Star.
London, England, 1819-10-19 00:00:00

HALF-PAY PURSERS OF HIS MAJSSTY'S

NAVY.

1' I will call spon my Country in the spirit of humility, and
she will graciously hear the voice of my supplication. Before
England shall I pour out my wailing., and the prayer of her,
servant will she not reject; because she delighteth in the cider
that are good, and unfoldeth her ears to the plaints of Truth."

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR.
SlR—Seeing that the statement made by the gal-
lant Admiral, Sir GEORGE COCKBURN, in the Com-
mons House of Parliament, in the early part of June,
ended in nothing, viz. " That regulations were in'
progress which would place the Pursers-on a footing
with Officers of equal rank in his Majesty's Navy;'
and, besides, seeing that the memorable 12th of
August, 1819, which assimilated the Services of the
Navy and Army, passed away, like a sun shower 1
without meliorating, or even noticing, the wretchedly-
distressed
state of the Half-pay Pursers ; I therefore
beg leave, through the medium of your candid and
impartial Paper, to lay the following Statement be-
fore the eyes of Great Britain, in the humble hope,
that, in its unerring judgment, and in the sanctity of
that divine sympathy which it has ever displayed in
commiserating and alleviating the miseries of its dis-
tressed servants, tkat it may at once perceive how
very unequally the unemployed Purser is provided
for, and upon what an erroneous idea of Me ready ac-
cumulation of wealth his present Half-pay has Leen
founded.

The Statement I am now about to adduce has been
extracted from the mean of several balance bills of
Officers who have not been employed since the gene•,
ral reduction of his Majesty's Navy, in 1815 ; and
which mean may not be classed among the least of
the balance bills for the first class sloops of war, viz.
Mean of several Balance Bills for the year 1815 £135 10 6
Mean of ditto, ditto - 1814 128 12 8

Alean of ditto, ditto

1815

136 2 9

PA), and compensation for the said roars

Total
From which is to be abated the amount
of the following actual deductions, viz.
Charged fir W.)rrant, on Appointment £2
Paid for Affidx:its to Accounts for the
year 1 14 1 3 - - - -
Fees of Orli7e fir pa sing Accounts for

o 5

_
the year 1813 - - - 0 15
Ditto on balance Bill for the said year 2 2
Fees of Office fur Copy of Accounts for
said year - -
Charged by Agent for passing Accounts
for said year - - -
Charged by ditty for l'ostages and Car-
riage of P.ii - - -
l'aid for AffitLeits to Accounts fur the
year 1814 - - - -
Fees of (Mee for passing Accounts for

the said year
- 0 15
Ditto on Balance Bill for the said year 2 2
Ditto for Copy of Accounts for the
said year - -
Charged by Agent for passing the Ac-
counts for said year - -
Charged by dt:to for I'ostages and Car-
riage of Papers
Paid for Affidavits to Accounts for the

11

O 5

year 1815 - - -
Fees of Office for passing Accounts fur
the said year - 0 15 6
Ditto en Balance Bill for the said year '2 3 0
Ditto for Copy of Accounts for said year 0 15 b
Charged by Agent for passing the Ac-
counts for said year - -
Charged by ditto for Postages and Car-
riage of rapers - 1 14 8
Fees of Office Cur Slop Certificate t IS 0
Ditto for Tobacco Certificate 0 2 0
Ditto for Stamp for Pay - 0 4 6
Agency on .8646 Zs. 11d. at Two and
a Half per Cent. - - 13 14 2
Paid Purser's Steward Three Years'
Wages, at £2O per Annum -
Mess Expenses for Three Years, at £6O
per Annum • - 180 0 0
Naval Uniforms, and other necessary
Clothing for Three Years 63 10 0
Boots, Shoes and Ilats, for Three Years 14 0 0
Shirts, Stockings, Handkerchiefs, Table
Linen, &c. &e. - - 36 0 0
Washing Expenses for Three Years, at
£l5 per Annum -
UnavoidaSle Expenses in going on Shore
• on Duty, and returning to the Ship
in Shore Boats, at _C., p..tt. Annum 15 0 0—X478 5

10 10 0

60 0 0

45 0 0

Balance in favour of the Purser, after ThreeYears'

servitude

£69 18

In which may be seen the bulk and sum total of
the talked-of accumulated wealth of the Purser,
which, in the opinion of the Lords Commissioners of
the Admiralty, was to render his Half-pay equal to
that of a Lieutenant or Master. And let it be re-'
membered, that notwithstanding some Pursers may
have been more fortunate, that there are many others
who fiave been so unsuccessful as to be barely able
to steer clear of incurring a debt to the Crown.—
With this sum, then, viz. £69 18s. Scl. the Purser is
to furnish himself with clothes befitting his rank in
society, and commence a new epoch in life, by pay-
ing house-rent and taxes, and providing himself with
the sustenance necessary for the support of human
nature; the first six months of which leaves him
without a single shilling beyond the sorrowful Halt-
pay of 2s. l lid. per day—and with this trifle he is
expected to maintain inviolable the dignity of an
Officer holding rank with a Captain in the Army!
Now, as the foregoing Statement has been deduced
from the balance bills of the first class sloops of war,
it will be readily seen, that Pursers of smaller vessels,
such as the second or third class sloops, must have
balance bills of a considerable less amount in their
favour; :,nd hence the impossibility of their funding
any money, or saving a single penny more than what
a junior Lieutenant or Master may do. But while,
the latter Officers are placed (most deservedly) on the
liberal scale of allowance of ss. per day, the Purser,
like the HEIR of CREATION, is dispossessed of his
birthright, and cast out on the world's wide stags with
little more than half that sum for his daily support;
and, what renders his situation still more galling, is
the painful reflection, that he has not a chance, nay,
not the slightest hope, of being employed again, on
the present Naval Establishment, for the full term of
18 years ; because, there are 864 Pursers on the List,
and, of that number, only 118 are employed at a
time, and that for a three years' spell. But mark the