfits and equipment, as it was at the time and place of seizure?—A. Upward of 140,000.
16. Will you please state how you arrive at this valuation?—A. I take the value of the vessel and outfits as it was in January, 1890, at the time when we rebuilt it completely from the water’s edge externally, and internally below the water’s edge, making it perfect, at $10,000 before the rebuilding. At that time we expended for the rebuilding and for the outfit account, $23,064.54, as appears by the account current from our books, a copy of which I hereto annex. Of this amount of $23,064.54, I have taken $11,500 as the cost of the rebuilding, that is, of the permanent addition to the vessel, leaving $11,564.54 as the outfit account for that voyage. This makes a value of $21,500 of the vessel, with the remains of its old outfit for its voyage of the season of 1890. I then take the average outfit for this voyage and the three subsequent voyages, as appear in the accounts taken from our books, and hereunto annex the four outfit accounts, being marked “Exhibits 4, 5, 6, and 7.” These four accounts show as follows:
| 1890 | $11,564.54 |
| 1891 | 10,053.24 |
| 1892 | 10,208.55 |
| 1893 | 11,415.84 |
| Gross for the four | 43,242.17 |
being an average outfit of $10,810.54. This, added to the $21,500, makes $32,210.54. To this must be added 8 per cent for one season’s insurance, and interest for ten months, 5 per cent, making 13 per cent, or $4,200.37, to ascertain the actual cost value based upon its original value, for which I am confident it could have been sold, but which I would not have taken for it at the time we commenced the rebuilding. To this should be added 12½ per cent for the increased value arising from the consummation of the enterprise, the preparation and outfitting of the vessel, the directing and management of the enterprise, and the added value from the arrival of the vessel at the place of service. This last item has always been taken into account in all the cases of which I have had knowledge, such as the Alabama claims and the claims made before the Chilean Commission, etc. This 12½ per cent would amount to $4,563.86, which, added to the $36,510.91, gives a value of the vessel at the time it was seized, as it then was, of $41,074.77. If on the date of its seizure I had known its situation I certainly should not have taken $40,000 for it.
17. Were you, in 1892, familiar with the price of oil and bone in the market?— [Page 55] A. Thoroughly. It was my business to keep run of it and know its condition, and I did so. I had oil and bone on hand for sale.
18. What, in your judgment, was the fair market price for Northern whale oil, such as the Cape Horn Pigeon was taking, on the date of the seizure of the vessel, the 10th September, 1892?—A. $13 a barrel.
19. Did this price vary during the fall and winter?—A. Very slightly, if any. It was substantially something better than 40 cents a gallon, which equals $13 a barrel, there being 31½ gallons to the barrel.
20. What, in your opinion, was the market value of the bone which the Cape Horn Pigeon was taking at the time of its seizure?—A. During the month of August this bone was $5 a pound, sales being made from $4.90 to $5.10 per pound. In the month of September sales were made, the price in some cases not being quoted, but through this month and the month of October the price fell to about $4.25. The price declined during those two months to about $4.25, sales being made at that figure, and in the month of November there was a further decline to about $4.
21. In the ordinary course of business, if the Cape Horn Pigeon had not been seized when would her catch have reached the market?—A. On her arrival at San Francisco, about the last of October or the first of November, then her catch would have been marketable.
22. In your experience is oil and bone ever sold to arrive?—A. Yes.
23. Would it have been possible for you to have sold in the market the catch of the Cape Horn Pigeon subject to arrival?—A. Yes; subject to the condition not to exceed a certain quantity.
24. Would such a sale have commanded the going market price?—A. Substantially.
25. Please examine the paper handed you and state what it is.—A. It is the copy of the account with the Cape Horn Pigeon of expenses paid by us on account of the seizure and this claim to the 9th of January, 1899.
26. Have these sums actually been paid?—A. They have.
(Account annexed, marked “Exhibit 8, W. F. C”)
27. Since January, 1899, have you incurred any other expenses?—A. We have. Probably $200 or $300, which have not been paid.
28. Are there any other outstanding liabilities on this account already incurred?—A. There is an unsettled account for services and assistance rendered to Captain Scullen at Vladivostok, which we have never settled, awaiting the determination of the claim.
29. Do you know of any notice ever issued by the Russian Government in relation to the closure of the Okhotsk and Bering seas to whalemen?—A. I do not. I never heard of any such order. The only order or notice of which I ever knew was a notice given to Captain Spencer, of the British whaling bark Fair away, the 1st of September, 1875, which was printed in the New Bedford Whalemen’s Shipping List of the 7th of December, 1875, a copy of which I annex to this deposition.
(Exhibit annexed, marked, “9, W. F. C.”)
30. Did Captain Scullun know of this notice?—A. He did.
31. What did this notice prohibit?—A. Whale fishery in the gulfs and bays of Bering and Okhotsk seas within 3 miles of the coast and islands.
32. Was it in consequence of this notice that Captain Scullun, as he says, sought to secure a license to carry on the whale fishery in the gulfs and bays within 3 miles of the land?—A. It was.
In the matter of the claim of the United States of America against the Empire of Russia on account of the claim of J. and W. R. Wing, agents and managing owners of the bark Cape Horn Pigeon, for damages arising out of the seizure of said bark in the Okhotsk Sea by an officer of the Russian navy on the 10th day of September, 1892.
Deposition of George R. Phillips, taken at New Bedford, Mass., the 8th of January, 1900, before William F. Caswell, a notary public duly commissioned and qualified, and residing at said New Bedford.
And thereupon the said George R. Phillips, being duly sworn, doth depose and say, in answer to questions propounded by Charles W. Clifford, attorney for the complainants:
- 1.
- State your name, age, residence, and occupation.—A. George R. Phillips; age, 69 years; New Bedford; present occupation, secretary and accountant; for forty-four [Page 56] years I was engaged as a broker in oil and bone, being one of the largest oil brokers in the business.
- 2.
- Were you in the habit of keeping a record of sales?—A. I was.
- 3.
- Have you refreshed your recollection by a recent examination of your records?—A. I have.
- 4.
- Will you state what was the market price of northern oil during the fall of 1892?—A. About 40 cents a gallon. It varies very little.
- 5.
- What was the market price of northwest bone during the fall of 1892?—A. In August about $5. In September and October it declined to about $4.25, and in November there was a further decline to about $4.
- 6.
- At that time was it possible to sell a cargo to arrive subject to arrival?—A. I think it was.
I hereby certify that on this 8th day of January, A. D. 1900, before me, a notary public, duly commissioned and sworn and residing at New Bedford, county of Bristol and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, personally appeared the within-named William R. Wing and George R. Phillips, well known to me to be the persons described in and who gave the annexed testimony, and, having been duly cautioned and sworn by me, did give the annexed depositions in response to interrogatories propounded by Charles W. Clifford, attorney for claimants. And thereupon said depositions were reduced to writing by my clerk and signed by the said Wing and Phillips in my presence, and have been forwarded by me to the secretary of the United States embassy at St. Petersburg for use in the case of the claim of J. and W. R. Wing, agents and managing owners of the bark Cape Horn Pigeon, pending before the arbitration agreed upon between the United States of America and the Empire of Russia.
The interlineation on page 3, marked “W. R. W.” and “W. P. C,” was made before signing.
[seal.]
New Bedford, Mass.
Case: Cape Horn Pigeon.
Deposition: William R. Wing.
Exhibit I.
(Initialed): W. F. C.