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By His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Regent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in the Name and on the Behalf of His Majesty. A PROCLAMATION. GEORGE P. R. WHEREAS by an Act passed in the Fifty-ninth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, cap. 15, intituled (sic), An Act to enable His Majesty to fix a Rate, and direct the Disposal of Freight-Money, for the Conveyance of Specie and Jewels on board His Majesty's Ships and Vessels, it is enacted, That from and after the Eighth Day of April, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Nineteen, all Freight Money to be paid for the Conveyance on board any of the Ships and Vessels of His Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, of Gold, Silver, and Jewels, or of any other Article which may be by special Order received on board the said ships and Vessels, and for which Freight shall be payable, shall be paid at such Rate, and distributed and applied for such Purposes, and divided to and amongst such Persons, in such Proportions, and after such Manner, as His Majesty, his heirs and Successors, shall, from time to time, think fit to order and direct by any Proclamation or Proclamations to be issued for that Purpose; and that no Freight-Money or Reward shall hereafter be demanded, paid, received, or detained by, to, or for the use or on account of any Person or Persons, for the Conveyance on board of any of the Ships and Vessels of His Majesty, his Heirs or Successors, of any Gold, Silver, or Jewels, or any other Article which may be by special Order received on board the said Ship or Vessel, and for which Freight shall be payable, other than for the purposes, and by the Person or Persons, in the Proportion, tit the Rates, and in the Manner so to be paid and allowed by Proclamation or Proclamations ; and that all Bargains, Contracts, Covenants, and Agreements made or entered into for the Payment of any Freight-Money, for or in the Name or on the Account of Freight for the Conveyance of Gold, Silver, or Jewels, or other Articles as aforesaid, on board of any of His Majesty's Ships or Vessels, at any Rate, or for any other Purpose, or by or to any of Her Person or Persons, or in any other Manner or Proportions than as aforesaid, shall be and the same are hereby declared to be utterly void. We do, therefore, in pursuance of the Powers so vested in his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, by this Our Royal Proclamation, in the Name and on the Behalf of his Majesty, and by and with the Advice of His Majesty's Privy Council, think proper to order and direct, and We do hereby order and direct, That all Gold, Silver, and Jewels, or other Articles received as Treasure by special Order, conveyed in His Majesty's Ships and Vessels, in the Care and Charge of the Captain or Officer commanding such Ship or Vessel, shall be liable to the Payment of Freight, whether such Treasure belong to the Crown or to other Parties. That on the Delivery of any Gold Silver or Jewels, or other Articles as aforesaid, laden on board of any of His Majesty's Ships or Vessels, for which Freight may or shall be payable as aforesaid, or according to the Provisions and Directions hereinafter contained, a Receipt or Bill of lading, or Receipts or Bills of Lading, shall be made and signed by the Captain or Officer commanding such Ship or Vessel, describing the Quantity or Value of such Gold, Silver, Jewels, or other Articles as aforesaid, and the Terms on and Extent to which such Captain or Officer commanding such Ship or Vessel so receiving the said Gold, Silver, or Jewels, or other Articles, on board his said Ship or Vessel, shall be liable or responsible for the same, in case of Loss or Damage thereof to which by Law he might be liable, to Form or to the Effect following [Here insert Bill of Lading in the usual Format] And it is hereby stipulated and agreed between the said _____and the Shipper and Owners and Consignees of the said _______ that in case of Loss or Damage happening, to the said Gold, Silver, Jewels, or other Articles as aforesaid, the Captain or Officer commanding such Ship or Vessel as aforesaid shall not beholden liable or responsible for more than Three-fourths of the Amount of such Loss or Damage. That the Rates at which Freight shall be paid for Public and for Private Treasure respectively, and in Peace or War respectively, and for different Voyages, shall be as follows: viz.
That in case of any Difference. on any Question arising out of the above Scale, or omitted in the said Scale, the. Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty shall have Authority, to decide what the Freight shall be under the said Scale, or adhering as nearly as possible, in Cases not specified, to the Spirit and Principles of the said Scale. That on the Shipment of Gold, Silver, or Jewels or other Articles received on board as Treasure by special Order, the Rate of Freight per Cent., according to the. above Scale, shall be endorsed on the Bill .or Bills of Lading, or .Receipt or Receipts of the Officer receiving the Charge thereof, such Endorsement or Endorsements to be signed by the said Officer ; but in case of any Difference of opinion Abroad, or when immediate Reference cannot be had to the Lords of :the Admiralty, it may be expressed "at such Rate as the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty shall decide." When Treasure belonging to the Crown shall be shipped in any of His Majesty's Ships or Vessels with a Commissary or Conductor specially charged with the Care thereof, the Officer commanding such Ship or Vessel shall not be required to give any Receipt, nor to sign any Bill of Lading, and such Officer shall not receive any Freight on account thereof, nor be liable to make good any Loss or Damage which may happen to the same. That the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty shall have Authority to direct at what Time, and for what Time, and within what Limits, the War Freights shall be payable on Private Treasure received by Special Order. And We do hereby further order and direct, That the whole Amount of the said Freight, when received, shall be divided into Four Parts, and distributed as follows, subject to the Proviso hereinafter mentioned : One Fourth to the Admiral or Admirals, if more than one on the Station or in the Squadron to which the Ship receiving Treasure on board may belong ; Two Fourths to the Captain or Officer commanding such Ship or Vessel, who shall give his. Receipt or sign the Bill of lading for the Treasure ; and One Fourth to Greenwich Hospital for the use of that Institution. That when there shall be more than One Flag Officer on a Station, the said One Fourth Part shall be divided and distributed amongst the several Flag-Officers on the Station, in the following I Proportions : viz. If there be but Two Flag Officers, the Chief shall have Two Third Parts of the said One Fourth and the other shall leave the remaining Third Part ; but if the Number of Flag Officers be more than Two, the Chief shall have only One Half, and the other Half shall be equally divided amongst the Junior Flag Officers; but if there be no Flag Officer on the Station, or that the Ship or Vessel be not girder the Orders of a Flag Officer; then that the Captain or Officer commanding the Ship or Vessel shall have Three Fourths, and Greenwich Hospital One Fourth. Provided that such Admiral or Admirals shall not be entitled to claim his or their respective Share or Shares in such Freight Money, otherwise than on Condition that he or they shall, before the Gold, Silver, Jewels, Treasure, or other Articles as aforesaid, shall be put on board such Ship or Vessel, have respectively given Notice in Writing to the Captain or Officer commanding such Ship or Vessel. or his Agent, or have entered or caused to be entered in a Public Order Book on board the Ship of the Commander-in-Chief ; or the Senior Flag Officer commanding on the Station or in the Squadron to which such Vessel belongs; .or in case of a Junior Flag Officer absent from the Commander-in-Chief, unless such Junior Flag Officer shall have notified under his hand to the Commander in Chief, to be entered in the said Order Book, an Engagement in Writing in Form or to the Effect following: I A, B, am desirous of partaking in the Advantages ; with the Risks attendant thereon, arising out of the Conveyance of Freight of Treasure in any of the Ships or Vessels in the Squadron, [or, in the Particular Ship, as the case may be]; And I hereby engage to make good to the Captain or Captains, Officer or officers, commanding such Ships. or Vessels respectively. [or, Ship or Vessel, as the Case may be], such Part of any Loss or. Damage for which he or they .may be liable in respect to the Gold, Silver, Treasure, or other Articles so carried on Freight, and which he or . they respectively shall have actually paid and satisfied, as shall be in proportion to the Share or Interest in the said Freight Money to which I may be entitled.' And that each Share or Shares of the Admiral or Admirals as aforesaid, to which he or they shall not be entitled on the Conditions hereinbefore expressed, shall go and belong to the Captain or Officer commanding the Ship or Vessel in which the Gold, Silver, Treasure, or other Articles shall be carried on Freight as aforesaid. That in the Event of Loss or Damage happening to the Gold, Silver, Jewels, or other Articles so received on Freight, exceeding the total Freight Money, Greenwich Hospital shall not be entitled to receive any Sum on account of such Freight; and in Cases in which the Loss may not amount to the Whole of the Freight Money, Greenwich Hospital shall be entitled only to its Proportion of. the Balance of Freight Money over and above such Loss or Damage. That Commodores, with Captains under them, and Captains of the Fleet, are to be considered, agreeably to the Rules of the Service, as Flag Officers ; and Commodores, without Captains under them, shall, with respect to Freight, be also considered as Flag Officers when in the Command of a Station. That when the Captain or Commander, or his Agent, shall have received the Freight, he shall pay over to the Senior Flag Officer and to the Treasurer of Greenwich Hospital, with out Delay, their respective Shares, and the Captain shall be held responsible to both for any Loss which may occur through his Neglect or delay in receiving or paying the same ; but if there be any Question or Difficulty as to the Payment, he is to apprize the Senior Flag Officer and the Treasurer of Greenwich Hospital respectively of the Causes of such Delay. That the Captain or Officer commanding, on receiving any Treasure on board any of His Majesty's Ships or Vessels, shall transmit to the Senior Flag Officer, when such Captain or Officer commanding shall be under a Flag Officer, and in every Case to the Treasurer of Greenwich Hospital, and to the Secretary of the Admiralty, a Return of the Amount of such Treasure, and of the Freight paid or to be paid thereon. That when the Treasure shall, during the Voyage be transshipped into One or more Ships, the Freight shall be divided, pro rata itineris, among the Admirals and Captains who may be entitled to share therein, according to the Services performed by the different Ships respectively: and if any difficulty or Dispute shall arise respecting such Division or Distribution, any party interested therein may refer the same to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty; and the Decision or Orders of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, or any Three of them, as to such Division or Distribution, shall be final and conclusive thereon. That in order to prevent any Doubt or Misunderstanding as to the Rate or Distribution of Freight on Gold, Silver, Jewels, or other Articles as aforesaid, received on board Flag Ships, or any other of His Majesty's Ships and Vessels. and to prevent any private Agreements inconsistent with these Regulations, all Flag or other Officers are expressly forbidden to receive on board any of His Majesty's Ships or Vessels any Gold, Silver, Jewels, or other Articles as aforesaid, upon any Agreement or Condition different from these Regulations, or to take, demand, or receive any Sum, other titan those established by these Regulations. ']'hat these Rules and Regulations shall be in force from the Day on which they shall be received by His Majesty's Officers, and be thenceforward taken and understood to be the established Rule and Custom of His Majesty's Naval Service, on the several Particulars to which they refer, till they shall be revoked or otherwise altered by any Proclamation or Proclamations to be issued by Us. Given at the Court at: Carlton House, this Twelfth Day of July, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Nineteen, in the Fifty-ninth Year of His Majesty's Reign. GOD SAVE THE KING. ----------------------- (Circular to the Naval Commanders-in- Chief.) Admiralty, 4th June, 1821. SIR,-My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having had under their consideration a question relative to the Freight Money to be allowed for treasure deposited on board his Majesty's ships for custody only, have decided that freight for such a deposit should be paid as if such deposit were a conveyance from one place to another within the same station, and shall be divided (where it has been on board more than one of His Majesty's ships) among the Captains, as freight for conveyance would have been in all cases Greenwich Hospital is to have a share; and where, after any such deposit, new bills of lading, or new orders for conveyance, either on board another ship or the same ship, shall be. made, the freight established for such conveyance by the Order in Council is to be charged, over and above the freight which might be already due on the score of deposit. I have it in command from their Lordships to acquaint you therewith for your information and guidance. I am. &c. J. W. Croker ----------------------- BY THE KING.- A PROCLAMATION WILLIAM R. WHEREAS by an Act passed in the Fifty-ninth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Third, Chapter 25th, intituled An Act to enable His Majesty to fix a Rate and direct the Disposal of Freight Money for the Conveyance of Specie and Jewels on board His Majesty's Ships and Vessels, it is enacted, that from and after the Eighth Day of April One thousand eight hundred and nineteen, all Freight Money to be paid for the Conveyance, on board any of the Ships and Vessels of His Majesty, of Gold, Silver, and Jewels, or of any other Article which may by special Order he received on board and for which Freight shall be payable, shall be paid at such Rate, and be distributed and applied for such Purposes, and divided to and amongst such Persons, in such Proportions, and after such manner, as His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors should from time to time think fit to order and direct by any Proclamation or Proclamations to be issued for that Purpose; in pursuance of which Act a Proclamation was, on the Twelfth Day of July following, made and issued by His Royal Highness the then Prince Regent, in the Name and on the Behalf of His said Majesty, whereby. amongst other things, a Scale of Rates at which Freight should be payable for Public and Private Treasure respectively, in Peace and War, and for different Voyages, was fixed and established: And whereas We have thought fit to order that the said Rates should be altered ; We have therefore, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, deemed it expedient to issue this Our Royal Proclamation, and We do hereby ordain, declare, and command, That from and after the First Day of September next, the said Scale of Rates so fixed shall cease and be no longer in force: And We do further declare, That from thenceforth the following Rates shall be established during Peace and War:
And it is further established and declared, That such Freights shall be payable clear of all Deduction whatsoever; and that it shall be stipulated in the Bill of Lading that the Captains and Commanding Officers of Our Ships and Vessels shall not be liable to any Expenses attending the Shipment of such Treasure, or other Articles, until the same shall he safe, alongside of their respective Ships or Vessels, and that their Liability shall cease from the Moment they shall have landed the Treasure at the Port to which the Ships carrying the Treasure sure shall be destined. And it is further declared. That in all other respects, save what is hereby altered the said Proclamation of the Twelfth Day of July One thousand eight hundred and nineteen, and the Rules and Regulations thereby established, shall continue in full force. Given at Our Court at St. James's, this Twenty third Day of April One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, in the First Year of Our Reign. GOD SAVE THE KING. 23 April 1831 ------------------------- BY THE KING - A PROCLAMATION. WILLIAM R. WHEREAS We did by Our Royal Proclamation of the Twenty-third Day of April last, establish and declare a scale of Rates of which Freight should be payable for public and private Treasure conveyed on board any of our Ships and Vessels ; We have, by and will, the Advice of Our Privy Council, thought fit further to ordain, declare, and command, and We do hereby ordain, declare, and command, That from and after the First Day of September next, the Freight for conveying Gold and Silver in any of Our Packets between any Two Ports, the navigable Distance between which shall exceed Six Hundred Leagues, shall be fixed at the Rate of One per Cent., both for Gold and Silver: and We do hereby establish and declare, That the Responsibility of the Officer in charge of such Treasure shall commence when it shall be safe alongside the said Packet, and shall cease the Moment that it shall be landed at the Port of Destination : And it is further declared, That in all other respects the said Proclamation of the Twenty-third Day of April last, and the Rules and Regulations thereby established, shall continue in full Force. Given at Our Court at St. James's, this a Eighth Day of June One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, in the First year of Our Reign. GOD SAVE THE KING. 8 June 1831------------------------- Admiralty, 8th October, 1842. My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty are pleased to direct that Officers are not to constitute themselves judges of their own claims to Freight, nor deduct from Treasure belonging to the State such sums as they consider themselves entitled to, but that all claims for Freight on Public Treasure submitted in the usual manner to the Lords of the Treasury for such orders as may appear to them to be required. And with reference to the Circular Order of 4th June, 1821, granting an allowance for Treasure deposited on board Her Majesty's Ships for Custody only, as if such deposit were a conveyance from one place to another within the some station, my Lords direct that the Regulations under that Order are not to be considered as applying to Public Treasure, but to Treasure belonging to Private Individuals only: By Command of their Lordships, Sidney Herbert Admiralty, 3rd July, 1827. His Royal Highness the Lord if High Admiral having received a representation from the Governors and Directors of Greenwich Hospital, that many instances have occurred to which the Regulations contained in His Majesty's Proclamation, dated the 11th of July, 1819, in regard to the Freight of Treasure on board His Majesty's Ships, have been either wholly neglected, or only partially complied with, His Royal Highness feels himself under the necessity of bringing to the recollection of all Officers who maybe intrusted with the Freight of Treasure, the several provisions of His Majesty's Proclamation aforesaid, and to repeat the General Orders issued by the Lords Commissioners the Admiralty, on the subject of Freight since the promulgation of the said Proclamation. ^ back to top ^ |
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