Thursday 5 June 1662

To the Wardrobe, and there my Lord did enquire my opinion of Mr. Moore, which I did give to the best advantage I could, and by that means shall get him joined with Mr. Townsend in the Wardrobe business. He did also give me all Mr. Shepley’s and Mr. Moore’s accounts to view, which I am glad of, as being his great trust in me, and I would willingly keep up a good interest with him. So took leave of him (he being to go this day) and to the office, where they were just sat down, and I showed them yesterday’s discovery, and have got Sir R. Ford to be my enemy by it; but I care not, for it is my duty, and so did get his bill stopped for the present.

To dinner, and found Dr. Thos. Pepys at my house; but I was called from dinner by a note from Mr. Moore to Alderman Backwell’s, to see some thousands of my Lord’s crusados weighed, and we find that 3,000 come to about 530l. or 40 generally.

Home again and found my father there; we talked a good while and so parted.

We met at the office in the afternoon to finish Mr. Gauden’s accounts, but did not do them quite. In the evening with Mr. Moore to Backwell’s with another 1,200 crusados and saw them weighed, and so home and to bed.

20 Annotations

First Reading

Australian Susan  •  Link

The crusados
When we first hear mention of these, they are referred to as the King's money, but Sam recorded that he thought My Lord ought to hang on to them because of his debts. Now, (mysteriously?) they have become "My Lord's crusados". Hmmmmm.

Cumgranissalis  •  Link

Nobody doth like to be caught out. "...to the office, where they were just sat down, and I showed them yesterday's discovery, and have got Sir R. Ford to be my enemy by it; but I care not, for it is my duty, and so did get his bill stopped for the present….” I doth think Sam shows integrity and Guts to show up ones Superiors in a bad light.

Cumgranissalis  •  Link

Possesion be 9 tenths "My Lord's crusados". Hmmmmm

Then it could be a case of :
‘Quantum quisque sua nummorum servat in arca, antum habet et fidei.’
Juvenal, Satire III, 143-144
A man’s word of honour is worth as much as the cash he has in his [trunk]strongbox.

Pedro  •  Link

"and we find that 3,000 come to about 530l. or 40 generally."

That the Queen hath given no rewards to any of the captains or officers, but only to my Lord Sandwich; and that was a bag of gold, which was no honourable present, of about 1400l.

http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive…

Ollard in his biography of Sandwich says-
"The Portuguese authorities made him a handsome present of gold cruzados."

Clement  •  Link

Crusadoes

On May 24 Sandwich apparently huffed at a present made to him of, "a bag of gold, which was no honourable present, of about 1400 l. sterling" because, annotations surmised, it was 'gauche' to present a gift of cash.

May 26, the debt-ridden Sandwich, "having some 6,000 l. in his hands, remaining of the King's, he is resolved to make use of that, and get off of it as well as he can…”
It seems that he simply kept some of the dowry for himself. It was noted that the Queen’s mother stuffed Sandwich’s ship with all manner of goods to make up for the serious short fall of the dowry’s cash component, and without a full accounting of what was shipped, who would notice three fewer chests?

June 3rd, just after Sam calls Penn a “base rasckall,” he and Sandwich’s other most trusted men stash three chests of loot in Sam’s basement, and all deem it a good job. I can’t see that this is anything short of bald theft, but there seems to be some balmier moral climate that these gents are enjoying.

What would be the difference if Sam also thought that rent of his Further basement should be exacted from the stash? Ah, only Shepley has the key to the treasure, but not access to Sam’s cellar. Sandwich, you crafty rogue!

Mild Spoiler Alert: Sandwich was later involved in a more infamous incident regarding missing treasure.

Pedro  •  Link

"Mild Spoiler Alert: Sandwich was later involved in a more infamous incident regarding missing treasure."

Clement, I would hope your spoiler does not lead to the presumption that Sandwich is less than an honorable man.

There is no evidence that Sandwich has his hand in the till here. The dowry was completely accounted for by the Portuguese, they needed every grain of sugar to pay it! The Jew, Duarte de Silva, was going to have to pull out all the stops to try to change the grains to money.
The cruzados. As I read it, it was Sam or Creed that thought it was not an honourable present, and not Sandwich. OK, Sam has 6,000 l (sterling, libras) of the King's money, but at the weigh in the 1,400 l present in cruzados would be about 9,000 in number.

Pauline  •  Link

"...having some 6,000 l. in his hands..."
The money in the basement hasn't been said to be in crusados, has it? It might not be the dowry money, but unused money from the expedition to Algiers. Still the king's money. And Sandwich wouldn't be expected to serve the nation/king without pay. There may well be a full accounting, with the stash in the basement included as well as a "salary" debit for Sandwich. Quicker to get paid if you can point to the money owed and it is already in your possession.

Pauline  •  Link

a "salary" debit
Not to be taken too literally. I think at this level Sandwich will be rewarded by the king for leading the expedition to Algiers and for negotiating the final details of the dowry and bringing the new queen safely to England. Sandwich is in financial straits and is assuring that money is available and the king can easily give it to him. Hope Sam keeps this thread active so we hear what happens next.

Pedro  •  Link

"of the King's money”

As Sam is talking, and not Sandwich, maybe this could be read in the sense that the money has already been given? For example, Sam could have said that Sandwich will clear his debt using the King's money. In which case it would of course be his own money.

JWB  •  Link

Cost of Social Stability
3k @ 535=~3s7d each. Newton in 1702 Mint Assay gave Cruzado trading value @ 2s10d. This reflects the decline of population and continued deflation that put pressure on especially country folk with lower commodity prices leading to futher enclosure, leading to futher population decline. Hello America, got room for one more?

Cumgranissalis  •  Link

'Tis why they be told, then weighed, as there be some chiseling, not to be taken at face value.
"...we find that 3,000 come to about 530l. or 40 generally..."

Cumgranissalis  •  Link

'Hello America, got room for one more' It not be good, unless ye be given some land that be available on an island or a farm that be now 'rock a fella ' plaza, to be exchanged for some old noz musket plantation somewhere near Bali.

Pauline  •  Link

"..thousands of my Lord's crusados weighed…”
This is likely the bag of gold given Sandwich in Portugal—not the money in the basement?

A. Hamilton  •  Link

Crusadoes

Numbers have never been my strong point, but here goes:

1. On May 24 we learn that the new queen has given Sandwich a bag of gold said to be worth l. 1400. By implication, he is to dole this out to the captains and officers for her, kereping some for himself, but that obligation is not spelled out.

2. On May 26 we learn that Sandwich has l. 7000 in debts and "he hath money coming in to him that will clear them all, but very little money in his purse.
He also has some l. 6000 remaining of the King's, presumably funds entrusted to him to manage his long expedition to Argier and Portugal (frugal fellow).Not clear: what part of the l. 7000 debt has been incurred in the King's service, nor
how Sandwich is compensated for his long absence. In any even, he will use the remaining expedition funds to keep his own accounts in order "and get off it as well as he can, for I fear he will scarce get beforehand again for a great while.

3. On June 3 three chests of crusadoes worth 6,000 belonging to Sandwich are stored in Pepy's basement. Inference: these three chests, containing more than 4 times the gold as the l. 1400 "bag" the queen gave Sandwich, represent the public funds entrusted to Sandwich, which he plans to lend to himelf to cover pressing debt and repay as funds become available (See May 26).

4. The crusadoes being weighed at the money changer's (Alderman Blackwell) could come from the public funds, but it seems to me more likely they come from the bag of gold, which at the 3s7p exchange rate should contain roughly 7800 crusadoes(Some bag!) at this stage more than half counted.

5. JWB: I fail to see how a declining value of sterling to gold represents deflation. Works the other way, doesn't it?

Pedro  •  Link

The Gift of Cruzados.

Perhaps there is an answer to the ownership of the cruzados? My theory is--

Ollards says "The Portuguese authorities made him a handsome present of gold cruzados." He does not say the value, but Sam hears second hand from Creed that it is worth around 1400l, saying that it was no honourable present.
It seems that Sandwich was not responsible for distribution of monies to the crew. Drawing her source from "Historia Casa Real Portuguesa" Strickland says..
"On that day" pursues our Portuguese authority, "the Queen spoke to all the officers of the ship, and permitted them to kiss her hand; she presented a collar of gold to the captain, and gave money to the pilot and master, both for themselves , and to be distributed to the crew."

On the 3rd June we hear- "where Mr. Creed and Shepley was ready with three chests of the crusados, being about 6000l., ready to bring to shore to my house,"

Now the difference between 6000l and 1400l could be the difference between a "handsome present" and one that is not honourable.

Patricia  •  Link

I got the impression that the King owes Lord Sandwich money (he hasn't been paid since before he went to sea) and My Lord decided to keep this money as payment on account, rather than pass it on intact and then wait for His Majesty's pleasure to pay his wages.
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…

aqua  •  Link

Patricia: a lesson in leverage. possesionn not promises.
As Juvenal has been quoted, Satirae, III, 145 -144
Quantum quisque sua nummorum servat in arca, tantum habet et fidei.
or in saxon
A mans word of honor is worth as much as the cash he has in his strongbox.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"my Lord did enquire my opinion of Mr. Moore, which I did give to the best advantage I could, and by that means shall get him joined with Mr. Townsend in the Wardrobe business."

L&M note Townshend proved to be a disastrously bad (or dishonest) accountant. Moore does not seem to have received any formal appointment, but may have acted informally. William Godolphin, another of Sandwich's servants, found him an honest but slow accountant.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"He did also give me all Mr. Shepley’s and Mr. Moore’s accounts to view, which I am glad of, as being his great trust in me, and I would willingly keep up a good interest with him."

Throughout the diary period Pepys seems to have been employed by Sandwich to supervise his accounts, and had special responsibility for collecting Sandwich's naval pay. The accounts here mentioned do not appear to have survived. (L&M note)

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