25. ADMIRALTY,June 26th, r651.

:> Bill proposing that the powers of Lord High Admiral be vested in seven Com­missioners. Bill negatived and powers of Lord High Admiral continued inCouncil of State till December 1st. (C.J. VI, 592.).

26. ADMIRALTY,Dectmb:r 4th, 1651.

. Act continuing to December 1st, 1652, the powers of Lord High Admiralin the Council of State. (C.]. YII,4-7·), , '

" Admiralty Committ~ almointed by Council of State: Sir H. Vane, Mr ChaI­loner, Mr Bond,lford CO"m'_onersWliife.locke:"""Lisle,Colonel W auton, ColonelPurefoy, th~ Lora"'GeneraI:-ColoIie1·BJake;-Col~l Martin, NIT Nevill, Colonel

;,MorIey, Mr Masham, Mr BurreH, Coiond Stapley. (Cal. 8. P. Dom. 1651-52,·p.46.)

,26 a. CoMMANDOFFL:EET,February 25th, 1652.Resolution of Parliament that Colonel Blake be continued for nine months in

,the command he formerly had. (C.]. VII,97·)'.,: Note. Popham had died. in August 1651 and Deane was Commander-in-Chief" in Scotland.

26 b. COMMANDOFFLUT, March 14th, 1652•

Colonel Blake to have a commission to command the fleet for nine months.

(Order of Council of State, Gardiner, I, 99')27. ADMIRALTY,NO'oember 23rd, 1652.

Act continuing powers of Lord High Admiral in the Council of State tillDecember 1st, 1653. (C.]. VII, 219')

27 a. CoMMANDOFFLEET,Novi!mber 26th, 1652.Resolution of Parliament that there be three Generals for governing the Fleet

and Fleets at sea for the year ensuing. Blake, Deane and Monk to be the three.(C.]. VII, 222.)

27 b. AD~lIRALTY,December 2nd, 1652.

Sir Henry Vane, Mr Challoner, Mr Bond, Mr Strickland, Mr AI1ein, Col.Ingolsby, Col. Thompson, Sir John Trevor, Co1. Fielder, Col. Wauton, Col.Morley and Co1. Purefoy to be the Committee for the Admiralty. (Council ofState, Cal. 8. P. Dom. 1652-53;P' 2.)

28. ADMIRALTY,December r4-th, r652.

Act revoking the' above (of November 23rd) and constituting eight Com­missioners for ordering and managing the affiUrsof the Admiralty and Navy tocontinue till December 4th, 1653. (C.]. VII, 229')

This was the outcome of Blake's defeat at Dungeness, November 30th. TheCommissioners were Major John Carew, Major Salwey, John Langley, SirHenry Vane, Colonel Thompson, and Blake, Monk and Deane by virtue oftheir appointment as Genera]s-at-Sea.

29: CoMMANDOFFLEET,December 25th, 1652•Laws of War and Ordinances for the Sea to be put into execution under the

Act of December loth, 16)2. (C.]. YII,234; for text see Gardiner and Atkinson'sFirst Dutch War, no. 665,) ,

4'27

%N.)I\·?-

NA VAL ADMINISTRATION, OF THE INTERREGNUM"",,'".,v)~{~~~,i".;;i.:'",,'~:""

'" ',':;;42b \:NAVAI, 'ADMINISTRATION OF THE INTERREGNUM

.:'~~;[~,~j~~.~~~~~~:;{~tt~~Ki7a.':~i~.Co~,~IS.S~?~ERS> February 16th, 164-9. ,,C', ~~~,~hrOnc'FebrU'ary '.16th;th~ T~mmittee"'i~ommended for Commissioners, John

<';'>:Hollo~d as Survey6r in 'place of Captain BoIton,Thos Smith, Peter Pert, Colonel..•.::::-,;;;'~,;Yv,"illi:un_.:VYillough,bY:~~nd.~pta~n T~eedy. Captain Tweedy negatived and:r\N.;,RobertThompson appointed In his place Ouly 25th, 164-9)' (C.]. VI, 144-.)

'":..~tc'Note. This 4ct arose out of the revolt of 1648 and the strong feeling caused by

~.,~e 0a1 and. ~ec~tion of the King .. , 18. ADMIRALTY(CoUNCILOFSTATE),February 23rd, 164-9.

',The appointI~ent of Robert, Earl opivarWick, as Lord High Admiral repealedand the powers of Lord High Admiral transferred to the Council of State. (Firth,JIo I;).)' -'

Note. The Hou~e of Lords had been abolished and the Earl of Warwick'sb~otl1erwas under arrest.•

r9. COMMANDO/FLEET, February 24th, 1649.. Act appoiilting Colonel Robert Blake, Colonel Edward Popham, and Colonel

Richard Deane~ or any two of them, to be Commissioners1to command the fleetat sea and to have full power and authority as Admiral and General of the saidB~~ ' '

Appointment to remain in force till March 1st, 165.0. The three Commanderswere authorised to issue Commissions with the seal of the Anchor to the Vice­Admiral of the Fleet, the Admiral of the Irish Sea and all other officers, and tohave the power of Martial Law according to such articles as shall be approved byParliament and the general Customs and Laws of the Sea.

20. COMMANDOFFLEET(LAws ANDORDINANCES),March 5th, 164-9.Laws and Ordinances for the better government of the fleet at sea.

. 21. ADMIRALTY,Feoruary r9th, 1650'Act continuing in the'Council of State the powers of the Lord High Admiral

for the ensuing year. (C.]; VI, 368.)

22. ADMIRALTY,March 2nd, 1650'Admiralty Committee (of Council of State) to carry on the affairs of the Ad­

miralty and Navy: Sir Henry Vane, Colonel Wauton, Mr ChaIIoner, ColonelPopham, Colonel Stapley, Colonel Purefoy, Earl of Salisbury and Mr LukeRobinson or any three of them. (Penn, I, 295.)

23. ADMIRALTY,February 13th, 1651.Act continuing in the Council of State the powers of the Lord High Admiral

up to July 1st, 1651. (C.]. VI, 534.)

24-. COMMANDOFFLEET,February 28th, r651.Act a~thorising Council of State to issue a Commission to Colonel Edward

Popham, Colonel Robert Blake and Colonel Richard Deane to be Commissionersto command the fleet at sea from February 23rd, 165I to March Ist, 165 1/2.

I The Commi~sion under the Adnuralty Seal is in Penn, I, 289. Deane wasa strong adherent of Cromwell. '

•

:;.,,;. :- .. ...;.

",I.:~ ~'~~~~" .""_''f;;, '~~~{ , _ ~::

"P4 NA VAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE INTERREGNUM. "·f' ~:-. '~'~~', :!~/:'~}:'"e.,~?';"':;;:.;.. \, ~,~. ~ . "(,

of the Navy, which the Comptroller, SU~eyor and Clerk of the Navy did by virtueof their commissions. (Firth, I, 27•.)

Noti!. Only the last six Weresalaried, Captain Batten tb.efees and allowances ofthe Surveyor, Captain Pett what he already possessed, tb.e others [roo a year.In' I6.}3 the estimates were initialled by R. C., J. M., R. T., eYidentIy Cranley,

·lVforrisand Tweedy. (Rawlinson MSS. A 223-5.)

6. CoMMISSIONERSFORADMIRALTY,October 19th, 16+2.Ordinance appointing Commissioners for the Admiralty, viz. Earls of North­

umberland, WaIwick, Holland, l'vh Greene) Mr Martin, Sit Henry Vane,senior, Henry Van~) junior", Sir Robert Pye, Mr Roll, or any three of them duringt.he vacancy OC tbe office of the Lor.ct High Admiral to have power to do and\:0 executc, etc. in as ample a manne: and to ill intents and purposes, etc. eL.].'I) i~o7; C.y.lI, 812.)

7· COMMANDOFFLEET, Fdn,wry 8th, 16+3,Ordinance appointing tile Earl of Warwick to command the B.eet at sea "in

as ample 11. manner as any Admiral hath formerly done." (Firth, I, 72.)

8. ADMIRALTY,Deci!mbi!r 7th, 164-3.Ordinance appointing the Earl of Warwick to be Lord High Admiral of

England, Ireland and Vvales "to do and execute in as full and ample a manner,etc." (Firth, I, 351.) .

Note. He continued as such till the Self-denying Ordinance of April 1645made him resign•.

9· ADMIRALTY,April 19th, 164-5.

Committee of Lords and Commons for Admiralty and Cinque Ports appointedto execute the office of the Lord High Admiral. Nineteen members: Earls ofNorthumberland, Pembroke, Essex, Warwick; Viscount Saye and Seale, Lord

North, Denzel Holles, Sir Walter Erle, Sir Christopher Wray, Sir pp.i1jp_Staplel(ton,-Sir John Evelyn.Irwin, John Seldon, Dr Thos. Eden, \Bulstrode,_W::hite_locke! GIles Greene1, John LIsle, John Roll, Alex. Bence1 or any five of themauthorised "to do and execute in as ample a manner, etc." To be in force tillOctober 1st, 164-5. (Firth, I, 35r.)

Mr Jessop and Mr Robert Coytmore were secretaries to the Admiralty,September z6th, 164-5. (L.]. VII, 604.)

10. TREASUREROFNAVY, 16+5.

Sir Henry Vane, appointed Treasurer of Navy on August 8th, I6+z, grantedconfirmation of his appointment necessary on account of Self-denying Ordinance.(L.y. VII, 4-99.)

lr..ADMIRALTY,October 4th, 16+5,

Ordinance continuing the Committee. of the Lords and Commons for theAdmiralty till January 1st, 16+6, and adding fifteen members, viz. Earls of Kent,Salisbury, Denbigh, Lord Dacres, Lord Roberts, Sir Arthur HasiIrigg (in placeof Dr Eden), Mr Prideaux, Sir Wm. Lewes, Mr Bond, Sir John Curson,

I See no. 5.

R. 15$</2.-

NA VAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE INTERREGNUM 425

r Ashurs'""Colonel John Moore, Sir Henry Vane, jr., Sir John Trevor, Mr JohnAsh, Mr Hoyle. (Firth, I, 783.) ..: Continued for six monilis by order of boili Houses. December 16+5. (L.y.

VIII, 73.). 12. NAVY COMMISSIONERS,January 7th, 16+6.~ Ordinance t.l:1atpresent Commissioners of the Navy, Captains Cranley, Morrisand Tweedy continue until further orders and be paid by the Treasurer by order~nd direction of the Committee of the Navy [zoo per annum. (L.J. V1II,89')

13. ADMIR..'..Lrl')May 21st, 16+7, ..Ordinance continuing for six lUonthsthe Committee of the Lords and Commons

for the Admiralty and Cinque Ports.

1-1-. COMMITTEEOFNAVY,Di!ce/'1btr 7th, 16+7... Ordinance adding tw'enty-onepeers to the:Committee of the Navy and Customs·.~readY constituted. (Firth, I, 104-7.)

15. ADMIRALTY,lvlay z9th, 164-8.Ordinance appointing Robert, Earl of Warwick, Lord High Admiral of

England "to do and execute, etc. in as fuIl and ample a manner, etc." (Firth,"I, II4-4-.)'. Note. This was on the occasion of the revolt of the B.eet. He was also givenpowers of Indemnity to ilie revolted manners. (L.Y. x, 290')

16. COMMANDOFFLEET(MARTIAl.LAw), August 21st, 164-8.i Ordinance authorising ilie Lord High Admiral to execute Martial Law ac­:.cording to the Civil Laws, Law Martial and Customs of the Sea and such Laws: and Ordinances as shall by him and his Council of War, put in commission under: his Hand and Seal, be included and agreed upon. (Firth, I, I 185.). The Preamble runs: "Whereas it is found that great Inconveniences have

',.ensued for want of a strict and severe Discipline." .

i 17. COMMISSIONERS1FORTHEREMOVALOFMALIGNANTS,January 16th, 164-9.'. Act touching the Regulating of die Officers of the Navy and Customs. By this, Act all officers of the Customs, Navy, Dockyards, Ordnance and Victualling and

any Commissioners of the Navy who had abetted in any tumult against Parliament,: were declared incapable of office. Commissioners named were to join >'Viththe, Commissioners of the Navy (not disenabled by the Act) to appoint others in their

place and certify !be same to the Committee of the Navy. Commissioners namedwere Alderman Thos. Andrews, Mr Wm. Barkley, Mr Maurice Thomson, Mr

;...Richard Shute, Colonel William WiIloughby, Mr W m. Pennoyer, Mr Sami·. Pennoyer, Mr Stephen Estwick, Mr John HoIlond, Mr John Langley, Mr Richard. Hill, Major Robert Thompson, Mr James Russel, Mr Sam Moyer, Mr Jonathan

Andrews, Mr Richard Hutchinson. (Firth, I, 1257.)

I Sometimes called the Committee of Merchants; see p. 4-19supra.

THE NAVY COMMISSIONERS

Y ~he Navy Commissioners represent the only sphere of id­: ministrative work which continued working in almost the same

form and on the same .lines from the Civil War to the Restora­tion. They were in charge of the dockyards, the fitting out andequipment, hire, purchase and manning of ships and the pay­ment of the men. Their work was an important branch of navaladministration, but they had nothing to do with the directionor strategy of the fleet..

The Navy Commissioners were dearly subordinate to who­ever was performing the function of the Ad.miralty at the time.On one occasion certainly in r ?49 th~ Navy Commission,ers.

I In the Ga7.S. P. Dom. they are sometimes called Admiralty Commissionersand sometimes incorrectly the Admiralty Committee.

2 Renewed March 1654-and November 1655 (Instructions to them in (al.S. P. Dom. 1655-56, p. 10) and in August 1656 by patent under the Grea~ Seal,Perrin, M.M. XII, 137·

NA VAL ADl'lllNISTRA TION OF THE INTERREGNUM "I- I 7

This constitutes the third time the Admiralty 'ivas incommission during the Interregnum. But whereas the Com"­

'...missioners of 16,p and 16+5 were granted power to do and··execute the functions of the Lord High Admiral as fully and:"amply as any Lord High Admiral ever did or ought to have;done, the authority of the Commissioners of 1652 and 1653'.was less ample, though in practice they seem to have been.subjected to little interference.

In April 1653 another political crisis occurred when Crom-·well turned out the remnant of the Rump and assumed theoffice of Protector. The Admiraltv Commissioners1 were re-I

; appointed-by the first Parliament of the Protectorate which md.on July 14th,. 1653, and six more were added to them. OnDecember 3rd, 1653, eleven Commissioners of the Admiralty'were again appointed for the coming year and the office of the

"Admiralty continued in commission from that date right up to".the Restoration2• And so after voyaging over stormy seas, the" office found itself once more under a Lord High Admiral with

SamuelPepys at the Navy Office as Clerk of the Acts ..There remain only the Navy Commissioners to consider.

.p 6 NAVAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE INTERREGNUl',.r

of the Admiralty be placed in the hands of Commissioners tobe elected yearly. But the Council of State was jealous of itspower and opposed the idea stoutly. The Bill was read twiceand. negatiYed~ and the powers of the Admiralty were continuedin the Council of State for a :further six months, viz. tillDecember 1st, r651) and. on November 26th, r651, they wereentrnsted to them for another year.

The Dutch Wfar brought out an the weakness of the systemand on July 27th, r652, another Committee met to considerthe business touching the executive part of the Admiralty andNavy!, the Council of State asking Parliament to consider theexecutive part or the Admiralty to the end that the same maybe so disposed of and settled in such manner that the manydifficulties and inconveniences daily arising may be prevented2.The actual difficulties are not mentioned but it may be assumedthat the business of the Admiralty was too large and extensiveto be merely an appendage of the Council of State, whose timewas largely occupied with. State administration, and whichcould not supply the element of continuity and impetus to befound in a corporate body of men, selected for their proficiencyin a particular sphere, and working with large powers from anoffice of their own. But in spite of these recommendationsthe Council of State clung jealously to its power and onNovember 23rd, 1652, the powers of the Admiralry- were again

vested in it for the ensuing year3• @~ame t1iedefeafOf'the 3cfleeqDuugg.nes~. witn:Bla~p-p..r,£ff~~ign~tio~,~and_on\Decemoer 9.tliWj!1'telocKereported a BIll for constltutmg Com­missioners for ordcring and managing the affairs or the Ad­miralty and Navyt. The Bill was passed on December 14th, andby it John Carew, Major Salwey, John Langley, Sir HenryVane, Colonel Thompson, and Colonels Blake, Monk andDeane by virtue of their appointments as Generals-at-Sea were

appointed Commissioners for managing the affairs of the Ad­miralty to continue in office till December 4th, 1653, and with

.power to use the seal of the Anchor5.

I C.y. VII, 159· 2 Perrin, M.M. XII, 136.3 C.y. VII, 219. 4- C.y. VII, 227.

5 C.y. VII, 285. Note the status of the Generals-at-Sea as Admiralty-Com­missioners.

.. MM 28