ADMIRAL 



: 



ADMIRALTY 



country usually acts as administrator. The 

 duties of an administrator are stated in a bond. 



AD'MIRAL, the office of highest rank in 

 the naval establishment of a country, except 

 in England and Germany, where the admiral 

 of the fleet has higher dignity. In the navies 

 of all countries there are three grades in this 

 office, admiral, vice-admiral, and rear-admiral. 

 In the United States navy, however, the rank 

 of rear-admiral is now the highest permanent 

 rank an officer can ordinarily attain. The rank 

 of admiral is given temporarily to the officers 

 in command of the Atlantic, the Pacific and 

 the Asiatic fleets; when they retire from the 

 chief commands they resume their personal 

 rank as rear-admirals. The rank of 

 admiral is given temporarily to the officers 

 second in command of these fleets, but here 

 :n it belongs to them not personally but 

 only by virtue of office. The admirals and 

 vice-admirals are chosen by the President from 

 the number of rear-admirals, varying from 

 fifteen to twenty-five, on the active list. At 

 the age of sixty-two years all officers are re- 

 leased from active service and are placed on 

 1 list. Rear-admirals are chosen from 

 the list of captains. 



Until 1915, when the present system was 

 adopted, only two men, David Glasgow Far- 

 ragut and David D. Porter, had ever held t In- 

 rank of admiral in the United States navy. 

 The special rank of admiral of the navy, a 

 unique distinction, was created in 1898 for 

 George Dewey; since, Benson, Caperton, Win- 

 ilterand Mayo were honored with the rank 

 of admiral. Until 1915 no man had held the 

 rank of vice-admiral since the death of Stephen 

 Rowan in 1900. Coffman and Grant were ap- 

 pointed . .0. In 1917 William S. > 

 in American command in I'.ump. . was 

 the rank of vice-admiral. 



The admiral of the navy receives $13,500 



year; an admiral receives $10,000 an i 

 rank co: ;th a general in the army; 



a vice-admiral ($9,000) ranks with a lieu- 

 tenant-general, and th. - ($8,000) 

 rank with major-generals. In addition to t 

 salaries these officers receive small allowances, 

 according to k. to provide for ex- 

 penses. The officers of d States navy 

 receive higher salaries than the corresponding 

 H in any other nation in the world. 



I'lmiral receives $8,881; the French. 

 $7350; the German, $7,611; the H 

 $9,660; the Japanese, $2,988; the Italian, $3.17 I 

 .MY \M> NAVY, i I- 1 



AD'MIRALTY, in Great Britain, the depart- 

 ment of government which is responsible for 

 the management of the British navy. The 

 powers of the admiralty correspond roughly 

 to those of the Department of the Navy at 

 Washington for the United States, or of the 

 Sen-ice at Ottawa, for the Dominion of 

 These powers are exercised l.y a 

 board, comprising five lords commissioners of 

 ::iiirulty. Two of the commissioners are 

 civil or political lords, while the other throe 

 ;-re naval, or sea, lords. 



I" t! ( > men as a body 



all important questions, but in fact the re- 

 sponsibility, and usually the decision, rests on 

 the first lord, who is always a ('alum -t minister. 

 r Churchill an<l Arthur James 

 Balfour are the best known of the men who 

 have recently held this office. The first lord, 

 like the other Cabinet members, is responsible 

 to Parliament; and all the lords resign if the 

 Prime Min: MS. The first lord has gen- 



eral supervisory control, including also the 

 ement of finance, appointments and pro- 

 motions. He is assisted by the junior civil 

 lord, who attends to the accounts, the naval 

 schools and hospitals and other details. 



The actual control of the fleet is in the 

 hands of the three naval lords, the first of 

 is the active commander-in-chief on the sea. 

 He ma :ient and distribution 



of the fleet, issues p and is gen- 



erally responsible for discipline and i l infifl*- 

 ment. The second naval lord is responsible 

 for the armament, marine artillery and allied 

 branches, while the third lord is charged with 

 the duty of securing stores and supplies. 



Admiralty Law. This applied to 



body of law i. 1 MI- to ships and 

 shipping. It takes its name from the fact 

 that all disputes relating to maritime transac- 

 tions v. Mally settled by tin- l>rd high 

 1 of the navy It relates chiefly to such 

 us to recover possession of a 

 ship, actions for damages to shipping, salvage 

 cases and assaults on the Inch seas. 



nenerally follow the 



. of the common law, but are aclminin- 

 ny special courts. In Kngland the sd- 

 ;sion is a part of the supreme court 

 of judicature. In Canada the functions of an 

 admiralty court were first exercised by the 

 ;ie Court, but are now held >> tho 

 Court and a number of 

 local or district judges in admiralty (for fur- 

 tails see CANADA, subtitle Govern 



