It the Court of Windsor,
the twenty-ninth day of November, 1859.

(Present, the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council).

Whereas Her Majesty was graciously pleased by Her Royal Proclamation, bearing date the thirtieth day of April last, to promise and declare that the Bounties of Ten Pounds for every Able Seaman, and Five Pounds for every Ordinary Seaman, fit for Her Majesty's Service, should be paid, in the manner thereby directed, to every such Able and Ordinary Seaman, not above the age of forty-five, nor under the age of twenty years, who should, on or before the fifteenth day of June then following, enter themselves to serve in Her Majesty's Royal Navy, either with the Captains or Lieutenants of Her Majesty's Ships, or Officers employed in Tenders, or at Rendezvous on Shore for raising men for the Service of the Royal Navy. And whereas Her Majesty was also graciously pleased by Her said Proclamation to declare that all able-bodied Landsmen, not above the age of twenty-five nor under the age of twenty years, who should so enter themselves as aforesaid, should receive the sum of Forty Shillings

each man, as Her Majesty's Royal Bounty. And whereas the Time limited for Payment of the said Bounties, so far as they relate to Able Seamen and Ordinary Seamen, was, by Order in Council of the eleventh day of June last, prolonged and extended from the said fifteenth day of June to the thirty-first day of July last. And whereas by two other orders in Council the said Bounties have been since reduced to Eight Pounds and Four Pounds respectively, and, lastly, to Six Pounds and Three pounds respectively ; and the Time limited for the Payment of the said last-mentioned reduced Bounties, was prolonged and extended to the thirtieth day of November instant. And it being judged expedient for Her Majesty's Service that such Bounties should, so far as they relate to Able Seamen and Ordinary Seamen, be continued to be paid for some Time longer, Her Majesty, with the advice of Her Privy Council, doth therefore Order and it is hereby accordingly Ordered, That the Time limited for Payment of the said Bounties of Six Pounds to Able Seamen, and of Three Pounds to Ordinary Seamen, be prolonged and extended from the first Day of December next to the thirty-first day of January next inclusive. Whereof all Persons concerned are to take Notice and govern themselves accordingly.

W. L. Bathurst

[Note by transcriber : It is perhaps worth noting that this was about the time of the Indian Mutiny and the Second China War and a brief spat with the U.S., which required a fleet to be prepared, so the R.N. was over stretched and whilst it had the ships available, it was short of trained manpower and attempting to persuade men serving in the Merchant Service to join the Royal Navy, whereas in general they ended up recruiting a load of street-wise scallywags, who did little for discipline of the Service, and the payment of the bounties caused not a little irritation amongst Continuous Service personnel and senior rates, many of whom suggested that this form of recruiting was counter-productive. In fact the Admiralty did, for a while, stop recruiting men of 17-18 and over with a view to concentrating on recruiting Boys, but, of course, boys take years to train and it was soon found necessary to re-commence recruiting adults, despite their short-comings.

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