by departing from this rule, been endangered by the revolt of their flaves while, in abfolute and defpotic governments where no real liberty exifts, and confequently no invidious comparisons can be formed, fuch incidents are extremely rare. Two precautions are therefore advised to be observed in all prudent and free governments: 1. To prevent the introduction of flavery at all: or, 2. If it be already introduced, not to intrust those slaves with arms; who will then find themselves an overmatch for the freemen. Much lefs ought the foldiery to be an exception to the people in general, and the only state of fervitude in the nation. BUT as foldiers, by this annual act, are thus put in a worfe condition than any other fubjects, fo by the humanity of our standing laws, they are in fome cafes put in a much better. By ftatute 43 Eliz. c. 3. a weekly allowance is to be raised in every county for the relief of foldiers that are fick, hurt, and maimed: not forgetting the royal hospital at Chelsea for fuch as are worn out in their duty. Officers and foldiers, that have been in the king's fervice, are by feveral ftatutes, enacted at the close of several wars, at liberty to use any trade or occupation they are fit for, in any town in the kingdom (except the two universities) notwithstanding any ftatute, cuftom, or charter to the contrary. And foldiers in actual military fervice may make nuncupative wills, and difpofe of their goods, wages, and other personal chattels, without thofe forms, folemnities, and expenfes, which the law requires in other cafes. Our law does not indeed extend this privilege fo far as the civil law; which carried it to an extreme that borders upon the ridiculous. For if a foldier, in the article of death, wrote any thing in bloody letters on his fhield, or in the duft of the field with his fword, it was a very good military teftament o. And thus much for the military ftate, as acknowleged by the laws of England. e Stat. 29 Car. II. c. 3. 5 W. III. c. 21. §. 6. Si milites quid in clypeo literis fanguine fuc rutilantibus adnotaverint, aut in pulvere infcripferint gladio fuo, ipfe tempore quo, in praelio, vitae fortem derelinquunt, bujufmodi voluntatem ftabilem efe oportet. Cod. 6. 21. 15. THE THE maritime state is nearly related to the former: though much more agreeable to the principles of our free conftitution. The royal navy of England hath ever been it's greatest defence and ornament; it is it's antient and natural strength; the floating bulwark of the island; an army, from which, however ftrong and powerful, no danger can ever be apprehended to liberty: and accordingly it has been affiduously cultivated, even from the earliest ages. To fo much perfection was our naval reputation arrived in the twelfth century, that the code of maritime laws, which are called the laws of Oleron, and are received by all nations in Europe as the ground and fubftruction of all their marine conftitutions, was confeffedly compiled by our king Richard the first, at the isle of Oleron on the coaft of France, then part of the poffeffions of the crown of England, And yet, fo vaftly inferior were our ancestors in this point to the prefent age, that even in the maritime reign of queen Elizabeth fir Edward Coke thinks it matter of boaft, that the royal navy of England then confifted of three and thirty fhips. The prefent condition of our marine is in great measure owing to the falutary provisions of the statutes, called the navigation acts; whereby the constant increase of English fhipping and feamen was not only encouraged, but rendered unavoidably neceflary. By the statute 5 Ric. II. c. 3. in order to augment the navy of England, then greatly diminished, it was ordained, that none of the king's liege people should ship any merchandize out of or into the realm but only in fhips of the king's ligeance, on pain of forfeiture. In the next year, by ftatute 6 Ric. II. c. 8. this wife provision was enervated, by only obliging the merchants to give English fhips (if able and fufficient) the preference. But the most beneficial ftatute for the trade and commerce of thefe kingdoms is that navigation-act, the rudiments of which were first framed in 1650 %, with a narrow partial view: being intended to mortify our own fugar islands, which were disaffected to the parliament and still held out for Charles II, by stopping the gainful trade which they then carried on with the Dutch ; and at the fame time to clip the wings of those our opulent and afpiring neighbours. This prohibited all fhips of foreign nations from trading with any English plantations without licence from the council of ftate. In 1651; the prohibition was extended also to the mother country: and no goods were fuffered to be imported into England, or any of it's dependencies, in any other than English bottoms; or in the fhips of that European nation, of which the merchandize imported was the genuine growth or manufacture. At the restoration, the former provifions were continued, by ftatute 12 Car. II. c. 18. with this very material improvement, that the mafter and three-fourths of the mariners fhall alfo be English fubjects (a). MANY laws have been made for the fupply of the royal navy with feamen; for their regulation when on board; and to confer privileges and rewards on them during and after their fervice. of 1. FIRST, for their fupply. The power of impreffing seafaring men for the fea fervice by the king's commiffion, has been a matter of fome difpute, and fubmitted to with great reluctance; though it hath very clearly and learnedly been fhewn, by fir Michael Fofter, that the practice of impressing, and granting powers to the admiralty for that purpofe, is very antient date, and hath been uniformly continued by a regular feries of precedents to the prefent time: whence he concludes it to be part of the common law *. The difficulty arifes from hence, that no statute has exprefsly declared this power to be in the crown, though many of them very strongly imply it. The ftatute 2 Ric. II. c. 4. speaks of mariners being arrested and retained for the king's fervice, as of a thing well known and practifed without difpute; and provides a remedy against their running away. By a later ftatute, if h Mod. Un. Hift. xli. 289. j Scobell. 176. i Rep. 154. k See also Comb. 245. Barr. 334. 1 Stat. 2 & 3 Ph. & M. c. 16. (a) And thefe acts have been farther enforced and rendered more effectual by ftatutes 26 Geo. III. c. 60, and 27 Geo. III. c. 19. any any waterman, who ufes the river Thames, fhall hide himfelf during the execution of any commiflion of prefling for the king's fervice, he is liable to heavy penalties. By another ", no fisherman shall be taken by the queen's commillion to ferve as a mariner; but the commiffion fhall be firft brought to two juftices of the peace, inhabiting near the fea coaft where the mariners are to be taken, to the intent that the juftices may chufe out and return fuch a number of able-bodied men, as in the commiffion are contained, to ferve her majefty. And, by others", especial protections are allowed to feamen in particular circumftances, to prevent them from being impreffed. And ferrymen are also faid to be privileged from being impreffed, at common law °. All which do moft evidently imply a power of impreffing to refide fomewhere; and, if any where, it muft from the fpirit of our conftitution, as well as from the frequent mention of the king's commiffion, refide in the crown alone. BUT, befides this method of impreffing, (which is only defenfible from public neceflity, to which all private confiderations must give way) there are other ways that tend to the increase of feamen, and manning the royal navy. Parishes may bind out poor boys apprentices to mafters of merchantmen, who shall be protected from impreffing for the first three years; and if they are impreffed afterwards, the masters shall be allowed their wages P: great advantages in point of wages are given to volunteer feamen in order to induce them to enter into his majesty's fervice: and every foreign feaman, who during a war fhall serve two years in any man of war, merchantman, or privateer, is naturalized ipfo facto'. About the middle of king William's reign, a fcheme was fet on foot for a register of feamen to the number of thirty thousand, for m Stat. 5 Eliz. c. 5. n See Stat. 7 & 8 W. III. c. 21. 2 Ann. c. 6. 4 & Ann. c. 19. 13 Geo. 5 II. c. 17. 2 Geo. III. c. 15. 11 Geo. III. c. 38. 19 Geo. III. c. 75, &c. o Sav. 14. p Stat. 2 Ann. c. 6. 9 Stat. 31 Geo. II. c. 10. r Stat. 13 Geo. II. c. 3. • Stat. 7 & 8 W. III. c. 21. a conftant a conftant and regular fupply of the king's fleet; with great privileges to the registered men, and, on the other hand, heavy penalties in cafe of their non-appearance when called for: but this registry, being judged to be ineffectual as well as oppreffive, was abolifhed by ftatute 9 Ann. c. 21, 2. THE method of ordering feamen in the royal fleet, and keeping up a regular difcipline there, is directed by certain exprefs rules, articles, and orders, first enacted by the authority of parliament foon after the restoration ; but fince new, modelled and altered, after the peace of Aix la Chapelle ", to remedy fome defects which were of fatal confequence in conducting the preceding war. In thefe articles of the navy almost every poflible offence is fet down, and the punishment thereof annexed: in which refpect the seamen have much the advantage over their brethren in the land fervice; whose ar ticles of war are not enacted by parliament, but framed from time to time at the pleasure of the crown. Yet from whence this distinction arofe, and why the executive power, which is limited fo properly with regard to the navy, fhould be fo extenfive with regard to the army, it is hard to affign a reafon: unless it proceeded from the perpetual establishment of the navy, which rendered a permanent law for their regulation expedient; and the temporary duration of the army, which fubfifted only from year to year, and might therefore with lefs danger be fubjected to difcretionary government, But, whatever was apprehended at the first formation of the mutiny act, the regular renewal of our ftanding force at the entrance of every year has made this diftinction idle. For, if from experience paft we may judge of future events, the army is now laftingly ingrafted into the British conftitution; with this fingularly fortunate circumstance, that any branch of the legiflature may annually put an end to it's legal exift ence, by refusing to concur in it's continuance. t Stat. 13 Car. II. ft. 1. c. 9. by 19 Geo. III. c. 17. 3. WITH |