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equally divided among the junior flag officers; commodores of the first class and captains of the fleet to share as flag officers: provided always that no flag officer, unless actually on board any of Our ships or vessels of war, and at the actual taking, sinking, burning or otherwise destroying any ship or ships of war, privateer or privateers, belonging to the enemy, shall share in the distribution of any head money or bounty money granted as a reward for taking, sinking, burning, or otherwise destroy- ing any such ship or vessel of the enemy.
That no flag officer commanding in any port in the United Kingdom shall share in the proceeds of any prize captured from the enemy, by any ship or vessel which shall sail from or leave such port by order of the Lord High Admiral, or of our Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral.
That when ships or vessels under the command of several flag officers belonging to separate stations shall be joint captors, each flag officer shall receive a proportion of one-twentieth part, according to the number of officers and men present under the command of each such flag officer; and when any ship or vessel under orders from the Lord High Admiral, or from Our Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral, are joint captors with other ships, or vessels under a flag or flags, the like regulations as to the apportionment of the flag share to the flag officer or officers is to be observed. With reference to flag officers, it is to be noted that when an inferior flag officer is sent to rein- force a superior officer on any station, the superior flag officer shall not share in any prize taken by the inferior flag officer before he has arrived within the limits of that station, unless the inferior officer shall have received some order directly from, and shall be acting in execution of some order issued by, such superior flag officer.
No chief flag officer quitting any station, except upon some definite urgent service, and with the intention of returning to the station as soon as such service is performed, shall share in any prize taken by Our ships or vessels left behind, after he has passed the limits of the station, or after he has surrendered the command to another flag officer appointed by the Admiralty to command in chief upon such station.
An inferior flag officer quitting any station (except when detached by orders from his commander- in-chief upon a special service, accompanied with orders to return to such station as soon as the ser- vice has been performed,) shall have no share in prizes taken by the ships and vessels remaining on the station, after he has passed the limits thereof. In like manner, flag officers remaining on such station shall not share in the prizes taken by such inferior officer, or by ships or vessels under his im- mediate command, after he has quitted the limits of the station, except he has been detached as afore- said.
A commander-in-chief or other flag officer belonging to any station shall not share in any prize prizes taken out of the limits of that station by any ship or vessel under the command of a flag officer of any other station, or under orders from Our Commissioners of the Admiralty, unless such comman- der-in-chief or flag officer is expressly authorised by Our said Commissioners to take the command of that station in which the prize or prizes is or are taken, and shall actually have taken upon him such command.
Every commodore having a captain under him shall be esteemed a flag officer with respect to the twentieth part of prizes taken, whether he be commanding-in-chief or serving under command.
The first captain to the admiral and commander-in-chief of Our fleet, and also the first captain to any flag officer appointed to command a fleet of ten ships of the line or upwards, shall be deemed to be a flag officer for the purpose of sharing in prize, and shall be entitled to share therein as the junio flag officer of such fleet.
Any officer on board any of Our ships of war at the time of capturing any prize or prizes, who shall have more commissions than one, shall be entitled only to share in such prize or prizes according to the share alloted to him by the above-mentioned distribution in respect to his superior commission or office.
And with reference to other officers it is to be noted that a captain, commander, or other com- manding officer of a ship or vessel, shall be deemed to be under the command of a flag, when he shall have received some order from, or be acting in the execution of some order issued by, a flag officer. whether he be, or be not within the limits of the station of such flag officer; and in the event of his be ing directed to join a flag officer on any station he shall be deemed to be under the command of such flag officer from the time when he arrives within the limits of the station, which circumstance is al- ways to be carefully noted in the log book; and it shall be considered that he continues under the dag officer of such station, until he shall have received some order directly from or be acting in the cxecution of some order issued by some other flag officer, duly authorized, or by the Lord High Ad. ⚫miral, or Our Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral.
And We hereby direct, that the captain, commander, lieutenant commanding, master command ing, or any other officer, duly commanding any ship, sloop or vessel of war, singly taken any prize from the enemy, that is to say, the officer actually in command at the time, shall have one eighth of remainder, or if there is no flag, one-eighth of the entire net proceeds, except that if the single capturing ship be a rated ship, having a commander under the captain, the commander shall take portion of the one-eighth part, as if he were cominander of a sloop, according to the proportion here. inafter set forth; and if more than one commanding officer of the same rank of command shall be entitled to share as joint captors, the one-eighth shall be equally divided between them; but when captains, commanders, lieutenants commanding, and masters commanding respectively Our ships and vessels of war, and commanders under captains in rated ships shall'sbare together in whatever variety of combination, the one-eighth shall be so divided into parts for a graduated apportionment as to provide for each captain receiving six parts; each commander of a sloop, or commander under a cap- tain in a rated ship, three parts; and each lieutenant commanding, or master commanding, or other
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officer actually commanding a small vessel of war, two parts; which We hereby direct shall be the proportion in which they shall respectively share; commodores of the second class and field officers of marines, or of land forces serving as marines, doing duty as field officers, above the rank of major, to share as captains; and field officers of marines, or of land forces serving as marines, and doing duty in the rank of major, to share as commanders of sloops.
And we further direct, that after provision shall thus have been made for the flag share (if any) and for the portion of the commanding officer or officers, and others, as above specified, the remainder of the net proceeds shall be distributed in ten classes, so that each officer, man, and boy, composing the rest of the complements of Our ships, sloops, and vessels of war, and actually on board at the time of any such capture, and every person present and assisting, shall receive shares or a share according to his class, as set forth in the following scale :---
First Class.Master of the fleet, inspector of steam machinery afloat, when embarked with a fleet, medical inspector, or deputy medical inspector, when embarked with a fleet, forty-five shares each.
Second Class.-Senior lieutenants of a rated ship, not bearing a commander, under the captain, se. cretary to the admiral of the fleet or admiral commanding in chief:-Thirty-five shares each.
Third Class.-Sea lieutenant, master, captain of marines, of marine artillery, or of land forces do- ing duty as marines, whether having higher brevet rank or not, secretary to an admiral, or to a com- modore of the first class, not commanding in chief, chief engineer:-Twenty-eight shares each.
Fourth Class. Lieutenant or quartermaster of marines, lieutenant of marine artillery, lieutenant, quartermaster, or ensign, of land forces doing duty as marines, secretary to a commodore of the se- cond class, chaplain, surgeon, paymaster, naval instructor, mate, assistant-surgeon, second master, clerk in charge, passed clerk, assistant engineer, gunner, boatswain, carpenter :-Eighteen shares each. Fifth Class.-Midshipman, master's assistant pilot, clerk (not passed,) master-at-arms, chief gun- ner's mate, chief boatswain's mate, chief carpenter's mate, chief captain of the forecastle, admiral's coxswain, chief quartermaster, seaman's schoolmaster, ship's steward, ship's cook :-Ten shares each. Sixth Class-Naval cadets, clerk's assistant, captain's coxswain, ship's corporal, quartermaster, gunner's mate, boatswain's mate, captain of the forecastle, captain of the afterguard, captain of the hold, captain of the maintop, captain of the foretop, coxswain of the launch, sailmaker, ropemaker, caulker, leading stoker, blacksmith, serjeant of marines, of marine artillery, or of land forces doing duty as marines-Nine shares each
Seventh Class. Captain of the mast, captain of the mizentop, yeoman of the signals, coxswain of the barge, coxswain of the pinnace, coxswain of the cutter, second captain of the forecastle, second captain of the maintop, second captain of the foretop, second captain of the afterguard, sailmaker's mate, caulker's mate, musician, cooper, armourer, corporal of marines or of land forces doing duty as marines, bombardier of marine artillery, head krooman :-Six shares each,
Eight Class. Leading seamen, shipwright, second captain of the hold, able seaman, carpenter's crew, sailmaker's crew, cooper's crew, armourer's crew, yeoman of the store-rooms, steward's assist. ant, ordinary seaman, blacksmith's mate, private and fifer of marines, or of land forces doing duty as marines, gunner of marine artillery, painter, stoker, coal trimmer, second head krooman, sick berth attendant, bandsman, tailor, butcher:-Three shares each.
Ninth Class.--Cook's mate, ship's steward's boy, admiral's domestic, superintendent's domestic, admiral's steward and cook, captain's steward and cook, ward-room and gun-room steward and cook, subordinate officers' steward and cook, commander's servant, secretary's servant, second class ordina- ry seaman, assistant stoker, barber, boy of the first class, first and second class krooman, supernum- eraries, except as hereinafter provided, persons borne merely as passengers, and not declining to render assistance on occasion of capture :-Two shares each.
Tenth Class. Boy below first class-One share.
All supernumeraries holding ranks in the service above the ranks or ratings specified in the fifth class of this Our Proclamation, who have been ordered to do duty in any of our ships or vessels, by the Lord High Admiral, or by our Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral, by the senior officer of the fleet or squadron, or if none senior, then by the captain or commanding officer of the capturing ship or vessel, if not by special authority employed in higher capacities, shall share according to the rank which they respectively hold in the service; but in all cases to qualify them for so sharing, and not merely as supernumeraries in the ninth class, due notation of their be- ing thus respectively ordered to do duty must have been made on the muster books.
And with respect to supernumeraries of ratings in the service, below the denominations of those specified in the fourth class of this Our Proclamation, and who at full victuals are engaged in the ordinary duties of the ship, it is Our will and pleasure that they shall always share according to the ratings which they bear in the service.
And, in order that Our Royal intentions berein may be duly carried into effect, We further direct that when any capture is made from the enemy, the captains or commanding officers of Our ships or vessels of war making the same shall transmit, or cause to be transmitted, as soon as may be, to the Secretary to the Admiralty, a true and perfect list of all the officers, seamen, and marines, soldiers and others, who were actually on board on the occasion, accompanied by a separate list, containing the names of those belonging to the crew who were absent on duty or otherwise at the time, specify- ing the cause of such absence, each list to contain the quality of the service of each person, together with the respective descriptions of men, taken from the description book of the ship or vessel, and their several ratings, to be subscribed by the captain or commanding officer, and three or four more of the chief officers on board,
And when the list of those actually on board, and the separate list of persons absent, though be- longing to the ship or vessel, shall have been verified, on examination with the muster books lodged as official records, the Accountant-General of Our Navy shall, upon request, grant to the agent or
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