ers of the Treasury, in the foreign possessions of the Crown." "The Commissariat," it is added, "also provides, keeps in store, and issues the provisions, forage, fuel, and light, for the use of all the different branches of the service abroad; furnishes the troops with the necessary supplies of water; provides all land and inland water transport; and, in the absence of a properly authorized naval agent, takes up all the freight for the conveyance of troops and stores by sea." The Commissariat is a peculiar and important service, requiring great ability and much experience. During the whole time consumed by the British army in advancing from the frontiers of Portugal to the Pyrenees, the Commissariat officers had to feed daily 80,000 men and 20,000 horses. The money raised by the Commissariat Department in specie, in silver and gold, in Spain and Portugal during the Peninsular war, by bills on this country, amounted to somewhere about 36,000,000l. sterling; and probably 10,000,000l. more was sent from England, and as much from the Mediterranean and other quarters. Since the abolition of the Comptrollers of Army Accounts, the Commissioners of Audit, in addition to their former duty of auditing the accounts of a part of the expenditure of the Commissioners for the service of the army on every foreign station, have also acted as advisers to the Treasury in military business in general, and particularly in all that relates to the Commissariat. Properly speaking, the Commissariat and Audit Board are both branches of the Treasury. The separate offices of Paymaster of the Forces, Treasurer of Chelsea Hospital, Treasurer of the Navy, and Treasurer of the Ordnance, are now all consolidated into the one office of Paymaster-General. Amid all this scattering of military business through a number of departments, it is clear that the authorities at the Horse Guards-the Secretary-at-War and the Commander-in-Chief-remain the nucleus, the heart of the military organisation of Great Britain. A finer army, whether we regard its physical or moral qualities, never existed than our own at the present moment. Its services as a bulwark against aggression from without in time of war, or as an effective minister of the civil power in internal emergencies in time of peace, are invaluable. Higher scientific acquirements than exist among its 'corps du génie' are not to be found; a more intelligent, moral, high-spirited, and lighthearted soldiery never made a monarch's heart high as she passed her eyes along their ranks. The spirit of improvement has since the Peace, and more especially within the last ten years, been working a wonderful change in the character of this army. It is a gross mistake to imagine the British soldier a mere machine, as some Gallicised writers have been pleased to represent him. But yet much remains to be accomplished. Without indulging in dreams of perfectibility, or believing that vice, and sorrow, and suffering, can, by any educational process, or by any mortal means, be ever banished from this world, or from any class of men that inhabit it, be they rich or poor, refined or unrefined, we can yet gladden our hearts with the hope of a vast and not distant improvement in our soldiery by means of education, humane treatment, and some fair, adequate portion in the prospect of advancement through merit and talent, and without purchase or patronage. The result of what has already been done, is, assuredly, an encouragement to go on and do more. The discipline of the British army and navy is far more perfect now than it was thirty years ago, or during any period of the last great war which was ended by the battle of Waterloo; and that our men have lost none of the ancient proverbial bravery and steadiness in actual combat, the recent victories obtained on the Sutlej will sufficiently testify. In proportion to the diminution of flogging, and other degrading punishments, has been the increase of moral elevation in the army and navy; the good behaviour of the men, collectively, has steadily kept pace with the slowly advancing system of kinder and better treatment; the barrack library has notably thinned the canteen and public-house of red-coats; the access to good books, and the habit of reading, have filled, to an unprecedented degree, the register in which the good conduct of each soldier is entered. An annual sum is now voted by Parliament for the purchase of books for regimental or barrack libraries. The sum is a small one, compared with the good which the cultivation of the soldier's mind may effect, and which, in truth, it has already effected in no inconsiderable degree. Mr. Henry Marshall, whose exertions to ameliorate the condition of the soldier are above all praise, has given the most decisive and rational testimony to the great duty of educating the soldier: "I consider it a libel upon human nature to allege, that giving soldiers more knowledge and more sense tends to excite disorder and insubordination, impatience and extravagant claims. The teaching of morality, in connection with the sanctions of religion, can never, I believe, spoil men for the right performance of their duties. Men who are taught are more apt to understand what is said to them, are more decorous, respectful, and conscientious, more attentive to orders, more ready to see and acknowledge the propriety of good regulations, more disposed to shun low company, and less inclined to inebriety, than persons who have received no education, and been brought up in ignorance and gross vulgarity. Education, in a general sense, means the process of acquiring a knowledge of ourselves, and of forming habits of activity, so as to qualify us to perform our parts in life with intelligence and success. Let soldiers, therefore, be taught those branches of knowledge which are essential to a due performance of their duties, to their own respectability and welfare, and be habitually trained to apply them. Few persons now entertain, or at any rate few advocate, the absurd idea of rendering men efficient for the purposes of warfare, by reducing them as nearly as possible to the state of senseless machines, or of withholding from them the means of acquiring information. The more the mind is cultivated, the fitter a man becomes for every situation in life. Mental cultivation renders a soldier more amenable to persuasion and higher motives; the mind is strengthened, the ideas are enlarged, and the man reasons more. The morality and good conduct of the army is of more consequence to the security of the country than the morality of any other portion of the population. A soldier who is well acquainted with the nature of right and wrong, and whose desires are brought under proper regulation, is the person from whom we may expect the faithful discharge of military duties. It was a maxim of Napoleon, that in war the moral is to the physical force as three to one." THE ADMIRALTY. If we take up our station on the esplanade in St. James's Park, the eye is caught by a huge upright beam erected on the roof of the Admiralty, with straight arms extending from it laterally at different angles. At times these may be seen altering their positions, remaining a few moments at rest, and then changing again. The giant upon whom the stranger gazes is signalling to his huge brother on Putney Heath, who will repeat the intelligence to his neighbour behind Richmond, and he to the next in order; so that, by their unconscious agency, the heads of the navy in London give and receive intelligence to and from the great naval station of Portsmouth, as quickly as they can communicate with a storehouse at the other end of the metropolis. In 1843 a return was made, by order of the House of Commons, relating to this Admiralty Semaphore. From this, it appears that the annual expense at which it is maintained varies from £3,000 to £3,500. During the winter months, the Semaphore is open for working five hours a day, from 10 till 3; in summer, seven hours, from 10 till 5. It is also stated, that, on an average of the three years 1839-40-41, there were 108 days in each year on which the Semaphore at the Admiralty was not available, on account of the state of the weather. We therefore find, that out of the 8760 hours contained in a year, the Admiralty Semaphore is available during only about 1600 hours, or less than one-fifth of the whole year; and it has been announced, that on December 31, 1847, the Admiralty Semaphore system will work for the last time. And what is to succeed this Admiralty Semaphore, which some thirty years ago superseded the flat-boarded Telegraph, which was a novelty and a wonder in the first days of the French Revolution? The Electric Telegraph. The machinery is already prepared, which will send the commands of the Admiralty of England to the great naval arsenal of Portsmouth literally as quick as lightning; for the agency is lightning. The system will very rapidly be perfected, by which all the great ports will be in momentary communication with the central power in London. That central power has long resided in those three ugly sides of a square that we call the Admiralty. The whole world knows, and has long known, the vast extent of that power. But it almost makes us feel that there is something mysterious and awful in its workings, when we learn that from a room in this homely building its silent and secret commands may penetrate in an instant from one end of the land to the other, to send forth "the meteor flag of England," wherever there is danger to repel, or oppression to overcome, or freedom to uphold. It is a tremendous power, but glorious when wielded aright. There is quite as little to interest the eye in the interior of the Admiralty as in its exterior. Through the great central door you pass into a spacious hall, cool, airy, and pleasant in summer, but bare of orna- British sailors have gained victories. The succession of gallant spirits endowed with scientific acquirements, calmness, and fertility of resource in unexpected emergencies, honourable pride in their profession, and devotion to their country, which has filled these walls for a great part of two hundred years, is unsurpassed in history. It is impossible for any citizen of a state which is so essentially maritime as Great Britain, not to feel that this centre of our naval organization is among the most interesting localities that London contains, and be irresistibly tempted to linger on the spot conjuring up an outline of the stages through which our navy has passed into its present maturity of growth. Most of our Kings since the Conquest appear to have possessed some vessels of war; and an Amiral de la Mer du roi d'Angleterre appears on the records as early as 1297. But the English Admiral' was at this time merely a great officer of state, who presided generally over maritime affairs. Fleets in these early days were fitted out when the King went to war, by adding to his own little squadron merchant-vessels pressed from all parts in the kingdom; for the pressgangs of old took the ships along with the sailors. The naval affairs of Great Britain continued much on this footing till the close of the fifteenth century. It has been usual to assume that Henry VII. was the first king who thought of providing a naval force which might be at all times ready for the service of the state. It does not appear that Henry did more in this way than building the 'Great Harry,' which writers on this subject have agreed among themselves to call the first ship of the royal navy. But there were royal ships before his time; and as for general attention to naval affairs, there was quite as much paid by Edward IV. as by Henry VII. Henry VIII. is said to have "perfected the designs of his father," which being interpreted, means that the existence of a real royal or state navy, such as England has possessed since his time, cannot be traced back to an earlier period. He instituted the Admiralty and the Navy Office; established the Trinity House and the Dockyards of Deptford, Woolwich, and Portsmouth; appointed regular salaries for the admirals, captains, and sailors, and, in short, made the sea-service a distinct profession. He also made laws for the planting and preservation of timber; caused the 'Henri Grace de Dieu' to be built, which is said to have measured above 1000 tons; and left at his death a navy, the tonnage of which amounted to 12,000 tons. Coming down to the days of Elizabeth, we scrape How many an anxious, how many an elated heart, have passed in and out of this building! Nerves that would remain unshaken, minds that would remain selfpossessed, while the iron-hail-shower of a broadside was crashing through bulwark and bulkhead, or while the thunders of whole fleets beneath the smoke-canopy of their own creation were shaking the breezy atmosphere into a calm, sulphurous and portentous as that which broods over an earthquake, have here become relaxed and confused as those of a bashful girl. The midshipman, as he passed up these broad stairs, has felt that there was something worse on this earth than a mast-heading, and even his petulance has been subdued; nay, the equanimity of the most coolly imperious captain has been shaken. Perhaps Nelson has laid his hand upon these banisters while his far-distant spirit was marshalling the future fights of Trafalgar and the Nile, or giving orders to hang out the signal-acquaintance with the gallant fellows who manned her England expects every man to do his duty." Cook passed up these stairs to report what unknown regions and tribes he had discovered, and how he had triumphed over sickness, and brought back a crew scarcely diminished by death, from a long, distant, and dangerous voyage. Here many a plan of action has been struck out which conducted to victory; many a one, in defiance of whose absurdity the skill and courage of 66 somewhat improved vessels. Elizabeth was economical. Though she increased the navy, and though she raised the wages of seamen, yet she encouraged the merchants to build large ships, which on occasion were converted into ships of war, and rated at 50 to 100 tons more than they measured. Of the 176 ships, manned by 14,996 men, which met the Spanish Armada, a considerable number were not "shippes royal." The great national effort by which the Armada was discomfited, | The extravagance of the King, and the jobbing promay be regarded as in part the natural consequence of pensities of some of his ministers, starved the navy for the growth of the spirit of maritime enterprise in Eng- intervals: but it was a passion with the Duke of York, land, in part the cause of a great and sudden develop- afterwards James II., and the labouring oar was taken ment which it received at that time. The exaggerated by the indefatigable Pepys; and between them the estimate made of the gain of the Spaniards by their naval service had on the whole fair-play down to the American conquests had stirred the emulation of Eng- time of the Revolution. The Duke introduced improved land. Merchants of Bristol and merchants of London signals, and Pepys kept the accounts in order. When were fitting out voyages of discovery, and soliciting the James II. mounted the throne, he took immediate royal countenance to their efforts. Mathematicians measures for improving the navy. At the Revolution and historical students were full of the thoughts of new the fleet was in excellent condition, with sea-stores Indies, busily devising how their own scientific ac- complete for eight months for each ship. The force quirements could best promote discovery. The high was 154 vessels, of which nine were first-rates, nobility became associated with adventures to unknown carrying 6930 guns, and 42,000 men. lands. Nobles, who in that half-feudal age still ruffled with troops of retainers, cherished their gallant naval dependants more than any others. The Frobishers, Drakes, and the rest of these patriarchs of our fleet, almost all started in life as followers of some nobleman. The young gentry of Devonshire and Cornwall, the Raleighs and the Gilberts, partly from natural inclination, partly because they saw "that way promotion lay," sought to swing themselves into notoriety by entering the sea-service. The theory as well as the practice of navigation was studied-the discovery and colonisation of new lands and the seamanship of the whole nation went hand in hand. It was court fashion, but it was quite as much country fashion. The Queen had the good sense to encourage this spontaneous burst of national energy, and to feel that countenance was almost all she needed to give. She had knighthoods for her captains when they returned, as well as smiles when they departed. It was then that Englishmen became a nation of mariners. All have heard of John Hampden and his shipmoney; that controversy between a king and his subject marks an era, not only in constitutional history, but in the formation of our navy. The necessity of increasing the strength, and improving the organisation of the navy, was equally felt by royalist and republican statesmen. The opposition to Charles arose not so much out of any objection to the creation of a navy, as out of distrust of the policy which sought to raise the money for that purpose without the aid of Parliament. It was under Charles I. that the navy was first divided into rates and classes; but the civil troubles during the latter part of his reign diverted attention from maritime affairs. When Cromwell seized the reins of government, he found the navy much reduced, but his energy restored it, and he left 154 sail, of which one-third were two-deckers, measuring nearly 58,000 tons. Cromwell was the first who laid before Parliament estimates for the support of the navy; a practice which has been continued ever since: he obtained £400,000 per annum for that purpose. The navigation laws, an important feature in the naval policy of England, were also originated by Cromwell, or some of his councillors. The government of the Restoration, with all its faults, had the good sense to appreciate Cromwell's naval policy. Scientific navigation continued to be patronised during the whole of this period: during the latter half of it under the auspices of the Royal Society. The sailing and fighting men of the navy had not, however, become so thoroughly fused into one class as they are in our day. Blake never was at sea till he had passed forty, and it may be questioned whether he was ever much of a navigator. He asked his pilot, or master, to lay him alongside of the enemy; and his self-possession, fearlessness, and pertinacity did the rest. The Montagues and Albemarles, who commanded under the Restoration, were not much of seamen: they trusted the navigation of their vessels to the mariners their business was to fight. They were followed on board, when they hoisted their flags, by volunteers from the court. The peculiarities of British men-ofwar were not fully developed so long as this system continued. It was not long after the Revolution that the Admiralty took up its abode in the present official residence. It was in 1688 that the management was permanently put in Commission. The office of Lord High Admiral was held by an individual till 1632. In that year it was entrusted to a Commission, of which all the great officers of State were members. During the Commonwealth the affairs of the navy were managed by a Committee of Parliament, till Cromwell took the direction of them upon himself. The Duke of York was Lord High Admiral during the greater part of the reign of Charles II.; when he ascended the throne he took the charge into his own hands. Since the Revolution the office has always been in Commission, with the exception of the years 1707-8, when Prince George of Denmark was Lord High Admiral, and 1827-8, when the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV., held the same office. The Revolution Government, looking about in search of a residence for its naval Commissioners, placed them for a time in a house associated with rather a disagreeable reputation. The son of the infamous Jefferies soon wasted his father's illgot gains by his dissolute and extravagant conduct. He was obliged to sell, with other property, the house which James II. had allowed the judge to build in Duke-street, with a gate and steps into the Park. The house was bought by Government, and converted to the use of the Commissioners of the Admiralty. From |