98

THE RUSSIAN FLEET

but twelve, whereas foreigners are allowed thirteen,months to the year.

Roubles

Russian Boatswain . . • 1 • .7

Boatswain’s Mate . . . I per month. 5

Russian seaman that has served | . . .3

abroad; of which there are but few '

I first rank . per month 1 \

Other sailors divided into \ second rank „ 70 L . ...

I third rank . 4 os ,to P ieikl

Cabin boys „ 30 J

100 kopieiki make a rouble. Besides this paythe sailors have a constant allowance of coarseclothing, and a provision of rye-meal, oatmeal, andsalt; even when the sea service is over.

Notwithstanding, this general rule admits of par-ticular exceptions; as in the case of Rear-AdmiralPaddon, Vice-Admiral Gordon, and Rear-AdmiralSaunders, besides their established pay from theCollege of Admiralty annually receiving out of the

present. Professor Laugh ton {Journal °f Royal United ServiceInstitution , June 25, 1880) gives the pay of a captain of a first ratein 1690 as 763/. iZ§. This was in a generation in which, asMacaulay tells us, the average income of a baronet was estimated‘ at 900/. a year, the average income of a member of the House ofCommons at less than 800/. a year. A thousand a year wasthought a large revenue for a barrister.’

As compared with the wages of able seamen—24 s. with boardand lodging for twenty-eight days—we may quote Thorold Rogers{Hist. of Agriculture and Prices , 1887, vol. v. p. 404): ‘ Up to theend of the second quarter of the eighteenth century, the wages ofthe artisan were i§. 6d. to 2 s. a day,’ without board or lodging.In 1767 a labourer’s board and washing were estimated as amount-ing in money to about 12/. a year—that is 20 s. a month.

This history makes it clear that the amount of legitimate prize-money to be gained by the officers of the Russian fleet in generalwas not large. Plunder fell exclusively to the share of the officersof the galley fleet, in which British officers did not serve. Forcomparison between Russian and English rates of pay see Appen-dix E.