UNITED STATES CONSULATE, British Columbia, Victoria, April 27, 1892. I, Levi W. Myers, consul of the United States at Victoria, British Columbia, do hereby certify that the signature of W. Certificate of consul. J. Stephens at the foot of the writing hereunto attached, is his true and genuine signature made and acknowledged in my presence, and that the said W. J. Stephens is personally known to me; and I do further certify that he is a ship and schooner builder of many years experience, and fully competent to judge as to the value of vessels. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the consulate at Victoria, B. C., this day and year next above written, and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and sixteenth. [L. S.] LEVI W. MYERS, Consul of the United States. [W. J. Stephens, ship and steamboat builder. Spratt's Shipyard, opposite Albion Iron Works. Residence, 34 John street.] VICTORIA, B. C., April 22, 1892. L. W. MYERS, Esq., United States Consul: DEAR SIR: Your favor duly received, and I would state that in my Statement by W.J. judgment the annexed valuation of schooners named Stephens, shipbuilder. is fair and approximately correct. Yours, respectfully, Certificate of consul. W. J. STEPHENS. UNITED STATES CONSULATE, I, Levi W. Myers, consul of the United States at Victoria, B. C., do hereby certify that the signature of C. A. McDonald at the foot of the writing hereunto attached, is his true and genuine signature, and that the said C. A. McDonald is personally known to me; and I do further certify that he is a ship and schooner builder of many years' experience, and fully competent to judge as to the value of vessels. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Consulate, at Victoria, B. C., this day and year next above written, and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and sixteenth. [L. S.] Statement by C. A. LEVI W. MYERS, Consul of the United States. VICTORIA, B. C., April 25, 1892. This is to certify that I am a master shipbuilder and do consider that I am a competent person to judge of the value of McDonald, ship vessel or ships, and I do think that the value placed upon the schooners of the list shown me is a fair, im builder. partial value of them. C. A. McDONALD. In this table the name of the vessel is given, its ap. proximate age, where built, and estimated value. Contents of table. The place of construction indicates the kind of material used, and this assists in fixing the value. Japan vessels are built of teak, a superior kind of timber; British Co- sels. lumbia vessels of Douglas fir; New England, of oak, Construction of ves and Nova Scotia, of spruce. The latter is soft wood, and inferior, vessels made of it going into the eight-year class. I think Douglas fir vessels are also put into the eight-year class. A vessel is supposed to drop out of its class when the end of its classification has been reached. In other words, it has deteriorated 50 per cent. These rules give the measure or per cent of yearly deterioration. Hence the age of a vessel becomes important in determining its value. In the accompanying table the age given is rather under than over the actual age. Wherever there was a doubt the vessel has received the benefit of it. Schooner builders estimate that a Nova Scotia schooner, fresh from the ways and equipped for sea, is worth $50 per ton register. A British Columbia schooner is worth more, Values of vessels. as labor and material are dearer. The estimate is that a schooner put up here and ready for sea is worth from $75 to $100 per ton register. A vessel coming around Cape Horn from Nova Scotia is supposed to have added at least 25 per cent to its value. It is in view of these rules that the valuations in the table are made, and I believe them to be liberal for vessel owners. The owners themselves would probably put a higher price on their own schooners, but they would decrease the price of schooners owned by their neighbors. For instance, one of the highest officers of the Sealers' Association fixed the value of the Maggie Mac at $10,000. I afterwards learned from her principal owner and agent that he valued the vessel and outfit at $8,000, and when this valuation was presented to another prominent owner of schooners he shrugged his shoulders and said it was not worth half that. This last owner valued one of his three schooners at $8,000, while a master builder thinks it high-priced at $5,500. So it goes. Valuations are usually inflated and largely above what could be realized by actual sale. Some of these schooners are very old, and have been repaired and rebuilt several times. "They are held together by their paint and putty," said an experienced builder. A few are new and substantial vessels, while the majority are in middle life, or have passed the period of their classification. The valuations placed by Messrs. Stephens and McDonald, whose certificates are attached, are liberal for the owners and are evidently above rather than below the real value. They are competent and practical men of large experience and have no interests in or prejudices against the sealing interest. Mr. Stephens, especially, is regarded an authority on such matters. VESSEL OWNERS. Names and occupa of I have obtained from the custom-house a list of persons who owned shares in these vessels in December, 1891, and this is verified by the certificate of John C. Newbury, the tions of owners chief clerk, or deputy collector, of the port. The list sealing vessels. and certificate are hereto attached, and are made a part of this report. The rapidly increasing interest in the sealing business since 1888 has spread among all classes of people and we find shareholders in almost all callings in life. Running over the list, as furnished by the customhouse, we find the employments of shareholders as follows: John Dodd, sealer, mariner. Wm. R. Brown, grocer. James E. Martin, cashier, real estate. Robert J. Ker, treasurer R. P. Rithet & R. P. Rithet & Co., wholesale grocers, Henry A. Munn, druggist. John G. Cox, ship chandler. Wm. Shields, laborer. Jas. R. McKenzie, carriage manufacturer. Frank W. Adams, clerk at Marvin & Co. Chas. L. Cameron, grocer. Frederick Gilbert, mariner. James Nawarsum, Indian sealer. Wm. D. Byers, master mariner. Donald G. Walker, ship carpenter. Win. O'Leary. Thomas Harold. Thomas Hendry, match manufacturer. That citizens of the United States are financially interested in some of these vessels is quite certain, but to what extent it is difficult to ascertain. They are secured by mortgages, but these mortgages are not always recorded and there is no reliable method of ascertaining how many there are of them or how large a proportion of the capital invested they represent. The vessels whose owners we do not give are registered in Nova Scotia or elsewhere, outside this port. LEVI W. MYERS, Consul. Victoria, British Columbia, April 28, 1892. UNITED STATES CONSULATE, UNITED STATES CONSULATE, B. C., Victoria, April 28, 1892. I, Levi W. Myers, consul of the United States at Victoria, B. C., do hereby certify that the signature of J. C. Newbury, Certificate of consul. at the foot of the writing hereunto attached, is his true and genuine signature made and acknowledged in my presence, and that the said J. C. Newbury is personally known to me; and I do further certify that he is chief clerk to the collector of this port and register of shipping. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the consulate, at Victoria, B. C., this day and year next above written, and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and sixteenth. [L. S.] LEVI W. MYERS, Consul of the United States. CUSTOMS, CANADA, Victoria, B. C., April 28, 1892. I hereby certify that the annexed are true copies of the records re ownership of vessels registered at this port, as they Certificate of clerk stood in December, 1891, and very few changes have of customs of Victo taken place since. [L. S.] ria, British Columbia. J. C. NEWBURY, C. Clerk for Collector and Reg. of Shipping. |