NAVY.

An insular empire, like that of the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which is so much indebted, and always must be, for that power, prosperity, and renown which she enjoys, to the glorious deeds of her navy, cannot but take a peculiar degree of interest in every thing that concerns it. This vast machine, indeed, has at all times been the pride and boast of Great Britain, the terror of its enemies, and the admiration of the world. It is under the impression of its vast importance that we have been induced to give, under their proper heads, such details of the civil and military branches of the naval departments as may afford, without entering into too minute details, a comprehensive sketch of this great national bulwark, of which it is now proposed to take a general view.

The term Navy is generally intended to express all ships of commerce as well as those of war, the mercantile as well as the military marine; but the observations contained in the present article are meant to relate only to the latter, excepting that, in speaking of the progressive enlargement of ships, and improvements in naval architecture, the remarks may sometimes equally apply to ships of commerce and of war.

NAVY Composed of MATERIEL and PERS02ĪEL.

The composition of a navy may be considered under the two distinct heads into which it naturally divides itself, and under which the French generally distinguish an army, the materiel, and the personel ; the former embracing every thing that appertains to the ships, their capacity, construction, armament, and equipment; the latter all that concerns the rank, the appointment, the various duties, &c. of the officers, seamen, and marines.

I. MATERIEL OF THE NAVY.

It would occupy too large a space to give even a short sketch of the origin and the progress of naval architecture, from a bundle of branches, or the hollow trunk of a tree— the rude raft and the frail canoe—to the more perfect coracle, or the wicker-boats of the ancient Britons, covered with hides. For many centuries after the expulsion of the Romans from, or their abandonment of, the British Islands, very little progress appears to have been made by us in the art of navigation or ship building: the natives would appear, for many centuries afterwards, to have acted merely on the defensive against naval invasions.

“The whole of our naval history,” say the commissioners for revising the civil affairs of the navy, “may be divided into three periods; the first comprehending all that preceded the reign of Henry VIII.; the second ending with the restoration of Charles II.; and the third coming down from the Restoration to the present day.”

To what size, and to what extent, the amount of the English ships or vessels were carried, which supported so many contests with the invading Danes in the ninth century, our naval history has not preserved any record. We are told, however, that Alfred increased the size of his galleys, and that some of them were capable of rowing thirty pair of oars. These galleys were chiefly employed in clearing the Channel of the nests of pirates by which it was infested. It is also said, as a proof of his attention to naval matters, that, under his auspices, one Ochter undertook a voyage into the arctic regions, made a survey of the coasts of Lapland and Norway, and brought to Alfred an account of the mode pursued by the inhabitants of those countries to catch whales. It is, moreover, on record, that his two sons, Edward and Athelstan, fought many bloody actions with the Danes, in which several kings and chiefs were slain; and that Edgar had from three to five thousand ships, divided into three fleets, stationed on three several parts of the coast, with which, passing from one fleet or squadron to the other, he circumnavigated the island; that after this he called himself “Monarch of all Albion, and Sovereign over all the adjacent Isles.” Some notion, however, may be formed of the size of the vessels which composed his fleets, from the imposition of a land-tax, which required certain proprietors to furnish a stout galley of three rows of oars, to protect the coast from the Danish pirates. The more effectually to check these marauders, and protect the coasts of the kingdom, William the Conqueror, in 1066, established the Cinque Ports, and gave them certain privileges, on condition of their furnishing fifty-two ships, with twenty-four men in each, for fifteen days, in cases of emergency. We should not, perhaps, be far amiss in dating the period of our naval architecture from the Conquest. “The Normans,” says Sir Walter Raleigh, “grew better shipwrights than either the Danes or Saxons, and made the last conquest of this land; a land which can never be conquered whilst the kings thereof keep the dominion of the seas.” But Raleigh does not describe what the ships were which the Normans taught us to build; nor can it now be known in what kind of vessels William transported his army across the Channel, or what was the description of the hundred large ships and fifty galleys of which the naval armament of Richard I. consisted on his expedition to the Holy Land. We are told, however, that having increased his fleet at Cyprus to two hundred and fifty ships and sixty galleys, he fell in with a ship belonging to the Saracens, of such an extraordinary size that she was defended by 1500 men, all of whom, with the exception of 200, Richard, after taking possession of her, ordered to be thrown overboard and drowned.

There can be no doubt that the nations of the Mediterranean, particularly the Genoese and Venetians, introduced many improvements as to the capacity and stability of their ships, in consequence of the crusades, and the demands for warlike stores and provisions which such vast and ill-provided armies necessarily created; but these improvements would seem not to have reached, or, at least, to have made but a tardy progress in, Great Britain. King John, it is true, stoutly claimed for England the sovereignty of the sea, and decreed that all ships belonging to foreign nations, the masters of which should refuse to strike to the British flag, should be seized and deemed good and lawful prize. And this monarch is said to have fitted out no less than five hundred sail of ships, under the Earl of Salisbury, in the year 1213, against a fleet of three times that number, prepared by Philip of France for the invasion of England; of which the English took three hundred sail, and drove a hundred on shore, Philip being under the necessity of destroying the remainder, to prevent their falling also into the hands of the English. Of the kinds of ships of which his fleet consisted, some notion may be formed by the account that is related of an action fought in the following reign with the French, who, with “eighty stout ships,” threatened the coast of Kent. This fleet being discovered by Hubert de Burgh, governor of Dover Castle, he put to sea with forty English ships, and having got to [7:16:39]the windward of the enemy, and run down many of the smaller ships, he closed with the rest, and threw on board them a quantity of quicklime, which blinded them so effectually that all their ships were either taken or sunk.

Whatever the size and the armaments of our ships were, the empire of the sea was bravely maintained by the Edwards and the Henrys in many a gallant and glorious sea-fight with the fleets of France, against which they were generally opposed with inferior numbers. The temper of the times, and the public feeling, were strongly exemplified in the reign of Edward I. by the following circumstance: An English sailor was killed in a Norman port, in consequence of which a war commenced, and the two nations agreed to decide the dispute on a certain day, with the whole of their respective naval forces. The spot of battle was to be the middle of the Channel, marked out by anchoring there an empty ship. The two fleets met on the 14th April 1293; the English obtained the victory, and carried off above two hundred and fifty sail.

In an action with the French fleet off the harbour of Sluys, Edward III. is said to have slain 30,000 of the enemy, and to have taken two hundred great ships, “in one of which only, there were four hundred dead bodies.” This is no doubt an exaggeration. The same monarch, at the siege of Calais, is stated to have blockaded that port with seven hundred and thirty sail, having on board 14,956 mariners; twenty-five only of which were of the royal navy, bearing four hundred and nineteen mariners, or about seventeen men each. In various other sea actions did this great sovereign nobly support the honour of the British flag. But though we then, and ever after, claimed the “dominion of the seas,” that dominion, says Raleigh, “was never absolute until the time of Henry the Eighth.” It was a maxim of this great statesman, that “whosoever commands the sea, commands the trade of the world; whosoever commands the trade, commands the riches of the world, and consequently the world itself.”

The reign of Henry V., however, was most glorious in maintaining the naval superiority over the fleets of France. From a letter of this sovereign to his lord chancellor, dated 12th August 1417, discovered by the late Mr Lysons among the records in the Tower, and of which the following is a copy, it would appear that there was something like an established royal navy in his reign, independently of the shipping furnished by the Cinque Ports and the merchants, for the king’s own use, on occasion of any particular expedition. The letter appears to have been written nine days after the surrender of the castle of Touque in Normandy, from whence it is dated.

“ Au reverend pere en Dieu VEvesque de Duresme ñre Chancelier d’Engleterre.

“Worshipful fader yn God We sende you closed within this letter a cedule conteyning the names of certein Maistres for owr owne grete Shippes Carrakes Barges and Ba-lyngers to the whiche Maistres We have granted annui-tees such as is appointed upon eche of hem in the same Cedule to take yerely of owre grante while that us lust at owr Exchequer of Westm r . at the termes of Michelmasse and Ester by even porcions. Wherefore We wol and charge yow that unto eche of the said Maistres ye do make under owr grete seel beyng in yowre warde owr letters patentes severales in due forme after th’effect and pourport of owr said grante. Yeven under owr signet atte owr Castle of Touque the xij. day of August.”

Extract from thx Schedule contained in the preceding Letter.
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The remainder, to the masters of which pensions were thus granted, consist of seventeen “niefs, barges, and ballyn-gers,” some with three, and others two mariners only. But history informs us, that about this time Henry embarked an army of 25,000 men at Dover on board of 1500 sail of ships, two of which carried purple sails, embroidered with the arms of England and France; one styled the King’s Chamber, the other his Saloon, as typical of his keeping his court at sea, which he considered as a part of his dominions. Still we are left in the dark as to the real dimensions of his ships, and the nature of their armament; they were probably used only as transports for his army. It would appear, however, from a very curious poem, written in the early part of the reign of King Henry VI. that the navy of his predecessor was considerable, but that, by neglect, it was then reduced to the same state in which it had been during the preceding reigns. The poem here alluded to is entitled “The English Policie, exhorting all England to keep the Sea, and namely the Narrow Sea; showing what profit cometh thereof, and also what worship and salvation to England and to all Englishmen and is printed in the first volume of Hackluyt’s Collection of Voyages. It was evidently written before the year 1438, when the Emperor Sigismond died, as appears by the following passage in the prologue:

For Sigismond, the great Emperour, Which yet reigneth, when he was in this land, With King Henry the Fifth, Prince of Honour, Here much glory, as him thought, he found Α mightie land, which had take in hand To werre with France, and make mortalitie, And ever well kept round about the sea.

The part of the poem which alludes to the navy of King Henry V. is entitled “Another incident of keeping the Sea, in the time of marvellous werriour and victorious Prince, King Henrie the Fifth, and of his great Shippes.”

The following are the most remarkable passages:

And if I should conclude all by the King Henrie the Fift, what was his purposing, Whan at Hampton he made the great dromons, Which passed other great ships of the Commons; The Trimtie, the Grace de Dieu, the Holy Ghost, And other moe, which as nowe be lost.

What hope ye was the Kings great intent of thoo shippes, and what in mind he meant: It was not ellis, but that he cast to bee Horde round about environ of the see. And if he had to this time lived here, He had been Prince named withouten pere: [7:16:40]His great ships should have been put in preefe, Unto the ende that he ment of in chiefe.

For doubt it not but that he would have bee .Lord and master about the round see: And kept it sure, to stoppe our ennemies hence, And wonne us good, and wisely brought it thence, That no passage should be without danger, And his licence on see to move and sterre.

Shortly after the time when this poem must have been written, it appears from the parliament roll (20th Henry VI. 1442), that an armed naval force, consisting only of eight large ships, with smaller vessels to attend them, was to be collected from the ports of London, Bristol, Dartmouth, Hull, Newcastle, Winchelsea, Plymouth, Falmouth, &c.; and, of course, the royal ships of 1417, the names of which are contained in the foregoing schedule, were then either gone to decay or dispersed. We are not to judge of the size of these ships from the few mariners appointed to each. These were merely the ship-keepers, or harbour-duty men, placed on permanent pay, to keep the ships in a condition fit for the sea when wanted.

It is very probable that, until our merchants engaged in the Mediterranean trade, and that the attention of the government was turned, in the reign of Henry VII. (about 1496), to imitate Portugal in making foreign discovery, under the skilful seaman Sebastian Cabot, very little was added to the capacity or the power of British ships of war. It is said, however, that on the accession of Henry VII. to the throne in 1485, he caused his marine, which had been neglected in the preceding reign, to be put into a condition to protect the coasts against all foreign invasions; and that, in the midst of profound peace, he always kept up a fleet ready to act. In his reign was built a ship called the Great Harry, the first on record that deserved the name of a ship of war, if it was not the first exclusively appropriated to the service of the state. This is the same ship which Camden has miscalled the Henry Grace de Dieu, and which was not built till twenty years afterwards, under the reign of Henry VIII. The Great Harry is stated to have cost L.14,000, and was burned by accident at Woolwich in the year 1553.

We now come to that period of our naval history in which England might be truly said to possess a military marine, and of which some curious details have been left us by that extraordinary man of business Mr Pepys, a commissioner of the navy, and afterwards secretary to Charles II., at a time when the king executed in person the office of lord high admiral, and also to James II. until his abdication. His minutes and miscellanies relative to the navy are contained in a great number of manuscript volumes, which are deposited in the Pepysian Library in Magdalene College, Cambridge. From these papers it appears, that in the thirteenth year of Henry VIII. the following were the names and the tonnage of the royal navy:
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Add to these two row-barges of sixty tons each, making, in the whole, sixteen ships and vessels, measuring 7260 tons.

The Henry Grace de Dieu is stated in all other accounts, and with more probability, to have been only 1000 tons; the rule for ascertaining the measurement of ships being still vague, and liable to great error, was probably much more so at this early period. This ship was built in 1515, at Erith, in the river Thames, to replace the Regent, of the same tonnage, which was burned in August 1512, in action with the French fleet, when carrying the flag of the lord high admiral. There is a drawing in the Pepysian papers of the Henry Grace de Dieu, from which a print in the Archaeologia has been engraved, and of which a copy has been taken as a frontispiece to Mr Derrick’s Memoirs of the Rise and Progress of the Royal Navy. From these papers it appears that she carried fourteen guns on the lower deck, twelve on the main deck, eighteen on the quarter-deck and poop, eighteen on the lofty forecastle, and ten in her sternports, making altogether seventy-two guns. Her regular establishment of men is said to have consisted of 349 soldiers, 301 mariners, and fifty gunners, making altogether 700 men. Some idea may be formed of the awkwardness in manoeuvring ships built on her construction, or similar to her, when it is stated that, on the appearance of the French fleet at St Helens, the Great Harry, built in the former reign, and the first ship built with two decks, had nearly been sunk; and that the Mary Rose, of 600 tons, with 500 or 600 men on board, was actually sunk at Spithead, occasioned, as Raleigh informs us, “by a little sway in casting the ship about, her ports being within sixteen inches of the water.” On this occasion the fleets cannonaded each other for two hours; and it is remarked as something extraordinary, that not less than three hundred cannon-shot were fired on both sides in the course of this action. From the prints above mentioned, which agree very closely with the curious painting of Henry crossing the Channel in his fleet to meet Francis on the Champ de Drap d’Or, near Calais, and now in the great room where the Society of Antiquaries hold their meetings in Somerset House, it is quite surprising how they could be trusted on the sea at all, their enormous poops and forecastles making them appear loftier and more awkward than the large Chinese junks, to which, indeed, they bear a strong resemblance. It is worth remarking, that, two years ago, the position of the Mary Rose, near Spithead, was pointed out to that extraordinary diver Mr Deane, who went down several times, and brought up some beautiful pieces of brass ordnance, as perfect and as fine specimens as any we have at the present day.

Henry VIII. may justly be said to have laid the foundation of the British navy. He established the dock-yards at Deptford, Woolwich, and Portsmouth; he appointed certain commissioners to superintend the civil affairs of the navy, and settled the rank and pay of admirals, vice-admirals, and inferior officers; thus creating a national navy, and raising the officers to a separate and distinct profession. The great officers of the navy then were, the vice-admiral of England, the master of the ordnance, the surveyor of the marine causes, the treasurer, comptroller, general surveyor of the victualling, clerk of the ships, and clerk of the stores. Each of these officers had their particular duties, but they met together at their office on Tower Hill once a week, to consult, and make their reports to the lord high admiral. He also established the fraternity of the Trinity House, for the improvement of navigation and the encouragement of commerce; and built the castles of Deal, Walmer, Sandgate, Hurst Castle, &c. for the protection of his fleet and of the coast.

At the death of Henry VIII. in 1547, the royal navy consisted of about fifty ships and vessels of different sizes, the former from 1000 to 150 tons, and the latter down to [7:16:41]twenty tons, making in the whole about 12,000 tons, and manned by about 8000 mariners, soldiers, gunners, &c. In the short reign of his son Edward, little alteration seems to have taken place in the state and condition of the royal navy. But the regulations which had been made in the reign of his father, for the civil government of naval affairs, were revised, arranged, and turned into ordinances, which form the basis of all the subsequent instructions given to the commissioners for the management of the civil affairs of the navy. In the reign of Mary the tonnage of the navy was reduced to about 7000 tons; but her lord high admiral nobly maintained the title assumed by England of Sovereign of the Seas, by compelling Philip of Spain to strike his flag that was flying at the main-top-mast head, though on his way to England to marry Queen Mary, by firing a shot at the Spanish admiral. He also demanded that his whole fleet, consisting of 160 sail, should strike their colours and lower their top-sails, as an homage to the English flag, before he would permit his squadron to salute the Spanish monarch.

The reign of Elizabeth was the proudest period of our naval history, perhaps surpassed by none previously to the Revolution. She not only increased the numerical force of the regular navy, but established many wise regulations for its preservation, and for securing adequate supplies of timber and other naval stores. She placed her naval officers on a more respectable footing, and encouraged foreign trade and geographical discoveries, so that she acquired justly the title of the Restorer of Naval Power, and Sovereign of the Northern Seas. The greatest naval force that had at any previous period been called together was that which was assembled to oppose the Invincible Armada, and which, according to the notes of Mr Secretary Pepys, consisted of 176 ships, with 14,992 men; but these were not all “Shippes Royall,” but were partly composed of the contributions of the Cinque Ports and others. The number actually belonging to the navy is variously stated, but they would appear to have been somewhere about forty sail of ships, manned with about 6000 men. At the end of her reign, however, the navy had greatly increased, the list in 1603 consisting of forty-two ships of various descriptions, amounting to 17,000 tons, and manned with 8346 men. Of these, two were of the burden of 1000 tons each, three of 900 tons, and ten from 600 to 800 tons.

James I. was not inattentive to his navy. He warmly patronised Mr Phineas Pett, the most able and scientific shipwright that this country ever boasted, .and to whom we undoubtedly owe the first essential improvements in the form and construction of ships. The cumbrous top-works were first got rid of under his superintendence. “In my owne time,” says Raleigh, “the shape of our English ships hath been greatly bettered; in extremity we carry our ordnance better than we were wont; we have added crosse pillars in our royall shippes, to strengthen them; we have given longer floors to our shippes than in older times,” &c. The young Prince Henry was so fond of naval affairs, that Phineas Pett was ordered by the lord high admiral to build a vessel at Chatham in 1604, with all possible speed, for the young Prince Henry to disport himself in, above London Bridge; the length of her keel was twenty-eight feet, and her breadth twelve feet. In 1610 Pett laid down the largest ship that had hitherto been built. She was named the Prince Royal; her burden was 1400 tons, her keel 114 feet, and she was armed with sixty-four pieces of great ordnance, “being in all respects,” says Stowe, “the greatest and goodliest ship that was ever built in England.” He adds, “the great workmaster in building this ship was Mr Phineas Pett, gentleman, some time master of arts, of Emanuel College, in Cambridge.”

This excellent man, as appears from a manuscript account of his life in the British Museum, written by himself, was regarded by the shipwrights of the dock-yards, who had no science themselves, with an eye of jealousy; and a complaint was laid against him before the king, of ignorance in laying off a ship, and of a wasteful expenditure of timber and other matters. The king attended at Woolwich with his court, to inquire in person into the charges brought forward, and, after a painful investigation, pronounced in favour of Mr Pett. One of the charges was, that he had caused the wood to be cut across the grain; but the king observed, that, as it appeared to him, “it was not the wood, but those who had preferred the charges, that were cross-grained.” «.

The state of the navy at the king’s death is variously given by different writers; but on this subject the memoranda left by Mr Secretary Pepys arc most likely to be correct. From them it appears that, in 1618, certain commissioners were appointed to examine into the state of the navy, and by their report it appears there were then only thirty-nine ships and vessels, whose tonnage amounted to 14,700 tons; but in 1624, on the same authority, the numbers had decreased to thirty-two or thirty-three shipsand vessels, but the tonnage increased to about 19,400 tons. The commissioners had, in fact, recommended many of the small craft to be broken up or sold, and more ships of the higher rates to be kept up.

The navy was not neglected in the troublesome reign of Charles I. This unfortunate monarch added upwards of twenty sail to the list, generally of the smaller kind; but one of them, built by Pett, was of a description, both as to form and dimensions, far superior to any that had yet been launched. This ship was the celebrated Sovereign of the Seas, which was launched at Woolwich in 1637. The length of her keel was 128 feet, the main breadth forty-eight feet, and from stem to stern 232 feet. In the description of this ship by Thomas Heywood, she is said to have “bore five lanthorns, the biggest of which would hold ten persons upright; had three flush-decks, a forecastle, half-deck, quarter-deck, and round-house. Her lower tier had thirty ports for cannon and demi-cannon; middle tier, thirty for culverins and demi-culverins; third tier, twenty-six for other ordnance; forecastle, twelve; and two half-decks, thirteen or fourteen ports more within board, for murthering pieces; besides ten pieces of chace ordnance forward, and ten right aft, and many loop-holes in the cabins for musquet-shot. She had eleven anchors, one of 4400 pounds weight. She was of the burden of 1637 tons.” It appears, however, that she was found, on trial, to be too high for a good serviceable ship in all weathers, and was therefore cut down to a deck less. After this she became an excellent ship, and was in almost all the great actions with the Dutch; she was rebuilt in 1684, when the name was changed to that of Royal Sovereign; and was about to be rebuilt a second time at Chatham in 1696, when she accidentally took fire, and was totally consumed. In this reign the ships of the navy were first classed, or divided into six rates, the first being from 100 to sixty guns, the second from fifty-four to thirty-six, &c.

In 1642 the management of the navy was taken out of the king’s hands, and in 1648 Prince Rupert carried away twenty-five ships, none of which ever returned; and such, indeed, was the reduced state of the navy, that at the beginning of Cromwell’s usurped government, he had only fourteen ships of war of two decks, and some of these carried only forty guns; but, under the careful management of very able men, in different commissions which he appointed, such vigorous measures were pursued, that, in five years, though engaged within that time in war with the greatest naval power in Europe, the fleet was increased to 150 sail, of which more than a third part had two decks, and many of which were captured from the Dutch, and [7:16:42]upwards of 20,000 seamen were employed in the navy. Our military marine was, indeed, raised by Cromwell to* a height which it had never before reached; but from which it soon declined under the short and feeble administration of his son.

Though Cromwell found the navy divided into six rates or classes, it was under his government that these ratings were defined and established in the manner nearly in which they now are; and it may also be remarked, that, under his government, the first frigate, called the Constant Warwick, was built in England. “She was built,” says Mr Pepys, “in 1649, by Mr Peter Pett (son of Phineas), for a privateer for the Earl of Warwick, and was sold by him to the state. Mr Pett took his model of this ship from a French frigate which he had seen in the Thames.”

During the first period of our naval history, we know nothing of the nature of the armament of the ships. From the time of Edward III. they might have been armed with cannon, but no mention is made of this being the case. According to Lord Herbert, brass ordnance were first cast in England in the year 1535. They had various names, such as cannon, detni∙cannon, culverins, demi-culverins, sakers, mynions, falcons, falconets, &c. What the calibre of each of these was is not accurately known, but the cannon is supposed to have been about sixty-pounders, the demi-cannon thirty-two, the culverin eighteen, falcon two, mynion four, saker five, &c. Many of these pieces, of different calibres, were mounted on the same deck, which must have occasioned great confusion in action in finding for each its proper shot.

On the restoration of Charles II. the Duke of York was immediately appointed lord high admiral, and by his advice a committee was named to consider a plan, proposed by himself, for the future regulation of the affairs of the navy, at which the duke himself presided. By the advice and able assistance of Mr Pepys, great progress was speedily made in the reparation and increase of the fleet. The duke remained lord high admiral till 1673, when, in consequence of the test required by parliament, to which he could not submit, he resigned, and that office was in part put in commission, and the rest retained by the king. Prince Rupert was put at the head of this commission, and Mr Pepys appointed secretary to the king in all naval affairs, and of the admiralty; and by his able and judicious management there were in sea-pay, in the year 1679, and in excellent condition, seventy-six ships of the line, all furnished with stores for six months, eight fireships, besides a numerous train of ketches, smacks, yachts, &c. with more than 12,000 seamen; and also thirty new ships building, and a good supply of stores in the dockyards. But this flourishing condition of the navy did not last long. In consequence of the dissipation of the king, and his pecuniary difficulties, he neglected the navy on account of the expenses; the duke was sent abroad, and Mr Pepys to the Tower. A new set of commissioners were appointed, without experience, ability, or industry; and the consequence was, as stated by the commissioners of revision, that “all the wise regulations formed during the administration of the Duke of York were neglected; and such supineness and waste appear to have prevailed, that, at the end of not more than five years, when he was recalled to the office of lord high admiral, only twenty-two ships, none larger than a fourth rate, with two fireships, were at sea; those in harbour were quite unfit for service; even the thirty new ships which he had left building had been suffered to fàll into a state of great decay, and hardly any stores were found to remain in the dock-yards.”

The first act on the duke’s return was the re-appointment of Mr Pepys as secretary of the admiralty. Finding the present commissioners unequal to the duties required of them, he recommended others. Sir Anthony Deane, the most experienced of the shipbuilders then in England, was joined with the new commissioners. To him, it has been said, we owe the first essential improvement in the form and qualities of ships of the line, having taken the model of the Superbe, a French ship of seventy-four guns, which anchored at Spithead, and from which he built the Harwich in 1664. Others, however, are of opinion that no improvement had at this time been made on the model of the Sovereign of the Seas after she was cut down. The new commissioners undertook, in three years, to complete the repair of the fleet, and furnish the dock-yards with a proper supply of stores, on an estimate of L.400,000 a year, to be issued in weekly payments; and in two years and a half they finished their task, to the satisfaction of the king and the whole nation; the number of ships repaired and under repair being 108 sail of the line, besides a considerable number of vessels of smaller size. The same year the king abdicated the throne, at which time the list of the navy amounted to 173 sail, containing 101,892 tons, carrying 6930 guns, and 42,000 seamen.

The naval regulations were wisely left unaltered at the Revolution, and the business of the admiralty continued to be carried on chiefly, for some time, under the immediate direction of King William, by Mr Pepys, till the arrival of Admiral Herbert and Captain Russell from the fleet, into whose hands, he says, “he silently let it fall.” Upon the general principles of that system, thus established with his aid by the Duke of York, the civil government of our navy has ever since been carried on.

In the second year of King William (1690), no less than thirty ships were ordered to be built, of sixty, seventy, and eighty guns each; and in 1697 the king, in his speech to parliament, stated that the naval force of the kingdom was increased to nearly double what he found it at his accession. It was now partly composed of various classes of French ships which had been captured in the course of the war, amounting in number to more than sixty, and in guns to 2300; the losses by storms and captures on our side being about half the tonnage and half the guns we had acquired. At the commencement of this reign, the navy, as we have stated, consisted of 173 ships, measuring 101,892 tons; at his death, it had been extended to 272 ships, measuring 159,020 tons, being an increase of ninety-nine ships and 57,128 tons, or more than one half both in number and in tonnage.

The accession of Queen Anne was immediately followed by a war with France and Spain, and in the second year of her reign she had the misfortune of losing a vast number of her ships, by one of the most tremendous storms that was ever known; but every energy was used to repair this national calamity. In an address of the House of Lords, in March 1707, it is declared as “a most undoubted maxim, that the honour, security, and wealth of this kingdom does depend upon the protection and encouragement of trade, and the improving and right encouraging its naval strength therefore we do in the most ear nest manner beseech your majesty, that the sea affairs may always be your first and most peculiar care.” In the course of this war were taken or destroyed about fifty ships of war, mounting 3000 cannon; and we lost about half the number. At the death of the queen, in 1714, the list of the navy was reduced in number to 247 ships, measuring 167,219 tons, being an increase in tonnage of 8199 tons.

George I. left the navy pretty nearly in the same state in which he found it. At his death, in 1727, the list consisted of 233 ships, measuring 170,862 tons, being a decrease in number of fourteen, but an increase in tonnage of 3643 tons.

George II. was engaged in a war with Spain in 1739, in consequence of which the size of our ships of the line [7:16:43]ordered to be built was considerably increased. In 1744, France declared against us; but on the restoration of peace in 1748, it was found that our naval strength had prodigiously increased. Our loss had been little or nothing, whilst we had taken and destroyed, of the French twenty, and of the Spanish fifteen sail of the line, besides smaller vessels. The war with France of 1755 added considerably to the list, so that, at the king’s decease, in 1760, it consisted of 412 ships, measuring 321,104 tons.

In the short war of 1762, George III. added no less than twenty sail of the line to our navy. At the conclusion of the American war in 1782, the list of the navy was increased to 600 sail; and at the signing of the preliminaries in 1783 it amounted to 617 sail, measuring upwards of 500,000 tons; being an increase of 185 ships and 157,000 tons and upwards since the year 1762. At the peace of Amiens the list of the fleet amounted to upwards of 700 sail, of which 144 were of the line. The number taken from the enemy, or destroyed, amounted nearly to 600, of which ninety were of the line, including fifty-gun ships, and upwards of two hundred were frigates; and our loss amounted to about sixty, of which six were of the line and twelve frigates.

The recommencement and long continuance of the revolutionary war, and the glorious successes of our naval actions; the protection required for our extended commerce, of which, in fact, we might be said to enjoy a monopoly, and for the security of our numerous colonies; contributed to raise the British navy to a magnitude to which the accumulated navies of the whole world bore but a small proportion. From 1808 to 1813, there were seldom less than from 100 to 106 sail of the line in commission, and from 130 to 160 frigates, and upwards of 200 sloops, besides bombs, gun-brigs, cutters, schooners, &c. amounting in the whole to about 500 sail of effective ships and vessels; to which may be added 500 more in the ordinary, and as prison, hospital, and receiving ships; making at least 1000 pendants, and measuring from 800,000 to 900,000 tons. The commissioners appointed to inquire into the state and condition of the woods, forests, and land revenues of the crown, state, in their report to parliament, in the year 1792, that, “at the accession of his majesty (Geo. III.) to the throne, the tonnage of the royal navy was 321,104 tons, and at the end of the year 1788 it had risen to no less than 413,467 tons.” In 1808 it had amounted to the enormous extent of 800,000 tons, having nearly doubled itself in twenty years.

It must not, however, be supposed that the effective navy consisted of more than half this amount of tonnage. Since the conclusion of the war, it would appear that at least one half of the number of ships then in existence have been sold or broken up as unfit for the service; and as, by the list of the navy at the beginning of the year 1821, the number of ships and vessels of every description, in commission, in ordinary, building, repairing, and ordered to be built, has been reduced to 609 sail, we may take the greatest extent of the present tonnage at 500,000 tons; but the greater part, if not the whole, of this tonnage may be considered as efficient, or in a state of progressive efficiency.

According to the printed list of the 1st January 1821, the 609 sail of ships and vessels appear to be as under:
[table]

In the year 1836 the total number of ships of war, including every description mentioned in the above list, amounted to about 560 sail; of which ninety-five were ships of the line in a state of efficiency for any service, or of being speedily put into a fit state for .sea, and many of them of a very superior class to any employed in the last war.

The increase in the size of our ships of war was unavoidable; France and Spain had increased theirs, and we were compelled, in order to meet them on fair terms, to increase the dimensions of ours; many of theirs were, besides, added to the list of our navy. The following sketch will show the progressive rate at which ships of the first order, or of 100 guns and upwards, were enlarged in their dimensions. In 1677 the first rates were from 1500 to 1600 tons. In 1720 they were increased to 1800 tons. In 1745 we find them advanced to 2000 tons. During the American war they were raised to 2200 tons. In 1795 the Ville de Paris, of 110, measured 2350 tons. In 1804 the Hibernia, of 110 guns, was extended to 2500 tons; and in 1808 the Caledonia, carrying 120 guns, measured 2616 tons, and here we stopped; but since then, the Nelson, the Howe, the St Vincent, the Britannia, the Prince Regent, the Royal George, and the Neptune, have been built, or are building, all nearly of the same dimensions, and from the same draught—nine such ships as the whole world besides cannot produce. The French had one ship larger than any of these, called the Commerce de Marseilles. She was taken by us in Toulon, but broke her back in a gale of wind.

The following are the comparative dimensions of the Caledonia and the Commerce de Marseilles.
[table]

The following is the armament of the Caledonia: On the gun-deck she carries thirty-two guns, 32-pounders; middle-deck thirty-four 24-pounders, upper deck thirty-four 24-pounders, carronades; quarter-deck ten 32-pounders, and six 12-pounders, carronades; forecastle two 32- pounders, and two 12-pounders, carronades. Her complement of men is 875.

At the commencement of the third period, we have a somewhat more precise account of the armament of our ships of war. On the 16th of May 1677, a committee of the navy board, ordnance, and certain naval officers, recommended to his majesty the following scheme for arming and manning the thirty new ships of the line ordered to be built by act of parliament.
[7:16:44]
[table]
[table]

The rates of ships immediately after the revolution were reduced, the first being turned to second rates, the second rates to third, &c, and the size of each class more equalized. But from this time forward it was found impossible to preserve any thing like uniformity in the several classes. So many ships captured from the French, Dutch, and Spaniards, were added to our navy, and so many new ones built after the models of ships taken from these maritime powers, that the various descriptions of ships of which our navy was composed became a very serious evil.

In the year 1745, a committee, composed of all flag-officers unemployed, of the commissioners of the navy who were sea-officers, under the presidency of Sir John Norris, and assisted by the master shipwrights, were ordered to meet, to consider and propose proper establishments of guns, men, masts, yards, &c. for each class of his majesty’s ships; and, according to their recommendation, the rates, armaments, and complements of his majesty’s ships were to be as follows:
[table]

But this establishment was very soon departed from; for, on the 3d of February 1747, the board of admiralty acquainted his majesty, that the French ship Invincible, lately captured, was found to be larger than his majesty’s ships of ninety guns and 750 men; and suggested that this ship, and all other prizes of the like class, and also his majesty’s ships of ninety guns, when reduced to two decks and a half, and seventy-four guns, should be allowed a complement of 700 men. And it further appears, that, at the latter end of the reign of George II. the rates of ships had undergone a very material alteration, for they consisted as under:
[table]

The scales for measuring the ships were as various as their rates; and the evil was further increased by the varieties which it was found necessary to introduce in the rigging and arming of the ships of war. The masts, yards, rigging, and stores, were of so many and various dimensions, as to be not only highly inconvenient, but extremely expensive. When Lord Nelson was off Cadiz with seventeen or eighteen sail of the line, he had no less than seven different classes of seventy-four gun ships, each requiring different sized masts, sails, yards, &c. so that, in the event of one of these being disabled, the others could not supply her with such stores as could be appropriated to her wants.

Present Rating of the Navy.

To remedy the many inconveniences resulting from the irregularities above mentioned, the lords of the admiralty suggested, by their memorial to the prince regent, which, by his order in council, of the 25th November 1816, was ordered to be carried into effect, that the ships of the navy should for the future be rated as under.

The first rate to include all three-deckers, in as much as all sea-going ships of that description carry a hundred guns and upwards.

The second rate to include all ships of eighty guns and upwards, on two decks.

The third rate to include all ships of seventy guns and upwards, but less than eighty guns.

The fourth rate to include all ships of fifty and upwards, but less than seventy guns.

The fifth rate to include all ships from thirty-six to fifty guns.

The sixth rate to include all ships from twenty-four to thirty-six guns.

And that the complements of men be established as under.
[table]

Of sloops, the complements established according to their size were to consist of 135, 125, 95, or 75 men; of brigs (not sloops), cutters, schooners, and bombs, sixty or fifty men.

Thus stands the rating and manning of the navy at present; but another war, or a new administration of the affairs of the navy, will, in all human probability, make new regulations in these respects. It is, however, of the utmost importance, with a view to convenience and economy, that the size and dimensions of the several rates should be kept as nearly as possible equal, in order that one description of stores may be applicable to every ship of the same rate. To this end, the commissioners of naval revision have recommended, “that the ships of each class or rate should be constructed, in every particular, according to the form of the best ship in the same class in our navy; of the same length, breadth, and depth; the masts of the same dimensions, and placed in the same parts of the ship, with the same form and size of the sails.” A complete classification of masts, yards, and sails, has very recently been established.

Improvements in Construction.

If we look back to the days of Elizabeth, when the chain-pump, the capstan, the striking of the top-masts, the studding-sails, top-gallant-sails, sprit-sails, &c. were first introduced into the navy, one can scarcely conceive how they contrived to keep the sea for any length of time; but these improvements, important as they were, are trifling when compared with those aids and conveniences which have gradually been introduced since her reign, and which a ship of war now enjoys. When Sir Anthony Deane, in 1664, raised the lower ports of a two-decker four and a half feet out of the water, which had before been scarcely three feet, and made a ship of this class to stow six months’ provisions instead of three, it was justly considered as a [7:16:45]most important improvement; not less so, when the breadth of a ship of this class was carried to forty-five feet. “The builders of England,” says Pepys, “before 1673, had not well considered that breadth only will make a stiff ship.” It must be confessed, however, that, as far as the form of a ship’s bottom depends on scientific principles, we have copied our best models from the French, sometimes with capricious variations, which more frequently turned out to be an injurious alteration than an improvement.

The first essential alteration in the form of our ships of the line was taken from the Superbe, a French ship of seventy-four guns, which anchored at Spithead, on the model of which, as already stated, the Harwich was built by Sir Anthony Deane in 1674; since which time we have constantly been copying from French models, improving or spoiling, as chance might determine. “Where we have built exactly after the form of the best of the French ships that we have taken,” say the commissioners of naval revision, “thus adding our dexterity in building to their knowledge in theory, the ships, it is generally allowed, have proved the best in our navy; but whenever our builders have been so far misled by their little attainments in the science of naval architecture, as to depart from the model before them in any material degree, and attempt improvements, the true principles on which ships ought to be constructed (being imperfectly known to them) have been mistaken or counteracted, and the alterations, according to the information given to us, have, in may cases, done harm.” Whilst, therefore, they add, “ our rivals in naval power were employing men of the greatest talents and most extensive acquirements, to call in the aid of science for improving the construction of ships, we have contented ourselves with groping on in the dark in quest of such discoveries as chance might bring in our way.”

Upon these grounds, and by the recommendation of the commissioners, a school for a superior class of shipwright apprentices was established in Portsmouth dockyard. It consisted of twenty-five young men of liberal education, whose mornings were passed in the study of mathematics and mechanics, and in their application to naval architecture; and the remainder of the day under the master shipwright in the mould loft, and in all the various kinds of manual labour connected with ship-building, âs well as in the management and conversion of timber, so as to make them, at the same time, fully acquainted with all the duties in detail of a practical shipwright. After producing more officers than could be provided for, it was deemed expedient to break up the establishment.

If, however, we have hitherto been inferior to the French in the scientific principles of ship-building, in the constructive part we have left them behind beyond all comparison; and, notwithstanding the narrow prejudices which have been more remarkably adhered to among shipwrights than among almost any other class of artisans, various alterations and improvements have from time to time been introduced into the mechanical part of naval architecture, which have added to the strength, the stability, the comfort, and convenience of our ships of war, and rendered them, in every point of view, superior to those of any other nation. The application of iron where wood was formerly used, and of copper for iron, has added considerably to the durability of ships; and the sheathing of their bottoms with copper, to their celerity; giving them, at the same time, a protection against the worm and those marine insects which were wont to adhere to them; yet it is remarkable how strong the prejudice was against this practice before it obtained a due degree of credit. In the fleet of Sir Edward Hughes in India there was but one coppered ship, and Rodney’s squadron in the West Indies had but four that were coppered in the year 1799; but these were enough so completely to establish their superiority over the others with wooden sheathing, that, in the year 1782, the whole British navy was coppered.

But the greatest of all improvements in the construction of ships of war, as tending to their strength and durability, is the system of diagonal bracing, introduced a few years ago by Mr (afterwards Sir Robert) Seppings, surveyor of the navy, and now universally adopted in all ships of the line and frigates; a system that may be said to have established a new era in naval architecture. Of all large machines destined to undergo severe shocks, a ship is perhaps the least skilfully and artificially contrived. Her several parts are put together on a principle so much opposed to that which constitutes strength, that if a ship, on the old construction, should be put upon wheels, and drawn over a rough pavement, the action of a day would shake her in pieces; but being destined to move in an element that closes upon her, and presses her equally on all sides, she is prevented from falling in pieces outwards, and her beams and decks preserve her from tumbling inwards. Whoever has observed a ship in frame, as it is called, on the stocks, that is, with only her timbers erected, must be forcibly reminded of the skeleton of some large quadruped, as of a horse or ox, laid on its back; the keel resembling the back-bone, and the curved timbers the ribs, which is, in fact, the name by which they sometimes go. These ribs, issuing at right angles from the keel, consist, in a seventy-four gun ship, of about 800 different pieces, the space between each rib seldom exceeding five inches. These ribs are covered with a skin or planks of different thicknesses within and without, also at right angles to the ribs, and fixed to them by means of wooden pins or tree-nails. In the inside three or four tiers of beams cross the skeleton from side to side, at right angles to both planks and ribs. These beams support the decks. At right angles to the beams are pieces of wood called carlings, and at right angles to these other pieces called ledges, and upon these the planks of the deck are laid in a direction at right angles to the beams, and parallel to the planking of the sides. From this sketch it will be perceived that all the parts of a ship are either parallel or at right angles to each other. The ribs form a right angle with the keel, the planks inside and out are at right angles to the ribs, the beams at right angles to these, the carlings to the beams, the ledges to the carlings, and the planks of the decks to the ledges, the beams, and the ribs.

Now, it is well known to every common carpenter, that this disposition of materials is the weakest that can be adopted. Thus, if five pieces of wood be pinned together in the shape of a parallelogram, it will require but little force to move them from the rectangular to the oblique or rhomboidal shape. But place a cross-bar, as in the figure Z, as carpenters are accustomed to do on a common gate, and it is no longer moveable on the points of fastening.

The strongest proof of a ship’s partaking of this weakness in the old construction, is afforded on her being first launched into the water, when it is invariably found that the two extremities, being less water-borne than the middle, drop, and give to the ship a convex curvature upwards, an effect which, from its resemblance to the shape of a hog’s back, is usually called hogging. In very weak or old ships this effect may be discovered in all the port-holes of the upper-deck, by their having taken the shape of lozenges, declining different ways from the centre of the ship to each extremity.
[7:16:46]

To obviate this great defect, Seppings tried the experiment of applying to the ribs or timbers of the ship, from one extremity to the other, and from the orlop-deck downwards to the kelson, that well-known principle in carpentry, called trussing ; being, in fact, a series of diagonal braces disposing themselves into triangles, the sides of which give to each other a mutual support and counteraction. These triangles were firmly bolted to the frame; and in order to give a continuity of strength to the whole machine, and leave no possible room for play, he filled the spaces between the frames with old-seasoned timber cut into the shape of wedges; but afterwards with a prepared cement, thus rendering the lower part of the ship or floor one solid, complete mass, possessing the strength and firmness of a rock; but a few years have proved that this cement has injured the timber.

The same principle of trussing is carried from the gundeck upwards, from whence, between every port, is introduced a diagonal brace, which completely prevents the tendency of ships to stretch, or draw asunder their upper works. The decks, too, are made subservient to the securing more firmly the beams to the sides of the ship, by the planks being laid diagonally in contrary directions, from the midships to the sides, and at an angle of forty-five degrees with the beams, and at right angles with the ledges.

In frigates and smaller vessels, iron plates, lying at an angle of forty-five degrees with the direction of the trusses, are substituted for the diagonal frame of wood in ships of the line.

By this mode of construction, the ceiling or internal planking is wholly dispensed with, and a very considerable saving of the finest oak timber thereby effected; and, what is more important, those receptacles of filth and vermin between the timbers, which were before closed up by the planking, are entirely got rid of. This is not the least important part of the improvement, either as it concerns the soundness of the ship or the health of the crew. It is stated that a ship which had been three years in India, on being laid open, exhibited a mass of filth, mixed up with dead rats, mice, cockroaches, and other vermin, which was taken out in cakes, not unlike in appearance the oil-cake with which certain animals are fed; that the stench was abominable, and the timbers with which it was in contact rotten. No such filth can find a lodgment in ships of war as they are now built.

It has been a subject of discussion amongst ship-builders, whether tree-nails or metallic fastenings are to be preferred. The objection to iron bolts is their rapid corrosion, from the gallic acid of the wood, the sea-water, and perhaps by a combination of both; in consequence of which, the fibres of the wood around them become injured, the bolts wear away, the water oozes through, and the whole fabric is shaken and disarranged. This corrosion of iron fastenings was most remarkable when the practice of sheathing ships with copper became general, and when iron nails were made use of to fix it; for, by the contact of the two metals in the sea-water, a galvanic, action took place, and both were immediately corroded. Mixed metal nails are now used for this purpose; and copper bolts are universally employed below the line of flotation, though it is found that in these also oxidation takes place to a certain degree, and causes partial leaks. Various mixtures of metals have been tried, but all of them are considered as liable to greater objections than pure copper. It would appear, then, that tree-nails, if properly made, well seasoned, and driven tight, are the least objectionable, being seldom found to occasion leaks, or to injure the plank or timbers through which they pass. This species of fastening has at all times been used by all the maritime nations of Europe. The Dutch were in the habit of importing them from Ireland, it being supposed that the oak grown in that country was tougher and stronger than any which could be procured on the Continent, and in all respects best adapted for the purpose. “Under all circumstances,” says Mr Knowles, “it appears that the present method of fastening ships generally with tough, well-seasoned tree-nails, with their ends split, and caulked after being driven, and securing the buts of each plank with copper bolts well clenched, is liable to fewer objections, and more conducive to the durability of the timber, than any other which has been tried or proposed to be established.”

The rounding the form of the bow in ships of the line is considered by nautical men as of great utility and importance. The plan was first proposed by Seppings in 1807, and has since been generally adopted. The removal of the head railing, and the continuing of the rounded form, give not only great additional strength to the ship, but also much more comfort and convenience to the crew, and security in that part of the ship when in action.

The scarcity of compass or crooked timber was, for some time, attended with serious injury to those ships of war while on the stocks, into which it was considered necessary to be introduced. The difficulty with which it was procured, the length of time which a ship sometimes remained on the stocks waiting for a few pieces of compass timber, the green wood, when found, being immediately added to the seasoned timber in other parts of the frame, gave to the ship different periods of durability; though, in the long run, the seasoned parts became affected by the green wood with which they were in contact, and a premature decay of the whole fabric was the consequence. Seppings, therefore, proposed a plan in 1806, which, by uniting short timbers according to a method called scarphing, enabled him to obtain every species of compass-form that could be required from straight timber. Since that period, the whole frame of a ship can be prepared at once, without waiting for particular pieces, and thus every part of it can be made to undergo an equal degree of seasoning.

By the same ingenious and indefatigable surveyor of the navy, a plan was proposed and adopted in the year 1813, by which ships of the line were built with timber hitherto considered as applicable only to the building of frigates, and that which had been deemed only fit for in-, ferior uses was appropriated to principal purposes. The Talavera was the first ship built on this principle, and the expense of her hull is stated to have been about a thousand pounds less than that of the Black Prince, a ship of similar dimensions built upon the old principle. The method by which the timbers were united was found, on trial of the Talavera with the Black Prince, whilst in frame, to give so much additional strength to the former, that it furnished the groundwork of the present mode of framing the British navy, by the introduction of the same union of materials in the application of the large, as was practised in that of the small timber, and from which both strength and economy have been united.

The building of the Talavera, and the great strength of her frame, led to the practice of putting together the frames of ships of the line from timbers of reduced lengths, and dispensing altogether with the chocks used for uniting their extremities, or, as they are technically called, their heads and heels. These chocks are of the form of an obtuse wedge, as A, and they are used to unite the two pieces of timber, as B and C, by firmly bolting the piece A to the two timbers B and C.

It generally happened, however, that, in the operation [7:16:47]of thus fixing this chock, its two extremities split, and the surfaces of the chock and timbers not being in perfect contact, the moisture and air were admitted, and occasioned, as they always do, the dry rot to a greater degree in those parts of the ship than in most others; and as there were from four to five hundred of these chocks in a seventy-four gun ship, it will readily be conceived what mischief was done to the whole fabric, if the greatest care was not taken by the workmen to prevent their splitting, and to bring their surfaces immediately into contact. It is obvious, also, that a great deal of timber must have been cut to waste in making these chocks; and, in fact, they consumed timber in each ship, when it was at a high price, to the value of from L.I500 to L.2000, besides a considerable expense in workmanship; and when the ship came to be repaired, not one chock in six was found to be in a fit state to be used again. It is not easy to conceive how this practice of uniting the timbers of a ship’s frame came to be introduced so generally into the British navy, more especially as it is unknown in any other nation; it was probably first done to preserve the length of some particular timbers, one of whose ends might be defective, and the unsound part cut away in the manner we see it, and the sound chock introduced to fill up the vacuity; but it is quite surprising how a practice should have become general which creates a waste of timber, an increase of workmanship, and sows the seeds of premature decay. To obviate these disadvantages, Sir Robert Seppings brought the but-ends of the timbers together thus, and kept them together by means of a round dowal or coak, as C, just as the fellies of a carriage-wheel are fastened together. He justly observes, that the simplicity of the workmanship, the economy in the conversion of timber, and the greater strength and durability, although of considerable moment, are of but trifling importance when compared with the advantage of rendering timber generally more applicable to the frames of ships, which had heretofore been but partially so.

Another great improvement in the construction of ships of war, introduced by Seppings, is the round stern, which, however unsightly it may at first appear, from being accustomed to view the square stern with its grotesque carved work, is even in appearance more consistent with the termination of the sweeping lines of a ship’s bottom, than the cutting them off abruptly with a square stern. But the additional strength which is thus given to a ship in that part which was hitherto the weakest, is alone sufficient to recommend the adoption of the plan in our ships of war, particularly in those of the larger classes. The advantages gained by circular sterns are thus enumerated by Sir Robert Seppings.

1. They give additional strength to the whole fabric of a ship.

2. They afford additional force in point of defence.

3. They admit of the guns being run out in a similar way to those in the sides.

4. From the circular form and mode of carrying up the timbers, an additional protection against shot is obtained, if the ship should be raked.

5. The stern being equally strong as the bow, no serious injury can accrue in the event of the ship being pooped; and the ship may be moored, if so required, by the stern.

6. A ship will sail better upon a wind, from the removal of the projections of the quarter galleries.

7. Ships of the line have now a stern-walk, protected by a veranda, and so contrived that the officers can walk all round, can observe the set of the sails, and the fleet in all directions.

8. The compass-timber heretofore expended for transoms is substituted with straight timber, and worked nearly to a right angle, which affords a considerable saving in the consumption of timber.

9. The counter being done away by the circular stern, the danger which arose from boats being caught under it is obviated.

In fact, the circular stern possesses many other advantages not necessary to be enumerated in this place.

Improvements in the Preservation of the Navy.

Not only is the new mode of construction highly favourable to the duration of ships, but the ravages of the disease which is known by the name of the dry rot, occasioned principally by the hurry in which ships were built in the course of the late war, and the unseasoned state of the timber made use of (see Dry Rot), led to such measures as tend most effectually to the preservation of the fleet.

In the first place, various modes were put in practice for assorting and seasoning the timber, and for protecting it from the vicissitudes of the weather. The oak and fir of Canada, which had been introduced to a great extent into our dock-yards during the time the Baltic was shut against this country, are now excluded; these woods having been found not only to possess little durability, but so friendly to the growth of fungi, that they communicated the baneful disease to all other descriptions of timber with which they came in contact. The practice of building ships under cover, introduced into our dock-yards in the course of the war, and carried to an extent so as to have roofed over almost every dock and slip in all the yards, has been destructive to the growth of dry rot. See Dock-yards.

A ship now placed in ordinary, whether new or newly repaired, is carefully housed over, so that no rain can reach her lower decks; several streaks of planks are removed from her sides and decks to admit a thorough draft of air, which is sent down by wind-sails, and which pervades every part of the ship; and these, with the addition of two small airing-stoves, in which a few cinders are burned, render her perfectly dry and comfortable on all the decks and store-rooms. All the shingle ballast is removed out of the hold, which is thoroughly cleaned and restowed with iron ballast. The former practice of mooring two ships together, by which the two sides next to each other, deprived of the sun and a free circulation of air, were generally found to be decayed, is discontinued. The lower masts are left standing, and their tops housed over; the gun-carriages and several of the stores are left on board; and such, in short, is the state of a ship in ordinary, that she may be fitted in all respects for proceeding to sea in half the usual time. “The ships,” says Mr Knowles, “are frequently pumped to clear them of bilgewater, and cleanliness in every respect is attended to; the lower decks are rubbed with dry stones, commonly called holly-stones, and with sand, the use of water upon them being strictly forbidden.” But that which most of all is likely to insure the preservation of the fleet whilst in a state of ordinary, is the recent regulation, which places the ordinary under the immediate superintendence of a captain at each port, with other commissioned officers under his orders, who take care that the warrant-officers and ship-keepers attend to the proper airing, ventilating, and keeping clean and dry their respective ships.

A practice has recently been introduced into the dockyards, of steeping oak timber in salt-water for several months, and then stacking it till it becomes perfectly dry, which is said to have entirely put a stop to the progress of dry rot where it had already commenced, and to act as a [7:16:48]preventive to that disease. Some doubts, however, were entertained on this point, and the practice has been discontinued. The Americans seem to place little confidence in the good effects which are said to have been experienced from the immersion of timber. Rodgers, the commissioner of their navy, states, in an official report addressed to the secretary, that “experiments have been made to arrest the dry rot in ships, by sinking them for months in salt-water, but without success. The texture of the wood was found to be essentially injured by being thus water-soaked, and it became more subject to this disease than before it was sunk. The ships were also injured in their fastenings, and the atmosphere within them was kept in a constant state of humidity, whence, among other ill effects, proceeded injury to provisions and stores, and sickness to the crews.” The truth is, the American timber, with the single exception, perhaps, of the live-oak, is remarkably subject to dry rot, of which, during the late war, we had fatal experience. Mr Rodgers, however, accounts for the condition in which the oak and pine were received in England from Canada, by their immersion in water. “The Canada timber,” he observes, “is brought down the St Lawrence in large rafts, continues months in water, and in that saturated state is landed and exposed to frost; every attempt to season it under cover is unavailing; its pores never close again, and when used as ship-timber, dry rot ensues, which, when once commenced, can never be arrested, but by taking out all the pieces in any degree affected.” The Russians, he says, are so fully aware of the injurious effects of soaking ship-timber in water, that it is brought from great distances down the rivers in crafts instead of rafts. The Russian ships, however, with all this precaution, are not remarkable for durability. The ships built at Antwerp by the French were in a state of rottenness before they were launched; but whether this was owing to the bad quality of the timber of the German forests, or to its being water-soaked in rafting down the Rhine, remains doubtful. But we can have no doubt that porous timber is injured by moisture, though the solid British oak may be improved by the dissolution of its sap juices, to the fermentation of which the disease known by the name of dry rot may perhaps be chiefly owing. “Water,” says Lescalier, a French writer of considerable merit on the subject, “seems to be favourable to the decomposition of the sap of timber when immersed; but it substitutes in its place another kind of moisture not less destructive, of which the timber, though afterwards exposed to the air, will not easily get rid of; besides, it weakens and destroys the grain of the wood.” “The best means,” he adds, “of preserving timber, appears to be that of keeping it in well-constructed and airy sheds, in a vertical position, so that the moisture which remains in the interior of the logs, by running along the fibres of the wood, may be enabled to issue from the lower extremity. Timber thus kept dry, under shelter, will preserve itself for ages.” Mr Knowles, secretary to the committee of surveyors of his majesty’s navy, in his treatise on the Means of Preserving the British Navy, is led to conclude, from a variety of experiments, “that timber is better seasoned when kept for two years and a half under cover, than when placed for six months in water, and then for two years in the air, protected from the rain and sun; that it loses more in seasoning, by having been, during the six months of immersion, alternately wet and dry, than the whole time under water; and that the loss in moisture is greater in all cases in a given time when the but-ends are placed downwards.” And he adds as a general principle, “that no timber should be brought into use in this country until it has been felled at least three years.”

Next to the system of diagonal braces, the roofing thrown over them whilst building and in ordinary may be considered as the greatest of all improvements for the preservation of the navy. The utility of it is so obvious, that it is quite extraordinary such a practice should not have been earlier adopted; more especially as, at Venice, at Carlscrona, and at Cronstadt, ships of war had long been built, repaired, and protected under covered roofs. It was strongly recommended to the English ship-builders fifty years ago, but without effect; and had it not been for the extraordinary ravages of the dry rot in the unseasoned timber-built ships of the navy, we should still have been without roofs to our docks and slips.

If the dock-yards were of sufficient capacity, there can be no doubt that the efficient plan to accomplish their durability, would be that of keeping them on the slip, when built, under cover. A large frigate, the Worcester, has remained on the slip and under cover for six or seven years, and there is not a flaw in her of any kind. It was stated by Mr Strange, when examined by the commissioners for land revenue, that in the year 1790 there were twenty-two ships of the line under roofs in the port of Venice, some of which had remained in that situation fifty-nine years. Since, however, it is utterly impracticable to keep our navy on slips, or in dry docks, the next important consideration is, how best to preserve them afloat in a state of ordinary. Various expedients have been at different times resorted to in order to prevent the premature decay of ships laid up in this state during peace. The two great requisites for their preservation are ventilation and cleanliness. To promote the former, wind-sails were in general use, though, if not attended to, so as to oppose the open part to the quarter from whence the wind blows, or if the w cather be calm, they are of little benefit. Pneumatic machines of various kinds, as pumps and bellows, have been applied to force out the foul air, and introduce atmospherical air into the lower parts of a ship’s hold. Heated air from stoves, placed in various parts of the ship, and conducted through tubes, was thought at one time to be efficacious in the preservation of the navy; but experience soon showed that the heat thus circulated was so far objectionable, as it tended to encourage the growth of fungus where there was any moisture lodged, and in the timber which had not been thoroughly seasoned. Perhaps no better means can be suggested than those we have described to be in practice, namely, to keep them clean, to admit as much dry air as possible, and to exclude all moisture.

Finally, if we take into consideration the numerous improvements which a war, unparalleled in its duration, has been the means of introducing into the matériel of the navy, whether it regards the economy of its application, the construction of the ships, and their mode of preservation, we may safely say, that at no former period was this country in possession of such a navy as at present, in respect of the number, size, and good condition of the ships which compose a fleet, superior to those of the whole world besides; and it is gratifying to find, that, with all the enormous consumption of the military and mercantile navy, it does not appear that the naval resources of Great Britain are at all impaired.

Naval Resources.

It is of essential importance that the supply of stores for the use of the fleet should not only be adequate to the demand, but that a sufficient stock should be kept on hand to answer any sudden emergency. - This is the^more necessary with regard to those species of stores which are derived from foreign nations.

The principal articles of consumption required for building and equipping a fleet are, hemp, canvass, pitch, tar, iron, copper, and timber. All these articles might unquestionably be produced in sufficient quantities in the united kingdom and her colonies, if necessity absolutely [7:16:49]required it. Hemp, for instance, might be grown to any extent in Great Britain and Ireland, were not the land more advantageously employed in raising other articles of consumption, and if it could not be cheaper imported from Russia. In the East Indies, the Sunn hemp (inferior, it is true, to Russia hemp) might be procured to any extent; and other plants, both there and at home, might be substituted for the making of cordage and canvass. For pitch and tar, recourse might be had to the pitch-lake on the island of Trinidad, and the coal-tar, of which an inexhaustible supply may be had at home. The lake is about four miles in circumference, and many feet in depth, of solid pitch; and it is stated that, when mixed with oil or tallow, it is rendered fit for all the purposes to which pitch and tar are usually applied. It has the advantage of securing ships’ bottoms against the attack of the worm, which is very active in the neighbouring Gulf of Para; and it does not corrode iron. The coal-tar of home manufacture, from some prejudice or other, was refused a fair trial till very lately, and it is now deemed not inferior for many purposes to the common tar. For painting or tarring over wood-work of every kind, it is said to stand exposure to the weather even better than the common tar; and it is used for injecting in large quantities between the timbers of ships, as a preservative from the dry rot; its powerful smell having also the good effect of driving rats and other vermin out of the ships on which it is employed,

In the two important articles of copper and iron, our own resources may be considered as inexhaustible. Formerly it was deemed indispensable that certain articles should be made of Swedish iron, but of late years our own has been manufactured in every respect equally good; and the extensive application of this metal in bridges, barges, dockgates, roofs, rafters, floors, &c. has been equally progressive in most naval purposes. Iron knees, and other modes of binding the beams to the side timbers of ships, are now substituted for those large and crooked pieces of timber which were once deemed absolutely necessary. Our cables, rigging, buoys, and tanks for holding water, are also now of iron.

But the most important article of demand for the use of the navy is timber, principally oak, concerning the supply of which from our own territories different opinions have been entertained. A deficiency in other articles may readily be supplied. A failure in the importation of hemp, for instance, in any one year, might be remedied the next, by an extended cultivation of that article; but it requires a whole century to repair any defalcation of oak timber, and to render us independent of other nations. Nor has the subject been sufficiently elucidated, so as to form a just opinion, by the several committees of the House of Commons, the evidence produced being almost always loose, and generally contradictory. The committee of 1771, which was directed to inquire into the state of oak timber throughout the kingdom, either from a disagreement of opinion, or defect of evidence, or a wish to avoid giving alarm, prayed the house to discharge that part of its order which required them to report their opinion. The commissioners of woods and forests, however, in their report laid before parliament in 1792, appeared to establish the fact of an alarming scarcity of oak timber in general, but more particularly of large naval timber, both in the royal forests and on private estates. And if such was really the fact in 1792, it will readily be conceived what the state of timber fit for naval purposes must have been at the conclusion of the revolutionary war, when the amount of private shipping had increased from 1,300,000 tons to 2,500,000 tons, or nearly doubled; that of the East India Company, in the same period, from 79,900 tons to 115,000 tons; and that of the navy from 400,000 to 800,000 tons: to say nothing of the vast consumption of oak timber in all kinds of mill-work and other machinery; in the barrack and ordnance departments; in mines, collieries, and agriculture; in docks and dock-gates; in piers, locks, and sluices; in boats, barges, lighters, bridges, and a great many other purposes to which this timber is applied. From these, and many other causes, the diminution of oak timber was infinitely greater than the commissioners had calculated upon, and yet they recommended that 100,000 acres, belonging to the crown, should be set apart and planted, as necessary for the future supply of the navy. A bill to this effect, relating to the New Forest, passed the Commons, but was thrown out by the Lords.

On the departments of the surveyor-general of the land revenue and the surveyor-general of the woods and forests being united, the board of commissioners made their first report, which was printed, by order of the House of Commons, in June 1812. In this report, it is stated that, taking the tonnage of the navy in 1806 ät 776,087 tons, it would require, at one and a half load to a ton, 1,164,085 loads to build such a navy; and supposing the average duration of a ship to be fourteen years, the annual quantity of timber required would be 83,149 loads, exclusive of repairs, which they calculate would be about 27,000 loads, making in the whole about 110,000 loads; of which, however, the commissioners reckon, may be furnished 21,341 loads as the annual average of prizes; and of the remaining 88,659 loads, they think it not unreasonable to calculate on 28,659 from other sources than British oak. “This,” they observe, “leaves 60,000 loads of such oak as the quantity which would be sufficient annually to support, at its present unexampled magnitude, the whole British navy, including ships of war of all sorts, but which may be taken as equivalent together to twenty 74-gun ships, each of which, one with another, contains about 2000 tons, or would require, at the rate of a .load and a half to the ton, 3000 loads, making just 60,000 loads for twenty such ships.”

Now it has been supposed that not more than forty oak trees can stand on an acre of ground, so as to grow to a full size, fit for ships of the line, or to contain each a load and a half of timber; 50 acres, therefore, would be required to produce a sufficient quantity of timber to build a 74- gun ship, and 1000 acres for twenty such ships; and, as the oak requires at least 100 years to arrive at maturity, 100,000 acres would be required to keep up a successive supply for maintaining a navy of seven or eight hundred thousand tons. The commissioners further observe, that as there are twenty millions of acres of waste lands in the kingdom, a two-hundredth part set aside for planting would at once furnish the whole quantity wanted for the use of the navy.

This calculation, we suspect, is overrated by about one half. In the first place, it supposes a state' of perpetual war, during which the tonnage of the whole navy is considered as more than double of what it now actually is; and, in the second place, it reckons the average duration of the navy at fourteen years only, which, from the improvements that have taken place in the construction and preservation of ships of war, with the resources of teak ships, built in India, we should not hesitate in assuming at an average of twice that number of years; and if so, the quantity of oak required for the navy will be nothing like that which the commissioners have stated. This, we think, will appear from a statement made (apparently on good authority) in the midst of the war, when the ships of the line built in merchants’ yards were falling to decay after a service of five or six years.

“Assuming 400,000 tons as the amount of tonnage to be kept in commission, and the average duration of a ship of war at the moderate period of twelve and a half years, [7:16:50]there would be required an annual supply of tonnage, to preserve the navy in its present effective state, of 32,000 tons; and as a load and a half of timber is employed for every ton, the annual demand will be 48,000 loads. The building of a 74-gun ship consumes about 2000 oak trees, or 3000 loads of timber, so that 48,000 loads will build eight sail of the line and sixteen frigates. Allowing one fourth part more for casualties, the annual consumption will be about 60,000 loads, or 40,000 full-grown trees, of which thirty-five will stand upon an acre of ground. The quantity of timber, therefore, necessary for the construction of a 74-gun ship will occupy fifty-seven acres of land, and the annual demand will be the produce of 1140 acres. Allowing only ninety years for the oak to arrive at perfection, there ought to be now standing 102,600 acres of oak plantations, and an annual felling and planting, in perpetual rotation, of 1140 acres, to meet the consumption of the navy alone. Large as this may seem, it is little more than twenty-one acres for each county in England and Wales; which is not equal to the belt which surrounds the park and pleasure-grounds of many estates.”

The above calculation proceeds upon the principle that every acre is covered with trees fit for naval purposes, or that it contains thirty-five trees, with a load and a half of timber in each. It may be doubted, however, if, on the average of plantations, we shall find more than one tenth of that number on an acre; and as the same writer endeavours to show that the quantity of oak timber consumed in the navy is only about one tenth part of the whole consumption of the country, instead of 102,600 acres being sufficient for a perpetual supply, there would be required some ten or twelve millions of acres, in plantations similar to those at present existing, to supply the demand for oak timber. Whether such a quantity exists or not, the fact is certain, that, long before the conclusion of the war, a scarcity began to be felt, especially of the larger kind of timber, fit for building ships of the line; and so great was this scarcity, that if Sir Robert Seppings had not contrived the means of substituting straight timber for those of a certain form and dimension, before considered as indispensable, the building of new ships must have entirely ceased.

If, however, the growth of oak for ship timber was great- .y diminished during the war, so as to threaten an alarming scarcity, there is little doubt that, from the increased attention paid by individuals to their young plantations, and the great extension of those plantations, as well as from the measure of allotting off portions of the royal forests to those who had claims on them, and enclosing the remainder for the use of the public, this country will, in future times, be fully adequate to the production of oak timber equal to the demand for the naval and mercantile marine. It will require, however, large and successive plantations, on account of the slow growth of the oak. But there is another tree, of late years very generally planted on rising grounds, which bids fair to become an object of great national importance, as furnishing the best, and perhaps the only, substitute for oak timber. We mean the larch, which thrives well and grows rapidly in bad soils and exposed situations, the timber of which has been found to be durable, and, from several experiments, not inferior in strength, toughness, and elasticity to oak. So rapid is its growth, that the Duke of Atholl received twelve guineas for a single larch fifty years old; the timber was valued at two shillings a foot. A larch of seventy years’ growth produces timber fit for all naval purposes, and may be considered as equal in size to an oak of double that age. The dimensions of a larch tree cut down at Blair Atholl in 1817, and then seventy-nine years of age, were as follows: viz. stem, eighty-two feet; top, twenty feet; total height, 102 feet; girth at the ground, twelve feet; at nineteen feet, eight feet three inches and a half; and at fifty-seven feet, four feet ten inches; solid contents, 252∙8 cubic feet. Another larch, growing at Dunkeld, measured, in the year 1819, when it was eighty years old, and in full vigour, as follows, viz. height of stem seventy-five feet, top fourteen feet; total height ninety feet: at one foot from the ground, seventeen feet eight inches in girth; at ten feet, ten feet four inches; and at seventy feet, three feet two inches; its contents, 300 cubic feet, or six loads. For all kinds of mill-work, as wheels, axle-trees, &c. the utility of the large larch wood is unquestionable; and the thinnings are excellent for pailing, rails, and hurdles. The value of its application for naval purposes has been put to the test of experiment; two frigates of twenty-eight guns, one built entirely of larch from the Duke of Atholl’s plantations, the other of Riga fir (which is inferior only to oak), having been intended to go through the same service, precisely in the same parts of the world, in order to ascertain their comparative durability.

In addition to our resources of naval timber at home, we have wisely availed ourselves of those which India affords for building ships of war at Bombay, of teak, a wood far superior in every respect to oak, and many times more durable; not liable to corrode iron or other metallic fastenings, not susceptible of the dry rot, nor subject to the attack of the worm.

II.—PERSONEL OF THE NAVY.

The personel of the navy is composed of two different bodies of men, the seamen and the marines, each of whom have their appropriate officers.

The commissioned officers of the former consist of flagofficers, captains, commanders, and lieutenants. Flag-officers are divided into three ranks, and each rank into three squadrons, distinguished by the colours red, white, and blue; as admiral of the red, white, or blue; vice-admiral of the red, white, or blue; rear-admiral of the red, white, or blue; the admiral wearing* his colour at the main, the vice-admiral at the fore, and the rear-admiral at the mizen-mast head. There is also an admiral of the fleet, who, if in command, would carry the union flag at the main. There are besides superannuated rear-admirals, enjoying the rank and pay of a rear-admiral, but incapable of rising to a higher rank on the list. There is also in the navy the temporary rank of commodore, who is generally an old captain, and is distinguished by wearing a broad pendant. He ranks next to the junior rear-admiral, and above all captains, except where the captain of the fleet shall be a captain, who, in that situation, takes rank next to the junior rear-admiral.

The commissioned officers of the navy take rank with those of the army as follows.
[table]

And all officers of the same rank command according to the priority of their commissions, or, having commissions of the same date, according to the order in which they stand on the list of the officers of the navy, except in the case of lieutenants of flag-ships, who take precedence according as the flag-officer shall think fit to appoint them.

The warrant-officers of the navy may be compared with [7:16:51]the non-commissioned officers of the army. They take rank as follows, viz. master, second master, gunner, boatswain, carpenter. There are other warrant-officers of the navy, who, though non-combatants, constitute a part of the establishment of the larger classes of ships of war. These are, the chaplain, surgeon, surgeon’s assistant, purser; to which may be added, as part of the staff of a fleet or squadron, secretary to the admiral or commander-in-chief, and physician to the fleet. In steam-vessels, the engineers rank next after the warrant-officers.

The petty officers are very numerous, the principal of whom are masters’ mates and midshipmen. Their names or ratings will be seen in the table of the establishment of the ratings and pay in the several classes of ships of war.

By the king’s order in council, the following regulations are established for the promotion of commissioned officers of the navy. Midshipmen are required to serve six years on board some of his majesty’s ships, two of which years they must have been rated as midshipmen, to render them eligible to the rank and situation of lieutenant.

No lieutenant can be promoted to the rank of commander until he has been on the list of lieutenants during two years; and no commander to the rank of captain until he has been on the list for one year. Captains become admirals in succession according to their seniority on the list, provided they shall have commanded four years in a rated ship during war, or six years during peace, or five years in war and peace combined.

No person can be appointed to serve as master of one of his majesty’s ships who shall not have served as second master; and no person can be appointed as second master until he has passed such examination as may from time to time be directed.

No person can be appointed gunner or boatswain unless he shall have served one year as a petty officer on board one or more of his majesty’s ships, and produce certificates of his good conduct, and undergo the necessary examination.

No person can be appointed carpenter unless he shall have served an apprenticeship to a shipwright, and been six months a carpenter’s mate on board one or more of his majesty’s ships.

No person can be appointed purser, unless he shall have been rated and discharged the duties of a captain’s clerk for two complete years, one year as captain’s clerk, and been employed in the office of the secretary to a flagofficer for one other year, produce good certificates, and find such security for the honest and faithful discharge of his duty as shall be required.

No person can be appointed chaplain to one of his majesty’s ships until he has received priest’s orders; but he may be appointed to act whilst in deacon’s orders.

No person can be appointed surgeon to one of his majesty’s ships until, by long and meritorious services, he has discharged the duties of assistant surgeon; and all persons applying for the situation of assistant surgeon must undergo an examination touching their qualifications before the physician general of the navy.

The royal marines consist of four great divisions; the first stationed at Chatham, the second at Portsmouth, the third at Plymouth, and the fourth at Woolwich. They are composed of seventy-two companies, besides two companies of royal marine artillery, whose head-quarters are at Fort Monckton, Gosport. The first division has twenty-one companies; the second, eighteen companies; the third, twenty companies; and the fourth, thirteen companies. The officers of royal marines take rank with the officers of the line in the army.

A colonel commandant, who is a general officer in the corps, is resident in London; and to each of the divisions is a colonel commandant, two lieutenant-colonels, and two majors, with a proper number of captains and subaltern officers. Whilst on shore, the marines are subject to the same regulations as the army; but when embarked, they are liable to the naval articles of war.

Each division has its paymaster, a captain in the corps; a barrackmaster, also a captain; two adjutants, and a quartermaster, who are first lieutenants; and to each division is a surgeon and an assistant surgeon. There is also a retired list of officers, who, in consideration of wounds, infirmities, and long and meritorious services, are permitted to receive their full pay.

The commissions of officers of every rank in the marine corps are signed by the sovereign; but all commissions of officers of the navy are signed by two or more of the lords commissioners of the admiralty. But the marines, whether ashore or afloat, are, as well as the officers of the navy, under the immediate direction and control of the lords commissioners of the admiralty. All the appointments of commissioned and warrant officers to ships are made exclusively by the lords of the admiralty, or made subject to their confirmation, unless in cases of the death or dismissal of officers by sentence of court-martial on foreign stations, when the admiral commanding has the power to fill up the vacancies. And the duties of each rank are pointed out in a code of instructions emanating from that board, and sanctioned by the sovereign’s order in council.

The civil powers and duties of the lord high admiral, or lords commissioners of the admiralty, are treated of under the article Admiral. Their military powers are more extensive and important. By their orders all ships are built, repaired, fitted for sea, or laid up in ordinary, broken up, or sold; put in commission or out of commission, armed, stored, and provisioned; and employed on the home or foreign stations. All appointments or removals of commission and warrant officers, with the exception of masters and surgeons, are made by them, and all instructions issued for the guidance of their commanders; all promotion in the several ranks emanates from them; all honours bestowed for brilliant services, and all pensions, gratuities, and superannuations for wounds, infirmities, and long services, are granted on their recommendation. All returns from the fleet are sent to the board of admiralty, and every thing that relates to the discipline and good order of every ship. All orders for the payment of naval monies are issued by the lords commissioners of the admiralty; and the annual estimate of the expenses of the navy is prepared by them, and laid before parliament for its sanction. All new inventions and experiments are tried by their orders before being introduced into the service; all draughts of ships must be approved by them; all repairs, alterations, and improvements in the dock-yards, and all new buildings of every description, must be submitted for their decision before they are undertaken.

All flag-officers, commanders-in-chief, are considered as responsible for the conduct of the fleet or squadron under their command. They are bound to keep them in perfect condition for service; to exercise them frequently in forming orders of sailing and lines of battle, and in performing all such evolutions as may occur in the presence of an enemy; to direct the commanders of squadrons and divisions to inspect the state of each ship under their command, to see that the established rules for good order, discipline, and cleanliness, are observed, and occasionally to inquire into these and other matters themselves. They are required to correspond with the secretary of the admiralty, and report to him all their proceedings, for the information of the board.

If a commander-in-chief should be killed in battle, his flag is to be continued flying, and intelligence conveyed, by signal or otherwise, to the next in command, who is immediately to repair on board, leaving his own flag (if a [7:16:52] flag-officer) flying, and direct the operations of the fleet until the battle be ended, or the enemy out of sight.

Every flag-officer serving in a fleet, but not commanding it, is required to superintend all the ships of the squadron or division placed under his orders; to see that their crews are properly disciplined; that all orders are punctually attended to; that the stores, provisions, and water, are kept as complete as circumstances will admit; that the seamen and marines are frequently exercised; and that every precaution is taken for preserving the health of their crews; for all which he is responsible to the commander-in-chief. When at sea, he is to take care that every ship in his division preserve her station, in whatever line or order of sailing the fleet may be formed; and in battle he is to observe attentively the conduct of every ship near him, whether of the squadron or division under his immediate command or not; and at the end of the battle he is to report it to the commander-in-chief, in order that commendation or censure may be passed, as the case may appear to merit; and he is empowered to send an officer to supersede any captain who may misbehave in battle, or whose ship is evidently avoiding the engagement. If any flagofficer be killed in battle, his flag is to be kept flying, and signals to be repeated, in the same manner as if he were still alive, until the battle shall be ended; but the death of a flag-officer, or his being rendered incapable of attending to his duty, is to be conveyed as expeditiously as possible to the commander-in-chief.

The captain of the fleet is a temporary rank, where a commander-in-chief has ten or more ships of the line under his command; it may be compared with that of adjutant-general in the army. He may either be a flag-officer, or one of the senior captains; in the former case, he takes his rank with the flag-officers of the fleet; in the latter, he ranks next to the junior rear-admiral, and is entitled to the pay and compensation of a rear-admiral. All orders of the commander-in-chief are issued through him, and all returns of the fleet are made through him to the commander-in-chief. He is appointed and can be removed from his situation only by the lords commissioners of the admiralty.

A commodore is a temporary rank, and of two kinds; the one having a captain under him in the same ship, and the other without a captain. The former has the rank, pay, and allowances of a rear-admiral, the latter such additional pay as the lords of the admiralty may direct. They both carry distinguishing pendants.

When a captain is appointed to command a ship of war, he commissions the ship by hoisting his pendant; and if fresh out of the dock, and from the hands of the dockyard officers, he proceeds immediately to prepare her for sea, by demanding her stores, provisions, guns, and ammunition, from the respective departments, according to her establishment. He enters such men as may volunteer and be fit for the service (in time of peace), or which may be sent to him from some rendezvous for raising men in time of war; and he gives them the several ratings of petty officers, able seamen, ordinary, or landsmen, as their apparent qualifications may entitle them to. If he be appointed to succeed the captain of a ship already in commission, he passes a receipt to the said captain for the ship’s books, papers, and stores, and becomes responsible and accountable for the whole of the remaining stores and provisions; and, to enable him to keep the ship’s accounts, he is allowed a clerk of his own appointing.

The duty of the captain of a ship, with regard to the several books and accounts, pay-books, entry, musters, discharges, &c. is regulated by various acts of parliament; but the state of the internal discipline, the order, regularity, cleanliness, and the health of the crews, will depend mainly on himself and his officers. In all these respects, the general printed instructions for his guidance are particularly precise and minute. And, for the information of the ship’s company, he is directed to cause the articles of war, and abstracts of all acts of parliament for the encouragement of seamen, and all such orders and regulations for discipline as may be established, to be hung up in some public part of the ship, to which the men may at all times have access. He is also to direct that they be read to the ship’s company, all the officers being present, once at least in every month. He is not authorized to inflict any corporal punishment on any commissioned or warrant officer, but he may place them under arrest, and suspend any officer who shall misbehave, until an opportunity shall offer of trying such officer by a court-martial. He is enjoined to be very careful not to suffer the inferior officers, or men, to be treated with cruelty or oppression by their superiors. He alone is to order punishment to be inflicted, which he is never to do without sufficient cause, nor ever with greater severity than the offence may really deserve, nor until twenty-four hours after the crime has been committed, which must be specified in the warrant ordering the punishment; and all the officers and the whole ship’s company are to be present at every punishment, which must be inserted in the log-book, and an abstract at the end of every quarter made out and sent to the admiralty; a regulation which is said to have been attended with infinite benefit to the strict and just discipline of the naval service.

The lieutenants take the watch by turns, and are at such times intrusted, in the absence of the captain, with the command of the ship. The one on duty is to inform the captain of all occurrences which take place during his watch, as strange sails that may be in sight, signals from other ships in company, change of wind, &c. He is to see that the ship be properly steered, the log hove, and the course and distance entered on the log-board; and, in short, he is to see that the whole of the duties of the ship are carried on with the same punctuality as if the captain himself were present. In the absence of the captain the senior lieutenant is responsible for every thing done on board.

The master receives his orders from the captain, or any of the lieutenants. His more immediate duties are those of stowing the ship’s hold, and of attending to her sailing qualities; of receiving and placing the provisions in the ship, so as most conveniently to come at those which may be wanted. He is to take care that the cables are properly coiled in the tiers. The keys of the spirit-room are in his custody, and he is directed to intrust them only to the master’s mates. He has the charge of the store-rooms of the warrant-officers, which he is ordered frequently to visit; in short, the whole of the ship’s provisions, water, fuel, and stores of every description, are under the superintendence of the master; and he is also intrusted, under the command of the captain, with the charge of navigating the ship, bringing her to anchor, ascertaining the latitude and longitude of her place at sea, surveying harbours, and making such nautical remarks and observations as may be useful and interesting to navigation in general.

The warrant-officers are charged with the duty of receiving on board from the dock-yards, and examining, the various stores of their respective departments, and keeping an account of the expenditure of them.

The gunner has the charge of the ship’s artillery, and of the powder magazine. He is to see that the locks and carriages are kept in good order, and that the powder is preserved from damp; he is frequently to examine the musquetry and small arms, and to see that they are kept clean and fit for service; and, in preparing for battle, it is his duty to take care that all the quarters are supplied with every thing necessary for the service of the guns, and, [7:16:53] during the action, that there be no want of ammunition served out. He is frequently to exercise the men at the guns, and to see that they perform this part of their duty with correctness, explaining and enforcing the necessity of their pointing the guns before they fire them, spunging them well, and close-stopping the touch-hole immediately after firing. The armourer and his mates are under the immediate orders of the gunner, in every thing that relates to the great guns and small arms.

The boatswain is charged with the duty of receiving and examining all the stores belonging to his department, consisting chiefly of the ropes and rigging, the latter of which he is ordered to inspect daily, in order that any part of it, chafed or likely to give way, may be repaired without loss of time. He is always required to be on deck at such times as all hands are employed; he is bound to see that the men, when called, move quickly upon deck, and when there, that they perform their duty with alacrity, and without noise or confusion. The sail-maker and the ropemaker are under his immediate orders; and he is directed to see that both these officers perform their respective duties with diligence and propriety.

The carpenter, when appointed to a ship, is carefully to inspect the state of the masts and the yards, whether in the dock-yard or on board of the ship, to see that they are perfectly sound and in good order. He is to examine every part of the ship’s hull, magazine, store-rooms, and cabins. He is every day when at sea carefully to examine into the state of the masts and yards, and to report to the officer of the watch if any appear to be sprung, or in any way defective. He is to see that the ports are secure and properly lined, and that the pumps are kept in good order, as also the boats, ladders, and gratings. The caulker is placed under his immediate orders, and he is to see that the former performs his duty in a workmanlike manner, in stopping immediately any leaks that may be discovered in the sides or decks.

The purser has the charge of all the ship’s provisions, and of the serving them out for the use of the crew. His charge is, therefore, of a most important nature; and, accordingly, he must not only produce good certificates of his conduct whilst serving in the capacity of clerk, but must also find two sureties for the due discharge of his trust, who are required to give bond in a penal sum, according to the rate or class of ship to which he may be appointed. The regulations and instructions for his guidance are minutely detailed in the general printed instructions, with all the various forms established for the keeping of his accounts with the comptroller of victualling, to whom he is immediately responsible. To assist him in the performance of his arduous duties, he is allowed to employ the clerk, who, being engaged by the captain, who is responsible for the strict performance of the duties of all the officers under his orders, is, as it were, a check on the purser in many parts of his duty, regarding the slop-books, muster-books, &c. He has also a steward under his immediate orders.

The duties of the physician to the fleet, the surgeon of a ship and his assistants, the secretary to the commanderin-chief, and the chaplain, are too obvious to require any specification.

The midshipmen are considered as the principal petty officers, but have no specific duties assigned to them. In the smaller vessels, some of the senior ones are intrusted with the watch; they attend parties of men senton shore; pass the word of command on board, and see that the orders of their superiors are carried into effect; and, in short, are exercised in all the duties of their profession, so as, after six years’ service, to qualify them to become lieutenants.

Every ship, according to her class, has a certain num ber of marines serving on board as part of her complement. They are commanded by a captain, or brevet-major, in from first to fourth rates inclusive, with three or two subalterns under them, and an established number of non-commissioned officers; but the party on board fifth rates, and under, is commanded by a subaltern, and in small vessels by a sergeant or corporal.

All marine-officers, of whatsoever rank, when embarked, are to obey the orders of the captain, or the commanding officer of the watch. The marines arc exercised by their officers in the use of their arms; they arc employed as sentinels, and in all other duties on board of which they are capable, with the exception of going aloft. The officer commanding has the charge of the arms, accoutrements, and drums; and he is to inspect weekly, at least, the state of the clothing of his party. The marines are in every respect treated in the same manner as the rest of the ship’s company.

The long continuance of the revolutionary war necessarily created a prodigious increase of the commissioned officers of the navy. Their numbers, in the five following years of peace, were,
[table]

The warrant-officers have increased in each class, from the average of about 400 in 1793, to 700 in 1821.

The number of seamen and marines voted in 1792 was 16,000 (but never reduced to that number); in 1822, it was 21,000; and in 1836, 32,000. The greatest number of seamen and marines voted in any one year during the war was 150,000.

The crew of a ship of war consists of able seamen, ordinary seamen, landsmen, boys, and marines. The landsmen, boys, and marines, are always entered voluntarily, the latter in the same manner as soldiers, by enlisting into the corps, the two former at some rendezvous, or on board particular ships. A supply of boys for the navy is also regularly sent from the Asylum at Greenwich and the Marine Society. Able and ordinary seamen also very commonly volunteer to serve during the war, and always in time of peace; but the high wages given by the merchant ships to seamen in time of war hold out such encouragement as to induce them to give the preference to that service, though, in all other respects, their treatment is far superior on board a king’s ship, having better provisions, and being subject to much less fatigue and exposure to the weather. Indeed, the excellent regulations now rigidly adhered to on board his majesty’s ships, and the attention that is paid to the health and comfort of the crew, have overcome much of that reluctance which formerly was felt to the service of a ship of war.

The state of health on board of a king’s ship is, generally speaking, not exceeded in the most favoured spot on shore; and that horrible disease, the sea-scurvy, may now be considered as unknown in the British navy, since the universal introduction of lemon juice, or the citric acid, without an ample supply of which no ship is permitted to sail on a foreign voyage. Sir Gilbert Blane, in a sensible little tract on the Health of the Navy, says that he has never seen the scurvy resist the citric acid; and that, in the perusal of several hundreds of surgeons’ journals, he has met with only two cases which seemed to resist it.
[7:16:54]

Yet, though it appears to have been known as a remedy for the scurvy, far superior to all others, two hundred years ago, it seems to have lain dormant and utterly neglected, till Dr Lind, more than a hundred years afterwards, revived and stated clearly the singular powers of this remedy. In 1600, Commodore Lancaster sailed from England, with three other ships, on the 2d of April, and arrived in Saldanha Bay on the 1st of August. The commodore’s crew having each had three table-spoonfuls of lemon juice every morning, arrived there in perfect health; whereas the other ships were so sickly, that they were unmanageable for want of hands. We have all felt the commiseration and horror which the perusal of the narrative of Anson’s Voyage produces. His ship, the Centurion, left England with 400 men, of whom 200 were surviving on his arrival at Juan Fernandez, and of these, eight only were capable of duty, from scurvy. Yet even this horrible catastrophe seems to have failed in rousing the nation to have recourse to a remedy so certain and efficacious. Cook was well supplied with vinegar and other acids, and found the good effects of them; but the first general supply of lemon juice to the navy was established only in the year 1795, in consequence of a trial which had been made of it the preceding year in the Suffolk, of seventy-four guns. This ship left England, and arrived at Madras in September, without touching at any land. With every man’s grog there were daily mixed two thirds of a liquid ounce of lemon juice, and two ounces of sugar. She lost not a man; and though the disease made its appearance in a few, an increased dose of lemon juice immediately removed it. Thus the Suffolk, after a voyage of 162 days, arrived without losing a man, or having a man sick of the scurvy; whereas the Centurion, in 143 days from the last place of her refreshment, lost half of her crew, whilst the other half were so feeble and emaciated as to be utterly helpless.

Nothing could more strongly point out the efficacy of lemon juice than the following fact. When Lord St Vincent commanded the fleet which blockaded Brest from the 27th of May to the 26th of September 1800, he maintained so close a blockade, that not a single day passed without reconnoitring the entrance of the harbour; yet, although the seamen of his fleet, consisting of at least 16,000 men, had no other than the ordinary ship’s provisions, sixteen only, in the course of four months, were sent to the hospital. In 1780 the Channel fleet, as appears from Dr Lind, were so overrun with scurvy and fever as to be unable to keep the sea after a cruise of ten weeks only.

From the official returns collected by Sir Gilbert Blane, Μ. Dupin, a French author well versed in naval subjects, has drawn out the following table, which exhibits at one view the progressive diminution of sickness, death, and desertion, in the British navy, calculated on 100,000 men.
[table]

Hence it would appear, that the diminution of sickness and of deaths has been in the proportion of four to one nearly between the years 1779 and 1813. The diminution of desertions from the hospital in the same period is not the less remarkable; and it affords, at the same time, the strongest proof of the progressive amelioration of the condition of seamen on board British ships of war. Indeed, whether on board of ship, or in any of those noble institutions, the naval hospitals, which are established at all the principal ports at home, and in the colonies abroad, the attention which is paid to the sick sailor is above all praise. The seamen are sensible of this, and nothing keeps them back from volunteering their services, and giving a preference to a king’s ship over a merchantman, but the temptation of high wages offered by the latter in time of war, and that love of liberty and free scope for roving which are characteristic of seamen.

The speedy manning of the fleet, on the first breaking out of the war, is one of the most important objects that can devolve on the naval administration, as on it alone must depend the safety of our commerce and our colonies. This has been felt at all times; and, accordingly, a variety of schemes have been brought forward for this purpose, but all of them have failed of success, except the compulsory mode of raising men under the authority of press-warrants, issued by the lords commissioners of the admiralty, by virtue of the king’s order in council, renewed from year to year. There likewise issues, on the breaking out of a war, a proclamation from the king, recalling all British seamen out of the service of foreign princes or states; and the instructions to the commanders of all ships of war direct them to search foreign vessels, and to take British seamen out of them.

The impressment of seafaring men, however anomalous under a free constitution like that of Great Britain, is defensible on state necessity, until it can be shown that the fleet, on an emergency, is capable of being manned without resorting to that measure. In consequence of some doubts being raised on the legality of the subject in the year 1676, when the affairs of the admiralty were managed immediately under the direction of the king and the great officers of state, a discussion was held on this point, when it was decided by the judges and crown-lawyers, that the king had an indefeasible right to the services of his subjects when the state required them, and that the power of impressing seamen was indispensably inherent in the crown, without which the trade and safety of the nation could not be secured. The first instance of impressing men in Ireland seems to have been in the year 1678, when the lordlieutenant received directions from the privy council to raise a thousand seamen for the fleet. In 1690, the lords-justices of Ireland were directed to assist the officers of the navy in impressing men in that kingdom, In 1697, a register was taken of all the seafaring men in Ireland, which amounted to 4424 men, of whom it is noted 2654 were Catholics. On several occasions, during Queen Anne’s reign, the lords-justices of Ireland received directions to raise men to serve in the fleet.

In Scotland, the mode of raising men by impressment was unknown before the union; but in various instances the council of Scotland was directed to raise volunteers for the fleet, each man to have forty shillings as bounty.

In 1706, an experiment was tried for the speedy manning of the fleet, by virtue of an act of parliament, which required the civil magistrates of all the counties to make diligent search for all seafaring men, and twenty shillings were allowed to the constables for each man taken up; the seamen to have pay from the day of delivery to the naval officers stationed to receive them; and if they deserted after that, they were to be considered as guilty of felony. By the same act, insolvent debtors, fit for the service, and willing to enter it, were released, provided the debt did not exceed L.30; and no seaman in the fleet was to be arrested for any debt not exceeding L.20. The whole proceeding under this act incurred a very heavy expense, and totally failed.

In the same year, the queen referred to the Prince of Denmark, then lord high admiral, an address from the House of Lords, relating to the three following points :— 1st, The most effectual means for manning the fleet; 2d , [7:16:55]the encouragement and increase of the number of seamen; 3d, the restoring and preserving the discipline of the navy. His royal highness submitted these points to such of the flag-officers and other commanders as could be assembled, who made a report, of which the substance was to the following effect :—Isí, To cause a general register to be kept of all seafaring men in England and Ireland, for which they presented the draft of a bill; 2d, that all marines qualified to act as seamen should be discharged from the army, the officers to have levy money and the men’s clothing returned; 3rf, that not fewer than 20,000 seamen should be kept in employ in time of peace. But they observe, that as to the restoring and preserving the discipline of the navy, no particular instance being laid before them wherein it was defective, they could give no opinion on that head.

This registry of seafaring men has been tried more than once; but as the men themselves had no interest whatever in the measure, it always failed in producing the desired effect. It is now under trial by act of parliament, with great inducements for men to register and enter the naval service.

In fact, there are now so many exemptions from the impress, that its severity is greatly abated. The following descriptions of persons are protected by various acts of parliament:

Masters of merchant ships or vessels.

First mates of such as are fifty tons or upwards.

Boatswains and carpenters of such as are of 100 tons or upwards.

Men belonging to vessels and craft of all kinds in the employment of navy, victualling, ordnance, customs, excise, and post offices.

Watermen belonging to the insurance offices within the cities of London and Westminster.

All men of the age of fifty-five years and upwards. All youths not having attained the age of eighteen. All foreigners.

Apprentices not having used the sea before the date of their indentures, and not more than three years from the said date.

Landsmen not having served at sea full two years.

Masters, apprentices, one seaman, and one landsman, of all fishing vessels on the sea coast or on navigable rivers.

Harpooners, line-managers, and boat-steerers of the Greenland fishery and the southern whale fishery; and all seamen and common mariners who have entered for the said fisheries.

And no person whatsoever can be impressed, except by an officer who has been intrusted with a press-warrant.

j∙ The discipline of the navy, or the government of his majesty’s ships, vessels, and forces by sea, is regulated by the act of 22 Geo. II., usually known by the name of the articles of war. By this act, the lords commissioners of the admiralty are empowered to order courts-martial for all offences mentioned therein, and committed by any person in and belonging to the fleet and in full pay; and also to delegate the same power to admirals commanding in chief on foreign stations, which power also may devolve on his successor in case of death or recall, provided that no commandcr-in-chief of any fleet or squadron, or detachment thereof, consisting of more than five ships, shall preside at any court-martial in foreign parts, the officer next in command being ordered to preside thereat.

By this act, no court-martial can consist of more than thirteen or of less than five persons, to be composed of such flag-officers, captains, or commanders, then and there present, as are next in seniority to the officer who presides at the court-martial. And when there are but three officers of the rank of captains, the president is to call in as many commanders under that rank as will make up five in the whole.

This code of laws for the government of the fleet consists of thirty-six articles, of which nine award the punishment of death, and eleven death or such other punishment as the court-martial shall deem the offence to deserve. Those which incur the former penalty are, the holding illegal correspondence with an enemy; cowardice or neglect of duty in time of action; not pursuing the enemy; desertion to the enemy; making mutinous assemblies; striking a superior officer; burning magazines, vessels, &c. not belonging to an enemy; murder; sodomy. The penalty of death for cowardice, or other neglect of duty, in time of action (art. 12), and of not pursuing the enemy (art. 13), was, by the 19th George III. so far mitigated, as to authorize the court-martial “to pronounce sentence of death, or to inflict such other punishment as the nature and degree of the offence shall be found to deserve.” Under these articles thus mitigated, Admiral Byng would probably not have been condemned to death. The other eleven articles, which leave the punishment to the discretion of the court, are, not preparing for fight, and encouraging the men in time of action; suppression of any letter or message sent from an enemy; spies delivering letters, &c. from an enemy; relieving an enemy; disobedience of orders in time of action; discouraging the men on various pretences; not taking care of and defending ships under convoy; quarrelling with and disobeying a superior officer in the execution of his office; wilfully neglecting the steering of ships; sleeping on watch, and forsaking his station; robbery. The remaining sixteen articles incur the penalty of dismission from the service, or from the ship, degradation of rank, or such other punishment as the court may judge the nature and degree of the offence to deserve.

Much, however, of the internal discipline of a ship of war depends upon the captain, who, being empowered to punish the men for minor offences, according to the usage of the service, courts-martial on seamen are rarely found necessary to be resorted to in well-regulated ships. The principal circumstance which usually militates against the perfect good order of the crew, is the great allowance of grog served out daily to the men, as established by the king’s order in council, and which frequently leads to drunkenness, and this again to insubordination. Perhaps half the punishments in the navy are for this offence, which it requires the utmost vigilance and precautions on the part of the officers to prevent.

In other respects the discipline of a well-organized ship of war is perfect; and to this discipline Μ. Dupin, a French writer of great sagacity, mainly ascribes the brilliant successes of the British navy, and to the want of it the ruin of that of France. “We have already cited,” says he, “as a model, the management of the materiel of the English ships. In the preservation of this materiel, in the stowing it away, in the arrangement of whatever may be necessary either for manoeuvres or for action, the most perfect regularity is observed. At the same time, what becoming austerity is maintained by the commanding officer; what obedience amongst the subalterns; and, in a space so limited, considering the number of men on board, and the multiplicity of movements they have to make in obeying so many different orders, what imposing silence. It is the calmness of strength, the presiding influence of wisdom. In the midst of the most complicated operations, and even in the heat and transport of battle, one hears only the words of command, pronounced and repeated from rank to rank, with a measured tone and perfect sang froid. No unseasonable advices, no murmurs, no tumult. The commanders meditate in silence; the word is given, and the men act without either speaking or thinking.”

This is remarkably so in the day of battle. Every officer and man knows precisely his place, and the duty he has to perform, on that day. By the general printed in-structíons, [7:16:56]the captains of his majesty’s ships are required to accustom the men to assemble at their proper quarters, to exercise them at the great guns, to teach them to point, fire, &c. under all circumstances of sea and weather. Indeed, it is well known, that the preservation of the high character of the British navy essentially depends on the proper training of the seamen to the expert management of the guns, so as to be duly prepared in the day of battle; the issue of which so mainly depends on the cool, steady, and regular manner in which the ship’s ordnance is loaded, pointed, and fired. Practice in these respects is much more necessary on board ships than on shore, as it can never happen that the ship is entirely steady, and has most frequently a rolling or pitching motion, for which allowances must be made, and which can only be made with effect by long practice.

If the management of the great guns of a ship of war is more difficult than the artillery of a fort, so likewise are naval tactics more difficult than those of an army; inasmuch as there is more difficulty and less dependence in placing and directing the movements of an inanimate than an animate machine. The general principles are the same; the object of both being that of bringing the greatest possible force to bear on that point which is likely to produce the greatest possible injury to the enemy. With this view, as well as to keep a fleet together in compact order, so that straggling ships may not be cut off by the enemy, it has been found necessary to preserve a certain order of sailing, whether out of sight of an enemy or in his presence; and such an order as, according to the state of the wind and weather, and the point of bearing of the enemy’s fleet, may most conveniently and expeditiously be changed into such a line of battle as the commander-in-chief may deem it most expedient to adopt in the attack to be made on his opponent.

In order to do this, it is obvious that every individual captain must be able to know, under all circumstances, what the ship he commands will be able to do, in order to preserve her station in the fleet; for it is with ships as with horses, no two perhaps performing the same evolution with the same tightness of rein, or the same quantity of sail. This shows the absolute necessity of a commander-in-chief frequently exercising his fleet in naval tactics, and to observe how such and such a ship will behave under a certain quantity of canvass, and to assign her station in the line where she may appear calculated to act with the greatest efficiency.

To facilitate these movements, the admirals commanding squadrons are considered as responsible for the movement of the ships in their respective divisions. They are to see that each captain strictly obeys the general order; and if any one is perceived to neglect his duty, whether belonging to his proper division or not, if in action, he has the power to send immediately another officer to suspend him. And in order that no confusion may arise, if, in time of battle, the admiral commanding in chief, or any of the admirals commanding squadrons, should be killed, his or their flags remain flying till the battle is decided. If the commander-in-chief be killed or severely wounded, a private signal is made to the second in command; or if a junior admiral be killed or wounded, the commander-in-chief is also acquainted by signal.

This silent method of communicating what is going on • is the perfection of naval tactics; indeed it is very difficult to conceive how our ancestors contrived to manage a fleet without a code of signals. For great and important occasions, the exhibition of a flag or flags, in some particular part of the ship, might be generally understood to imply that the fleet should anchor, or tack, or form the order of sailing in two lines, or the line of battle, or some other great movement. The hoisting of a cask at the yard-arm might be understood to imply a want of water; or a hatchet, of wood; or an empty bag, of bread; and the table-cloth was a very significant invitation to dinner; but they had no means of interchanging freely their wants or intentions, or of conveying detailed intelligence. Even so late as the American war, there was no established code of signals in the navy. An anecdote is told of Admiral Geary, who, in the year 1780, commanded the Channel fleet, which clearly proves how little was then known or practised in the way of signals. His captain, Kempenfelt, had laboured long to improve the defective system; and having one day seen the enemy’s fleet, he endeavoured to communicate the intelligence by the new code; but in the hurry of making sail and giving chase, the signals somehow or other were not understood by the rest of the fleet. Geary at last became impatient, and, running up to Kempenfelt, seized him by the hand, and exclaimed with great emphasis, “Now, my dear Kempy, do, for God’s sake, throw your signals overboard, and make the old one, which we all understand,—‘ to bring the enemy to close action.”’

“If an admiral,” says Dr Beatson in his able Memoirs, “cannot command all the necessary movements of his ships by signal in the day of battle, he is not upon a footing with an enemy who possesses that advantage; and, even with better ships and better men, and more experienced commanders, he may be foiled in his expectations of victory, if not defeated, from his want of the means to direct and to perform the necessary evolutions of his fleet.” “In no fight,” he adds, “was the insufficiency of the present system of naval signals more conspicuous than in this (Keppel’s unfortunate action); and it is to be hoped that if ever a new code be adopted for the use of the royal navy, it may be so clear and comprehensive, that such fatal errors as those which have been pointed out will in future be prevented.” This, we may now say, has been accomplished.

The idea of numbering the flags, and of assigning a certain number of corresponding sentences to certain combinations of these numbers, was reduced to something approaching a regular system in the fleet under the command of Lord Howe*; and in the year 1798 a new signal-book was issued from the admiralty, containing about 400 sentences, expressive of certain operations of a fleet, communicated by means of flags to which the numerical characters were applied; and these, as far as they went, answered very well, but did not supersede the necessity of conveying orders by boats on many occasions. The following year Sir Home Popham suggested the idea of making the flags to represent the letters of the alphabet in combination with numbers, which not only added immensely to the means of communication, but also of making use of words by signal. From this time improvements in the modes of communicating by signals and telegraphs were rapidly introduced, particularly in the shape and the colours of the flags, according to a plan of Sir Home Popham, which has rendered signals by flags as nearly perfect as they probably ever will be.

There is, however, an imperfection in the flags themselves; as in calm weather, when they do not fly out, neither their shape nor colour is visible without the use of stretchers, which are not always easily managed, and never without loss of time. Again, if the wind be parallel to the line of vision, the flag shows only its edge, and neither shape nor colour can be discerned. To remedy these inconveniences, Sir Home Popham proposed a portable wooden semaphore, in imitation of the French telegraph, to be mounted on the quarter-deck or poop of a ship.

It consists of two posts, each having a moveable arm, which may be placed in four positions that can never be mistaken, being at right angles to each other; and the [7:16:57]number annexed to each position is that which it conveys to the person receiving the message.

The encouragement afforded by government to every branch of science connected with the navy, and navigation in general, has been carried much farther by England than by any other European nation, and has produced the happiest results for commercial enterprise, by determining with accuracy the precise position of ships, by shortening long voyages, and by the discovery of new lands and unexplored regions. From the commencement of the eighteenth century, when a national reward was first offered to the man of science, or the artist, who should discover a method sufficiently exact to determine the longitude of a ship’s place at sea, to the present time, the improvements in the construction and division of all kinds of instruments for measuring angles, in the calculations of lunar and other tables, and, above all, in the manufacture and adjustments of chronometers, have continued in gradual progression, and may now be considered as having arrived at such a degree of perfection, more especially the chronometers, that the discovery of the longitude can scarcely be said to remain a desideratum. We may form an idea what the progress in the improvement of chronometers has been, when a public reward was offered by parliament in the year 1814, to the first who should determine the longitude at sea within a degree ; and in 1820, three chronometers, after remaining in the arctic regions for eighteen months, returned to England without altering their rates more than a few seconds of time.

: The officers of the royal navy are much more generally versed in the sciences of late years than they were heretofore. In fact, it is now necessary for a young man to be well acquainted with a certain portion of mathematical and astronomical knowledge, to enable him to pass an examination, without which he cannot be qualified for the commission of a lieutenant. The examinations also of the several warrant-officers, and their qualifications for their respective stations, are more strictly attended to than heretofore; and the consequence is, that a much better system of discipline without rigour is established throughout the fleet, and more comfort in every respect to every class of officers and men employed.

The encouragement given to the navy from its first regular establishment has marked it as a favourite service 1 in the minds of the public. The sea-pay, the half-pay, and other emoluments, have generally been superior to those enjoyed by the army, but subject to great fluctuations in every reign, and to frequent changes in the same reign. Thus King William, in 1693, gave to an admiral L.4 a day, a vice-admiral L.3, and a rear-admiral L.2, which, with the compensation for servants, amounted to more than their present pay; yet their allowances were still further increased in 1700, till a reduction took place in consequence of an address from the Commons. From this time till the year 1806 very little alteration took place, when a small addition was made to the pay of each class.

The following table will exhibit, at one view, the complete war-establishment of commissioned, warrant, petty, and non-commissioned officers, seamen, and marines, on board every class of his majesty’s ships, with the rate of pay granted to each, and the classes into which they are divided for the distribution of prize-money or seizures; as established by his majesty’s order in council of the 25th November 1816.

FLAG PAY.
[table]

In flag-ships all the lieutenants, including one extra as flag-lieutenant, are allowed 6d. per diem in addition to their pay.
[table]
[7:16:58]
[table]
[7:16:59]
[table]
[7:16:60]
[table]
[7:16:61]
[table]
[7:16:62]
[table]

Note. — To this table it may be added, that captains who, on the death or absence of a commander-in-chief, are authorized to hoist a distinguishing pendant, are entitled to receive the pay of L.l per day in addition to their pay as captains, while the pendant is flying within the limits of the station.
[table]

Though the navy, as we have seen, was put upon a regular establishment under the reign of Henry VIII., neither officers nor seamen received any pay or emolument in time of peace, until the reign of Charles H., when, in 1668, certain allowances were made to flag-officers and their captains out of the L.200,000 a year voted for the whole naval service; and in 1674, certain other allowances were granted, by order in council, to captains who had commanded ships of the first and second rate, and to the second captains to flag-officers, on the ground, as assigned in the preamble, that they had undergone the brunt of the war, without sharing in the incident advantages of it, as prizes, convoys, and such like, which the commanders of the smaller classes of ships had enjoyed. But the first regular establishment of half-pay for all flag-officers, captains, first-lieutenants, and masters, was by King William, in the year 1693, provided they had served a year in their respective qualities, or had been in a general engagement with the enemy. A regular established half-pay was further sanctioned by an order in council of Queen Anne in 1700; the conditions of which were, that no officer should enjoy the benefit thereof who had absented himself without permission of the lord high admiral or lords commissioners of the admiralty, or who had been dismissed for any misdemeanour, or by court-martial, or who had not behaved himself to the satisfaction of the lord high admiral, or who should have leisure to go out of his majesty’s dominions, if employed in the merchant service or otherwise, or who enjoyed the benefit of any public employment. Since the above period the rate of half-pay to the several officers of the navy has undergone various modifications. At present it stands thus: [7:16:63]RATES OF HALF-PAY.
[table]

The boatswains, gunners, and carpenters of the navy, have pensions or superannuations, in lieu of half-pay, according to the following scale, formed on a consideration of the total length of service as warrant-officers, with the length of service in commission.
[table]

In point of half-pay and other pecuniary emoluments, the navy has much the advantage over the army, more particularly in the chance of prize-money, which but seldom falls to the share of the army, except on some conjoint expedition. On the commencement of a war a proclamation is issued by the king, directing that the net produce of all prizes taken by any of his ships of war shall be for the entire benefit and encouragement of the flag-officers, captains, commanders, and other commissioned officers, and of the seamen, marines, and soldiers on board at the time of the capture; and directing also in what manner the distribution shall be made. Many very handsome, and, in some instances, very splendid fortunes, have been made by captures of the enemy’s ships.

Another great encouragement for young men to enter the naval service arises from the honours bestowed by the sovereign for any brilliant exploit. Thus, in consequence of the skill and bravery which were exhibited in the great and glorious action of the 1st of June 1794, his majesty was graciously pleased to confer on Earl Howe the order of the garter; Admirals Graves and Sir Alexander Hood were made barons of the kingdom of Ireland; and Rear-admirals Bowyer, Gardner, and Pasley, together with Sir Roger Curtis, captain of the Queen Charlotte, were created baronets. Gold medals and chains were also distributed to such admirals, and gold medals to such captains, as were particularized in Lord Howe’s despatches. The first lieutenants of each ship were promoted to the rank of commanders; and pensions of L.1000 per annum were granted to Rear-admirals Bowyer and Pasley, in consideration of the loss of limbs.

For the action of 14th of February 1797, Lord St Vincent was advanced to the dignity of an earl, and a pension was granted to him of L.3000 a year; Vice-admirals Thompson and Parker were created baronets; Commodore Nelson received the order of the bath, and Captain Calder of the Victory the honour of knighthood; and gold medals were distributed to the admirals and captains.

For the action of the 11 th of October 1797, Admiral Duncan was created a viscount, with a pension of L.2000 a year; Vice-admiral Onslow was made a baronet; and Captain Fairfax had the honour of knighthood. Gold medals were also distributed to the admirals and captains.

For the action of the 1st of August 1798, his majesty was pleased to testify his sense of the importance of this brilliant achievement, by raising Sir Horatio Nelson to the dignity of the peerage, by the title of Baron Nelson of the Nile; and by directing medals to be distributed to the captains. The first lieutenant of the Majestic was made a captain, and the first lieutenants of the other ships were [7:16:64]promoted to the rank of commanders. And for the attack of the Danish fleet at Copenhagen, Lord Nelson was raised to the dignity of a viscount, and the order of the bath was conferred on Admiral Graves.

For the ever memorable action of Trafalgar, in which Lord Nelson fell in the arms of victory, his majesty was pleased to confer upon his brother the rank of earl, with a pension of L.5000 a year; and the sum of L.120,000 was voted by parliament for the purchase of an estate to be annexed to the title. Admiral Collingwood was raised to the dignity of baron; Lord Northesk was honoured with the order of the bath, and Captain Hardy was created a baronet. The captains received medals; five lieutenants were made captains, and twenty-four, commanders; twenty-two midshipmen were made lieutenants; and the senior captain of marines was made brevet-major.

By this last act of Lord Nelson’s life was annihilated the only remaining hope of the combined navies of France and Spain, and a blow given to the naval power of the enemies of Great Britain, which they never recovered during the remainder of the war.

In the secondary victories of Sir John Warren, Sir John Duckworth, Sir Robert Calder, Sir Richard Strachan, Lord Gambier, and Lord Exmouth, and even for brilliant actions of single ships, appropriate distinctions have never been withheld. Exclusive of peerages and baroneteies, the honours bestowed for gallant conduct in the naval service consist of twenty-five grand crosses of the bath, seventy knights commanders, and 130 companions of the bath.

The provision which is made for officers, in the event •of losing a limb, or being so severely wounded in the service that the prejudice to the habit of body is equal to the loss of a limb, is another encouragement for entering the naval service.
[table]

Marine officers the same as in the army.

A provision is likewise made for the widows of the commission and warrant officers of his majesty’s navy, by order of the king in council, and voted annually on the navy estimates. The pensions are allowed according to the annexed scale, being similar in most cases to the widows of officers in the army of corresponding ranks. The latter are also provided for by an annual vote of parliament.

Scale of Pensions.
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And the widows of officers of the royal marines are entitled to the following pensions:
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In addition to these pensions, there has been established a Compassionate Fund, for the relief of such widows and orphan children as may appear to be proper objects of compassion. The sums annually required are voted by parliament, and at present are limited to L. 14,000 a year.

Pensions to petty officers and seamen are, granted by the board of admiralty for wounds, infirmities, and length of service; and the sum required for this purpose is voted annually on the navy estimates.

The establishment of Greenwich Hospital embraced much more extensive objects. The first idea of this noble institution, the glory and ornament of the kingdom, has been ascribed, with every appearance of justice, to Mary, the consort of William III. Being desirous that our gallant seamen, worn down by age or infirmities, as well, as suffering from wounds, should not be left destitute, she made a ι grant, jointly with King William, of the palace of Greenwich, and of certain lands adjoining, to be appropriated to this purpose, in order, as stated in the king’s commission, to “the making some competent provision, that seamen, who, by age, wounds, or other accidents, shall become disabled for further service at sea, and shall not be in a condition to maintain themselves comfortably, may not fall under hardships and miseries, but may be supported at the public charge; and that the children of such disabled seamen, and also the widowsand children of such seamen as shall happen to be slain in sea service, may, in some reasonable manner, be provided for and educated.” In 1695, the committee appointed to examine and report on the premises recommended an additional wing to King Charles’s building, which being approved by the king, Sir Christopher Wren undertook to superintend the new erections without any pay or reward. Since that time various additions and improvements have been made to this magnificent pile of building, which was completed very nearly as it now appears, in the year 1778.

The king granted L.2000 a year towards the carrying on, perfecting, and endowing of this hospital. The great officers of state and wealthy individuals also subscribed liberally to the undertaking. It was at the same time enacted by parliament, that a deduction of sixpence per man per month should be made out of the wages of all mariners for the use of the hospital; and power was given to the lord high admiral to appoint commissioners for receiving the said duty, whose office is situated on Tower Hill. These deductions no longer exist, and the establishment has been broken up. In 1699 his majesty contributed the sum of L.19,500, being fines laid by the House of Lords on certain merchants convicted of smuggling. In 1705 Queen Anne assigned to the use of the hospital the effects of Kid the pirate, amounting to upwards of L.6000. In 1707, Robert Osbaldiston, Esq. devised by will half of his estate, which was valued at L.20,000. In the same year Anthony Bowyer gave the reversion of a considerable estate for the use of the hospital. By several statutes, the forfeited and unclaimed shares of prize-money were given to the hospital, and various grants, from time to time, continued to be made by parliament. But the most substantial grant was that made by the Commons, of the rents and profits of the forfeited estates of the Earl of Derwentwater, [7:16:65]amounting at that time to about L.6000 a year, and at present to the gross rental of L.60,000, of which, after payment of all expenses for improvements, repairs,’collections, and incumbrances, the annual receipt may be estimated at from L.30,000 to L.40,000.

At present the permanent revenues of the hospital consist of the following heads:

1. The duties arising from the North and South Foreland light-houses.

2. The rents and profits of the Derwentwater estates, including the lead mines.

3. Rents of the market of Greenwich, and of certain houses there and in London.

4. Interest of money invested in the public funds.

5. Forfeited and unclaimed shares of prize-money.

6. Fines for various offences.

It is evident that the funds of the establishment must vary considerably in times of war and peace; being lowest in the latter period, when the demands are heaviest upon it, especially for a certain number of years after the close of a war.

The rental of the estates belonging to the hospital in the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Durham, rose from L.23,000 in 1805, to L.43,000 in 1816. The present gross rental of these estates and the lead mines, as above stated, amounts to about L.60,000, the North and South Foreland lights to L.7000, and the interest of funded property to L.50,000; making, with other contingencies, an annual revenue of about L.150,000, the whole of which is expended on the household establishment, the clothing, maintenance, and allowances to pensioners and other attendants, with repairs, taxes, and contingencies.

The establishment of this noble institution consists of a governor, who is a flag-officer in the navy, lieutenant-governor, four captains, and eight lieutenants, all resident within the hospital; a treasurer, auditor, paymaster of pensions, secretary, clerk of the check, two chaplains, two physicians, three surgeons, two dispensers, steward, clerk of the works, and several clerks. The number of in-pensioners is about 3000, and the number of nurses 180, all of whom must be the widows of seamen of the navy, and under the age of forty-five years at the time of admission.

Under the naval administration of Earl Grey, the following officers were added to the out-pensions of Green- 1 wich Hospital, to be selected by the admiralty, according to their respective claims on the service:
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The out-pensions to seamen were first established in the year 1763, by act of 3d Geo. III. ch. 16, in consequence of which 1400 out-pensioners were appointed at L.7 per annum each, after undergoing an examination at the admiralty as to their claims.

At the close of the long revolutionary war, the applications became so numerous, and the claims of the seamen who had been wounded or worn out in the service so strongly grounded in humanity and justice, that it became necessary to adopt a scale of pensions, and to establish certain rules and regulations, by which seamen of his majesty’s fleet and royal marines should be remunerated for wounds or hurts, debility, and length of service. The following are the regulations.

For Wounds, Hurts, or Debility.

Every seaman, landman, boy, or royal marine, wounded or hurt in his majesty’s service, is entitled to a pension proportioned to his wounds or hurts, of not less than sixpence a day, and not more than one shilling and sixpence a day., For sickness or debility, after seven years’ service, and under special circumstances before that period, of not less than fivepence a day, nor more than tenpence, according as he may appear capable of assisting himself. Beyond fourteen, and less than twenty one years’ service, not less than eightpence, nor more than one shilling and threepence. And after twenty-one years’ service, one shilling and sixpence a day. But the rates are altered from time to time.

All the above-mentioned pensions may be forfeited by misconduct, by desertion, and by sentence of a court-martial; also by neglecting or omitting to attend at such port or place, and at such time, as shall, in time of war, or in prospect of a war, be appointed for the assembling of the pensioners, by the lords commissioners of the admiralty.

To the noble institution of Greenwich" Hospital is appended an asylum for the maintenance and education of the children of officers and seamen of his majesty’s naval service.

The Naval Asylum was originally instituted by the Patriotic Fund and private subscriptions, and afterwards established at Greenwich, by warrant under the king’s sign-manual, dated in January 1818, appointing the lords commissioners of the admiralty to be commissioners and governors, who, with twenty-four directors, were to superintend and manage the same. The object was, the maintenance and education of a certain number of orphans and other children of the non-commissioned officers, seamen, and marines of the royal navy. As it was manifest, however, that this establishment, so contiguous to the hospital of Greenwich, could be managed without inconvenience by the commissioners and directors of that hospital, under a more effective and economical system, his majesty was pleased, by his warrant of January 1821, to annul the former warrant, and to vest the superintendence and internal management of the said asylum in the commissioners and governors of Greenwich Hospital.

The two schools of Greenwich Hospital and the Naval Asylum, and the funds thereof, are now therefore incorporated. The internal management is confided to the board of directors, and one of the captains of the hospital is intrusted with the general superintendence. A chaplain, and proper schoolmasters, schooloustresses, matron, and inferior assistants, male and female, with moderate salaries, reside in the building. The number of children maintained and educated in the institution are,
[table]

To the upper school no boys are admitted but the sons of seamen and marines, slain, drowned, or dead; those of pensioners in the hospital; of seamen disabled, past their labour, or otherwise objects of charity; and of officers in the navy and marines, on the production of a required certificate of poverty. The age of admission is from eleven to twelve, and the continuance in the school three years, at the expiration of which they are bound apprentices to the merchant service. Presentations by the directors in rotation.

The boys and girls of the lower school are the children of seamen and marines of the naval service, admitted by the board of directors, giving a preference to orphans. The age of admission is from nine to twelve years inclusive; but none is retained beyond the age of fourteen. The boys are sent into the navy, or merchant service, or put apprentices to some trade. The girls, at the age of fourteen, are apprenticed to trades, or sent to service.
[7:16:66]

Thus all the classes of officers, seamen, and marines, who have faithfully served in the navy, are provided for by the state; and the children of such as may be in indigent circumstances receive an education at the public expense, suited to their condition in life.

The total expense of the navy, including every branch of the service, civil and military, for one whole year, about the middle of the last war, may be estimated at about L.18,000,000. In the year 1822, according to the estimates which were laid before parliament, it amounted to about L.5,000,000; and in the year 1837 it has been fixed at the sum of L.4,663,000. (μ.)