S40 & TBA A. Pre IRes, 
Keeping open the fhip’s books fo 
dong, befides the delay it occafions 
in-the accounts, is pregnant with fo 
Many inconveniences both to the 
officer and the office, that the cor- 
rection of this defect is an object 
worth attempting. 
The dirticulty lies in the payment 
upon recalls; that is, of thofe per- 
fons who remain upon a book un- 
paid afterthe day of payment. A 
thip is faid emphatically to be paid, 
upon that day in which that fhip’s 
book is firft opened for payment, 
except where one perfon only upon 
a fhip’s book is paid upon a certain 
day, in order to put that fhip out of 
commiffion ; and, in chat cafe, pay- 
ments within the month after, are 
confidered not as recalls, but as 
payments on the pay day. All pay- 
ments made fubfequent to that day, 
and before the book is made up, 
are payments upon recalls, and are 
now made by or upon the book it- 
felf, and by the treafurer in whofe 
treafurerfhip the book was firtt 
opened for payment, whether he is 
in or out of office. Ifa method can 
be devifed of paying thofe after- 
claimants by the treafurer in office, 
and otherwife than by the fhip’s 
book, without delaying or difturb- 
ing the pay of the feamen, or con- 
founding the accounts of the trea- 
furers, the fhip’s books may then be 
clofed at any time, and this difli- 
culty will be removed. 
In order to difcover fuch a me- 
thod, it was abfolutely neceflary to 
examine minutely into the manner 
in which this brancii of the bufinefs 
is now conducted in the pay office 
of the navy; and with this know- 
ledge we are furnifhed by Mr. A- 
dam Jellicoe, chief clerk in the pay 
branch in the office of the treafurer 
of the navy; Mr. John Hunter, 
(342 
who has long been employed in the 
office of the controller of the trea- 
furer’s accounts at Portfmouth, 
where by far the greateft number 
of the fhips and recalls are paid ; 
Mr. Edward Falkingham, a clerk 
in that branch of the office of the 
controller of the navy that relates 
to the payment of feamen’s wages ; 
and by Mr. William Paynter, the 
chief clerk in the ticket office. 
A fhip’s book, with its four co- 
pies, is made out in the fhip; it 
contains the names, and certain ne- 
ceflary circumftances, of all the per- 
fons entitled to wages in that fhip ; 
the two oppofite pages are divided 
into a variety of columns, with a 
tithe at the top of each column; 
eighteen of thefe columns are for 
defalcations, that is, deduétions or 
abatements that are to be made out 
of their wages at the time of pay- 
ment: four ‘of thefe are conftant, 
certain deductions ; they are intitu- 
led, the cheft, the hofpital, the three 
pence in the pound, and, the ma- 
rine ftoppages. The other fourteen 
are cafual. The wages of an able 
feaman are twenty-four fhillings a 
month: this is part of the four 
pounds per man per month, voted 
annually by parliament for the 
maintenance of the feamen: from 
this fum of twenty-four fhillings, 
and from the monthly wages of 
every warraut and petty officer, 
there are two conftant dedu@ions; 
one fhilling for the cheft, and fix- 
pence for the hofpital. The one 
fhilling is divided into three parts, 
for three different purpofes; fix- 
pence of it is paid to the cheft at 
Chatham, for the fupport of hurt 
and difabled feamen; four-pence ’ 
is paid to the chaplain; and two- 
pence to the furgeon. The fix- 
pence is applied to the fupport of 
gl Greenwich 
