gia] ANNUAL REGISTER, 
paid, either by previous lifts or 
tickets, and of thofe who remain un- 
paid, are entered in the proper co- 
lumns. ‘The defaleations of each 
are caf up, and the total entered in 
the celumn of full wages. Every 
column is caft up to a total, and the 
treafurer, whofe book it is, is allow- 
ed, and that book {9 filled up is his 
voucher, for the total flim in the co- 
lumn of full wages; but as he has 
paid the feamen, not their full but 
their nett wages only, he difcharges 
himfelf of the difference, .that is, of 
the defalcations, by the receipts of 
the purfer, or other perfons entitled, 
to whom he has paid them; and if 
he has not paid all the defalcations, 
he charges himielf with what re- 
mains unpaid i in his yoluntary charge 
of the year, in which he has credit 
for that fhip’s book, and this re- 
mainder is afterwards paid by the 
treafurer in office by a defalcation lift. 
“The keeping open the fhips books 
fo long as they are at prefent, pre- 
vents’ "the after-claimants from be- 
ing very numerous, and confequent- 
y the lift of arrears from being very 
fe infomuch that it ferves as 4 
fingle voucher only, for the amount 
of the nett fum of the payments 
made upon this lift by a treafurer, 
during his whole treafurerthip, and 
that nett total fum is entered as one 
payment in his final account. 
‘From this defcription of the 
modes of paying fhips now in ufe in 
the havy Oflice, i it appears, that there 
does at this time exit a method, by 
which a {ubfequent treafurer pays 
claimants upon fhips books p:id by 
and belonging to his predecefior, 
after they are finally c.ofed and 
made up; and this metnod is by a 
jit of arrears, Suppofe, then, all 
the fhips books paid upon by a trea- 
furer were, upon his refi ignation or 
ge. th, to be immediately laid by, 
1790, 
and all payments upon them tq 
ceafe: could the fucceeding trea- 
furer, by the fame means, pay all 
the remaining claimants upon thofe 
books, without any material incon- 
venience, either to the feamen or 
to the pay office? 
This depends upon the difference 
which the fubftitution of the lift of 
arrears in the place of the thips 
books will occafion in the payments, 
The previous application ‘by~ the 
claimant to the navy board mutt be » 
difpenfed with. ‘The fhips books, 
inftead of being fent to the navy 
office after they are clofed, mutt re- 
main at the out ports as they do 
now. Lifts of arrears, dittinguithed 
from thofe ufed after the fhips books 
are made up, muft ke kept there ag 
weil as in London. 'Thuis far there 
feems to be no difficulty. At pre- 
fent, if a fingle claimant appears 
upon a recall, his fhip’s book is ex- 
amined, his name found, his wages 
are calculated, the open columns of 
defalcations and the columns of wa~ 
ges filled up, upon the fhip’s bock, 
If he i is paid upon the litt of arrears, 
his fhip’s book is equally examined} 
the fame calculations and the fame 
entries are made; but in the one 
cafe the entries are made in the 
fhip’s book, and in the other, upon 
the lit of arfears; and befides this, 
the original entries appearing upon 
the hin’ s book are copied fi from 
thence into the lift ofarrears: and 1 this 
is thé only di titerence between the two 
methods of payment. As this copy- 
ing takes up time, the payment up- 
ona lift of arrears is longer than the 
payment "pon a fhip’s book, by the 
length of time it takes to tranfcribe 
thefe entries. 
Upon in{pettion of a fhip’s book 
made up, and of a lift of arrears, the. 
entries tranf{cribed appear to be, the 
name of the claimant, the current 
number, 
