Part 97

Whipping was the usual punishment for offenses. A soldier who deserted or joined in any mutiny or sedition in the royal army within the realm was to suffer death or any other punishment determined by court martial. In 1760, a soldier (later, or a marine) who slept at his post, left his post before being relieved, communicated with any rebel or enemy, struck or disobeyed any superior officer could suffer death, including those soldiers in America.

During war, chief officers of towns quartered and billeted royal army officers and soldiers in inns, livery stables, alehouses, and victualing houses for 4d. a day, but not in any private house without consent of the owner. From 1714 to 1739, the army regiments were split up and scattered among the ale-houses of small towns for maintenance; this was to disperse the soldiers. It was easier to count them, thereby keeping a check on their number, which might be exaggerated if they were in large groups in barracks. The towns protested having to maintain soldiers and town magistrates imposed severe penalties for small offenses by soldiers. Their drunkenness and violence were not tolerated as it was for ordinary people. Their officers not being with them, the soldiers retaliated with troublesomeness. As of 1763 English troops could be quartered in unoccupied houses or barns and supplied with necessities such as bedding, firewood, candles, vinegar, salt, cooking utensils, and beer or cider. The Royal Hospital gave pensions to maimed and worn out soldiers treated there.

Sailors had more status than soldiers because they had regular work as seamen in times of peace and they did not remind the people of the idea of a standing army, which they had hated especially since Cromwell.

Justices of the Peace, mayors, and other officers could bind boys as apprentices to sea service if they were at least ten and their parents were chargeable to the parish or begged for alms. This indenture to the masters or owners of ships lasted until the boy reached 21. The boy's parish paid 50s. for clothing and bedding for such sea service. No such apprentice could be impressed into the navy until at least 18 years of age. Master and owners of ships that carried 30-50 tuns had to take one such apprentice and one more boy for the next 50 tuns, and one more boy for every 100 tuns over 100 tuns, or else forfeit 10 pounds to the boy's parish. Boys voluntarily binding themselves to such sea service were exempt from impressment for the next three years. This was to increase the number of able and experience mariners and seamen for the navy and for the trade and commerce of the nation.

No masters or commanders of merchant ships were to proceed on a voyage beyond the seas without first agreeing in writing on wages with the seamen, except for apprentices. Such agreement had to be signed by the seamen. Offenders were to forfeit 5 pounds per seaman, which sum went to the use of Greenwich Hospital. Any seaman leaving the ship before being discharged in writing was to forfeit one month's pay because too many left the ship before it was unladen.

There were some ships of 2000 tons. The steering wheel had been introduced because a sudden heavy sea could wrest a tiller from the hands of the helmsman. Triangular head-sails with jib boom and stay-sails on stays between masts were in use so that ships could sail closer into the wind. The length of ships was still determined by the same length of trees that could be grown. Sailing ships were still vulnerable to a lee shore. Latitude was easy to determine using the reflecting octant invented by John Hadley in 1731, and a sextant invented in 1757, with mirrors and a small telescope to measure the angle between a celestial body such as the sun or north star and the horizon. But longitude could not be determined with any degree of accuracy. One method relied on accurate predictions of the future position of the moon as observed from a fixed reference point, such as Greenwich. By precisely observing the local time of the moon's occultation of a known star at a particular place, and looking up in a table the predicted time of the event at Greenwich, one could approximate the time difference of the place from Greenwich. There were so many shipwrecks on this account that the government offered a reward to anyone who found a way to measure longitude accurately. In 1763 carpenter and clockmaker John Harrison made the chronometer to do this with an accuracy of 2 1/2 seconds per month, and received 5,000 pounds. He was promised 10,000 pounds to explain the principle of his timekeeper and build three more. The chronometer kept time with extreme accuracy and was mounted to remove the effect of the ship's motion. To find a ship's position, a navigator noted the time and measured the positions of certain stars. He compared these positions with tables that showed the stars' positions at Greenwich mean time, and then calculated the ship's position.

Officer positions were no longer bought, but were subject to examination for a minimum of knowledge, especially in navigation. In 1729 the Naval Academy was established. Boys entered at age 13 to 16 and spent two or three years there.

Only about 15% of the crew of navy ships were volunteers. Many were gaolbirds, having chosen the Navy over more gaol time for debt. Press gangs seized men in the port towns and from ships coming into harbor. From 10% to 20% of the crew were foreigners, many of these pressed men. About 1756, the Marine Society was founded for training and placing poor boys in work in naval and merchant ships. This not only supplied men and boys for the Navy, but saved boys from a life of vagrancy and crime. These boys usually became reliable and obedient sailors.

The life of a sailor was a hard one, requiring much strength. Sailors did not know how to swim, so falling overboard usually meant death. Flogging was the usual punishment in the Navy, even for small offenses. The amount of flogging due for each offense rose over time. If flogging were fatal, there would be an inquiry and occasionally punishment. A sailor's meals were usually hard bread invested with weevils and maggots, dried or salted meat or fish, and small quantities of oatmeal, butter, and cheese. Many sailors had scurvy or other deficiency diseases. Experiments with lime and lemon juice as remedies for scurvy were made around 1764, but were not used in the Navy until about 1800. Many more sailors died from these diseases than from battle. Rum and water was a daily ration introduced in 1745. The ordinary sailor was paid about one pound a month, a rate established in 1650s and now out of date. This was not in cash, but in a ticket which entitled him to payment in full if he presented it at the pay office in London, but was subject to swinging deductions if he tried to cash it in another port.

Prize money from conquered ships was substantial. To encourage seamen to enter the navy, Parliament provided that it be divided among flag officers, commanders, other officers, seamen, marines, and soldiers on board every ship of war, including private ships commissioned by the Admiral, as directed by the king, or as agreed with the owner of a private ship. It included an enemy's ships, and goods and arms on the ships or in fortresses on the land. There was also bounty money for enemy ships taken or destroyed. For retaking or salvaging English goods taken by the enemy, 1/8th their value was to be paid. Privateers colluding with others to fraudulently take their merchant ships by were to forfeit their ships, with 1/3rd going to the person who made the discovery and prosecuted.

Later, any able seaman volunteering for the navy was to receive 5 pounds bounty. Any seaman volunteering for the navy was to receive a bounty of 3 pounds. If a navy seaman was killed or drowned, his widow was to receive a year's pay as bounty. No seaman in a merchant ship was to receive more than 35s. per month because of the present war.

Still later, anyone who has run goods or avoided customs was excused and indemnified if he enlisted in the navy as a common sailor for three years.

Those under 18 or over 55 were made exempt from impressment into the king's service. The time of service was limited to five years if the serviceman so demanded. Worn out and decrepit seamen no longer being treated at the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich are to receive a pension as determined by the hospital.

In war, the Navy favored blockading tactics over attack by fireships, which grew obsolete. In peace, when not used in convoys to remote lands, many ships of war were used as cruisers to guard the coast, to trade, and to accompany merchant ships going out and returning home. About 1755, marine forces of the navy were raised and quartered on shore.

No war ship may carry goods except gold, silver, and jewels and except the goods of a ship in danger of shipwreck or already shipwrecked.

The king was authorized to prohibit the export of gunpowder, saltpeter, ammunition, and arms.

When a ship had been forced on shore or stranded on the coast, it had been the practice for people to plunder it and to demand high payment for salvaging its goods. So a statute required that salvage only be done by sheriff, mayors, and other officials. A person who defaced the marks on goods or hindered the saving of the ship had to pay double satisfaction to the person aggrieved and spend 12 months at hard labor in a House of Correction. If a person unduly carried off goods, he forfeited treble damages. If he made a hole in the ship or stole the pump from the ship, he was guilty of felony without benefit of clergy.

The owner of the island of Skerries was allowed to erect a lighthouse and charge passing ships other than Navy ships 1d. per tun.

Only pilots examined and admitted into the society of pilots and, if no such pilot is readily available, a ship's own owner, master, or mate was to pilot ships up the Thames River, or else forfeit 10 pounds for the first offense, 20 pounds for the second, and 40 pounds thereafter. Any pilot losing a ship was no longer to be a pilot. There must be at least 120 qualified pilots. The prices of piloting were 3 pounds 10s. for ships drawing 7 feet of water, and 10s. more for each additional foot drawn up to 8 pounds 10s. for ships drawing 17 feet of water.

To preserve navigation, ships are not to throw any ballast, filth, rubbish, gravel, earth, stone, or filth into rivers or ports where the tide or water flows or runs or else forfeit 50s.- 5 pounds. Ships on the Thames River could take as ballast to stabilize a ship without cargo: dung, compost, earth, or soil from laystalls in London. There was a toll on ships entering the port of London to pay for repairs to its walls.

Many persons insuring ships for large premiums became bankrupt, thus ruining or impoverishing many merchants and traders. So the king was authorized to grant charters to two distinct corporations for the insurance of ships, goods, and merchandise or going to sea or for lending money upon bottomry. Each corporation had to pay 300,000 pounds to the Exchequer and to have sufficient ready money to pay for losses insured by them. They were to raise capital stock and could make calls of money from their members in proportion to their stocks for any further money required.

Any owner, master, or mariner who cast away, burned, or otherwise destroyed a ship to the prejudice of underwriters of policies of insurance or of any merchants whose goods have been loaded on the ship was to suffer death.

The owners of ships are not liable for losses by reason of theft without their knowledge by the master or mariners of goods beyond the value of the ship. This is to prevent the discouragement of owning ships.

The insurance of merchant ships must give salvage rights [rights to take what may be left of the ships insured after paying the insurance on them] to the insurer. A lender on bottomry shall have benefit of salvage. No insurance may be for a greater amount than the value of one's interest in the ship or in the goods on board.

No waterman carrying passengers or goods for hire e.g. by wherryboat, tiltboat, or rowbarge, on the Thames River may take an apprentice unless he is a housekeeper or has some known place of abode where he may keep such apprentice or else forfeit ten pounds, and if he can't pay, do hard labor at the House of Correction for 14-30 days. Also he may not keep the apprentice bound to him. No apprentice may be entrusted with a vessel until he is 16 if a waterman's son and 17 if is he the son of a landman, and he has had at least two years' experience. None but freemen (i.e. one having served an apprenticeship of seven years) may row or work any vessel for hire or be subject to the same punishment. This is to avoid the mischiefs which happen by entrusting apprentices too weak, unable, and unskillful in the work, with the care of goods and lives of passengers. Later amendment required that apprentices be age 14 to 20 and that there be no more than 40 passengers, with the penalty of transportation if there were over 40 and one drowned.

No boat on the Thames River may be used for selling liquors, tobacco, fruit, or gingerbread to seamen and laborers because such has led to theft of ropes, cables, goods, and stores from the ships. Excepted are boats registered at the guilds of Trinity and of St. Clement, but they must show their owner's name and can only operate in daylight hours. The penalty is forfeiture of the boat.

All ships coming from places infected with the plague shall be quarantined and any person leaving a quarantined ship shall return and later forfeit 20 pounds, of which 1/3 may go to the informer, the rest to the poor. This was later raised to 200 pounds and six months in prison, and if the person escaped, he was to suffer death. Also later, a master of a ship coming from infected places or having infected people on board was guilty of felony and was to forfeit 200 pounds. If he did not take his vessel to the quarantine area on notice, he was to forfeit a further 200 pounds (later 500 pounds) and the ship, which could then be burned. The king was authorized to prohibit commerce for one year with any country infected by the plague and to forbid any persons of the realm from going to an infected place.

By 1714, there was a clear distinction between a king's private income and the Crown's public revenue. From 1714, the king's Treasurer as a matter of routine submitted annual budgets to Parliament. He was usually also the leader of the House of Commons and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.