Ledger with accounts of wages for the crew of the merchant ship Tarquin during its 1863 voyage from Marseilles to Sumatra, and contemporary handwritten copies of three letters written or addressed to Captain Thomas Hogh, dated, June 1864, Paris. The first two letters concern the appointment of George Gardner as supercargo of the French merchant ship Julie, with instructions for a voyage to Sumatra, where Gardner is to procure a cargo of pepper "on the best terms ... and without unnecessary delay." In the third letter, addressed to Thomas Hogh, the unidentified correspondent writes "You will observe in the instructions that I speak of drawing bills on Penang. You will understand this to be merely a cover to hide the 40,000 Spanish dollars you have on board over and above the 20,000 which you confess to having. This precaution is for the event of your papers falling into improper hands. You will have 60,000 in all - of which you had better conceal 40,000 placing 20,000 elsewhere. Please explain this matter at an early day to Mr. Dodge for fear of accident to yourself."