Afterwards the Normans poffeffing England, claim'd, and quietly poffefs'd the fame Dominion; in Teftimony whereof the Swedes, Danes, Hans-Towns, Hollanders, Zealanders, &c. were wont to ask leave to pass the British Seas, and to take Licenses to fish therein, and to this Day do ftrike Sail to all the Ships of War belonging to the King, as oft as they pafs by any of them, thereby to exprefs that they acknowledge the Sovereignty of the British Seas to belong to this Nation, according to an Ordinance made at Haftings in Suffex, by John, King of England, about four Hundred and Fifty Years ago. Henry VIII. in the Fifth Year of his Reign, built a Ship, then accounted the greateft that ever had been seen in England, and named it Henry Grace de Dieu, or the Great Henry; t was 1000 Tun. In the Eighth Year of King James I. was built by the Londoners, a Ship of i2co Tun, and call'd The Trades Increase; which being loft in the East-Indies, King James caus'd another to be built of 1400 Tuns; which being given to Prince Henry, was by him nam'd The Prince. We have now many brave Firft and Second Rate Ships; and even our Third Rates are now built fo large and ftrong, that they may engage fingly with a First Rate Ship of any other Nation: See the Lift of the Royal Navy. The Charges of Building a Ship of the Firft Rate, together with Guns, Tackle, and Rigging, (befides Victualling) doth ordinarily amount to about 60000 7. Thofe of lower Rates proportionably. That the Reader may have a more perfect Idea of the prodigious Size of a First Rate British Man of War, let him take the following Account as we receiv'd it from the Gentleman that built the Royal Sovereign, viz. The Royal Sovereign, built at Woolwich by Mr. Fisher Harding, Mafter Shipwright of his Majefty's Yard at Deptford, was Launch'd the 25th of July 1701, and is of the following Dimenfions, viz. The Length of the Taffarel to the Head The Men, full Compliment The Breadth. The Tuns The full Tread- The Draught of Water The Cloaths The Main-Sail in Length Ditto in Depth The Main-Maft in Length- 210 Foot. IIO. -1250. The Diameter of Ditto The Weight of the Anchor The Cable in Length The Diameter of Ditto -38 Inch. -82 C. 1. 2.14 1. -200 Yards. -22 Inch. To Man the Navy Royal of Great Britain requires about Thirty fix thousand Mariners (of late Years the Parliament has allow'd the Queen 40000 Men every Sammers Expedition) which is not half this Nation could upon Occafion Number; whereas according to a judicious Computation, all the Seamen of France do not amount to above one and twenty Thoufand. The Lord High Admiral hath under him many Officers of high and low Condition; fome at Sea, others at Land; some of a Military, fome of a Civil Capacity; fome Judicial, others Minifterial. So that the Dominion and Jurifdiction of the Sea, may justly be ftiled another Commonwealth, or Kingdom apart; and the Lord High Admiral of Great Britain may fitly be ftiled, or at least reputed, as a Vice-Roy of the Maritime Kingdom of Great Britain. The Lord High-Admiral of Great-Britain doth, by virtue of bis Place, appoint in divers parts of the Kingdom his feveral ViceAdmirals with their Judges and Marshals by Patent under the Great Seal of the High Court of Admiralty. These Vice-Admirals and Judges do exercife Jurifdiction in Maritime Affairs, within their feveral Limits; and in cafe any Perfon be aggriev'd by any Sentence or Interlocutory Decree, that has the force of a Definitive Sentence, he may appeal to the High Court of Admiralty. Court of Admiralty. For tranfacting of Maritime Affairs, the Lord High Admiral hath Courts of his own, whereof that at London is the Principal or Supreme, where all Procefs and Proceedings run in his Name, and not in the King's, as it doth in all Common-Law Courts. In this Court ufually called the Court of Admiralty, he hath a Lieutenant, call'd Judge of the Admiralty, who is commonly fome learn'd Doctor of the Civil Law. The Proceedings in this Court, in all Civil Matters, is according to the Civil Law, because the Sea is without the Limits of the Common Law, but under the Admiral's Jurifdi&tion; therefore the Civil Law only is made ufe of. King Edward the Third, who firft erected this Court of Admiralty, as (fome hold) made at Queenborough, 1375. very excellent Conftitutions concerning Maritime Affairs, and many Statutes and Ordinances have been made by other Princes and People, as at Rome, Pifa; Genoa, Marseilles, Barcelona and Meffina. The The Cuftoms and former Decrees of the English Court of Ad. miralty are there of force for deciding of Controvefies. Under this Court there is alfo a Court of Equity for determining Differences between Merchants. In Criminal Affairs, which is commonly about Piracy, the Proceeding in this Court was by Accufation and Information, according to the Civil Law, by a Man's own Confeffion, or Eye-witneffes, by which any one was to be proved guilty beföre he could be condemn'd; but that being found inconvenient, there were two Statutes made by Hen. VIII. that Criminal Affairs fhould be try'd by Witneffes and a Jury, and this by Special Commiffion of the King to the Lord Admiral, wherein fome of the Judges of the Realm are ever Commiffioners, and the Trial according to the Laws of England, directed by thofe Statutes. Between the Common Law of England and the Admiralty, there seems to be Divifum Imperium; for in the Sea, fo far as the Low-water Mark is obferv'd, that is counted Infra Corpus Comitatus adjacentis, and Caufes thence arifing are determinable by the Common Laws; yet when the Sea is full, the Admiral hath Jurifdiction there alfo (fo long as the Sea flows) over Matters done between the Low-water-Mark, and the Land, as appears in Sir Henry Conftable's Cafe, 5 Report Coke p. 107. For Regulating and Ordering his Majefty's Navies, Ships of War, and Forces by Sea, fee thofe excellent Articles and Orders in Stat. 13. Car. II. cap. 9. Of the NAVY-OFFICE, where the whole Bufinefs concerning the King's NAVY ROYAL is managed. HE Management of the Navy-Royal under the Lord principal Officers and Commiffioners of the Navy. The Principal Officers for South-Britain are Four, Treasurer.] Whofe Office is to receive out of the Exchequer by Warrant from the Lord Treasurer, or Lords Commiffioners executing that Place, and to pay all Charges of the Navy, by Warrant from the principal Officers of the Navy; for which he formerly had a Salary of 220 l. 13 s. 4 d. per Annum, befides 3 d. per Pound out of all Moneys paid by him; but hath now an honourable Allowance certain from his Majesty in lieu thereof, viz. 2000l. per Annum, and 800 l. per Annum more for his Inftruments. Comptroller.] · Part I. Comptroller.] The fecond is the Comptroller of the Navy, whofe Office is to attend and comptrol all Payments of Wages, to know the Market Rates of all Stores belonging to Shipping, to examine and audit all Treasurers, Victuallers and Storekeepers Accompts, &c. His Salary is soo I. yearly. Surveyor.] The third is the Surveyor of the Navy, whofe Office is generally to know the State of all Stores, and fee the Wants fupply'd; to furvey the Hulls, Mafts, and Yards, and eftimate the Value of Repairs by Indenture; to charge all Boat-fwains and Carpenters of his Majefty's Navy with what Stores they received; and at the end of each Voyage, to ftate and audit their Accompts. His Salary is 500 l. per Annum. Clerk of the ts.] The fourth is Clerk of the Acts, whofe Office is to record all Orders, Contracts, Bills, Warrants, and other Bufineffes tranfa&ted by the Principal Officers and Commiffioners of the Navy, at the Salary of 500 l. per Annum. In time of War there is an extraordinary Clerk of this kind, by reason of the Multiplicity of Bufinefs. The Commiffioners of the Navy. The First executes that Part of the Comptroller of the Navy's Duty, which relates to the comptrolling of the Vi&uallers Accompts. His Salary is 500 l. per Annum. The Second executes another Part of the faid Comptroller's Duty, relating to the Comptrol of the Accompts of the Store-keepers of the feveral Yards. His Salary is 500 l. per Annum. The Third refides at Portsmouth, and has the care of managing the Navy at that Port. His Salary is 500 l. per Annum. The Fourth refides at Chatham, and has the fame Charge of Affairs in the King's Yard there. His Salary is 500 1. per Annum. A Fifth refides at Plymouth, and difcharges the like Employ there. There are other Commiffioners at large, the number more or lefs, according to the Exigencies of Publick Affairs. The Principal Officers and Commiffioners do hold their Offices by Patent under the Great Seal. And fince the great Increase of his Majefty's Navy, have feveral Clerks under them, with Salaries allow'd by the King, for the difpatch of the Business of the Navy, under their respective Managements, Commiflion [Commisioners foz Widualling the Navy.] The Victualling of His Majefty's Navy hath formerly been undertaken by Contract, but is now manag'd by Commiffioners, who keep their Office on Tower-Hil, within the Parish of St. Botolph Aldgate, and these have their Agents alfo at Chatham, Portsmouth, Plymouth, and other convenient Ports in Great Britain and Ireland. Bards.] There are belonging to his Majefty's Navy, Six great Yards, viz. Chatham, Deptford, Woolwich, Portsmouth, Shyrenefs and Plimouth, where his Majefty's Royal Ships are laid up in Harbour; which Yards are fitted with feveral Docks, Wharfs, Lanches, and Graving Places, for the Building, Repairing and Cleaning of his Majefty's Ships; and therein are lodg'd great Quantities of Timber, Mafts, Planks, Anchors, and other Materials. There are alfo convenient Store-houfes in each Yard, in which are laid up vaft quantities of Cables, Rigging, Sails, Blocks, and all other forts of Stores needful for his Majefty's Navy-Royal. The King hath alfo another Yard at Harwich, which is chiefly made use of in the times of fome great Sea-War, and there are alfo Officers to take care of the Store-Houfes there. In the aforementioned Yards his Majefty hath divers great Rope-Yards, as at Woolwich, Chatham, Portsmouth, &c. wherein are made Cables, and all forts of Cordage for his faid Navy. All the faid Officers, and whole Navy-Office, are governed by the Lord High Admiral. All the other Officers, as well thofe in the feveral Yards, as those belonging to any of his Majefty's Ships, hold their Places by Warrant from the Lord High Admiral durante bene placito. A Bears Charge of the Navy. The ordinary Charge of his Majefty's Navy for a Year in time of Peace continuing in Harbour, is fo well regulated, that it amounts to fcarce 130000 l. befides all Charges of Building of Ships, &c. and befides the fetting forth of Fleets, which even at the time when we had only a War with Algiers, amounted at least to 300000 I. per Annum, as may be eafily computed by the number of Men at Sea in pay, which were at fewest, fuppofed to be 6000, and are always reckoned to ftand the King in 4 per Menfem each Man, including all Charges, as Victuals, Wages, Wear and Tear, &c. THE. |