The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1806-03-28 00:00:00

PM:ft R Ernßr

sr Till e•SIesIISSIO%I as FOR ISIVISING 4!.10 nicrsr-
INU THE CIVIL AFF AIRS OI Ins MAJESTY'S NAVY.
Ta the King's Most Excellent Majesty.
The Fird Itqwwt of the ap:.eintei to revise
the ssat-ns am, wort- of ecennoting for the recei:d And ex-
',dame of Mon! sill and likewise the iostruc-
t;oret awl Stunditig tlra io fir the governm mt of the Civil
Deport views of It,; M 0001 Naval Smiler ; and to ar.
104 frame a ...Killer digi•et of the same , liaviog
car. falls id ipt Igo .11,11'• f/1 aeclutr!Hi: fur %ow.'
and Stores, and Lk .tei.tt• the whole b ty of sin ki 0 d •ry arid
the present extensive scale of C.. Naval sm.
vice and to take inflames for keeping rip the said sv.tenv
and direst hi all time tnenm:: And who were further re,
gaited to take tot, their p macular gonsoleratton, alt such
ftiletvieos as lose been male by the clilTe,ent Boards
of Itoquoy and S Ica Committee on Fioance, and have
not yet been adopted; and mtamitte which of the 'am',
appear to b.: pia no:able ond eon:Merit with tl.. arxxl of the
IletTtee, and to consider and device the best meami of carrying
the sante into execution, in the most convenient and ex-
peditious manner, and to repent en all the matters aforesaid,
fir •n time to time,...; they shall see occasion.
We have proceeded to the exectoian of the trust,
which Your Majesty has been pleased to repose in
us, in the order which seemed the most likely to
enable u. tit accomplish the obje,ns for which we
were appointed.
With this view we have not only considered, with
trait attention, the many tiseki suggestions in the
very able Reports ofthe different Boards of Enquiry,
and Seidl Committee on Finance, but have deemed
it accessary also, carefully to peruse all such official
err other authentic documents, as could give us in-
formation concerning the administration or the
Civil Affairs of thi- Navy, from the cattiest times.
By observing what changes have, at different
tines, taken place in th, system of management ;
what abuses have prevailed ; what means have been
tried to prevent their continuance; and what success
has attended the treasures, which, on former occa-
sions, have bee., adopted; we thought it probable
that we might receive information that would assist
us in judging of the alterations which might now
be necessary, to adapt the whole to the present very
extensive scale of the naval service t and that by
comparing what was accomplished in times of the
greatest oxertion, by the number of artificers and
labourers then employed, with what is now done in
the Royal Dock Yards, as well as by obtaining in-
formation from merchants-builders of the work per-
formed ley the numbers employed in private yards ;
additional meal.; might be acquited of judging of
the industry of those at present in Your Majesty's
service. From the whole, we hoped to be able to
form some estimate of what may, in future, be ex-
peehtsl, and of the establishment which may, under
proper regulations, be adequate to the management
and support of the raval force, which may be
deemed necessary for the security of this country.
To the numerous official documents, and written
or printed authorities, which we have petused, we
shall rein- as the occasion may require, and shall,
therefore, now only give, as briefly as see can, such
a general view of the means, which, Jetting dif-
ferent periods, have been taken for providing a na-
val fence for the defence of this country, aid for the
civil government of the navy, as may render it un-
necessary to be so full in those references, or in our
observations upon them, as lot the sake of clearness
might otherwise be reepoisite.
The whole of our Naval History may be divided
into three peniods : the first, comprehending all
that preceded the reign of Henry the Eighth ; the
second, ending with the Restoration of Charles the
Second; and, the last, coming down from the Re-
storation to the pruent day.
DutinK the first period, it apnears, that our Kings
had neither arsenals nor el se:le-yards ; their or:ly
permanent naval force consisted of fifty-seven yes-
.,
eels, each carrying twenty-one men mad a hey, well
?Inked and fitted for war, which the Cinque Potts
were hetiod, Jay their Charters, to furnish on forty
'says nctice from the Crosvit. When, in case
sear, a greater force was lecatited, slips were hired
from mertharrs at home, or from those in Daottic.
iliamburgh. Lubec. Genoa, end other peers, to-
vete fi,ted out from various motives by ;aware ad-
venturers, shared in the advantages acquired
trading vessels, having, in those rime-, no protec-
tion four ships of wit- belonging *et their respeetive
Ceram:es:3s were teats:4oy armed for their own
clzte,
the foundation of the Navy of England was laid
by Henry the Eighth. He constituted an Admiralty
and a Navy Board, and dining his reign, the Tii-
nity-hou se, tenc: the Dock Yards at Deptford, Wool-
w:cli, and Portsmouth, were formed : the regula-
tions which be made Ire the Civil Government of
Naval Affairs were, in the teign of Edward the
hietli, revised, errangNl, and turned into ordinances,
uhicb form the bast- of all the sulnegirent instruc-
tents given to the oflicets, to whom the manage-
ment of the Civil Affairs of the Navy has been
committed.
'Die officers then appointed were, the Vice Admi-
ral of England ; the Master of the Ordnance ; the
Surveyor of the Marioe Cerise;; the Treasurer,
Comptroller, General Surveyor of the Vidualling.
art k of the Ships, ar,d Clerk of the Stores.
Particular duties were allotted to each member;
and they were order. el to meet retce a week at the
Office on Tower 11i,1,t0 consult together f .r the
Rood order of the navy, and to report their proceed-
' fags once a month to the Lord High Admiral.
But the ships belongieg to the Crown, or pmviiled
by the Civil Department of the Navy, still formed
only a part cf the naval force employed in time of
War. In the fleet by which the Spanish Armada
was delayed, theta were 176 ships with 14,9911
men, elf which only 34 ships, with 6,22.5 met:, be-
longed to the Cross n ; and this mode of adding in
the naval force by hi:edsbips, :appears to have been
crntinued doe n to the end of the 17th century.
No considerable alreration in the civil govern-
ment of the navy took place from the reign of
Edward the Sixth, till the year log ; when, in
cnaseepience of many abuses which were corn-
pleased of, the principal officers were suspended;
raid Commi.eione,, wet. appointed, with powers to
n'anAge, settle, and put the affairs of the Navy into
a right course; and to take such measures as they
ttight deem necessary, to prevent the continuance
of the many great frauds and abuses which pre-
ya'led- A similar commission was issued in 1613 ;
aad a very fuil, able, and minute report, was made
l'Y the Commissioner, thea riavned, in which chose
frauds and abuse: are detailed and ciplalueJ ; a

eery iistina account of the state of the Navy, at the
time, is given, as well as of its state during the four
preceding reigns; and many very wise regulations
are suggested.
That commission was determined epoe the death
of James the First, but was renewed by his successor,
and remained in force till 1628; when it W4l dis-
solved, and the affairs of the Navy were restored to
the management of the Board of Principal Officers,
which hat been established by Edward the 6th.
During the disturbances in the reign of Charles
the First, the managing Officers were direeled by the
King to refuse obedience to the orders of Parlia-
ment ; and a number of ships having hens carried
away by Prince Rupert, the Naval force was, by
these means, reduced to so low a state, that at the
beginning of Cromwell's usurped Government, he
had only 14 ships of war of two decks, and some
of these carried only 40 guns; but under the care-
ful management of very able men, in different
commissions which he appointed, such vigorous
measures were pursued, that in Ave years, though
engaged within that rime in war with the greatest
N +vet po's'er in Europe, the fleet was encreesed to
150 sail, of wbich, more than a thi- d part had two
decks. ThoNevy was indeed raised by him m a
height which it had never before reached; from
which, however, it again declii rd, during the short
and feeble administration of his sun, at the latter
part of the second period.
On the Restoration of Charles the Second. the
Duke of York wes immediately appointed feed
High Admiral; And, by his advice, a Commieee
was named to censider a plan, proposed by himself,
for the future repletion of the Affairs of the Navy,
at which the Duke himself presided.
In all naval affair r, he appears to have ailed with
the advice and assistance of \ Ir. Semite! Pepys,
who, first, held the office of Clerk of the Aets, and
was afterwards Secretary o' the Admiralty ; a
of extraordinary knowledge, in all that rel itee to
the business of thet department. re great talents.
and of the most indefatigable industry. All the I
proceedings of the r:f Yolk, in the manage-
maet of the Navy, either e hen he was Lord High
Admiral, or after he came to she throne, ate mi-
nutely detailed, in a greet number of manuscript
volumes, in the Pepysian Lihrery at Cambridge;
which 18 volumes have, at our desire, been sent for
our perusal.
The powers which had been before granted to the
Commissioners of the Admiralty Uln.l the Navy
Board were recalled, and the entire manegem 'n:
was put into the hands of the Duke, as Lord High
Admiral; by whom three new Commissioners were
appointed to aa with the Treasurer of the Navy,
the Comptroller, the Surveyer, and the Clerk of
the Ails, as principal Officers and' Commitsioners
of the Navy.
In 1661, those instruelinns and standing orders,
for the guidance of the principal Officers and Com-
missioners of the Navy, and the superior c leers in
the deck-yards, wdich are still in force, were sent to
the Navy Board by the Duke of York. These had
been formed no ler his direelion, by Mr. Pepys, and
had been found, ever since, ie great use and value
in she management of the navel departments.
It appears, that after the Duke's appointment,
great progress was very sp e ely made in the re-
paretion and increase of the B -et; hut on Isis return
from his commend, at tee end of the Dutch war,
which commenced in Itifie, he found that, though
he had authorized the Navy Beard to make all the
addition to vete est iblishment which the exigencies
of the war might tequire, yet the same careful ma-
nage:relit had not been continued during his absence.
Toe example of zeal and industry set by Mr. Pepys
in his office of Clerk of the A.nt, had not been suf-
ficient, without the presence and authority of the
Duke. to prevent neglerf in the other departments,
and the fleet and dock-yards had suffered greatly in
contegirence of it.
After minute enquiry into the circumstance', a
state of the case was, by order of the Duke, drawn
up by Mr. Pepys, aad sent to the Navy BeerJ, io
which the duties of the Board, and dime of each
Member of it, teken from the instrtietions before.
mentioned, are stated in different heads, and under
each Least the errors and miazoecluet that be dis-
cevtied in he execution ; requiring a written an-
swer, in a qscnt limited time, from each of them
The answers ne re given, and, in reply, a second pa-
per was sees to each, pointing out what part of te,
charge remained unaccounted for; hut finding, at
the same time, ti at a part of the blame was justly
to be imputed to the irregularity and remissness of
Government, partitlarly in the supply of money for
Naval purposes, in toesequence of the " deplorable
condition of the King's treasure," he continued those
Officers in their employments, warning them, that
on any new ncgleet they would he terneve.t.
The Doke of York remained Lord High Admi-
ral till Wee, when, in consecptence of the test re.
spired by Parliament, to which he would not sub-
mit, he resigned ; and that office was, in pert. put
in commission, and the test retained by the King.
Prince Rupert was put at the head of the Corninis.
sine, and Mr. Preys was, at the same time, raised
to the office of Secretary of the Kieg in all Naval
Affairs, and of the Admiralty ; by which means
his irfluence was increased, the current business, by
the King's dire&ion, came to be left almost entirely
to him, and, on extraordinary occasions, when the
Commissioners met, the Duke of York assisted :
the careful management which he had established
was, consequently, not departed from, or relaxed,
till 1679; xt which time there were in sea-pay, and
in excellent condition, 76 ships of the line, all fur-
nished with stores for Aix months, eight fire-ships,
besides merchantmen, and a numerous train of
ketches, smacks, yaohts, itc. with more than 12 000
seamen there were also 30 new ships building,
and a good supply of stores in the dock-yards.
But a complete change thus suddenly took place;
the loose dissipation of the King having still added
to his great pecuniary difficulties, he was induced
in give up the plan, which he had formerly pursued
with so much zeal, of supporting and increasing the
Navy, on account of the exp-nce attending it.
1 rte Duke was sent abroad, end Pepys to the', ewer.
A new set of men were made Commissioners of the
Navy, who, though of lair mural el—as-deter, Were
without the experieece, abiley, or industry, which
that important limatism requires.
All the wise repletion% termed :luring the ad-
ministrat;nn of the Deke of York were negleeeed ;
mid such supineness end waste Appe:tri to have
Tailed, that at the Cod of nes cure wee five yeart,

• •
when he was recalled to the ()Mc., of bird High
Admiral, only •l 2 ships, none larger than a fourth-
rate, with two fire-ships, were at sea t. those in har-
bour, were quite unfit for service ; even the 30 new
ships which he had left building, had been suffered
to fall into a state of great decay; and hardly any
stores were found to tern tin in the Dock Yards. The
first a.f of the Duke of York on his return, was the
re-appointment of Mr. Pepys, as Secretary of the
Admiralty ; and his whole conduB on that occasion,
in the management of the affairs of the Navy, bears
the most conspicuous marks of professional know-
ledge, moderation, and coconomy, mixed with firm-
ness and wisdom. He proceeded with .great ear.
nestness to the examination of the superintending
officers, but gave them a year of trial, to correB -
the abuses which their former neglea had allowed.
At the end of that year, observing no reform made,
and them unequal to the task, the greatest pains
were taken to tind out the ablest and most intelli-
gent men. to whose care the re-establishment of the
Navy, the remedy of abuses, and the restoration of
order and discipline were to be committed.
In the manuscript colletlions of Mr. Pepys, there
is a paper, prepared by the Duke's command, con-
taining a list of all the great ship-builders in• Eng-
land, with their charaCters, in respeB of fi•ness for
the obje•Rs which he had in view. Among these,
Sir An'hony Dean is stated to be a man or by far
the greatest abilities ; one indeed. without whose
assistance the proposed reform could not be made ;
but on being applied to, he declined the employ-
ment, his professional emoluments beiag greater
tkan those" offered to him. liy the adyiee-of Mr.
P:pys, a full compeusati.in was gi►eu to himfor the
loss ut those emoluments ; and he was, with three
othei.s, then joined with the former principal offi-
cers in a new commission,
these new Commissioners were men, in the words
of Mr. Pepys, possessing a prafiised knowledge
of every part of the wotas and methods of the Navy,
bosh at he Board and in the yards ; a general Mas-
tery in the business of accounts, vignur of mind,
and approvea industry and integrity ;" and to each
of them was committed a distiller branch of the
proposed rt-finm, for which his talents were the
most suited.
Those old Commissioners, whose eondutt bad bee,

ml.t complained of, were not permitted to interfere
in the measures of reform, which the rest were in-
strudled to pursue. They were not, however, dis-
pl iced, no wilful transgression being laid to their
ch.orge. bu• chreeled entirely to confine their
attention to the business of a Committee of Accounst.
An estimate, formed by Mr. Pepys, for the com-
plete repair of the Beet and duck-yards, and the
supply of stores, was laid before the new Commis.
sinners, in which the whole expenee was limited to
409.0001 a-year, to be supplied in weekly payments
for three years, in which time the whole was to he
completed ; and this was considerably less than
what bad annually been expended by the former
Commissioners, during the few years of rer&ssoess
and waste.
Tile Commissioners, after full consideration of the
plan, undertook what wzts proposed to them ; and
it appears from the v►ry full account of the whole
proceedings. left by Mr. Pepys, that they performed
what they had undertaken, in less time than was
allowed fc r it, and at less expence.
In two years and a halt after the C'ammissioners
were appointed, the King "tidied the Dock Yards:
and finding every thing accomplldied to his sates-
taElion, and the whole business arranged, he dis-
solved the Commission, with marks of his high ap-
probation, and then restored the management to
the regular Boards. •I'he Commission was opened
at Lady-day. lbb6, and was closed on the liith of
Oftober, lead; and by a list left by Mr. Pepys,
there were, on the 18th of December, 1648

Of Yhips of the Line, at sea, or g9ing forth - Se
Data - - repined - 41
93
T.Twler repair 8
T. he rei.awd -
Newly crone in trout Sea - 4
106
with a considerable number of vessels of smaller size
Those measures which- had been so judiciously
planned, and usably nd expeditiously executed. gave,
AS might be exoeetrd, the most general satisfaction,
The revelatMa took pia,' within two months
•ilter the business o the Committee was completed;
but the Naval regulations were wisely left mialeer-
ed ; the basines., of i.e Admiralty continued fur
some time to he carried on under the immedirte di-
retiion of the King, by Mr. Pepvs, till the arrival
of Admiral Herbert and Capt. Russell, from the
fleet, into whose hands, he says, he silently let it
fall I" and, under the system formed by the Duke of
York, with his aid, the Civil Government of our
Nsvy has ever since been carried on.
‘N'r have stated those proceedings the more
fulls., not only because the system under which the
civil affairs of the Navy have ever since been con-
duffed, was then methodized and settled ; but be-
cause Ova circumstances give very useful Mb:rotation,
and hold out an example which weil deserves atten-
tion in the present times.
The rapid decay of the fleet, and the waste of
stores, during those few years of supineness, spew,
from experience, how essential it is to the safety of
this country, that the most effenual means should
be taken to guard against any negligence in the
dock-yards; and the great work of re-establishing
the fleet, and restoring order, industry, and discipline
in the dock.yrads, accomplished in so short a time,
by the Commissioners then chosen with in much
care, proves, in the most convincin7 manner, how
much depends on having the civil 'affairs of the navy
placed under the management of men of real ability,
pr,fessional knowledge, and uninterrupted industry.
And we think It our duty to recommend to Govern-
ment, that, in the choke of them, no other circum,
stance, but that of their being the Attest that can be
found, for the execution of the various and important
duties they are to undertake, may be regraded.
It is far from beiag our intention in what it may
be our duty to propose, to depart from the princi-
ples on which those ancient regulations and orders
are founded. They have stood the test of time,
and have been found by ion; trial to he aeii adapt-
ed to the great objeAs of their institinion ; but those
orders and regulations, though in every way suited
to the state of our naval force as it the stood, have
necessarily required many additions, in -.;onsequenee
of du vast increase of that fore: waica cis si.tee

1

taken place ; and Those atlctitionsitatlng been fleet;
sionally made as circrmsranceroccnrred. the prin-
ciples of the general system Wlsitt they were meant
only to extend, do not AppeAr to have been always
kept in view : d'fferent nrders have been toUni„ in
certain cases, incompatible with rash other ; writ/
have become o:iv)lete, And those given to one d
yard have' not, on all occasions, been given tw the
rest, though necessary to preserve uniformity in the
management.
The inconvenience ?rising from those Canter, new •
turally increasing wit'r the progress of time, and •
the ertention of the service, the attention of the Ada
mirtilty came at length to he necessArly cilied to
it; and in their orders to the NAvy linar.l, dated
the 24th of June 17434, And 23d of June 1767, the
stated, " that though the orders and instruftione'
-iven the general - --sent of the yards and
purptwes
ed witßt
• issued

pirernmee.
erdinaries nety be sufficient for the wiee-
inteaded by them, yet, as they are dispersed
• out corder or methed in a variety of warrants
at different times, through a long wiles creyears, •
they 'ln not afierd, in a proper and deer Mermen.
the information necessary For the eoneu* of
the officers and workmen of The yards; and the,
therefore diral the Navy Beard In proceed im-
mediately to arrange and digest she said orders and
instriretions under proper heads, so as to compose
one uniform body and system out of the whole, tak-
ing care where there are any repetitions (lithe same
order, to adopt that where the sense is most tlearly
exelained, and best enforced ;" but the arrangement
• thus proposed, owing te variant Causes. has never
betnearried into effete*, end, from the lase greet
addition to our-navy, and the accumulation of ore
ders and instrucems in consequence ot it, still
issued without any retrospeet or system suit inv.
larer, the evil which the Admiralty bad it in slew
to ernedy, is now imeetesele increased ; and the
bringing into clear and regular order, sweat es let
present a great and undigested mass, is a wirk of se
great magnitude and difficulty, that it could not
leasonahly be expelled to be accomplishei by a
Board leaded, as the Navy Board, has been, whit
siness. Great progress was, however, made by one of
our number, while he was Curnptrofler of the wavy& •
a book, in which all orders and erguielinns, prier
to the year 17.46, were classed and digested under .
distinct heads, which he had prepared, was submitted
to the perusal of the Commissioners appointed ie..
1787, to " enquire into the fees, gratuities, per-
qiiisites, and emoluments of the several Paleic
Offices. and also into the abuses that may exist
in the same ;" who, in their Six:h Beport, thus
express themselves, " The nu:nerJus regulations,
and 'tending orders, which have front elms taite
time been made for the good government of** vDock-yards, riquire to be reviewed, put in of**
der, and cennettee, so as to lee referred to ;on
every °auto.) ;" and they ad.l, Mao ;doe)!
Bnevi have, since the Peace, had the measure .
under consideraticon, and a considerable progress . •
has been made therein, • We have seen and
examined the mode of its execution, which wa e •
highly approve, and rec•;mmend being carried fully t. z
into elfdd." And. the Commissiotiers of Nagai
Engetry, appointed in 180, observe, that " The e
necessity of revising the iesttudions, and digesting,'
the immense mars of orders which have since been; •
given to tee Officers of the Yards, was seen by tar
kite Earl Howe,. and Sir Charms Middleton, whales
they ['raided m the Adroiralty teed N acv Repradoeee
and, the latter had made some profeess in so awful.
a work, when he quitted the Davy Board: one
since that time the suhjeel has not been adverted Wilt
no steps have been takes for forwareieg the '
and it seems to have been laid aside, arid
forgotten." In another part of the same
they add, " It is much to be regretted. diet
very useful work was not accomplished, as it . •
have greatly facilitated the business of the De*. •
Yards, and afforded to the Navy Board, a megrim
hcnsive view of the standing regulations, wherebre
they world have been enabled to keep a better,
check ern the •ene observance of them, than in the
course of this R?port will appear to have existed."
The Digest Book prepared in the manner approve ••
ed of, and tecammeoded by those deferent Boards:
of Enquiry, has been given to us ; and, after be—
stowing the fullest consider 'eon on every part of
it, making such alterations as appearee trs us to be
necessary, and completing is by see addition of aUi
the orders and instil/liens down to tire preeera Jay.
we proceeded to prepare, as the •ueitee of our first
Report, the instill:lions for the guidance oo the
resident Commisiosser, and the penciled (Acne of
the dock arid rope-yards, concurrirg, as we do,
with the Commissioners of eelquiry, in thinking.
1.1 that there is the most rice mien for thee.'
In these insti weiono, the (stigma plan of the
Duke of York and Mr. Pepys has beer, follovred,
and forms the basis ot what we here done our ail
the branches of duty contained in it.
We began by ceiling upon the Commissioners of •i
die Navy to transmit to us, cope s of el warre is,
sten:ling orders, and instruct.) •s, is,ued fly 1. sit
Board, from the earliest per Me to the present tie e s
and, from the collalion wire's we received
swer to that precept. we steeetee all sec • is • ire
conflated with the duties of the re eye! Lee •
the dock and rope yards, sad sent them
Commissioners. requiring them forthwith to v. -
mit them to these nfficers, with dire liens t • is
the same into their immediate ceinsideratioe. ea. in
his own department. and to point our wiser part •4
those orders they considered to he incoi•sistent with
.•
the present extended scale of the navel service. ansl
what other instructions they might deem reenisite
to render the executioo of their respatiee duties •s
more clear and intelligible to them s desiring, aloe,
that the Commissioners would inform us whether
they themselves cony 'ered those inst. uelicins 1.1) no •
sefficient for the good government of tee drffereet
officers, or if they did net, that they ivotrid suggest
What might further appear to them to he aeceesety.
Returns from the principal officers in the Jet k-
Tares were sent to us by the Cemmissioners, witn an
assurance, the it any thing else should occur to
themselves, it should be communicated aeteeable to
our regeisieen t htlt no commueicetien ^f the kind
having been made to us, the instructions, aft
in-
corporating what appeared useful m tneeuggestions
feign the officers in the dock-yards, were again sent •
to the Navy Board. desiring to have their eppeseee tic
tier, or a statement of such eiteretions as they
would think it advisable to make; and they have
Isince returned them to tee proposing some settee-
:Mtn, a pert of which we have adopted.

-.

r
w