Part 27

A detachment under Lieutenant Colonel Collins embarked for Port Phillips, in the Southern part of New Holland, who was nominated Lieutenant Governor of it. His personal knowledge of the Country, and the habitual discipline of my corps, will, I trust, unitedly render that fertile spot, of future public benefit, and its society of unfortunate criminals conspicuous by a reform of manners.

Few occasions, during the present war, have offered to signalize Marine valour. Wherever they have occurred, the most powerful incentives to the human mind, have been held out to every hero who shall imitate such examples. The gallantry of Charles O'Reilly, private, on board the Loire, who assisted in carrying the national brig Venteux, and bringing her out from under the heavy batteries of the Isle of Bas, was condescendingly noticed by the Board of Admiralty, and he was immediately promoted, by General Averne, to the rank of Serjeant, at the request of their Lordships. This was likewise followed by a pecuniary recompence from the society of Lloyd's; an institution founded in the most noble munificence, the purest benevolence, and the most exalted patriotism.

Lieutenant Irvin, of Marines, also shewed his zeal in a detached enterprize from the Naiad, against a French schooner at anchor in the Saintes, which was achieved without loss.

My narrative here reaches its close, and I will not dive into futurity. Thus much I will venture to anticipate, that whether in union with his gallant brethren of the fleet, or blended with our disciplined Armies on the shore, the Marine Soldier will never forfeit that distinguished name which he now holds, of loyalty to his King, fidelity to his Country, and unshaken valour against the enemies of both.

If such continues to be his virtues, may he never want a patron and a guardian! and when the Nobleman, who now so ably guides the Naval counsels of the Nation, shall be removed from the seat of power, either by a mortal or a political decree, may his successor, like him, possess the disposition to recompence our merits, although unbefriended by influence!

APPENDIX.

The very important services of the fleets of Britain, through successive generations, have justly entitled her Seamen to public recompence and protection. Every means, therefore, which good policy or expediency could suggest, have been adopted at different times, for their comforts and welfare.

Whether from an illiberal distinction, or a faulty omission, I know not, still the Marine Soldier, habitually a sharer in the dangers and the glory of our Navy, notwithstanding such natural claims to notice, was, for a long while, excluded from a participation in these humane regulations which afforded independence to the destitute families of our Sailors when afar off in their Country's service. It was reserved for a recent and a more enlightened era to extend also to the Marine, a privilege which must constitute the sweetest joy of every good man--that of allotting a part of his pay, when embarked, and distant from his home, for the constant support of a wife and family otherwise doomed to want, an aged parent weighed down by poverty and years, or a dependant friend struggling hard against adversity.

I shall state the nature of those rights which have progressively been granted to the Marine Soldier, and point out the mode by which they can be practically adopted. It is a tribute, however, meritedly due to the Right Honorable Mr. Dundas, to remark, that from his intelligent and generous conceptions, first emanated all these estimable privileges to the subordinates in the Royal Corps of Marines, which were eagerly discussed and sanctioned by a grateful Legislature.

Without recurring to the express Acts of Parliament, upon which those indulgencies are founded, I will simply digest their spirit, and detail the necessary steps to be observed, under every possible contingency. It will be proper to mention, in the first place, that every Marine Recruit should intimate to his wife or kindred, immediately after his joining Head Quarters at Chatham, Portsmouth, or Plymouth, the number _of the divisional Company_ to which he has been attached. Young men too frequently name only _their parade Companies_ which is of no use after they are embarked on board, as such often undergo a change while they continue on shore. By particularizing the former, it serves as a certain clue to their friends in every enquiry concerning their destinies, and will correct mistakes when two, or more, of a similar name shall happen to belong to the same ship or division.

In April, 1763, Marine Soldiers obtained the right of following their trades in any town of Great Britain (except those having Universities) after their discharge from the service. This remains the same.

It is to be observed, for the guidance of legal heirs to prize-money, which may be due to any deceased Marine Soldier, that if they do not exhibit their claims _within_ three years after notice has been given by the Agent or Agents, of its being in course of payment, such goes into the funds of Greenwich Hospital. This shews the absolute necessity of every family or kindred maintaining a constant correspondence with their distant military friends, and as the life of a Soldier is ever precarious, _he_ should not fail to report, by letter, the circumstantial particulars of each fortunate capture at sea, in which he may have an interest, in order that his legal or designed heirs may meet with little difficulty in tracing out where his property lays, in the event of death.

As the Country wisely permits the Marine, in common with all the subordinate servants of his Majesty, an œconomical communication with his dear and remote friends, by the abolition of every postage excepting the payment of one penny, no occasion should be lost of availing himself of this valuable privilege. From this item being lodged with each letter into the office from whence it is dispatched, I am afraid, however, it often happens, when on the eve of putting to sea, that those poor fellows, in the hurry of the occasion, entrust their money and their secrets to unprincipled watermen, who may be tempted to pocket the one, and destroy the other without a chance of detection. _Were the receivers_ of each letter obliged to pay this little impost, correspondence might be more regular, such frauds prevented, and the revenue continue unaltered.

By the benevolent Act of 1792 Non-Commissioned Officers and Private Marines were allowed the privilege of allotting a portion of their pay (usually a moiety) to their wives, families, or others, which, till that period, was confined to the Seamen alone.

Immediately after embarkation, he who has a relative or a friend to whom he inclines to allot such a part, should execute this instrument, which the Captain of the ship he may belong to, will forward to the Navy Board; the Treasurer of which, authenticates the ticket and transmits it to the person for whose benefit it is designed.

The Receiver General of Land Tax, Collectors of Customs or Excise, and Clerks of the Checque, are _officially_ obliged to pay these allowances to the holder of it, every four weeks, and should no money be in hand for the purpose, one or other must name _a day of recall within a fortnight_, under a penalty, as likewise if any deduction shall be made from the net sum. Tickets of allotment are irrevocable by the grantor, while he lives and is in public pay, unless he shews a very solid cause for cancelling them. If a wife who holds one, having children _under fourteen_, shall die, the fact must be attested by the Minister and Church Wardens of the parish, a person named who undertakes to receive _their_ future allowances, and all the circumstances thus established must be remitted to the Navy Board for its sanction. He who becomes the representative ought to appear in person to receive such monies, unless prevented by sickness. But should a wife die (leaving children of the above description) and if no steps are taken or any claims made for their benefit, _within six months_, such allotments become void, and they will in future be paid either to the grantor himself, or his heirs and executors after his decease.

Those who hold such tickets may always be assured of the friends who gave them being alive, up to the date of the latest payment, as the Navy Board never fails to acquaint those Agents who have been accustomed to issue the money for allotments, with every death that happens; each of whom is bound, under a penalty, to acknowledge the receipt of such an intimation within two days. The same forms are observed in Ireland, where allotments are paid by the Collectors or Commissioners of Revenue.

All enquiries concerning the situation or destinies of distant relatives serving in the Royal Marines when embarked on board of ship, should be preferred to the Navy Board, Somerset Place, London, and through its present Secretary, (R. A. Nelson,) or whoever may succeed him, as the returns of ships are transmitted to that office, in which the Marines are included. In order to identify the Soldier, about whom an enquiry is made it is necessary to hand, at the same time, the _number_ of his divisional company, as well as that of his allotment ticket, if he has granted one. Successful reference may also be had to the division, where he is attached, by addressing a letter, "On his Majesty's service," to the Adjutant of it; _always_ remarking the _number_ of his Company.

In the year 1792 Marines were placed on the same footing, and became sharers in the benefit of an Act "To prevent frauds and abuses in payment of wages, prize-money, and other allowances." Wills, or letters of Attorney, when executed on board of ship, must be attested by the Captain, and one or more of the _signing Officers_. They are not valid unless they are _revocable_. The Captain acquaints the Navy Board in his ship's return when any Seaman or Marine under his command has made his testament, which is an evidence of the justice of future claims on his property in case of decease. Any will made by either, after his discharge from the service, or any power of Attorney affecting _pay_, _prize-money_, or other property acquired by him, _while on board his Majesty's fleet, if executed within the bills of London or Westminster_, must be attested by an Officer appointed by the Treasurer of the Navy, _where wages are paid_. If either a will or power of Attorney, as above, is made in England or Ireland, it must be witnessed by the Minister and Church Wardens; if in Scotland, by the Clergyman and two Elders of that parish in which the executor of such an instrument may reside.

Any Marine dying on board _intestate_ upon information of his decease reaching his friends, he who is entitled to his effects must give in a petition to the Inspector of Wills, (J. Bedingfield, Esq.) Somerset Place, London, or whoever may be his successor, _stating_ the name of such Marine, to what part of the King's dominions he belonged, the name of the ship or ships in which he served, the applicant's own name, _at full length_, his relation to, or connexion with the defunct, what other kindred the deceased may have alive to the best of the petitioner's knowledge, and where resident. This must be certified by two respectable housekeepers of the parish, town, or place where the applicant dwells, who must aver that they believe such account to be true, _which_ is also to be attested by the Minister and Church Wardens, that _those_ subscribing witnesses live in the parish, and are of honest repute. Upon a petition and a certificate, executed agreeable to such prescribed forms, being transmitted to the Inspector of Wills, he will enquire into the truth of all, and when satisfied that no will of the deceased remains with him, he will send or deliver to the claimants an abstract of his petition, with a note or ticket signed by himself and subjoined, marked by his stamp, representing that such statement of the claimant appears just, and that the person so petitioning may have letters of administration to the deceased, _provided_ he is otherwise entitled by law, _which_ will be addressed to a Proctor in Doctor's Commons, that letters may pass in favour of the applicant, while the original petition and certificate are preserved on the records of the Treasurer of the Navy and kept by him, and the letters of administration must be lodged and registered in the same manner as the probates of wills, with the Inspector, who must give a cheque signed and stamped by him, or his representative, to the Administrators or their Attorneys, which will be sufficient for either to demand payment of all sums due to them on account of the deceased. Proctors are liable to a penalty of 500_l_. if aiding to procure probates or letters of administration to empower any to receive pay, prize-money, &c. for service in the fleet, without having first obtained a certificate from the Inspector of Wills and powers of Attorney, and they will, moreover, be incapacitated from acting in any Ecclesiastical Court of Great Britain or Ireland.

Non-Commissioned Officers and Private Marines should be cautious to execute latter wills and powers exactly conformable to the prescribed rules, for if not attended to, they will be of no effect, besides the testator or executor being subject to a penalty.

The stated fees of Proctors are as follow, and with them I shall close an Appendix, which, I humbly trust, will prove of general benefit. Every remark which it contains is alike applicable in pursuing the interests of the heirs of Seamen as well as of Marines.

For seal, parchment, writing, and suing forth the probate granted to the Executors of any Marine whose property is 20_l_. £0 15 2 To Proctor on letters of administration on do. when 20_l_. 1 4 2 -------- To Proctor for probate when property is 40_l_. £1 8 8 Do. letters of administration when do. do. 1 17 8 -------- To Proctor for probate when property is 60_l_. £1 11 2 To do. letters of administration when do. do. 2 8 6 -------- To Proctors for probate when property is 100_l_. £1 13 8 Do. letters of administration when do. do. 2 11 0

If the funds exceed my statements, the charges progressively become augmented, of which any Proctor can inform, as they are uniformly limited.

FINIS.

M. Swinney, Printer, Birmingham.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

All changes noted in the ERRATA (pg xvi) have been applied to the etext.

The heading and signature lines of letters have been made consistent in style; the printer sometimes combined them to save space on a page.

Three occurrences of the character ſ (long-form s) have been replaced by the normal s. (Pg 1 also; pg 5 Brisbane; pg 383 sloop.)

Sometimes the currency symbol l (for libra, pounds) was used instead of £. This has been changed to _l_ for clarity. For example, 50l is represented as 50_l_.

Except for those changes noted below, all misspelling in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example: crouded, crowd; chaced, chased; stile, style; control, controul.

Pg x. 'requst' replaced by 'request'. Pg xi. 'hononr' replaced by 'honour'. Pg xii. 'sharers' replaced by 'shares'. Pg xiv. 'establisment' replaced by 'establishment'. Pg xv. 'Trinadad' replaced by 'Trinidad'. Pg xvi. 'proccedure' replaced by 'procedure'. Pg 11. '11,375 16 ' replaced by '11,375 16 8'. Pg 16. 'Cloudesly' replaced by 'Cloudesley' (twice). Pg 20. 'harrassed' replaced by 'harassed'. Pg 22. 'eastermost' replaced by 'easternmost'. Pg 23. 'capitol' replaced by 'capital'. Pg 30. 'inorder to' replaced by 'in order to'. Pg 38. "Holl's" replaced by "Holl"; "Barr's" replaced by "Barr". Pg 43. 'peformed' replaced by 'performed'. Pg 52. 'Barriadera' replaced by 'Barradera'. Pg 52. 'Castilio' replaced by 'Castillo'. Pg 66. 'recal' replaced by 'recall'. Pg 67. 'embarassment' replaced by 'embarrassment'. Pg 71. 'amunition' replaced by 'ammunition'. Pg 76. 'Massachusets' replaced by 'Massachusetts'. Pg 76. 'secresy' replaced by 'secrecy'. Pg 77. 'Louisburgh' replaced by 'Louisburg'. Pg 81. 'usged' replaced by 'urged'. Pg 87. 'alledging' replaced by 'alleging'. Pg 87. 'notwithsanding' replaced by 'notwithstanding'. Pg 90. 'fac totum' replaced by 'factotum'. Pg 91. 'endeavonr' replaced by 'endeavour'. Pg 91. 'notwithsanding' replaced by 'notwithstanding'. Pg 93. 'wihich' replaced by 'which'. Pg 97. 'groud' replaced by 'ground'. Pg 109. 'datachment' replaced by 'detachment'. Pg 111. 'compleated' replaced by 'completed'. (For consistency with ERRATA ref. pg 121.) Pg 114. 'Aix La Chapelle' replaced by 'Aix-la-Chapelle'. Pg 122. 'parly' replaced by 'parley'. Pg 125. 'Foudryant' replaced by 'Foudroyant'. Pg 128. 'accquaint' replaced by 'acquaint'. Pg 132. 'Divison' replaced by 'Division'. Pg 140. 'compleat' replaced by 'complete'. Pg 144. 'Keppell' replaced by 'Keppel'. Pg 150. 'predeliction' replaced by 'predilection'. Pg 152. 'Keppell' replaced by 'Keppel'. Pg 160. 'chearfulness' replaced by 'cheerfulness'. Pg 166. 'Battlions of a' replaced by 'Battalions of'. Pg 231. 'compleating' replaced by 'completing'. Pg 170. 'scite' replaced by 'site'. Pg 176. 'unparelelled' replaced by 'unparalleled'. Pg 178. 'momentuous' replaced by 'momentous'. Pg 186. 'rouze' replaced by 'rouse'. Pg 190. 'mœnuvre' replaced by 'manœuvre'. Pg 201. 'waving' replaced by 'waiving'. Pg 202. 'Ticonderago' replaced by 'Ticonderoga'. Pg 202. 'wiley' replaced by 'wily'. Pg 206. 'desart' replaced by 'desert'. Pg 217. 'Pensylvania' replaced by 'Pennsylvania'. Pg 223. 'retrogade' replaced by 'retrograde'. Pg 224. 'mœnuvring' replaced by 'manœuvring'. Pg 232. 'Pitcaim' replaced by 'Pitcairne'. Pg 243. 'vollies' replaced by 'volleys'. Pg 251. 'Charlestown' replaced by 'Charleston'. Pg 255. 'developeing' replaced by 'developing'. Pg 263. 'distingushed' replaced by 'distinguished'. Pg 266. 'sweeped' replaced by 'swept'. Pg 266. 'hazarduous' replaced by 'hazardous'. Pg 267. 'chearfully' replaced by 'cheerfully'. Pg 276. 'nogociations' replaced by 'negociations'. Pg 279. 'hazarduous' replaced by 'hazardous'. Pg 281. 'momentuous' replaced by 'momentous'. Pg 297. 'unparelleled' replaced by 'unparalleled'. Pg 300. 'cooly' replaced by 'coolly'. Pg 300. 'befel' replaced by 'befell'. Pg 310. 'Braave' replaced by 'Brave'. Pg 317. 'traiterous' replaced by 'traitorous'. Pg 325. 'dependancies' replaced by 'dependencies'. Pg 335. 'independant' replaced by 'independent'. Pg 335. 'compleat' replaced by 'complete'. Pg 338. 'saliant' replaced by 'salient'. Pg 338. 'adviseable' replaced by 'advisable'. Pg 347. 'desart' replaced by 'desert' (twice). Pg 352. 'precipiece' replaced by 'precipice'. Pg 352. 'unremitted' replaced by 'unremitting'. Pg 353. 'dependancy' replaced by 'dependency'. Pg 359. 'Tremenduous' replaced by 'Tremendous'. Pg 359. 'achievments' replaced by 'achievements'. Pg 363. 'commencment' replaced by 'commencement'. Pg 378. 'panegyrick' replaced by 'panegyric'. Pg 381 Footnote [7]. 'given in by' replaced by 'given by'. Pg 384. 'intepidity' replaced by 'intrepidity'. Pg 384. 'unremitedly' replaced by 'unremittingly'. Pg 386. 'occomplished' replaced by 'accomplished'. Pg 387. 'achievment' replaced by 'achievement'. Pg 389. 'tremenduous' replaced by 'tremendous'. Pg 390. 'purchaced' replaced by 'purchased'. Pg 396. 'cooly' replaced by 'coolly'. Pg 398. 'respectsble' replaced by 'respectable'. Pg 400. 'scurrillity' replaced by 'scurrility'. Pg 400. 'philipics' replaced by 'philippics'. Pg 402. 'succeessor' replaced by 'successor'. Pg 405. 'allottment' replaced by 'allotment'. Pg 407. 'Attornies' replaced by 'Attorneys'.