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with the earl marshal in the court of chivalry, and the office was tranfmitted by inheritance.

3. EARL MARSHAL. Of the duty and rank of this officer mention has already been made.

9. LORD HIGH ADMIRAL. In former times the post of lord high admiral was of great truft and honour, and usually conferred on a prince of the blood, or one of the higheft clafs of nobility. He had the management of all maritime affairs, the government of the royal navy; with power of decifion in all inaritime cafes, both civil and criminal. He judged of all tranfgreffions done upon or beyond fea, in any part of the world, upon the coafts, in all ports or havens, and upon all rivers below the first bridge from the fea. By him all naval officers, from an admiral to a lieutenant, were commiffioned; as were all deputies for particular coafts, and coroners for viewing dead bodies found on the fea fhore or at fea. He alfo appointed judges for his court of admiralty. To the lord high admiral belonged by law and cuftom, all fines and forfeitures of all tranfgreffions at fea, on the fea fhore, in ports, and from the nearest bridge on rivers to the fea; alfo the goods of pirates and felons condemned or outlawed; and all waifs, ftray goods, wrecks of sea, deodands; a fhare of all lawful prizes, ligan, jetfam, and flotfam, not previously granted or belonging to lords of manors adjoining the fea; all great fishes, as fea hogs, and others of extraordinary bignefs called royal fishes, whales and sturgeons only excepted.

Since the Revolution, the office of lord high admiral has been conftantly, as it had before been frequently, put into commiffion, and the commiffioners are generally ftyled lords of the admiralty. A fpacious building, fituate near Whitehall and formerly called Wallingford Houfe, is retained for their official ufe, and for the refidence of fome of the commiffioners.

They are feven in number; the firft lord having a falary of 4000l., and a houfe in the admiralty office; each of the others receiving in falary and allowances 1000l. per annum, and the four fenior having alfo houfes in the admiralty.

The bufinefs of the board of admiralty is to confider and determine on all matters relative to his majesty's navy, and departments thereunto belonging; to give directions for the performance of all fervices that may be required, either in the civil or naval branch; to fign, by themfelves or their fecretaries, all orders neceflary for carrying their directions into execution; and generally to fuperintend and direct the whole naval and marine establishments of Great Britain.

The establishment alfo confifts of two fecretaries, a chief: clerk, and several established and extra clerks, a fecretary to the

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first lord, two marine clerks, a tranflator of foreign papers, meffengers, porters, watchmen, and other officers. There is likewife a feparate establishment for the marine service, and a folicitor who alfo acts for the navy office.

The duty of the fecretaries is to lay before the board all memorials, letters, and other papers tranfmitted to this office; to receive and minute down the orders of the lords commiffioners, and to fee to the official execution thereof; to counterfign all inftruments, where the fame may be neceffary; and generally to attend to the dispatch of all business arifing in the naval or marine department. These officers being conftantly refident and always in attendance, their office is extrmely laborious; the falary of the firft fecretary is 4000/., that of the fecond 2000/

The duty of the established clerks is to prepare memorials, inftructions, orders, letters, and other inftruments, conformable to the minutes of the board, and the direction of the fecretaries: each clerk, the junior excepted, has a feparate branch of the bufinefs under his charge, and is affifted therein by one or more of the extra clerks, according to the degree of labour in the branch affigned to him. The chief clerk, befides the charge of one of thefe branches, has the general fuperintendence of the whole official business in the naval department. He likewife has the care of the maps, charts, and books of the office, and the payment of most of the contingent expences. The fourth of the established clerks, befides the duty of his branch, acts as receiver of fees and accountant to the office, and is employed to check the bills of the admiralty meffengers. The junior clerk on the establishment, having no branch of the official bufinefs affigned to him, acts in the capacity of affistant to the chief clerk. Two of the extra clerks are appointed to affift the secretaries; one of them acts as French and Spanish tranflator; and they are all employed from time to time in other fervices, as occafion requires. The attendance of the clerks is daily from ten o'clock or earlier, till five or later if required. They alfo attend by rotation in the evening, to make up, for franking, and to difpatch the public letters; and the extra clerks, befides the like daily attendance, are alfo required to be at the office every evening by turns, to affift in the entry and dispatch of fuch letters. The chief clerk has for falary Bocl. per annum, and an addition of 150/. during the war, and apartments in the houfe. The appointments of the other clerks vary from 500l. to 150%. each, and the extra clerks receive gol per annum. The fecretary to the first lord receives 300l., and the tranflator 100%, a year.

The duty of the firft marine clerk is to prepare all the memo

rials, instructions, drafts of orders, and commiffions required for the marine corps; alfo to examine and check the tradesmen's bills for their cloathing, accoutrements, and contingencies; and his attendance is daily from between twelve and one to about four o'clock.

The duty of the fecond marine clerk is to write all letters relative to the corps, to enter and dispatch the fame, as well as the feveral orders and inftructions; alfo to prepare half yearly lifts of the marine half pay officers, and to arrange and take care of the marine papers: and his attendance is daily from about eleven o'clock till paft four. The falary of the firit is 300% and of the fecond 150/., with an advance of one fifth in time of war.

The head mesenger, befides the duty ufually belonging to fuch a fituation, has the fuperintendance of all the inferior departments of the office; and his attendance is conftant. The duty of the remaining officers is implied by their titles; and they attend (the housekeeper excepted) whenever their fervices are required. The falary of the meffenger is 120/., those of the others very moderate.

For the purposes of information and utility, connected with naval affairs, the admiralty employ an hydrographer, who has an annual falary of 500l.; an affiftant hydrographer, and a printer whofe stated income is 1201.

To this class alfo may be referred the telegraph, which ferves for the conveyance of orders to, and receipt of intelligence from, Deal and Portsmouth. The original invention of this mode of communication belongs to the French; but that used by the admiralty is more fimple in ufe, durable, and easily repaired. It occafions a great faving in the expenditure which was formerly made for expreffes, and infures the ineftimable advantage in maritime affairs, of celerity in the tranfmiffion, and promptitude in the execution of orders. Both the Deal and Portsmouth stations are under the care of an infpector, who has a falary of 300%.

Befide the fecretaries and two clerks in the marine department, there is an establishment annexed to the admiralty for the pay of his Majefty's marine forces. This eftablishment confifts of a paymaster, an agent, and three deputy paymafters, one at each of the out ports.

The duty of thefe officers is, in conjunction with the treafurer of the navy, to conduct the payment of the marines; the treasurer of the navy paying fuch of the non-commiffioned officers and privates as are on fhip board; the paymafter of the marines paying the general and lieutenant-general of that corps; alfo the half-pay, the cloathing, the charge of recruiting in Ireland, the falaries of moft of the civil officers, the allowances

to widows, and feveral of the contingencies of this service; the agent of the marines paying the fubfiftence and arrears of all the officers on full pay (the general and lieutenant-general excepted) the charge of the recruiting fervice in Great Britain, and the contingencies in the different quarters; the deputy paymafters at the feveral divifions paying the fubfiftence of the non-commiffioned officers and privates, for which purpose they draw bills on the agent, and iffue the faid fubfiftence to the fquad ferjeants once a week, to diftribute among the men.

When the marine corps was firft eftablished in 1755, under the direction of the board of admiralty, the offices of paymafter and agent were executed by one perfon, and continued fo nearly two years, when they were feparated, and an agent appointed for each divifion; which arrangement existed until 1763, when the number was again reduced to one, and has remained fo ever fince, not only without any prejudice, but even with benefit to the fervice.

The paymaster of the marine forces is fupplied with money for carrying on the fervice in the following manner: once a month he prefents to the lords of the admiralty an account of his receipts and payments during the former, with an eftimate of the fum neceflary for the fucceeding, month. The admiralty direct the navy board to impreft a certain fum into his hands, generally about the expenditure of the former month. The navy board direct the treasurer of the navy to iffue the money to him accordingly; out of which he advances a certain fum to the agent for carrying on the fervices under his direction, and applies the remainder to the fervices carried on by himself, as before mentioned. The agent delivers to the paymafter a monthly account of his receipts and payments, and once a year a general account of the whole, diftinguifhed under proper heads, with the vouchers; from which, and from his own difburfements, the paymafter makes up an annual account, which he prefents, with the vouchers, to the navy board for their examination and allowance, which clears him, and is final.

The detail of the paymaster's business is carried on by his first clerk, fo as feldom to occafion his attendance; but the agent attends the bufinefs of his office both morning and evening without intermiffion, except for an hour or two in the day. The paymaster has in falary and emoluments about 900l. a year; out of which he pays certain falaries and allowances to is clerks, and other expences of his office, and retains the remainder for his own ufe.

The agent of marines has in falary and emoluments about 6ool. a year; out of which he pays for clerks and other consingencies nearly 2001. a year. The falary of the deputy pay

mafters

mafters at the out ports is at the rate of 51. for each company belonging to the divifion, and amounts to 1257. a year at Portf mouth, the fame at Plymouth, and 100l. a year at Chatham, paid out of the marine poundage and floppages.

In the admiralty are two other officers; the receiver and comptroller of his majesty's rights and perquifites.

The duty of the receiver is to recover and receive for his Majefty's ufe, all rights and perquifites of the admiralty feized and taken in the time of war, or otherwife; and, alfo, all fuch other fums of money as have been usually paid, or ordered by decree of court to be paid to the register for the time being; and to take all fuch measures as are neceffary for this purpose, and obferve fuch orders and directions as he fhall from time to time receive from the lords commiffioners of the admiralty: and he is to appoint agents at all fuch ports and places 'as he fhall think neceffary. He has a falary of 300l. a year nett, and an allowance of 50l. more for a clerk.

The duty of the comptroller is to take an account of all ships and goods condemned as perquifites of the admiralty, and to note the burthen of fuch fhips, and the quantities and qualities of the goods, together with their tackle, apparel, and furniture; to take an account of all other perquifites of the admiralty, and to compare and examine them with the fums charged by the receiver; to perufe, examine, and controul the accounts of the receiver; and generally to execute fuch orders and instructions as he fhall, from time to time, receive from the lords of the admiralty and he is likewife to appoint agents at all fuch ports and places as he fhall think neceflary. He has in falary and fees 250l. a year.

10. SECRETARIES OF STATE. The fecretaries of ftate have an extraordinary trust which renders them very confiderable in the eyes both of the king and of the fubject. Requefts and petitions are for the most part lodged in their hands to be reprefented to his majesty, and they make dispatches thereupon, pursuant to his directions. They are privy counsellors, and a council is feldom, if ever, held without the prefence of one of them; they wait by turns, and one always attends the court, and, by the king's warrant, prepares all bills or letters, not being matter of law, for him to fign. Until the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the fecretaries of ftate were not members of the privy council, but only prepared business for the council board in a room adjoining; which done, they came in and ftood one on each hand; and, till they had gone through their propofals, nothing was debated. There was but one fecretary of flate, till Henry VIII. toward the close of his reign increafed the number to two of equal rank and authority. On the union with Scotland,

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