The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1882-01-06
PRIYATEERNG.
Operations Buring the Eighteenth Cen.
fury On the High Seas.
frraseyss WaeagfpeI

fury On the kAfEn &E2Es
lFrassr's xsgsgins.I
In former days the tressare-ships be-
longed to the enemy until they became
ours by capture In the present age the
treasure and the ships that carry 1t are
English, and it is difficult to picture the
CONSERVATION In the city on hearing VI
the loss Of some steamer bringing home
ward q 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 viii
waive his claim to the English steam
ers, if only he has the power to assert
it; and against that it behoeve5 rs to be
on our guard. It seems, however, prob
able that, under the existing rules q the
Declaration Of Paris, but few large
prizes will be made, such as foundeo
many fortune In the last or earlier CEN
turles, 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 days Of
Hengist and Horsa, OF Harry Page-the
Arripay of the French chr0aiclers-Oi
Drake, or Frobisher, or &Ssncaster,
down to the time when Commodore
Wager took the great galleon, or Eoson
Quilted 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, en- the coast of North Amer
lea, In 1880, 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 prZe
money; and the Ill feeling which Nelson
and Sir John Orde entertained for each
other was at least strengthened by pe
cuniary considerations. Lord Howe's
conduct on the "1st Of June" was
angrily criticised by many, IS though he
might have rendered the e1Etow still
more decisive had he not bse.l over
anxious about the security Of the pnzes.
Sir John Jervis was similarly spC Sell At
after the battle of st. Vincent and after
the battle Of the Nile, the burning Of
several of the prizes, whose preservation
would have taxed the efficiency of the
feet, appeared TO Nelson a measure Of
very grave responsibility. as deiraudiEg
the men under his command of the
money to which they we're justly en-
titled.
The bitterness which frequently arose
out of considerations OF prize money
was undoubtedly increased by the dis
proportion4te share of the senior ofieeIs.
OF the prizes just referred to rs burned
at the Nile, Nelson estimated the shase
of the Commander a1-Chief as E., 1850,
of Captain as Ell, GOO; but q LiAuteD-
ant IS Els, and of a seaman as e. As.
Id. In the face of such figures, it is all
very well to talk of priZe-mouey as
encouraging seamen to do their duty;
but its principal use was to Offer great
chances TO the senior officers, and its
real evil was the promoting jealousy and
il-will between the flag officers aud even
the Captains. This, however. naval
officers would have been slow to &C
knowledge.
Preserving Wood Against Decay.
It has long been known that wood set
in mortar is preserved against decay, and
many stories have been told OF the last
ing qualities of wood which have come
in contact with this substance. A naval
journal stated recently that lime-laden
coasting schooner of unseasOned Maine
timber, which went ashore and bilged
40 years ago, was raised some time after
and is still in service; and an English
paper gives the history of q platform Of
nine planks which have been used sue
cessfllly by father, son and grandson tOr
mixing mortar, was then thrown aside
and allowed to be overgrown with grass,
but when brought to light again sixty
wears after, was found to be still in a
state Of preservation. Strangely no
systematic attempts to utilize this know
ledge has hitherto been made; and now
a method based on this principle has
been devised in France, and is simple
cheap, requiring no special apparatus,
and also effective. The plan Is tI pile
the planks in tank and to put over all
layer of quicklime, which IS gradually
Stacked with water. The time required
depends, of course, on the thickness Of
the wood. Timber for mines viii be
thoroughly impregnatedi in about a week.
The material is said to acquire remark
able consistency and hardness after this
process.