The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-12-01
PRIvATEERING.


Operations During the Eighteenth Cen.
tary ea the High Seas.
lFra.er's M.gazfne.l
In former days the treasure-ships be-
longed to the enemy until they became
ours by capture in the present age the
treasure and the ships that carry it are
English, and it is difficult to picture the
consternation in the city on hearing of
the loss of some steamer bringing home
ward . rich freight of diamonds from
the Cape, or of gold from Australia.
But as we hung steadfastly to the right
of making prize of the Spanish plate
ship, it is not to be expected that any
enemy which fate may now send us will
waive his claim to the English steam
ers, if only he has the power to assert
it; and against that it behooves us to be
on our guard. It seems, however, prob
able that, under the existing rules of the
Declaration of Paris, but few large
prizes will be made, such as founded
many fortune in the last or earlier CEN
turies, when international scruples did
not exist, and naval opinion was abso-
lutely single as to the advisability and
even necessity of making captures and
sharing them out among the captors.
This opinion, rooted in the "custom" of
the sea. was as old as the English nation,
and had descended from the davs of
Hengist and Horsa, of Harry Page-the
Arripay of the French chroniclers-of
Drake, or Frobisher, or Lancaster,
down to the time when Commodore
Wager took the great galleon, or Anson
gutted the Acapulco ship.
The stories of such times seem to the
seamen of to-day, like fairy tales of
childhood, too good to be true but
from strictly naval point of view they
have their dark side; and it is very GER
tain that of the quarrels between senior
officers which SO often disgraced our
service, great number were due, di-
rectly or indirectly, to the natural but
unchivalrous desire of making money.
The bitter feud between Rodney and
Arbuthnot, on the coast of North Amer
ica, in 178O, was one of these. The
friendly relations between Lords st.
Vincent and Nelson, which led to such
glorious results, were interrupted by a
lawsuit on their rival claims for prize
money; and the i'll feeling which Nelson
and Sir John Orde entertained for each
other was at least strengthened by pc
cuniary considerations. Lord Howe's
conduct on the "1st of June" was
angrily criticised by many, as though he
might have rendered the victory still
more decisive had he not been over
anxious about the security of the prizes.
Sir John Jervis was similarly spoken OF
after the battle of st. Vincent; and after
the battle of the Nile, the burning oi
several of the prizes, whose preservation
would have taxed the efficiency of the
fleet, appeared to Nelson a measure Of
very grave responsibility, as defraudine
the men under his command of the
money to which they were justly en-
titled.
The bitterness which frequently arose
out of considerations Of prize money
was undoubtedly increased by the dis
proportionete share of the senior officers
Of the prizes just referred to as burned
at the Nile, Nelson estimated the share
| of the Commander in-C Chief as G3, 750
of Captain as Ell 600; but Lieuten
ant as ELS, and of seaman as s2 As
Id In the face of such figures, it is al
very well to talk of prize-money a
encouraging seamen to do their duty
but its principal use was to offer grea
chances to the senior officers, and it
real evil was the promoting jealousy ant
| ill-will between the flag officers and evel
the Captains. This, however. nava
officers would have been slow to &C
| knowledge.