There was a proper schedule, and the following were the officers and petty officers enabled to avail themselves of this privilege:—Commander, chief mate, second mate, third mate, purser, surgeon, surgeon’s mate, fourth mate, fifth mate, sixth mate, boatswain, gunner, carpenter, four midshipmen, one midshipman (who was also the commander’s coxswain), six quartermasters, commander’s steward, ship’s steward, commander’s cook, carpenter’s first mate, caulker, cooper, armourer and sailmaker. Reckoned for a ship let for 755 tons and upwards, the commander was allowed as much as 56 tons, or 20 feet of space, for all articles (excepting liquors) which weighed more than they measured were reckoned according to their weight. The chief mate was allowed eight tons, the second mate six tons, and so on down the list, even a midshipman being allowed a ton, the purser three tons, the surgeon six, and each quartermaster as much as a midshipman. In the case of the China ships only, if it was not practicable to invest in goods to the following amounts respectively, the Company allowed them to carry out bullion to make up the amount:—Commander, £3000, chief mate, £300, and so on down to carpenter, £50.
Homeward-bound East Indiamen were similarly allowed privileges to their officers. Ships lading from India might not bring back tea, china-ware, raw silk, or nankeen cloth: and ships lading from China might not bring back China raw silk, musk, camphor, arrack, arsenic or other poisonous drugs. But otherwise the commanders of China ships were allowed homeward 38 tons, the chief mate 8 tons, the second mate 6 tons, and so on down to the carpenter 1 ton. But the other homeward ships allowed the commander 30 tons or thirty-two feet, the chief mate 6 tons or sixteen feet, and so on down to the carpenter, who was allowed thirty-two feet. These importers, of course, had to pay the customs and also three per cent. to the Company for warehouse room on the gross amount at the sale of the goods in the case of Indian products, and a bigger percentage in the case of goods from China. But the wily old commanders were not always content with these privileges. The reader is doubtless familiar with the word dunnage. This consists of faggots, boughs, canes or other similar articles, which are laid on the bottom of a ship’s hold and used for stowing the cargo effectively. Now when it was found that there was a good demand in London for Eastern bamboos, ratans, and canes a commander would see that his dunnage consisted of a very ample amount of these realisable articles, and far beyond what was necessary for the protection of the cargo. The result was that the Company had to step in and make very strict regulations to stop this abuse, so that if the dunnage did not seem absolutely necessary and _bona fide_ it was charged against the amount of tonnage allowed to the commander and officers.