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auguring, 'from the terms of this solemn compact, a 1801. short-lived peace, certain it is, that the activity which reigned on the ocean, an activity much greater than any which had been witnessed during the last two or three years of the war, gave to the treaty the air of a truce, or suspension of arms, in which each of the belligerents, some of whom signed it for no other purpose, was striving to gain an advantageous position, in order, when the tocsin should again sound, to be ready for the recommencement of hostilities. French, dutch, and spanish fleets were preparing to put to sea; and english fleets, to follow them and watch their motions: who then could doubt that, although the wax upon the seals of the treaty concluding the last had scarcely cooled, a new war was on the eve of bursting forth?

236

STATE OF THE BRITISH NAVY.

1802. THE difference in the totals, between the abstract for this year* and that for the last, is too slight to need any observation. The casualty-list of the french navy contains few important losses. That of the spanish navy, with the exception of the Gamo, is filled with the issue of one unfortunate rencontre. The dutch navy, having lain quietly in port, ran no risk of suffering any diminution in its numbers. The loss sustained by the danish navy was of trifling amount; and, considered in a national point of view, was far overbalanced by the renown which the Danes acquired on the occasion. The british casualty-list is distinguishable from any that have preceded it, except that connected with Abstract No. 3, for the number of its captures; among which, as a very rare occurrence, appear two line-of-battle ships.||

The number of commissioned officers and masters, belonging to the british navy at the commencement of the year 1802, was,

Admirals
Vice-admirals
Rear-admirals

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retired as comms. 50

* See Appendix, Annual Abstract No. 10.

+ See Appendix, No. 13.

See Appendix, No. 14. § See Appendix, No. 15. I See Appendix, No. 16.

and the number of seamen and marines voted for 1802. the service of the year, was, 130000 for the first five lunar months, 88000 for one lunar month, and 70000 for the remaining seven lunar months.*

Although, in reference to the abstract immediately preceding it, the abstract for 1802 offers nothing worthy of remark, yet, as coming the next in succession after the close of a war, it contains a variety of matter for consideration. The first circumstance that strikes a reader conversant with the subject is, the important variation between the numerical grandtotals, both line and general, of Abstract No. 10, and of the "Statement and Distribution of the Naval British Force," as given in Steel's list for February, 1802. The Abstract's line-total, with the addition of the two ships remarked upon in the asterisk note belonging to it, is 191, Steel's 198; the Abstract's general total, with the addition just noticed, 783, Steel's 803. Of Steel's line-of-battle number, nine will be found in class q, and one in class u; thus reducing it to 188. But Steel has anticipated the breaking up of the Warspite 74, Captivity and Eagle 64s, and Panther 60; which again augments his number to 192. If from the latter be deducted the Prince-Edward, a ship he classes as a 60 instead of a 50, we have 191, which, with the correction in the note already referred to, is the precise number in the Abstract. Having thus explained the difference that exists between the line-total in the Abstract, and that in Steel's February list, we shall have very little difficulty in approximating the two under-line totals; one of which is 592, the other 603. If we deduct from the latter, four fire-vessels, four river-barges, and four or five transport-tenders and other smallcraft, which, for reasons already given, are excluded from the former,† the numbers will be equal.

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A test yet remains, more authoritative than Steel, the official list or register of the british navy for the

* See Appendix, No. 17.

† See note e*, to Abstract No. 3. at vol. i. p. 565,

1802. 1st of January, 1802. There the line-total is 180, the under-line total 665, and the grand-total 845. It seldom happens that the official register takes any notice of the armées en flúte, or reduced ships: consequently, they remain, list after list, among their fullarmed class-mates. If, then, we deduct, as was done in the comparison with Steel, the nine ships at q, and the one at u, we bring the official line-total to 170. Four line-of-battle ships appear among the official "ship-rigged sloops;"* two among the "prisonships;" one, among the "hospital-ships;" seven, among the "receiving-ships ;" and there were seven others which, although in service, some of them since 1800, were not registered at the date of the abstract. Here, at once, is the number required. With respect to the under-line totals, we have merely to deduct from the 665, the 67 " "hoys, lighters, and transports," and the 10 "hulks," and we have 588, a number which is four below the abstract number. This trifling difference is to be found, if we could stay to trace it, among the smallcraft, several of which are included in the abstract, and not registered in the official list; while others, as fire-vessels, river-barges, " barge-magazine,” "latteen-settee," &c. that assist to swell the latter, are not to be found in the former.

66

Having thus established the general correctness of the numerical totals of Abstract No. 10, and through it, we hope, of its nine tabular predecessors, we will, after premising that, should any doubt arise respecting the proper classification of a ship, a reference to the notes (which, in fact, are the key to the Abstracts) may clear up the point, proceed to draw a slight comparison between the first and last abstracts,

* Sandwich, San-Ysidro, Royal-Oak, and Prudent; all of which had been prison-ships.

+ Sultan and Captivity.

‡ Union, afterwards Sussex. § Royal-William, Cambridge, Grafton, Chichester, Yarmouth, Medway, and Rippon.

Athénien, Nassau, (late Holstein,) De-Ruyter, Guelderland, Leyden, Texel, (late Cerberus,) and Utrecht.

the two between which an eight years' war had inter- 1802. vened. In doing this we shall confine ourselves to the line-totals, and even then, to the cruising totals only. According to the latter, the numerical increase is 13 ships; but the most decided improvement is discoverable in the relative tonnages. For instance, the 113 ships in No. 1 measured upon an average 1645 tons; while the 126 ships in No. 10 measure 1740 tons. The accession of the five ships at B, C, and G, and of 26 out of the 30 at K, L, and M, have chiefly contributed to this important augmentation.

The number of line-of-battle ships, added to the british navy from the navies of foreign powers, were, french 27, dutch 17, spanish 5, and danish 1; total 50:* a number that, besides being considerably short of what Steel and other writers have recorded, contains a larger proportion of ineffective ships than they allow, as the following statement will show:

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Remaining, of ships captured in the war of 1793.. 20
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Captured, &c.

Sold or taken to pieces

Whole of ships of the line captured in the war of 1793

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5

5

30

16

20

The line-of-battle loss, which the british navy sustained in the same war, amounts to 20 ships; of which no fewer than three fourths were wrecked and accidentally burnt.+

It is usual, at the termination of a war, to exhibit, by a few figures, the relative gains and losses of the parties that had been engaged in it. Accordingly, in December, 1801, a cabinet minister laid before the british parliament a statement expressing that, when the war * See Appendix, No. 17. + See Appendix, No. 18.

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