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Eleven hundred dollars or so was a tidy sum
at that time but who did it benefit? We could hope that some of the men
who made the boxes and rowed around gathering the money would get some
return. However, the money was probably kept by the captain for ship's
purposes. There would have been more substantial payments to the captain,
and flag officer, presumably the C-in-C Pacific, for helping the merchants
pull their irons out of the fire. Prize money had its own rules about how
it was distributed, which included some payments to everyone in the ship.
The rewards for carrying freight, however, went exclusively to the captain
and flag officer; one third to the flag and two thirds to the captain.
Some rules and 'custom and practice' were used to decide on the proportion
of value allocated to the freight rate. Typically it was about 2% of the
cargo value. An 1819 proclamation laid down rules on the conveyance of
public and private treasure in His Majesty's Ships. The document,
inserted in the Navy List books, indicates that the rate for conveyance
from seas beyond the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn was 3%. There is
also some mention of the proportion of the spoils should go to the
Greenwich Hospital - an agreement which had been ignored of late.
Despite the rules, the captains and flag officers involved would be keen
to get their share.
When 'Carysfort' set sail for home carrying the equivalent of
one and a quarter million dollars, Captain George H Seymore could look
forward to his fee of around 16,600 dollars if his ship were not wrecked
or captured. The captains were very pleased to get the opportunity to
carry specie; the rates provided very comfortable additions to their
earnings.
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| After 'Carysfort' sailed, 'Constance'
was much more active gathering up the next load of treasure. From the 20th
of June 1847 to the 6th October of the same year, 'Constance' made seven
visits to Mazatlan and five to San Blas. During that time a further one
and three quarter million dollars worth of gold, silver and specie was
loaded on board the ship. The very last opportunity to load treasure onto
'Constance', was 5th October 1847 at San Blas. Next day the ship headed
for Valparaiso. Such was the haste that the two last cargoes did not have
time to have their boxes made up and marked. That day, treasure to the
value of 506,000 dollars was loaded, too large an amount for a complete count of
boxes and value and the box marks were recorded as 'various', in the 'Box
Money' book. Since the 'Box Money' accounts book showed that 'Constance'
was carrying treasure to the value of one and three quarter million
dollars, Captain G W Courtenay had much to be pleased with: the promise of
23,000 dollars at the end of the voyage. That day another stage of the
voyage of the 'Constance' began. |
