Honour & glory are excellent things, but so are silver & gold

[The Cruisers & Convoys Act 1708, which concerned naval prize money, and which was still in force during the Napoleonic Wars] laid down the proportions into which the value of the prize was to be divided. There were certain Droits of the Crown, but these were kept in reserve; in general, the full value of the prize, ship and cargo, went to the captors, as follows: the captain had three-eighths, of which he gave one to the flag officer under whom he served; the other officers, down to sergeant of Marines, had three-eighths, in three categories which ensured that the more senior had the bigger share; and the remaining two-eighths went to the rest of the crew, again shared according to seniority. Nor was this all: in the case of warships captured or destroyed, Admiralty paid head-money at the rate of £5 per head of the enemy crew at the commencement  of the engagement. This was to encourage doubtful captains to engage warships rather than seek the easier and more lucrative merchant prizes; moreover, a successful engagement with a warship meant probable promotion, which never rewarded captors of merchantmen [...]

[As a result of the October 1796 action in which the frigate HMS Naiad captured the treasure-laden Spanish frigates Santa Brigida and Thetis late of Vera Cruz, the prize money granted was lavish]. Besides a cargo of valuable commodities such as cochineal and indigo, the two ships had between them about a thousand boxes each containing 5000 silver dollars, besides odd bags and kegs and some gold. There can have been few literate persons in the squadron who were not doing pleasing little sums during the short voyage to Plymouth, where they arrived on the 21st November. The treasure was conveyed in sixty-three wagons to the citadel of Plymouth, and thence to London. The prize-money was divided thus:

Each Captain: £40,730
Each Lieutenant: £5091
Warrant-Officers: £2468
Midshipmen, etc.: £791
Each Seaman & Marine: £182

One has to consider that the rate of pay per annum did not exceed £150 for a frigate captain, £75 for a lieutenant, and £12 for an ordinary seaman. A captain would have to serve for 250 years to earn the money he picked up in a couple of easy days; and even the humblest seaman could set himself up in a cosy pub. It was very wise of the Admiralty to allot these astounding prizes; it was like the football pools and the lotteries: I know that the chance is remote, but all the same, people have in fact won such prizes, and why should the next one not be me? Honour and glory are excellent things, but so are silver and gold; and if all are to be had in the same engagement, let us go heartily about it!

- James Henderson, The Frigates, London, 1970, p.119-121

See also:
History: In fear of the Tsar's navy, 5 November 2011
History: Chatham Historic Dockyards, 5 August 2010
History: Nauticalia in Portsmouth, 12 April 2007

Mungo

Early overland mails between Auckland & Wellington

During the [eighteen-] forties the Post Office first attempted a mail route overland between Auckland and Wellington. The only feasible route was by the west coast, where foot messengers could avoid the dense bush and tangled undergrowth that covered most of the central parts of the island. The path went from the Waikato Heads to Kawhia Habour, and thence by way of Mokau to New Plymouth. From Wellington the messenger would take mail to Wanganui and on to New Plymouth by way of Hawera (then called Waimate). The Government Gazette makes mention, in September 1843, of the intended monthly service from Auckland to Kawhia Harbour. It was to start on 15 September 1843. Nothing more is heard of it. In 1844 Felton Mathew, then Acting Deputy Postmaster-General, advertised that a fortnightly mail would commence on this route in August of that year. We know a Thomas Scott of Rangitikei (now Bulls) was carrying mail between Wellington and Wanganui for nine months in 1844-45, but it is not clear how much of this overland route was in use at that time. This earliest use of the overland route between Wellington and Auckland did not last long; it had ceased when the British Commissioners visited New Zealand in 1846.

The Wellington-Wanganui section was reopened in 1849. Thomas Scott answered the call for tenders by promising to carry the mail by horsed postmen. They were to go from each end and exchange mail at Ohau "which is as near as possible halfway". A mail was to traverse the whole distance in three and a half days. Thomas Scott's bid was regarded as too high, and the government decided to use police instead.

The whole route between Auckland and Wellington seems to have been put to use by 1856, for Henry King of New Plymouth reported that the mails were arriving and departing "with much regularity". It was a long and difficult journey to go the whole length of the route. If a mail, for example, left Wellington on a Wednesday, it reached Wanganui on Saturday, arriving in New Plymouth the next Friday, reached Mokau the following Monday, and arrived in Auckland, all being well, on Saturday - two and a half weeks after leaving Wellington! One reason for the long schedule was the refusal of the Maoris [sic.], who had become professed Christians, to carry mail on Sunday. It was a day of rest.

- Howard Robinson, A History of the Post Office in New Zealand, Government Printer, Wellington, 1964, p.57-8.  

See also:
Blog: NZ postal rates 1936, 1 January 2018
Blog: Writing to the New Plymouth colony, 28 November 2015 
Blog: The arrival of an English mail in 1853, 26 January 2015
Blog: Posting the empire as the royal word, 9 January 2013

Random stick retrieval consultant

Makara Beach, 17 March 2019

So hold me, Mom, in your electronic arms

Laurie Anderson's 2015 film Heart of a Dog was tonight's Filmsoc selection. Presumably unconnected to the 1925 Mikhail Bulgakov novel of the same name, which I read a few years back. Anyway, it's as good an excuse as any to play this wonderful slice of avant-garde video performance art from 1981. 'O Superman' sounded like the future of music then, and it probably still does today. Despite how esoteric and adventurous this is the single version still reached #2 in the UK pop charts, which is a pleasing reminder that the record-buying public don't always go for the cheap thrills of MOR... just *most* of the time. (Incidentally, 'O Superman' was kept off the UK number 1 spot in October 1981 by either Altered Images' 'Happy Birthday' or Dave Stewart with Barbara Gaskin's cover of 'It's My Party', neither of which has indisputably stood the test of time).

Taranaki sunset