ANCIENT NAVAL RECORDS.-Communicated by John Barrow, Esq.

[The allowance of half-pay to the Commanders of Her Majesty's fleet appears by the following order to be first granted for reasons therein set forth; that, to Flag Officers, Captains, and Masters, of first and second rates having been already established.]

By y' Comm", &c.

Reasons for encouraging the Offiers serving at Sea, wth double pay while in Service, and half-pay when on shore.

1st. That the Pay to the Offic" serving in the English Ships, is not equall to that allowed by our neighbours.

2nd.-The late King James did establish an encrease of Pay vnder the notion of Table-Money, and tho' 'twas never yett paid, it has putt the Command" in an expectation of some additionall allowance ever since.

3rd. The flag office's as well as Captaines and Masters of 1st and 2nd rates have allready an allowance of pay on shore, and 'tis thought resonable that it should bee extended further, that the Supper to the Offiers may not determine, when there is no occasion for their Service after their haveing ventured y loss of their Lives or Limbs.

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4th. By this increase of Pay to the Command" their servants are retrenched, wh (considering the greate numbers allowed them) is in a manner equall to the same.

5th. The benefit of Convoy-Money is allso taken away, whereby the subject will be very much eased.

That when this encouragem' of double pay, and half-pay on shore is settled upon the Commands they may bee more strictly obliged to comply with every particular of their Instructions, which Instructions it has been allow'd, does conteyne the whole Discipline and Oeconomy of the Navy, and if strictly comply'd with, will both restore and preserve them, and since it is declared that whosoever shall bee turned out shall loose the benefitt of this establishm', and that whoever shall take Convoy-Money shall bee for the future incapeable of serving. It is to be presumed, that the prospect of a certaine advantage, if they comply with their Instructions, and the loss of it, in case of a faileure, will bee suffitjent motives to induce y office to do their dutyes, to which end it is to bee made knowne to them, that upon any faileure therein, breach of orders, neglect of business, vnder their care, &c., they shall bee cashiered, and loose all benefitts intended by the aforementioned establishment. Dated, &c.. Adm" Office, y 20th of Febry, 1693.

[The following regulations for the allowance of provisions to Her Majesty's fleet in 1690, contains various items which form an amusing contrast with those of the present day.]

By y Comm", &c.

Instructions for ye Commissrs for Victualling their Mats Navy.

1st. The s Commission" are to receive into their charge and pos

session all their Ma, Houses, Brewhouses, Bakehouses, Mills, Granaryes, Storehouses, &c., as well at Tower Hill, as at Dover, Rochester, Portsm", Plyms, and Kinsale in Ireland, or elcewhere, which have been vsually appropriated for the service of the Victualling the King's Navy, together with all Tenement, Grounds, and Profitts to them belonging or appertaining, and to make use of such of them as shall bee needfull for ye service of the Victualling, and for the accomodatjon of themselves, and their Agents employed in that affaire, and such of them as they shall not have occasion to employ they are to improve by Rent or otherwise, as shall be best for their Ma's advantage, but not to Build, Alter, or Repaire any p of the same without order from the Lord Adm" or Lords of the Adm" for the time being, vpon a due Survey and Estimate first had thereof, unless it bee done for advantage of the said houses at their own charge.

2nd. To receive into their chardg and possession all such provision of Victualls, Caske, Iron Hoopes, Biskett Baggs, and other Materialls and Vtensills for Victualling, as are remaining at any of the Victualling Ports, or in any Victualling Ships, or any otherwise in the charge of the late Comms of the Victualling, or any of their agents or servants for the use of the Navy, the same haveing beene first duly surveyed and appraised according to the order allready given on that behalfe, wch they are to make use of in the Service of the Victualling, and to charge themselves therewth upon their acc.

3rd. To take care timely and seasonably to provide all such good wholesome and serviceable Provicions of Victualls and other necessaryes fitting for Victualling the Seamen, Soldiers, and others which serve in their Ma's owne, or hired Ships or Vessells in their Service, either at Sea or in harbour in such proporcons; and in such Ports either in their Ma's own Dominjons, or in Foreigne parts, as they shall from time to time bee directed by warr's from ye Lord High Adm", or Lords of the Adm" for the time being, or the princjpall offic" and Comm" of their Mats Navy, which Provicions of Victualling is to bee made according as is hereafter expressed, viz. Every man to have for his allowance, one pound averdupoiz of good, clean, sweet, sound, well-boyled with a house cloth, well-baked and well conditioned, Wheaten Biskett, one gallon wine measure of good wholesome beere, of such a standard as that every guile of twenty tunns of iron bound beere shall bee brewed with twenty quarters of very good malt, as good as generally is to bee had at the place where the said beere is brewed and a suffitjent quantity of very good hopps to keep the same for the time of its warrantry, and eighteene quarters of the like malt, with the like quantity of the like sort of hopps to every guile of twenty tunns, of wood bound beere for sea, and the harbour beere to be good, sound, wholesome, and of suffitjent strength, and fitting for the use of his Ma' ships in Petty warr victualling. And if any complaint shall bee made, either of the sea or harbour beere, that the truth of the quantity and quality of the malt and hopps that shall have been used in the sea beere, shall bee evidenced by the oathes of the respective brewers, or other credible persons if the same shall bee

required. Two pounds averdupoiz of beef, killed and made up with salt in England, of a well fat oxe, not weighing less than five hundred weight for what shall be killed for sea victualling in the port of London and four and a half hundred in any other of the ports in England where victualls shall bee provided, for two of the fower days following, viz: Sundays, Mondays, Tewsdays, and Thursdays, and for the other two of those days one pound averdupoiz of bacon, or salted English porke, of a well fed hogg, not weighing less then three-quarters of a hundred weight, and a pint of pease (Winchester measures) therewith each of the said dayes, and for Wednesdays, Frydays, and Satterdays, every man besides the aforesaid allowance of bread and beere, to have by the day, the eighth p' of a full sized North Sea codd of 24 inches long, or a sixth part of a haberdine, 22 inches long, or a quarter p' of the same sort, if but 16 inches long, (provided that the haberdine that shall bee thus spent on their Ma' ships consist not of more than a fifth of one size, on board any ship) or a pound averdupoiz of wellsaved Poor John, together with two ounces of butter, and fower ounces of Suffolk cheese, or two-thirds of that weight of Chesshire, but they shall deliver cleane well dressed oatmeale, in leiw of a sized fish, (at the rate of one gallon of oatmeale for a sized fish) where the principall Offics and Comm" of the navy shall direct their soe doing. This method in victualling to bee always duly observed, as well in harbour as at sea, only there is to bee this difference beetweene harbour and sea victualls, that the bread and beef to bce spent in harbour bee delivered, the former in loaves and the latter fresh, with salt to corne it. But if their Ma' shall order any ship or vessell to the southward of the lattitude of thirty-nine degrees North lattitude, each man is to be victualled in leiw of a pound of biskett, with a pound of rusk of equall fineness, in leiw of a gallon of beere, a wine quart of beverage wine, and to shipps goeing to Guinea, or the East or West Indies, in leiw of a gallon of beere, half a wine pint of brandy, for halfe the proporcon at least of ye drinke they shall bee ordered to take in. In leiw of a peece of beefe or porke with pease, three pounds of flower and a pound of raysins, halfe a pound of currans, or halfe a pound of beefe suett pickled, in leiw of a sized fish, fower pounds of Milan rice, or two stock fishes of at least 16 inches long each, in leiw of a pound of butter, or two rounds of Suffolk cheese, a wine pinte of sweete ollive oyle, to bee putt on board at all times in such particular speties aforemenconed and in such proporcons and no otherwise, then as the principall Offic's and Comm" of the navy shall give direction, at the time of their sending their warrants for victualling the shipps.

4th. They are to take particular care that all y S Provicons aforemenconed shall bee Issued and delivered in such sort, order and manner, and in such good, sound, wholesome, and well saved victualls as that it shall continue fitt in all respects for their Ma' service, during the space of six months from the time of its being received on board. Namely for all that shall bee declared to bee spent on this side the Canary Islands or lattitude of twenty-scaven degrees North lattitude, and twelve months for what shall bee issued to be spent to the southward of ye place or

lattitude. And in case any provicon shall prove defective within ye aforesaid time, or beere leaked out by the badness of the caske, (and not through anny ill stoage or neglect of the offic" or seamen aboard) they are upon the purser's producing a regular survey thereof, according to the custome of the navy, to issue the like quantity of good provicons to him in the room of it, or to give him a rec' for the same, for his discharge, which defective provicons they are to dispose of by sale, or otherwise to their Ma's best advantage, and to charge themselves therewith vpon their accts.

5th. They are to pay unto the pursers of all such ships as shall be ordered to victuall towards the provideing of such necessaryes, such as wood, candles, dishes, canns, lanthernes, spoones, and other necessaryes usually provided by the pursers of their Ma's ships under the title of necessaryes, ninepence for every man pr mensem in each ship bearing sixty men and under, and sixpence in every ship carrying above sixty men, and two shillings for every ship loading charges by the month together, with the accustomary allowance, drawage beeing fourpence per tunn for every tunn of beer the purser indents for, and ten groates pr mensem for adz money, viz: for see long a time as the ship shall be victualled for sea service, and also for the ordinary men, and extraordinary men in harbour after the rate of twelve pence pr man a month. And further they are to pay to the purser after the rate of eightpence for every man pr mensem for sea service, being soe much allowed them for extra necessary money, all which several sums are to be paid to the purser imedjately before the signeing of their indents for sea or warr's for harbour victualls.

ENCROACHMENT OF THE SEA.-The slow and unnoticed, but gradual varia... tion which is continually taking place on our coasts is truly surprising. According to Mr, Lyell, when the inn at Sheringham, in Norfolk, was built in 1805, the spot chosen was at a distance of fifty yards from the sea, which was from previous observation of its rate of encroachment, calculated to take seventy years to reach it. No allowance was made for the slope of ground being from the sea, in consequence of which the waste was naturally accelerated every year as the cliff grew lower, there being at every successive period less matter to remove, as portions of equal area fell down. Between the years 1824 and 1829 no less than seventeen yards were swept away; and there is now a depth of twenty feet, sufficient to float a frigate, at one point of the harbour, where, forty-eight years ago, there stood a cliff fifty feet high.

As the Admiralty have arranged to despatch a Man-of-war to the coast of Africa Station on the 1st. of every month, taking Mails to Madeira and other islands, en route to Sierre Leone and Ascension, so their Lordships have ordered Commodore Sir C. Hotham, K.C B. the Commander-in-Chief there, to send one ship of his Squadron, on the 1st of every month, with a mail for England.

REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONERS OF the Northern LIGHTHOUSES, relative to the Summary Report by the Examining Commissioner on the Harbours of Scotland.

(Concluded from p. 382).