HIRED SHIPS, having charge of stores belonging to the following departments, account for the same with the Transport-board.— Commissary-general's, barrack-master's, army-clothier's, medical and

purveyor's.

The following judicious remarks on the accommodations which should be afforded in transport vessels, have been here adopted; from the consideration, that no doubt can be entertained, that vessels thus fitted would always have the decided preference of the Transport-board.

"No transport should be employed for the conveyance of troops whose clear height below is less than five feet nine inches under the beams and it would be very desirable that all vessels which are low between decks should have but one tier of berths along the sides, instead of two, which they invariably have at present, in total defiance of comfort and convenience.

"The soldiers should be accommodated in that part of the ship which extends from the bow, or head-part of the ship between decks, aft as far as the mainmast, or a little beyond it; and this entire space should be fixed as their exclusive right.

"The intercourse of the sexes on board transports, though in a great measure unavoidable, is yet capable of some restraint.-Separate berths for the married parties, in the proportion of four couple in every 100 men, might be allowed them in the after-end, parted from the other berths by means of a screen of painted sail-cloth, so contrived as to be rolled up or removed for the purposes of ventilation, in the same manner as will be recommended hereafter for the separation of the sick.

"It is proper to say something concerning the space and accommodation necessary for the officers. The proportion which officers usually bear to the soldiers, is about as one to twenty, or as five officers to 100 men. In every transport, therefore, the number of officers' berths should be fully proportionate to the complement of soldiers; and it would be very desirable if government would allow them certain articles of furniture for their cabins, the supplying of which subjects the officers at present to expense on every embarkation. These articles might be confined to tables and forms, with the addition of one or two hanging lamps.

"A sufficient number of good-sized scuttle-ports should be cut in the ship's sides, as near to the upper-deck as possible, without weakening the ship, for the admission of pure air; not omitting a scuttle to each bow, which will afford the singular advantage of a supply of fresh air when a ship is sailing close upon a wind. The scuttles are generally cut too near the water's edge, which prevents them fr.m being opened, unless when the sea is very smooth.

"Transport and Tender's Monitor." The object here is merely to furnish general rules, and to impress on the mind of masters the great necessity of a rigid attention to all their accounts and papers; for it has been observed, that " so scrupulously particular are the commissioners in these cases, unless the most indisputable proofs of the circumstances tated in the certificates are exhibited by the master, and the strongest evidence adduced in support of his assertions, not an article stated to be lost, &c. will be allowed; and in such a situation the master's oath is invariably required." In cases wherein the master may be at a loss, from want of information, he will generally be directed by the government agent.

"In ships, which have ports, a smaller number of scuttles is suf ficient; and, when there are port-scuttles, they might, perhaps, be entirely dispensed with in large ships. The number and dimensions of the scuttles must be determined by the size of the vessel, but they should not be farther than fifteen feet distant from each other, and every one of them should be finished in such a manner as to be perfectly water-tight when shut in. These, with the seconding assistance of large funnel-topped wind-sails, would be found adequate to afford a sufficient degree of ventilation, even in a warm climate.

"The fore, or bow, part of the ship, below, should be appropriated to the sick, who should be separated from the rest by means of a division of painted sail-cloth. This screen would serve a double purpose; it not a little prevents the sick from being oppressed by the hot and unwholesome vapour so abundantly exhaled by the other men at night; and, in the event of any infectious disease breaking out in the ship, it might be made to form a sort of barrier between the diseased and the sound. This screen should be made so as to allow of its being rolled up, to admit a thorough ventilation during the day.

"A small bulk-head store-room should be built on either side of the hospital, if the space will admit it, for the security and stowage of the hospital stores, medicines, wine, &c.; as it is very desirable, from obvious reasons, that as few tangible articles as possible be intrusted to the persons belonging to the ship.

"As spoliation of public as well as private property on board transports is a cause of complaint by no means unfrequent, some secure part of the ship should also be allotted for the regimental stores, as well as for the baggage of the officers, the access to which should be open only to the quarter-master, the officiating quarter-master, or others under his authority. A bulk-head room made on the orlop-deck, in large ships, or a distinct lazaretto in smaller vessels, should be appropriated to this purpose.

"Arm-racks should be fixed a-midships below, for the safety of the arms, and for the convenience of the men. In many transports, from the want of this very necessary fixture, the arms are tied to the beams and deck over-head, by whatever means are at hand, in continual risk of breaking down, and probable injury to the arms, which, perhaps, cannot be repaired at sea, and to those beneath on whom they may happen to fall.

"Every troop-transport should be provided with iron stantions and nettings, as well as tarpaulings or hammock-cloths, for the reception and security of the hammocks and bedding from wet, in the same manner as is practised in our ships of war. Without this essential provision the soldier's bedding cannot be brought up to be aired, unless in dry and fine weather. Thus the men, who are confined below, are deprived of the space occupied by the bedding, and are obliged to breathe a confined air, rendered more so by the want of that cleanliness which the presence of the bedding prevents them from effectually preserving.

"Hanging grates and stoves should be allowed to troop-ships, for dispelling the damp and unwholesome air which so frequently prevails between decks, particularly in rainy weather. The general and constant use of stoves or hanging grates below, in cold or damp weather, is strongly recommended as productive of the most beneficial effects to the health and comfort of the troops. The advantages derived

from the employment of stoves in ships of war, especially in those of the line, have been universally acknowledged; and nothing can be a greater proof of their salubrity, than the circumstance of a fact, well known in the navy, which is, that frigates of the old construction, wherein the cooking was performed between decks, were, cæteris paribus, found more healthy than those of the new class, where the cooking is performed above. All transports, of 250 tons or upwards, should have two stoves, the flues whereof should open through the deck immediately above.

"It is found that fumigation is of less importance, as a corrector of foul air in ships, than was formerly supposed; and, it is thought that its good effects depend more upon the portion of heat which is diffused by means of the smoke, than on the qualities of the article, or ingredients, employed in the process. Perhaps the burning of wetted gunpowder is as powerful a mean as can be employed for dispelling bad air; but, as a ready corrector, nothing of this kind hitherto tried seems to answer better than the disengagement of nitrous vapour, formed by throwing powdered saltpetre into heated vitriolic acid. With the same intention the lamps invented by Moser are conveniently suspended between decks, though they are, comparatively, of little use.

"But the most effectual mode of purifying a ship, next to cleanliness and ventilation, is the frequent white-washing, with quicklime, of the beams, sides, and berths below; a process which, it is to be lamented, is too little attended to, though, in general, easily practicable. Transports should be thus white-washed as often as it may be deemed necessary from existing circumstances; for which purpose every vessel should be always kept supplied with a certain proportion of quicklime, particularly for foreign service, as this article is not always to be readily procured abroad.

"Painting, though a more tedious and expensive operation, is, perhaps, not more efficacious in promoting health, than the more ready process of white-washing. It, however, possesses a material advantage over the latter, inasmuch as it admits of the parts being washed and scoured, which occasionally becomes necessary, and should be performed in dry weather.

"The board of commissioners for conducting the transport service, by their laudable and unceasing attention, have effected numerous improvements in regard to the comfort and convenience of the troops embarked, and have brought the department to a degree of excellence unequalled before: there are still, however, several important points intimately connected therewith, some of which have been already found out, to which, when seriously considered, there is no doubt that they will eventually turn their attention with advantage.

"In the hurry which generally accompanies the fitting out of our expeditions, it has too often been found a matter of difficulty to engage a sufficient number of ships properly adapted for the conveyance of troops; and vessels have been necessarily hired as troop-ships, which could scarcely be considered as adequate for that service in any one point of view. But, although this is in a greater degree unavoidable, where many ships are wanted for a great armament, when, on such an emergency, vessels with ordinary recommendations are employed in the service; yet it is to be feared that too little caution has often been taken in the selection. Hence it has happened that shapeless floating machines have been taken into the service as transports, which

mura have been, with more propriety, converted into coal barges to be encased on a river, being so very ill adapted for sailing. Such tesses are not improperly termed tubs, by seamen, from the tardiness at mer progress and the peculiarity of the course in which they aways sa.., which is directly opposite to the point whence the wind bows; that is to say, to leeward. How often do we find a whole coawy detained, and the voyage protracted, from the bad sailing of one or more transports! Nor is it to be attributed to bad trimming, or a foul bottom, but to the wretched and irremediable build of the shp. To this cause it is chiefly owing that so many transports drop to leeward, or a-stern, and part company, particularly in the night and in stormy weather; and, if they do not fall a prey to the enemy, the officers and men on board are thus exposed to privations, sufferings, and anxiety of mind, which they ought not to undergo.

"The next point to be considered is, perhaps, not less important than any one hitherto discussed; namely, the soundness of the decks and upper works of the ship. To preserve the berths dry and comfortable below, it is absolutely necessary that every plank and seam above be perfectly water-tight, and, in particular, proof against rain. A leaky and damp state of the decks is a fault common to many transports: and, when this is the case, ships are generally unhealthy. Ships often become leaky from straining and opening their seams in bad weather; but it is more commonly owing to bad calking or unsound timber. It is well known that the admission of rain between decks is more dangerous than that of sea-water; and too much care cannot be taken to exclude it also from the hatchways, by means of proper gratings, tarpaulings, &c.

"BOATS. There is no subject, perhaps, on which complaints are more liable to be made by officers embarked on board transports than on that of boats; and these complaints are not so often founded on the deficiency of boats belonging to transports, as on the want of proper regulation on this point. From this reason, officers on first embarking, and when preparing for sea, are often much inconvenienced from not having a ready means of communicating with the shore, for the supply of their immediate wants, as well as of the requisites for a sea voyage. Whenever there is an agent for transports present, this officer frequently assumes the disposal of one boat of each transport at least; in either case the master commonly feels little hesitation in employing whatever boat or boats may be at hand, for his own individual convenience; or, perhaps, it is employed for the duty of the ship, so that it is not very unusual to see military officers, in consequence of this irregularity, as effectually imprisoned for a time on board transports, while in harbour, as convicts are on board the prisonhulks in the river Thames.

“Besides the launch or long-boat, every transport should be re quired to have, at least, two boats kept always in complete repair, one of which should be appropriated to the duties of the ship exclusively; and the other should be placed at the disposal of the senior military officer on board; who should, however, be held responsible that the boat so allowed is not employed for improper purposes, nor damaged by wantonness or neglect."

The troops embarked on board vessels in the transport-service are provisioned at two-thirds of a seaman's allowance in the royal navy; and the following table exhibits the allowance for six soldiers, or four

單二

seamen, for each day in the week. Women are provisioned at onehalf, and children at one-fourth, of a soldier's allowance, but receive

Friday
Saturday

The above are to be served out by full weights and measures; and on the master's passing his account, an allowance of one-eighth on each species, except beef and pork, will be made for waste and leakage.

When flour, suet, and raisins, are put on board, they are to be served out in equal proportions with beef, viz. half in beef, the other half in flour, suet, raisins, on each beef-day.

4lbs. of flour, or 3lbs. of flour with lb. of raisins, (or lb. of currants,) and 4lb. of suet, are equal to 4lbs. of beef, or 2lbs. of pork, with peas, but are not to be issued in lieu of the latter, unless unavoidable, and then the quantities must be certified.

Half a pound of rice is considered as equal to a pint of oatmeal; half a pound of sugar as equal to half a pound of butter; and 1lb. of rice as equal to 1lb. of cheese; one pint of oil as equal to llb. of butter, or 2lbs. of cheese; that is, a pint of oil for the proportion of butter and cheese.

A pint of wine, or half a pint of brandy, rum, or arrack, is equal to a gallon of beer; 11b. of fresh beef is equal to 1lb. of salt beef; and 1lb. of fresh beef is equal to 1lb. of pork.

No wine or spirits are to be issued to the troops while in port, nor at sea, till after all the beer is expended; and then, when wine or spirits are issued, no more is to be served out than the daily allowance, on any account whatever.

The master is to produce a certificate from the commanding officer of the troops on board, of the quantity expended. If any doubt be entertained of the provisions being of full weight, a cask must be