100 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



yards; to dismiss useless officers and 

 artisans ; and to put a stop to profu- 

 sion and abuses. Tlie system of the 

 present board was exactly the re- 

 verse : and it was necessary itshould 

 be enquired into. 



Lord Melviile observed, that the 

 proposed enquiry, instead of being 

 a comparison between tlie late and 

 present board of admiralty, would 

 be one between the la'c and every 

 other board of admiralty for the 

 last twenty years ; all of which 

 pursued the system of building in 

 mercliants' yards. A number of 

 llotillas. collected at Boulogne, and 

 on the French', Flemish and Dutch 

 ooasts, rendered an increase neces- 

 sary of vessels of a smaller and 

 lighter description, for the service 

 of the iVoitli Sea, the blockade of the 

 enemy's ports, in the narrow part of 

 the Channel, and the protection of 

 our own coast. This increase, durhig 

 his administration, amounted to 1G8 

 vessels. Finding, also, that the 

 ships of the line were not, either in 

 number or quality, such as he 

 thought the situation required, he 

 had given orders for building some 

 in the merchants' yards, as the 

 king's yards could atford but small 

 and slow supply, from the men 

 being employed in those repairs, 

 which must always be inseparable 

 from a state of war. Even earl St. 

 Vincent himself, (in a letter to sir 

 A. S. JIammond,) enforced the ne- 

 cessity of contracting for as many 

 74 gun ships, as persons could be 

 found to undertake, though, for 

 r.ome unaccountable reason, that 

 noblo lord appeared to have altered 

 his opinion. Ills lordship con- 

 cluded by saying, that he had no 

 anxiety as to the result of the mo- 

 tion, and left it entirely to the dis- 

 cretion of tilt* Loiise. 



Earl St. Vincent explained, that 

 the change of opinion imputed to 

 him, arose from the lafucntable de- 

 ficiency of timber in his majesty's 

 dock yards, which required to b« 

 replenished, before any new con. 

 tracts were entered into. He main- 

 tained, that ten ships of the line 

 might be annually launched from the 

 kings yards, without impeding tha 



necessary repairs, or 



tlie 

 wages of the workmen. lie said, 

 that in the whole navy board, there 

 was not one member who did his 

 dufy (o the public, or was compe- 

 tent to his ofiice, with the exception 

 of Mr. JSIarkham, and hoped, in 

 justice to the public, that they would 

 all be ignominiously dismissed. As 

 to the personal attack of the noble 

 lord, he treated it with contempt ; 

 and if the motion were rejected, he 

 could not but consider it as an act 

 of injustice to himself. 



The duke of Clarence spoke in 

 terms of the highest admiration of 

 the naval administration of carl St. 

 Vincent, and concluded a very abla 

 speech,. by giving his hearty assent 

 to the motion. 



Lord Sidmouth could not see any 

 public advantage likely to result 

 from the adoption of this motion, 

 he therefore had to regret, that he 

 could not, consistently with his senga 

 of duty, give his vote with tha 

 wishes of his noble friend, (lord St. 

 Vincent,) for going into the pro- 

 posed committee. 



Lord Holland and lord Suffolk 

 supported the enquiry, and lord 

 Ilawkesbury and the carl of Buck- 

 inghamshire opposed it. After 

 which a division ensued, con- 

 tents, 33, — non-contents, 88, — ma- 

 jority, 55. 



The report of the prize agency 

 bill vfAi brought up, on the 5th day 



of 



