150 Pearls.
the
Dutch government to return the divers, and pay their wages punctually.
A banker's guarantee has been offered to the Australian government for
the due payment of the duty in order to retain possession of the ship's
papers, but the dispensation has been denied.
The
crews of all the vessels, except in the case of the " Sree Pas Sair,"
and her fleet, consist of the owners and other white men who work as
dingy hands, each dingy carrying six to' eight divers, either
Australian aborigines, or Malays. The vessels anchor near together,
often ten or fifteen miles from the land, and are left during
the day with only the cook on board, or sometimes entirely deserted,
dipping bows under in the rough sea.
At
dawn the men are astir, and by 6. a.m., the shells that were obtained
the previous day are all scraped, opened, and stowed away. Then comes
breakfast, which consists of salt beef and bread, varied occasionally
by fish, dugong, or turtle ; perhaps the gristly part of the oyster is
discussed. Eight hours' diving is allowed ; and these hours vary
between 7. a.m. and 6. p.m., according to the state of the tide. On
their return to the vessel, the shell is taken out of the dingies, and
each man's " tally " being taken down in a book, the dingies are
cleaned out and made fast for the night. Dinner of the
