No. 46

1. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No 24 of the
24th of September

in which you kindly approve under the peculiar
circumstances in which I was placed, of the allowance of pay to
the companies of H.M. Ships "Satellite" and "Plumper", from the local
revenue equal to their rate of pay from the Crown.

2. That extra allowance of pay was made for three months up to
the 30th September last, when it was not considered necessary to
continue it for a longer time, and with the knowledge and approval
of Admiral Baynes, who concurred with me regarding the allowance as
unusual and forming a troublesome and inconvenient precedent, that
decision was made known to Captains Prevost and Richards, to announce
to their respective ships companies.

3. The charge for that quarter was as follows—

"Satellite" £2253.14.8

"Plumper" £1118.11.7

£3372. 6.3

4. I have already liquidated one third of that sum; I propose
to pay a second instalment very shortly, and the third will be paid
as soon as circumstances permit.

5. Had the extra allowance been limited to the ships companies,
the amount of pay would have been moderate; but applying as it did
to the Captain and Officers, the charge became an intolerable
burden on our limited income, and to me a source of ceaseless
trouble and anxiety.