The Sun.
London, England, 1806-03-29 00:00:00

CE ,THE COMIVASSIONEng FOit IIiVISLiG AND. DIOE-;T -
ING THE CIVIL. AkFAIRS OE HIS MAJESTY'S NAVY.

(Concluded from our Paper of Yeiterdify.)
The Revolution took place within tWo months
after the business of the C9mmittee was completed ;
but the Naval regulations were wisely 1:41 unaltered;
the of the Admiralty coenued for some
time to be carried on under the innidiate dire'aia of
Ate l iug, .by Mr. Pepys, till the arrival of Au.,1*,•:11
Herbert and Capt. Russell, from ' the Fleet, into
whose hands, he sas-s, " he silently let it fall ;" and
)inder the system thrilled by the Duke of ,York,
with his aid, the Civil •Governin tell- O. r
has ever since been carried on.

'We have stated those proceeding,: tl;e more filly.
-not only because the system under whiclk the civil
affairs of the Navy has ever. since been conduaetd,
.was then met.hod*(l and settled ; but' because the
circumstances gave very usolul information, and hold
0111 an example which well deserves attetition in the
present times.

The rapid decay of the Fieet, and the waste of
stores, eurtiig .those few years of supinimeSs,
from experience, how esential it is to the satt,-:,, of
this Country, that the most effeetui,4 means showd
be taken to guard agitist any ncr iigeoce in f e
Dock-yards ; .and thi.7 great work or re=establish:ng
the Fleet, and restoring order, indstrv, and disci-
pline•in the Dock-yards, accoa pti,iied in s, rt
time by the Commissioners then chosen wit., so
much care, proves, in the most convinc;ng n) .nu r,
how much depends on, lining the civil i-i,fairs o' he
Navy ,placed under the management of men of at
ability, professional knowledge, and unit-am-I.v •-t
industry. And we think it our duty to reccinroe,
to Government, that in the choice of their) do th ti-,-
circumstance.but that of their being- the fittest
can he found for the execution of the varioii
Important dirties they are to undertake, ma; o re
garded.
It is far from being our intention in what it may
be our duty to, propose, to depart. from the princi-
ples on Which those ancie.nt regulalions and orders
are founded. They have stood the test of time, and
have been found by long trial to be ;well adapted to
th,). great objexlS'of their institution ; but those or-
ders and regUlations, tjmugh in every way suited to
the state of our Naval-. Force as it Lien stood, have
necessarily reqUired many additions, in consequence
or die vast increase of that force which has sax.:
taken place; and close additions havitig been orca-
sionaiiy made 'as-. circumstances have occurred, the
principles., of the general system which they were
meant only to extend, do not appear to have been
alwa) s. kept in view : different orders have
found in certain cases incompatible with each other;
some have beCome obsolete, and those given io
Dock-yardliave not, on all occasions, been given to
the rest; though necessary to preserve uniformity in
the.management.

The inconvenience arising ftom those causes,-na-
turally increasing with the progress tif, time, and
the exteusioa of the service, the attention of the
Admiralty came at length to be, necessarily callei
to it ; and in their orders to the Navy Boa rd,
the 524th of• June, 1764, and gad of June, Paha,
they stated,." that though the orders and iustruaioes
given for the general government of the. Yards and
Ordinaries maybe sufficient for the wise 'purpose's
•intended by them, . yet. as they are dispersed with.
out enter or method in a variel of I,V3rrants
dillereat times, through a long Series of years, ...aLaasi
they do not afford, in a proper and clear manna:, •
the- information necessary :or tile eunduaof tie
OffiCers and
.Workmen of the Yards ; and they
therefore dire Ct. the Navy Board to proceed im-
mediately to arrange and digest the said orders and
instruetions under proper. heads, so as to coiepose
one uniform body and system out of the whoie,, e!k-
ing care where there are any repetitions oldie same
order, to adopt that where the sense is most eel - y
explained, and best enforced ;" "but the arrangement
thus proposed, owing to various causes, has never
been dallied into •effe6.l- ; -and, from the line great
addition to our Navy, and the accumulation ot or-
ders , •
and instructions in consequence of i a still
issued without any retrosped •or systematic regu- i
larity, the evil which the Admiralty had it in view •
to remedy is now immensely increased ; and the
bringing into clear and regular order, what is at
, present a great and undigested mass, is a work of :.o
great magnitude. and difficulty, that it could not reaa•
sonably be expeated to be accomplished by a .Board
loaded, as the Navy Board has Leen, with busi-
ness.. Great progress was, however, made by one
of our number, while he was. Comptroller of the.
• NaYY: dbook, in which all Orders and. Regula-
tions, prior tea the year 1786, were classed and di- .
' gested under distinct heads, which 'he had prepared,
was submitted to the perusal of the Commissioners
• appointed in lin, to " Inquire into the fees, gra-e
!Wit:es, perquisites, and eniu.dments of the several-
Public Offices, and also into the abuses that may
in the same ;" who, in their Sixth Report,
thus express themselves, « The numerous regulaa•
dons and standitbaa orders, which have from time'.
to time been made fur the (rood government of
the Dock Yards, require to be'b reviewed, put in
:order, and conneaed, so as, to be referred t 6 on
every occasion ;" and they add, " The Navy:
Board .have, since the Peace, had the measure
'under consideration,' rind a considerable progress •
has been made, Abet-eft.. ,We have, seed and exaa--'
'mined the mode of its execution, which we highly:•
;appt—ove, and recommend being -carried fully into •
etfect." . And the Commissioners of Naval 'lnqui-
ry, appointed in 180 , observe,- that, " The
s: essity
.ct revising
,the Instruetions, and digesting .
lie inlinense mass of orders which. liae since been
given to the:Officers of the ,Yards, was Seen by the.,
late Earl Heave, and. Sir Charles • Middleton, when
.• they presided
.at the 'Admiralty and Navy boards;
and the latter:had made some progress in so useful..
work- when 'lre quitte:i-,the Navy Board ; out ,
since that time the suhjeta ha 4 not been adveriA
• to; .no steps have heea taken for forwarhi v hies.
work; and it seems to Nave' been -laid asal.-, and
wholly:forgotten:" In 'another part of tie sa:ue
Report they add, "It is mutti to be' regretted- te..t '
this very useful work was ac,:ompkished, as it
have greatly facithated the business of -aas
a,-
vock-varde, and of or 'ad to the ,Nasy _Boaiat a
Coniprtaensive -slew to the standing regulations,
whereby: they would have ben enabled fa keep
a better check u2on the due oLoservance. of -them,