Philip Stephens. George Boog has asked to be paid for the time he acted as Pilot...

Philip Stephens. George Boog has asked to be paid for the time he acted as Pilot on the Alarm cutter according to a certificate from Lieutenant Patrick Leslie. The certificate for the islands of Orkney and Shetland covers the time from August 1772 to February 1773, on Admiralty orders. The Lieutenant's correspondence was all from Burntisland and he says he had received intelligence from the Revenue Officers that illicit trade was being carried on in those places and the northern parts of his station. He was often driven back by contrary winds and gales and had he discharged the Pilot when he put into ports, it would have been impossible to procure another. Mr. Boog did not actually pilot the cutter to the islands and we have no information on the attempts to reach them. Suggest his certificate is paid and the amount is charged to the Lieutenant's wages until he shows more specific reasons for the retention of the Pilot or that the Pilot performed a service