Thomas Wright
A gentlemen from California, Capt. Thomas Wright, son of the well-known and enterprising steamboat man, Capt. J.T. Wright, has just concluded a contract with the Central American Republic for the exclusive privilege of the coasting trade for the term of ten years.
The Captain gets five hundred thousand dollars bonus to carry the mails once a month to Panama during the term of contract. The company is called the Central American Steam Navigation Company. The first steamer will commence running on the 15th of October.
If all the Californians are of the same stripe as the Captain you must have a great country up there. He astonished the natives in this part of the world, and the cry is now viva, viva lost Americanos. The soil and climate of the interior of the republic is the finest in the world; fruit of all descriptions grow in abundance. Fine woolen cloth is manufactured which is generally worn by the natives. They are very partial to the American cotton goods which is introduced by the English merchants by the way of Europe.
Click for the full story of goods in California's early days.
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"Master Under God"
Captains exercised absolute authority at sea and so were dubbed "Master Under God" by early insurance writs, agreements with ship owners and passengers and the Board of Trade.
The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag state policies.
All persons on board, including officers and crew, other shipboard staff members, passengers, guests and pilots, are under the captain's authority and are his ultimate responsibility.
On international voyages, the captain is responsible for satisfying requirements of the local immigration and customs officials.Immigration issues can include situations such as embarking and disembarking passengers, handling crewmembers who desert the ship, making crew-changes in port, and making accommodations for foreign crewmembers.
Customs requirements can include the master providing a cargo declaration, a ship's stores declaration, a declaration of crewmembers' personal effects, crew lists and passenger lists.
