The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-06-29 00:00:00

PLY ‘lOl./TII YARD,

The naval arsenal at Plymouth Dock was first
established in the year 1691 ; and it appears by the
Records, that, previous to that time, the master
shipwright and the anifieers were borne on hoard
one of His Majesty's ships fitted for their accommo-
dation.

The affairs of the Dnck-yard are condtitled under
the gcheral superintendence of a Commissioner,
chosen from the captains in His Majesty's navy : he
has utulsority over atl persons employed in the yard,
but ht: Las no power to teward, promote, or even to
cause a man to be entered into the service ; and from
this eircurnstaece the Commissire r, although tl.e
principal, appears to have let, inflitence over 'La
workmen than any ether officer; this seems to be a
defect in the system', as we conceive all !liacipals
should have it more or less in their power to distin-
guish and reward the nbility, zeal, and industry f
those employed under them ; and, without sta.„
power, we apprehend authority ail seldom be re-
spelled. The principal duty ot the C.i.nmission-r
is to enforce obedience to the orders and regu:atioe
of the Navy Rnard, which are sent to him to be de-
livered to the respective officer,; no older' or iginate
with him, except in cases of emergency, such as
the issuing stores to, or repairing any ships which
the commander in chief ot the port may represent
as reantei for immediate and special service; and
as all* the returns and accnunts are sent by the re-
spes.ctive officers to the Navy Board, the duty of lie
Commissioner, which is not well defined, appears
to relate more particularly to the emotive business
of the yard.
Over each department an officer eresides, who is
individually responsible for the due caecation of the
business entrusted to his management. In I lis M.I.
jesty's yard at Plymouth, the principal officers con-
sist of a master shipwright, two masters attendant,
a clerk of the checcoe, a storekeeper, a clerk of the
survey, and a clerk of the rope-yard.
'I he duties of the master shipwright are multifa-
rious and important ; he its the ,lire ion and su-
perintefidance ot nearly the whole operative business
of the dock-yard ; in the execution of which he is
assisted by four subordinate professional officere,
termed "assistants to the mater shipwright ;" one
of whom is pettier:lady entrusted with the manage-
ment and conversion of timber, and is styled " tim-
ber master ;" of which office we shall have occasion
to speak more at large in a subsequent Report.
It is likewise the peculiar duty of she master ship.
wriest to inspeft the quality of all stores received
horn contrattors, which are used in his department,
and so attest their fitness for the service t to survey
and value all vessels hired or purchased into His
Majesty's navy ; to keep an account, and certify to
the. Navy Board, the quantity of all works per.
formed by conteaCt in the dockyard; and to keep
, an account of the earnings of the respeßive artificer')
under ' • superintendence, and to certify the amount
from time to the clerk of the checque.
The duty of the masters attendant is to soperin-
' teed the works carrying on in the sail loft and rigg-
ing house; to muster and dire, the employment or
the persons bc-ee itt the ordinary; to attend the
de,•kiag, minting, and I..,la.ting Ills
Majesty's ships • to attend to the corning into
and going out of port, and their ieni..vai 6,mi re,
part of the harbour to wroth,-, and to take care :hat
proper moorings be pi ovided jar them ;to see to the
timely provision of the rigging and 14.:S cf the
preparing for sea, to inspect the quality of all • ,res
used in their department, either porch.. ed .. served
in upon contest 4, and to certify to the Nay Board
their Lave for the service.

The duty of the clerk of the checque is to muster
the several persont belonging to the yard. upon their
coming to or quitting work ; to keep an account of
their wages; to make out, qtrartiely, the pay books
of the yard and ordinary; to muster the companies
of His Majesty's ships in commission, and the per-
sons employed on board the ships in ordinary, and
to check the absentees of their provisions; to muster
at certain periods the marines at head-quarters; to
view, in conjunction with the other officers, the
quality of all story received, and to makt out cer-
tificates of the quanisties, when required by the con-
traftors, in order to their obtaining payment of
the Navy Board; to attend in turn with the store-
keeper and clerk of the survey, the receipt of all
stores, and the delivery of lots of old stores to the
purchasers he liken !se pays bounty to volunteer
seamen, and the contingencies of the yard : several
other paymenu have been imposed on this officer,
by rreciat Afts of Parliament, relating to seamen's
wages, which arc tut.tliy unconnefted with his si-
tuation in the doc;-yaid, and will become the sub-
jet% of our Insure o:nervation.
The storekeeper has chu ge of, and is acceuntahle
for, all stores received into tie dock yard ; it is like-
wise his duty, in rotation t.i:h :he clerk tit the checque
and clerk of the survey, to dotard the surve) and re-
ceipt cf all stores from contrattors, and the delivery
of lots of old stores to t..e purchasers ; and to check
the certificates nude nut by the clerk ‘,l the cheque,
for stores received upon contraa.
. .

The duty of the clerk of the starve, is, in eor.jlinc-
tion with the master shipwr.ght and master atten-
dant, to dirca the issues of all st.;res to the warrant
officers of ships, and for the sue of the yar .1, and to
keep a charge against the persons to whom they
arc issued ; to survey all articles retr.ed into str;re,
and with the clerl of the eisecque and storekeeper, to
attend the sal and receipt of ail stores from con-
traflors, and the .I.flivery of lots of old VOTeS to the
purchasers ; :snit to examine the certificates made
out by the eisrk of the cliecpse of the stores received,
by which the contralOws obt.tin payment.
The duty of the clerk tithe rope yard combines
the offices of ti► clerk of tl.e chergee .us I st )re-
ke•rpir ; lie nos stra toe Ie is that de-ea/true:4

upon their coming to acl quitting work ; and is
charged with the hemp, tar, and other articles, used
in ropemaking, of the expenditure of which he keeps
an account.

Front a consileration of the various and im-
portant duties entrusted to the °Ulcers in His
Majesty's yard=, it would be crpeCtzd that upon
their app. ment they should be furnished with
full and sufficient instructions fur the regulation
of their comfit& ; but, upon emptily of the
other-. of His Majesty's yard at Plymouth,
we find that the instructions under which they
aa are of very ancient date (prior to- the year
1700) ; that they have not been revived since
their establishmeat, and have in great part been
abrogated by orders issued by the navy boat d from
time to time, adapted to the various circumstances of
the service at they have arisen. These occasional
orders or instructions have accumulated to a great es-
tent, superseding each other as the opinions of those
entrusted with the direaion of the civil department of
the navy have varied: and as no abstraCt of them,
under the particular heads of service to which they
relate, has licen kept at Piymouth Yard, it is only
by a reference to the documents themselves, volu-
minous and often contradiaory, that an at- er,
ilium his appointment, can (and that kith much in-
dir-ty and applicatii,n) gain a knowledge of the du-
t.cs of his station. _ _

It will appear by the evidence of the clerk of the
ci:.7cipte, that the instruaions, however insufficient
fir the regulation of his condua, have not even been
haven to -him, either. at the time of, or subsequent
t", hit. appinunent ; nor were they.delivered to him
with the other official documents by his predecessor,
on h:s entering upon office.
We it..derstand that the Navy Board, in the year
1755, had it in contemplation to make a general
collection and digest of their standing orders or re-
gulations ; and that an abstrata of the dates of them,
up to the Slst of December 1784, arranged untie;
dlferent heads, was aaually formed and forwarded
to the Officers of Plymouth Yard, who were ac-
quainted that a general colleaion was preparing;
that it should be sent to them when completed ; and
that, in tnture. they should be furnished with the
substance and dates of all standing regulations, in
order to their being added to such colleaion. It is
much to be regretted, that this very useful work was
not accomplished, as it would have greatly facili-
tated the besiness of the dock-yard, and afforded to
the Navy Board a comprehensive view of their stand-
ing regulations, whereby they would have bem en-
abled to have kept a better check upon the due ob-
servance of them, than in the course of this report
will appear to have existed.
The advantage of officers placed in situations of
important public trust, being furnished with instruc-
tions for the gen ral outline of their duty. is too
obvious to need comment; and we cannot too
strongly recommend a revision of the instruaiont to
the officers of His Majesty's yards, adapting them
to the present extended scale of the naval service.

To be eontioueti.

Mit ACT OT A [ATTU ►ROIL •• °Meal O'R

ISIS SIAJZSTYS SLOOP PATTL/11, DATID 2301U1111,

1804, 017 OSTAND.
To-day, after dinner, we saw close in shore,
25 sail of the enemy's squadron making their way
from Ostend. We, engaged them for nearly three
hours, and drove them under the forts, but the in-
cessant fire of their guns from the batteries, and
flying artillery, prevented our making any captures.
We fortunately received no damage in men, but
many shot and shells fell on board us. A boy,
named WILLIAM LANOrItLD, seeing a shell fall
on the main deck from the batteries, instantly put
his hat on it while the fuze was burning furiously,
took up hat and shell tocethar, 'and threw them
overboard, before it had time to burst, by which
expedient he must have been the means of preservin,;
many valua'sle lives, and, perhaps, the ship; for
falling, as it did, on the main deck, it might, ac-
cording to the common effea of shells, have de.
'tended to the magazine, which was direly under
it."

Letters have been received in town by the fr:en 'a
of Lieut. GA Aar, who commanded the hired armed
cutter H.rtuke, and was taken after gallantly at-
tempting the re-capture of an English vessel in the
Weser. It seems he was wounded in six different
places; thtire with musket-balls, twice with
bayonets, and in the face with a cutlass. Two of
his brave attendants fell by his side, killed out-
right ; three were desperately wounded, leaving six
out oftwelve to comb .0 f,rty of the enemy lying in
amtur.h on board the contested vessel, with a French
army in a situation to assist.

Joscen Neer mayor+, Esq. of Muskhamhouse,
in Nottinghamshire, after having erected, at his own
expense. a most spacious and elegant room, &c. at
that place, for the accommodation of the Friendly
Society. which has for several years subsisted there,
honoured the members with a personal donation of
100 guineas upon the opening of it on Whit-Mon.
day, in addition to his annual subscription as an ho-
norary member.

Gatirrurn Ltoovo, Esq. of Ilanstephon, Gla-
morgonshire, a gentleman in the prime of life,
and deservedly esteem.r.l by Al who knew him, was
unfcirtimately drown:l lit week, in crossing Long-
horn ford on horseback.

A serious affray took place a few days ago at the
Star Inn, Bedminster. A party, which met for the
purpose of amusing themselves in the Bow
wee 1, after a short unie were interrupted by some
men employed in digging the new cu:, who, in a
very insolent manner, insisted upon making use of
the bowls themselves. The gentlemen, after re-
peated insults, resented it t in consequence of which
each party armed themselves with bludgeons, and a
scuffle ensued, in which several had their arms bro.
Lis, and many received dangerous wounds.
The following etrgant composition was given to
the Swansea crier to be proclaimed in that town last
week :

Last Wens Day Evening Was Mist out of the
feild Near Swansea A bround Mare About ►4 hand
and half high black legs and a largest head pintch
by the saddle the Near Side of the Back A little
Swelling in her oft leg behind A little below her
hawk Supposing to be Stole or Strawd Who Soever
Will Bring this Said Mare to Mr. W—, on the
top of G Street Shall be hand Somely rewared
ur Eke to take Conce Quince here ALer."