LIFE ON A PRIVATEER

Hokitika Guardian, 2 November 1931, Page 7

LIFE ON A PRIVATEER

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY RELIC

SET OF SHIP’S ARTICLES

The plundering of foreign shipping by English privateers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the conditions under which these ships were manned, are recalled by an interesting document recently presented to the Auckland War Memorial Museum by Captain H. M. S. Cyder, of the Northern Steamship Company. This document, a set of of the privateer Antelope, drawn up in 1757, was received by the. Museum Council at its last meeting, (says the New, Zealand Herald).

The parchment is in good condition, and the old-fashioned script is still easily legible, although the black ink has now faded to a rusty brown. Unfortunately, a portion of the first of the three wide sheets, measuring about ?.ft by 3ft, has at some time been mutilated, but it is possible yet to follow the meaning of the clauses in the document, which gives every detail of the arrangements between the owners ana crew of the vessel, which amounted to nothing less than a legal pirate ship.

NO PAY FOR OFFICERS, The articles were drawn up in London in 1757 Between the owners of tho Antelope, Phillip de la Haize and William Deuth, and the commander of the vessel, And/ew Red-dell, and members of the crew, comprising “seamen, landmen, seaj boys and landboys.” After relating that the Antelope'was commissioned and held letters of marque to act as a private ship of war, the document enacts that the owners shall provide the vessel with “sails, boats, oars, a skiff, proper artillery, small arms, cutlasses, pole-axes, ammunition and a sufficient quantity of provisions of all kinds.” The commander and other officers aid not- receive »any pay according to the agreement, which provided that they should not be entitled to any reward for their services other than their proportion of the goods taken from enemy ships, their share being set out in a schedule. On joining, able seamen were entitled to an advance payment of seven guineas for the voyage, while ordinary seamen were to draw five guineas, landmen four guineas, and boys a lesser sum. In addition, each member of the crew was to draw a share of the booty obtained during- the cruises. DISPOSAL OF PRIZES.

The document then gives the disposal of the ‘‘prizes, prize goods and fortuhate adventures,” the owners being entitled to a half .share of the full proceeds, the remainder to be divided among the ship’s company. The cruise, Which was to be entirely at the direction of the owners, was to last seven months after the Antelope had cleared her last port in Great Britain, and the vessel was to remain at soa for as long a time during that period as possible. If, at the conclusion of seven months, the ship was in a foreign port or on the high seas, the term of the articles was to be prolonged until the Antelope returned to London, where members of the crew who wished to be discharged would be paid off.

A number of penalties, most of which provided .far the loss of their share of booty by offenders, was provided. It was laid down that “no one in rummaging in prizes under thq, orders of the commander or other officers in the execution of his duty shall secrete, conceal, or misapply any part of what comes into his hands.”

On the other hand, members of the ship’s company who were unable to take part in actions at sea owing to being wounded or other misadventures were to receive their full share of the proceeds at the conclusion of the cruise, the same condition applying to men who were taken prisoner by the enemy. PENALTY FOR COWARDICE

“Any man aboard who shews a dislike for the fight, who appears to be guilty of an act of cowardice, or who refuses an engagement after he has been commanded shall be brought before the commander, and, if found guilty of misdemeanour, shall forfeit his share of the spoils of the action,” reads the next section, which provided that in extreme cases offendrr. should lose all their share accruing throughout the whole cruise. Provision was made for the reimbursement of officers who were injured in actions. If the commander lost a limb or wa>s killed in a fight he or his executors were to draw £SO in addition to his share of the prize money, while in the case of the first, .second, or third lieutenants the payment was to be £3O. No provision was made for seamen or landmen who were injured.

In order to promote efficiency on board a prize of five guineas was offered for any seaman keeping watch, either by day or night, who discovered a sail which later proved to be a prize, while a member 01 the crew who boarded an enemy in an engagement and subdued the crew was to (receive 10 guineas as the reward of his bravery.

The document then concluded with a list of signatures of the officers and men, showing the amount each officer had subscribed toward the cost of the venture and the .share he was entitled to. The men’s .share is also shown, while alongside each signature, all of which are fairly well- written considering the age when they were penned, is fixed the seal of the Antelope, the wax being stamped on a ribbon which is threaded through the parchment.