# Supplement to the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica/Admiralty, High Court of

​ADMIRALTY (High Court of). This is a court of law, in which the authority of the Lord High Admiral is exercised, in his judicial capacity, and wherein all causes are determined appertaining to the sea, and all offences tried that are committed thereon. Very little has been left on record of the ancient prerogative of the Admirals of England. For some time after the first institution of the office, they judged all matters relating to merchants and mariners, which happened on the main sea, in a summary way, according to the laws of Oleron, promulgated by Richard I. These laws, which were little more than a transcript of the Rhodian laws, became the universally received customs of the western part of the world. “All the sea-faring nations,” says Sir Lionel Jenkins, “soon after their promulgation, received and entertained these laws from the English, by way of deference to the sovereignty of our kings in the British ocean, and to the judgment of our countrymen in sea affairs.”
In the patents granted to the early admirals, between the latter end of the reign of Henry III. and until the close of that of Edward III. no mention is made of marine perquisites, or of civil power, nor does it appear that the Admirals enjoyed either; but, after the death of the latter, new and extraordinary powers were granted to them, and it would appear that they usurped others. The preamble to the statute of 13th Richard II. sets forth, that “forasmuch as a great and common clamour and complaint hath been oftentimes made before this time, and yet is, for that the Admirals and their deputies hold their sessions within divers places of this realm, accroaching to them greater authority than belongeth to their office, in prejudice of our lord the King, and in destruction and impoverishing of the common people;” and it is therefore directed that the Admirals and their deputies, shall not meddle, from henceforth, of any thing done within the realm, but only of a thing done upon the sea: and two years afterwards, in consequence, as stated in the preamble of the statute, “of the great and grievous complaint of all the commons;” it was ordained that the Admiral’s court should have no cognizance of any contracts, pleas, or quarrels, or of any thing done or arising within the bodies of counties, whether by land or by water, nor of wreck of the sea; but that the Admiral should have cognizance of the death of a man, and of maihern done in great ships, being and hovering in the main stream of great rivers, yet only beneath the bridges of the same rivers nigh the sea. He may also arrest ships in the great floats for the great voyages of the king, and of the realm; and have jurisdiction over the said floats, but during the said voyages only. But if the Admiral or his lieutenant exceed that jurisdiction, then, by 2d Henry IV., the statute of 13th Richard II. and common law may be holden against them; and if a man pursues wrongfully in the Admiralty Court, his adversary may recover double damages at common-law, and the pursuant, if attainted, shall incur the penalty of L. 10 to the King.
​The place which, according to Spelman, is absolutely subject to the jurisdiction of the Admiral, is the sea; which, however, comprehends public rivers, fresh waters, creeks, and all places whatsoever, within the ebbing and flowing of the sea, at the highest water, the shores or banks adjoining, from all the first bridges to the seaward; and, in these, he observes, the Admiralty hath full jurisdiction in all causes, criminal and civil, except treasons and the right of wreck. Lord Coke observes, that “between the high-water mark and the low-water mark, the Admiral hath jurisdiction super aquam, when the sea is full, and as long as it flows, though the land be infra corpus comitatus, at the reflow, so as of one place there is divisum imperium at several times.”
But, though the statute restraineth the Lord High Admiral, that he shall not hold plea of a thing rising in the body of a country, he is not restrained from making execution upon the land, but is empowered to take either body or goods upon the land; otherwise his jurisdiction would often prove a dead letter. He also can and does hold his court in the body of a county. So, likewise, the civil power may apprehend and try persons who may have been guilty of offences cognizable at common law, though committed in the fleet, in any port or harbour of Great Britain, or at sea, provided such persons have not already been tried for such offences, either by court martial, or in the Admiralty Court; and in all ports, harbours, creeks, &c. lying in any county, the High Admiral and the sheriff, or coroner, as the case may be, have concurrent jurisdiction.
The Lord High Admiral is assisted in his judicial functions by the following principal officers:
* The Vice-Admiral.
* The Judge.
* The Registrar.
* The Marshal.
* Advocate-general.
* Procurator-general.
* Counsellor.
* Solicitor.
1. The Vice-Admiral. This officer is the admiral’s deputy, or lieutenant, mentioned in the statutes of 13th and 15th Richard II., and was the person most probably who presided in the court. At present the Vice-Admiral of England is a perfect sinecure, generally conferred on some naval officer of high rank and distinguished character im the service, having a salary attached to it in addition to his half pay of L. 469, 5s. 8d. per annum. The Rear-Admiral of England is the same, and the salary, in addition to his half pay, is L. 370, 4s. 3d. per annum. Each county of England has its Vice-Admiral, which is little more than an honorary distinction, though the patent gives to him all the powers vested in the Admiral himself. Similar powers were also granted to the judges of the Admiralty county courts; but this was found so inconvenient and prejudicial to those who had suits to commence or defend before them, that the Duke of York, when Lord High Admiral in 1663, caused instructions to be drawn up in order to ascertain to each his province; whereby the whole judicial power remained with the judge, and the upholding the rights of the Admiral, and levying and receiving his perquisites, &c. appertained to the Vice-admiral.
Each of the four provinces of Ireland has its Vice-Admiral: there is one Vice-Admiral for all Scotland, who has a salary of L. 1000 a-year on the ordinary estimate of the navy, and one for the Shetland and Orkney islands. The governor of most of our colonies has a commission of Vice-Admiral granted to him by the Lord High Admiral, or Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty; and generally a commission from the king, under the great seal, grounded on the 11th and 12th William III. and farther confirmed by 46th Geo. III. by which he is authorized to try all piracies, felonies, or robberies committed on the seas, where the parties are taken into custody in places remote from England; the court to consist of seven persons at the least, of which the governor, the lieutenant-governor, the vice-admiral, the flag-officer, or commander in chief of the squadron, the members of the council, the chief justice, judge of the vice admiralty court, captains of men of war, and secretary of the colony, are specially named in the commission; but any three of these, with four others selected from known merchants, factors, or planters, captains, lieutenants or warrant-officers of men of war, or captains, masters, or mates of merchant ships, constitute a legal court of piracy.
The Vice Admiralty courts in the colonies are of two descriptions. The one has power to inquire into the causes of detention of enemies, or neutral vessels, to try and condemn the same for the benefit of the captors, as well as to take cognizance of all matters relating to the office of the Lord High Admiral. The other has power only to institute inquiries into misdemeanours committed in merchant vessels, and to determine petty suits, &c. and to guard the privileges of the Admiral. The former are usually known by the name of Prize Courts; the latter by that of Instance Courts.
The following are the colonies and foreign possessions in which Prize Courts have been established in the course of the last war. Gibraltar, Malta, Newfoundland, Halifax, Bermuda, Bahama Islands, Barbadoes, Antigua, Tortola, Jamaica, Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon, Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. The following colonies had Instance Courts only; Dominica, Grenada, St Vincents, St Christophers, Trinidad, St Cervix, Martinique, Berbice, Demerara, and Essiquibo; in addition to which is a court established at Sierra Leone for the trial and condemnation of captured slaves only.
In none of the patents to the Lord High Admiral, Vice-Admiral, or Judge, is any mention made of prize jurisdiction. Lord Mansfield had occasion to search into the records of the Court of Admiralty in Doctor’s Commons, to ascertain on what foundation this jurisdiction was exercised by the judge of the Admiralty, but he could not discover any prize-act books farther back than 1643: no sentences farther back than 1648. The Registrar could go no farther back than 1690. “The prior records,” says his Lordship, “are in confusion, illegible, and without index.” The prize jurisdiction may therefore be considered as of modern authority, and distinct altogether from the ancient powers given to the Admi​ral. To constitute the authority for trying prize causes, a commission under the great seal issues to the Lord High Admiral, at the commencement of every war, to will and require the Court of Admiralty, and the lieutenant and judge of the said court, his surrogate or surrogates, to proceed upon all manner of captures, seizures, prizes, and reprisals, of all ships and goods that are or shall be taken; and to hear and determine according to the course of the Admiralty, or the law of nations, and a warrant issues to the Judge of the Admiralty accordingly.
The Admiralty Court being in this respect a court in which foreigners of all nations may become suitors, an appeal may be had from its decisions to a committee of the Lords of His Majesty’s Privy Council, who hear and determine according to the established laws of nations.
At the breaking out of a war, the Lord High Admiral also receives a special commission from the crown, under the great seal, to empower him to grant letters af marque and reprisals against the enemy, he having no such power by his patent. These letters are either general or special;—general, when granted to private men to fit out ships at their own charge to annoy the enemy;—special, when in the case of any of our merchants being robbed of their estates or property by foreigners, the king grants them letters of reprisal against that nation, though we may be in amity with it. Before the latter can be sued for, the complainant must have gone through the prosecution of his suit in the courts of the state whose subjects have wronged him; where if justice be denied, or vexatiously delayed, he must first make proof of his losses and charges in the Admiralty Court here; whereupon, if the King is satisfied he has pursued all lawful means to obtain redress, and his own interceding should produce no better effect, special letters of reprisal are granted; not, however, as must be evident, until a very strong case has been made out. This custom, which we may now consider as obsolete, seems to be a remnant of the law of ancient Greece, called androlepsia, by which, if a man was slain, the friends and relations of the deceased might seize on any three citizens of the place where the murderer took refuge, and make them slaves, unless he was delivered up. Both Oliver Cromwell and King Charles II. have granted letters of reprisal. In 1638, the Duc d’Epernon seized on the ship Amity of London, for the service of the French king against the Spaniards, promising full satisfaction; but none being made, the owners obtained letters of reprisal from the usurper, and afterwards, in 1665, from Charles II. In 1666, Captain Butler Barnes had letters of reprisal against the Danes. The Dutch having burnt six English merchant ships in the Elbe, within the territories of Hamburgh, which city, instead of giving any assistance or protection, hindered the English from defending themselves, Ietters of reprisal were granted to the sufferers against that city. Lastly, one Justiniani, a noble Genoese, being indebted in a great sum to Joseph Como, a merchant in London, which he had several years solicited for, but could get no satisfaction, Captain Scott, commander of his Majesty’s ship the Dragon, stationed at that time in the Mediterranean, received orders to make reprisals upon the ships of that republic; upon which the debt was paid.
2. The Judge. The patents to the Judge of the Admiralty and Vice-Admiralty courts run pretty nearly in the same manner as these of the Lord High Admiral, and point out the several matters of which he can take cognizance. The parliament of 1640 established the office of Judge of the Admiralty court in three persons, with a salary of L. 500 a-year to each. At the Restoration, there were two judges of the High Court of Admiralty, which sometimes proved inconvenient; for when they differed in opinion no judgment could be had. These judges, before the Revolution, held their appointment only during pleasure. At that period, Sir Charles Hedges was constituted judge under the great seal of England, quamdiu se bene gesserit, with a salary of L. 400 a-year, and an additional L. 400 out of the proceeds of prizes and perquisites of the Admiralty; but in the year 1725 the latter sum was diminished from the ordinary estimate by the House of Commons. Sir William Scott, the present judge, in consequence of the extraordinary increase of the business in the Admiralty Court, has a salary of L. 2500 a-year on the ordinary estimate of the navy.
The judges of the Vice-Admiralty courts in certain of the colonies, limited by 41st George III., are allowed a salary not exceeding to each the sum of L. 2000 a-year, to be paid out of the consolidated fund of Great Britain; together with profits and emoluments, not exceeding to each the farther sum of L. 2000 per annum out of the fees to be taken by the said judges, of which a table is directed to be hung up in some conspicuous place in the court; and no judge is to take any fee beyond those specified, directly or indirectly, on pain of forfeiture of his office, and being proceeded against for extortion: and on his retirement from office, after six years’ service, his Majesty may, by authority of the act above mentioned, grant unto such judge an annuity for the term of his life, not exceeding L. 1000 per annum. This liberal provision puts the judges of the colonial courts of Vice-Admiralty above all suspicion of their decisions being influenced by unworthy motives; a suspicion they were not entirely free from when their emoluments depended mainly on their fees.
During the late war, a session of oyer and terminer to try Admiralty causes was held at the Old Bailey twice a-year. The commission for this purpose is of the same nature with those that are granted to the judges when they go the circuits; that is to say, to determine and punish all crimes, offences, misdemeanours, and abuses; the end of both being the same, their limits different; the one relating to things done upon the land, the other to things done upon the water. The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, all the members of the Privy-Council, the Chancellor and all the judges, the Lords of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Admiralty, the Treasurer and Commissioners of the navy, some of the Aldermen of London, and several Doctors of the civil law, are the members of this commission, any four of whom make a court, the quorum being the Lords of the Admiralty, Judge of the Admiralty, the Twelve Judges, and the Doctors of the civil law.
​The session of oyer and terminer lasts generally from one to three days, and the court is entertained each day with a dinner at the expence of the Lord High Admiral, that is to say, of the public.
The proceedings of the court are continued de die in diem, or, as the stile of the court is, from tide to tide.
3. The Registrar of the Admiralty has hitherto held his place by patent from the Lord High Admiral generally for life, though the admiral himself, and the Lords Commissioners of Admiralty hold their places only during pleasure; and what is still more remarkable, the office of Registrar has sometimes been granted, and is now vested in reversion. He had no salary; the amount of his emoluments, depending on the number of captures, droits, &c. condemned by the court; which, during the late war, were so enormous, that in 1810, an act was passed for regulating the offices of Registrars of Admiralty and prize courts, by which it is enacted, “that no office of registrar of the high court of admiralty, or of the high court of appeals for prizes, or high court of delegates in Great Britain, shall, after the expiration of the interest now vested in possession or reversion therein, be granted for a longer term than during pleasure, nor be executed by deputy; that an account be kept in the said offices respectively of all the fees, dues, perquisites, emoluments, and profits received by and on account of the said Registrars, out of which all the expences of their offices are to be paid; that one-third of the surplus shall belong to the Registrar and to his assistant, (if an assistant should be necessary,) and the remaining two-thirds to the consolidated fund of Great Britain, to be paid quarterly into the Exchequer, the account of such surplus to be presented to the court at least fourteen days before each quarter day, and verified on oath.”
4. The Marshal. This officer receives his appointment from the Lord High Admiral or Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and holds his situation by patent under the seal of the High Court of Admiralty, during pleasure. His duties are to arrest ships and persons, to imprison in the Marshalsea, to bear the mace before the judge, and to attend executions. His emoluments depend chiefly on the number of prizes brought into port for condemnation, and the number of ships embargoed, and may probably be reckoned in time of war, communibus annis, from L. 1500 to L. 2000 a year, out of which he has to pay about L. 400 a year to a deputy. In peace, the whole emoluments are probably not sufficient for the payment of the deputy’s salary.
5. The Advocate-General. This officer is appointed by warrant of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. His duties are, to appear for the Lord High Admiral in his Court of Admiralty, Court of Delegates, and other courts; to move and debate in all causes wherein the rights of the Admiral are concerned, for which he had anciently a salary of twenty marks a year, and an additional allowance granted to him in 1695, of L. 200 a year. At present he has L. 213, 6s. 8d. a year, voted on the ordinary estimate of the navy. Formerly, the Admiral’s Advocate was always retained as leading counsel, but since the droits were transferred to the crown, he has gradually been supplanted by the King’s Advocate, who is generally retained in all cases, the Admiralty Advocate acting only as junior counsel; and while the former makes sometimes from L. 15,000 to L. 20,000 a year, the latter rarely receives from his professional duties more than from L. 1500 to L. 2000 a year. This difference however, may probably be owing in a great degree to the personal character of the men who hold the two situations.
6. The Procurator. The Admiralty’s Proctor stands precisely in the same situation to the King’s Proctor, that his advocate does to that of the King, though there is not quite so great a difference in their emoluments. They act as the attornies or solicitors in all causes concerning the King’s and the Lord High Admiral’s affairs in the High Court of Admiralty and other courts. All prize causes are conducted by the King’s Proctor, which the captors are disposed to consider as a grievance, but which the gentlemen of Doctors Commons on the contrary maintain to be for their convenience and advantage. It is supposed, that in some years of the war, the King’s Proctor did not receive less than L. 20,000 a year.
7. The Counsel of the Admiralty is the law officer who is chiefly consulted on matters connected with the military duties of the Lord High Admiral; his salary is L. 100 a year besides his fees, which, in time of war, may be reckoned to amount from L. 1200 to L. 1800 a year.
8. The Solicitor to the Admiralty, is also an officer more immediately connected with the military functions of the Admiralty. He is stated sometimes assistant to the counsel; his salary is L. 400 in lien of all fees; and his disbursements for the naval departments in time of war, amount to L. 14,000 or L. 15,000 a year.
The Judge Advocate of the fleet is a sinecure appointment, with a salary of L. 182, 10s. a year, on the ordinary estimate of the navy; but the Deputy Judge Advocate resides at Portsmouth, and assists at all courts martial held at that port, for which he is allowed an annual salary of L. 146. See Navy, in this Supplement. (K.)