CAPTURE OF A TREASURE SHIP IN OLDEN TIMES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1779, 2 March 1888, Page 3

CAPTURE OF A TREASURE SHIP IN OLDEN TIMES

A correspondent of the "Shipping Gazette" aendn < xtracta from the "Annual Register" of 1762 and 1763, giviDg some Inter oitlng details of thojj capture of La Hermione during the war whioh lasted between England and Spain from the 4 h January to ttio 3rd November, 1762. In the " Gazette" of July GOi was tho foltav»lns snte\\ißt>DOo from the H»g\ie : —

The Hermione, a Spanish register ahip. whioh left Lima on 6th January, bound for Cadiz, was taken on the 2lat May off Cape St Vincent, by three English frigatea, and carried into Gibraltar. Her cargo is said to consist of nearly twelve millions of money registered, and the unregistered to be likewise very considerable, baaidea 2000 eerens of oocoa and a groat deal of other valuable merchandise.

An account of her cargo from other papers : — 5243 aunhps of cocoa ; 1193 quintals of tin ; 2 276,715 iv alltrer and gold, oolned ; 25 arobea of alpaca wool ; 6 quintals of Yirgiala wool ; two boxes, with letters, which were thrown overboard from the Hermione have been taken up at sea, near Faro, m Portugal. The treasure arrived m London, m a errand prooeseion, on the 12th August, 17G2, the day on whloh his Royal Blghnees the Prince of Wales (afterwards his Majesty George IV ) was born.

The vessel was condemned m the Hfgh Court of Admiralty, and sofd, together with liar carao, and altogether realised £540,410 8^ 91, varions charges amounting to £24 943 11b GJ leaving tho net proceeds £619 410 10a. This sura was distributed aa pr.ze- money among the officers and men concerned m the otpture. The Admiral and Commodore received no less a Bum than £C 4,963 3a 9i Tho oiptaln of the Active, receive^ £65 053 13' 9d ; and commissioned offioevs, £13 <JO4 14.< Id eaoh ; eight warrant officer*, £4336 3i 2d each ; twmtjr petty officers. £18i 0 10b lOd eech ; and 158 seamen, £485 5< 4.j-d eaoh. The officers aud crew ot another veeael, the Favorite, received pr;za money on a slightly reducea scale* It will bo evident from thia that the capture of a treasure ship like the Hermione meant m those days a handsome competency for many of the officers and a, very acceptable windfall for the men.