The evening times., 1898-10-26
PRIZE MONEY.

1t is recalled that 1t was not until twen-
ty-two years after the civil war that the
officers and crews of Farragut's fleet were
paid the last si43.544 due them-much of it
going to their heirs-for the capture of
New ORLEANS! Much of the delay was
owing to the red tape necessary in the adj
Judication Of claims. and the calculations
and computations required in this task
were so intricate that only a past master
in fractions could begin to compass them.
The one redeeming feature of the affair
was the fact that everybody, high and
low. was treated in the same way, and the
heirs of the admiral had to wait just as
long the grown-up cabin boys for their
money. Bounty money differs from prize
| money only in it's origin. Prize money Is
| awarded for ships and cargoes captured;
bounty money for those destroyed.
During the last century, although the
navies of that day were much less effec-
tive than ours, prize money was abundant.
Not few of the higher officers earned a
comfortable fortune by the captures made
| on single expedition. Commodore An
sons Centurion, for example, in June l143,
| took the Spanish galleon Nostra Signora
| de Cabadango, which had on board car
60 and bullion valued together at 81, 10000.
| Before he returned to England his squad
| ron had captured other vessels worth an
| aggregate of So, 100000 The commodores
| own share ran up more than $780, 900 on
| this one cruise. Two years later Capt.
James Talbots Prince Frederick brought
| in prizes worth, with their cargoes, more
| than IS, 100000. The treasure and plate
! alone filed forty-five wagons, and the
| captains share amounted to $780, ,0oo An
| other English vessel during the same year
| captured a Spanish ship with 900 on
| board, and a third brought French East
| Indiaman worth $4,000.
| Other captures during that fateful sea-
| son were four French ships with cash,
bullion and readily convertible cargoes ag-
gregating 100000, while one of these, the
Conception. contained also a large quanti-
| ty of plate and a two-wheeled chaise, with
its wheels and axletrees of silver set with
diamonds and other precious stones.
| The ship was taken by Capt. Frankland.
, who induced the French skipper, by the
| offer of a reward, to show him the hiding
place of the $4,000 pistoles, worth about
900, which were concealed in a place
no searcher would have dreamed of. This
| ship goes down in naval annals as one
| of the richest prizes ever taken, but its
| record was excelled by the Hermione, a
Spanish treasure ship, captured in 1852 by
l
| Pownall. The captains share of this prize
was 1925 600, his three lieutenants got $685.
600 apiece, and lump of $4,000 went to
the flag officers of the Mediterranean sta
ton, including the admiral. who was many
miles away from the scene of action, but
was constructively in charge of the affair.
This provision in all prize and bounty
laws, giving the lions share sometimes to
the men who had least to do with the
work, has furnished foundation for a
British naval proverb that prize money Is
poured down a ladder, and that what
drops through the spaces belong to the
officers, and what sticks on the rounds
goes to the men. The saw applies equally
to the higher and lower grades of officers
1t is proposed to break up the prize money
system. Whatever moral effect such a
change might have upon the navy, there
Is no question that 1t would take good
deal of the active spirit out of naval war
fare. Some of the most exciting and in
teresting work done by naval vessels is
the capture of prizes. 1t calls forth not
only the grit and interest of all on board
but often their ingenuity as well.