Ib. The expedient of a voluntary register, which was attempted in king William's time, had no effect.

And some late schemes, I have seen appear to me more inconvenient to the mariner and more inconsistent with the principles of liberty, than the prac tice of pressing; and, what is still worse, they are in my opinion totally impracticable.

Twenty ineffectual or inconvenient schemes will not justify one that is unjust.

Ib. Thus much I thought proper to say upon the foot of reason and public utility.

Your reasoning, indeed, like a lie, stands but upon one foot; truth upon two.

Page 160. Masters and mariners received full wages.

Probably the same they had in the merchant's service.

Page 174. I readily admit that our impress is a restraint upon the natural liberty of those who are liable to it, but it must be admitted on the other hand, that every restraint upon natural liberty is not, eo nomine, illegal, or at all inconsistent with the principles of civil liberty, &c.

When this author speaks of impressing, page 158, he diminishes the horror of the practice as much as possible, by presenting to the mind one sailor only suffering a hardship" (as he tenderly calls it) in some "particular cases" only; and he places against this private mischief the inconvenience to the trade of the kingdom.-But if, as he supposes is often the case, the sailor who is

pressed, and obliged to serve for the defence of trade, at the rate of twenty-five shillings a month, could get three pounds fifteen shillings in the mer`chant's service, you take from him fifty shillings a month; and if you have 100,000 in your service, you rob this honest industrious part of society and their poor families of 250,000l. per month, or three millions a year, and at the same time oblige them to hazard their lives in fighting for the defence of your trade; to the defence of which all ought indeed to contribute (and sailors among the rest) in proportion to their profits by it but this three millions is more than their share, if they did not pay with their persons; but when you force that, methinks you should excuse the other.

But it may be said, to give the king's seamen merchant's wages would cost the nation too much, and call for more taxes. The question then will amount to this: whether it be just in a community, that the richer part should compel the poorer to fight in defence of them and their properties, for such wages as they think fit to allow, and punish them if they refuse? Our author tells us that it is "legal." I have not law enough to dispute his authorities, but I cannot persuade myself that it is equitable. I will, however, own for the present, that it may be lawful when necessary; but then I contend that it may be used so as to produce the same good effects-the public security-without doing so much intolerable in

justice

justice as attends the impressing common seamen. -In order to be better understood I would premise two things: First, that voluntary seamen may be had for the service, if they were sufficiently paid. The proof is, that to serve in the same ship, and incur the same dangers, you have no occasion to impress captains, lieutenants, second lieutenants, midshipmen, pursers, nor many other officers. Why, but that the profits of their places, or the emoluments expected, are sufficient inducements? The business then is, to find money, by impressing, sufficient to make the sailors all volunteers, as well as their officers; and this without any fresh burthen upon trade.The second of my premises is, that twenty-five shillings a month, with his share of the salt beef, pork, and pease-pudding, being found sufficient for the subsistence of a hard-working seaman, it will certainly be so for a sedentary scholar or gentleman. I would then propose to form a treasury, out of which encouragements to seamen should be paid. To fill this treasury, I would impress a number of civil officers who at present have great salaries, oblige them to serve in their respective offices for twenty-five shillings a month with their shares of mess provisions, and throw. the rest of their salaries into the seamen's treasury. If such a press-warrant were given me to execute, the first I would press should be a Recorder of Bristol, or a Mr. Justice Foster, because I might have need of his edifying example, to show

how much impressing ought to be borne with; for he would certainly find, that though to be reduced to twenty-five shillings a month might be a "private mischief," yet that, agreeably to his maxim of law and good policy, it "ought to be "borne with patience," for preventing a national calamity. Then I would press the rest of the Judges; and opening the red book, I would press every civil officer of government from 50l. a year salary, up to 50,000l. which would throw an immense sum into our treasury: and these gentlemen could not complain, since they would receive twenty-five shillings a month, and their rations; and this without being obliged to fight. Lastly, I think I would impress ***

FRANKLIN.

Works, Essays, p. 155.

I YESTERDAY expressed my wonder that John Hay, one of our guides, who had been pressed aboard a man of war, did not chuse to continue in it longer than nine months, after which time he got off.-Johnson. "Why, Sir, no man will "be a sailor, who has contrivance enough to get "himself into a jail; for, being in a ship is being "in a jail with the chance of being drowned."

Boswel's Tour to the Hebrides, p. 151.

NAVAL

NAVAL DESPOTISM.

IN the evening Morgan [first surgeon's mate] visited the sick, and having ordered what was proper for each, I assisted Thomson [second mate] in making up his prescriptions: but when I followed him with the medicines into the sick birth or hospital, and observed the situation of the patients, I was much less surprised that people should die on board, than that any sick person should recover. Here I saw about fifty miserable distempered wretches, suspended in rows, so huddled one upon another, that not more than fourteen inches space was allotted for each with his bed and bedding; and deprived of the light of day, as well as of fresh air; breathing nothing but a noisome atmosphere of the morbid steams exhaling from their own excrements and diseased bodies, devoured with vermin hatched in the filth that surrounded them, and destitute of every convenience necessary for people in that helpless condition.

About this time captain Oakhum, having received sailing orders, came on board, and brought