TIAL.

Achernar. a Eridani, a star of the first magnitude in the constellation Eridanus, called by navigators the "Spring of the River."

Achromatic. A term applied to optical instruments in which aberration and the colors dependent thereon are partially corrected. Achromatic condenser, a lens used to concentrate the rays of light on an object in a microscope.

Achronical. An old term signifying the rising of a heavenly body at sunset, or its setting at

Acker. An eddying ripple on the surface of Blooded walora, A tide swelling above another 1066 KAORK, Borr.

Aokinen, of Ack pirates. Fresh-water thieves. A kill. A yard is a-cockbill when by accidont on design one yard-arm is topped up more Than by thor (466 MOURNING.) The anchor is

Full when it hangs from the cat-head by the por roady for letting go. In the navy and how is not cockbilled except in special The smaller component of a double

Advis

An engagement; a battle. Clear ship for action, to prepare for battle by removing everything that obstructs the working of the battery or hinders the handling of the ship; by removing all fixtures and appliances, not needed for action, but which might cause the enemy's shot to create havoc and confusion; by removing articles liable to injury by exposure; and by providing articles necessary to the security of rigging and spars.

Active. Requiring or implying action or exertion; practical; operative.

ACTIVE LIST. The list of officers liable to be called upon for active duty, in contradistinction to the Retired List (which see).

ACTIVE SERVICE. Duty before the enemy, or operations in his presence. Any duty under the orders of the Navy Department.

Actuaire. (Fr.) An open transport propelled by oars and sails.

Actuairole. (Fr.) A small galley propelled by oars.

Acumba. Oakum; the hards or coarse parts of flax and unplucked wool.

Acuña, Christopher. Jesuit and explorer, b. Burgos, 1597, d. Lima about 1675. He was one of the early explorers of the river Amazon, and was sent to report the incidents of the expedition of 1639. On his return to Spain he published at Madrid, in 1641, "Nuevo Descubrimiento del gran Rio de las Amazonas." He subsequently went to the East Indies, returned to South America, and died on the way from Panama to Lima.

Adamant. The loadstone; the magnet:-the sense in which it was held by early voyagers. Adapter. A ring or tube to adapt or fit any accessory apparatus to an instrument.

Addel, or Addle. The putrid water in casks, Addice. An adze. The addled eggs of seafowl.

Addlings. Accumulated pay.

Address. Bearing. To consign or intrust to another as an agent.

Adelaide, Port, six miles from the capital of South Australia. Lat. 34° 49′ S.; lon. 138° 38' E. It is a free port, and accessible for vessels drawing 18 feet of water.

Adit. An air-hole or drift. The aperture by which a mine is dug and charged. The aperture by which a ship in ancient times was entered.

Adjourn. To put off to another day; to discontinue a while; to intermit proceedings; as, of a court-martial, a board of examination, etc. When no certain day is fixed to which the adjournment is to extend, it is said to be sine die. Adjudication. The act of adjudging prizes by legal decree. Captors are compelled to submit the adjudication of their prizes to a competent tribunal.

Adjust. To set the frame of a ship. To regulate an instrument for use. To adjust the compasses is to ascertain the deviation of the needle due to local attraction.

Adjustment, in marine insurance, is the ascertaining and settling of the amount of indemnity, whether of average or salvage, which the insured is entitled to receive. The nature and amount of damage being ascertained, an endorsement is made on the back of the policy, declaring the proportion of loss falling on each underwriter; and when this endorsement is signed by the latter, the loss is said to have been adjusted. After an adjustment has been made, it

is usual for the underwriter at once to pay the loss. As a question of law, however, it does not appear how far the adjustment is conclusive and binding on the underwriters. In the opinion of some lawyers the adjustment is merely presumptive evidence against an insurer, and it is, notwithstanding, open to the underwriter to show facts which, if proved, would have the effect of relieving him from liability.

All nauti

ADJUSTMENTS OF INSTRUMENTS. cal instruments are liable to get out of order, their several parts not retaining their relative positions, owing to unequal expansion, violence, or like causes. To guard before observing against resulting errors, there are methods of testing whether the instrument is in order in the several points subject to be affected; and the instrument is provided with means of adjustment, chiefly in the form of screws or sliding weights, by which it may be restored to its correct state. Adjusting screws and weights ought not to be touched more than is absolutely necessary, and then with great care. When two such screws work oppositely to each other, one must not be tightened without the other being at the same time loosened. Sometimes, instead of making the adjustment, the error may be acknowledged and allowed for in observing. The term "adjustments" is often loosely applied to all sources of incorrectness, and means of obviating their effects, in using instruments. These are, however, properly of three distinct kinds: imperfections in the instrument, which should cause its rejection; adjustments for parts of the instrument liable to temporary derangement, but which can be restored to order by the machinery attached; and errors of the instrument, which are acknowledged, determined by experiment, and allowed for. See COMPASS and SEXTANT.

Adjutant. See MARINE CORPS.

Admeasurement. The calculation of the proportions of a ship according to assumed rules.

Administration, Naval (Lat. ad, "to," and ministro, ministratum, "to serve," management, conduct of business), relates to the management of that part of the executive branch of the government which includes the navy, or military marine. The Chief Executive is generally the constitutional or hereditary head of the navy. James I., of England, assumed the title of Lord High Admiral and Lord General; in other words, he declared himself to be the commander-in-chief of the army and navy. This was subsequently confirmed to the reigning sovereign by act of Parliament (13 Car. II., c. 6). In the United States the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, and he may require the opinion in writing of the principal officer in each of the executive departments upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices." (Constitution of the United States, Art. II., Sec. 2.) One of these "executive departments" is styled, by the act of April 30, 1798, which creates the office, the Department of the Navy, and the "principal officer" the Secretary of the Nary, whose duty it is "to execute such orders as he shall receive from the President of the United States relative to the procurement of naval stores and materials, and the construction, armament, equipment of vessels of war, as well as all other matters connected with the naval establishment

of the United States. From the language of the act it will be seen that the Secretary of the Navy is, in all matters pertaining to his branch of the public service, the exponent of the President; and his acts are to be considered the acts of the President, and have full force and effect as such. The official duties of the heads of executive departments, however, are not merely ministerial; they involve the exercise of judgment and discretion. (Decatur v. Paulding, 14 Pet., 515.) The Secretary of the Navy is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from civil life, and is one of the members of his Cabinet. He is authorized by law to prescribe regulations, not inconsistent with law, for the government of his department, the conduct of its officers and clerks, the distribution and performance of its business, and the custody, use, and preservation of the records, papers, and property appertaining to it. He is required to make an annual report to Congress of the operations of the navy for the preceding year, its general condition, etc. The business of the Department is distributed among eight bureaus, to wit: (1) Bureau of Yards and Docks, (2) Equipment and Recruiting, (3) Navigation, (4) Ordnance, (5) Construction and Repair, (6) Steam Engineering, (7) Provisions and Clothing, (8) Medicine and Surgery. The chiefs of bureaus are appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. All the duties of the bureaus are performed under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, and "their orders are considered as emanating from him and have full force and effect as such" (act of August 31, 1842). There are 63 clerks, draughtsmen, etc., in the Department, 17 of whom belong to the Secretariat, the remainder to the several bureaus. The chiefs of four bureaus (1, 2, 3, and 4) are selected from the line-officers not below the rank of commander. During the time of holding office they have the relative rank of commodore, if below that grade. The chiefs of the other bureaus are selected from the several corps which they represent, and while holding office have the relative rank of commodore, with the title respectively of surgeon-general, paymastergeneral, engineer-in-chief, and chief construc

tor.

Chiefs of bureaus hold their offices for the term of four years. Any staff officer who has performed the duty of a chief of a bureau for a full term is exempt thereafter from sea-duty, except in time of war, and retires with the relative rank of commodore.

It will be perceived from the foregoing that the Navy Department, and consequently the navy itself, is without a professional head. The civil branch is well provided for in the constitu tional commander-in-chief and his constitutional adviser, the Secretary of the Navy. But regarding the navy in its true character of a sea army, there is no professional head in our naval administration to govern its purely military operations. This is a great, and, in time of war, would be likely to prove a fatal, defect. It would be difficult, indeed, to find a civilian in whom were combined the political training essential to a Cabinet officer and the technical knowledge necessary to an intelligent and energetic administration of naval affairs even in times of profound peace.

The history of our naval administration is curious. The infant navy was ushered into ex

stitution of the Board of Admiralty and the various duties devolving thereon ;" also "as to the general effect of such system on the navy." No material change took place, however, till January 14, 1869, when Mr. Hugh C. E. Childers, then First Lord, reorganized the board. On the 19th of March, 1872, the order of 1869, was rescinded, and the board restored very much to its old organization and as it now stands. See ADMIRALTY.

FRANCE. The Minister of Marine (Secretary of the Navy) in France is generally selected from the list of admirals, and represents both the civil and military power. He is assisted in his immediate office by a staff of about seven officers, ranking from rear-admiral to lieutenant. The chief of staff is a rear-admiral (chef d'état-major et chef du cabinet). Next comes a Board of Ådmiralty, of which the Minister of Marine is president. It consists of, 1, a vice-admiral, who is vice-president of the board; 2, a vice-admiral; 3, a general of marine artillery; 4, a vice-admiral; 5, a vice-admiral; 6, a rear-admiral; 7, a director of naval construction; 8, a commissary-general. The Secretariat is divided into two bureaux, each of which has its chief. The second bureau takes cognizance of the "movements of the fleet and military operations," and is presided over by a naval officer of rank. Next we have the Navy Department proper, which is divided into five directions (a direction corresponding to a bureau in our Navy Department), each direction having two or more bureaux; each bureau having two or more sections. Among these several directions, bureaux, and sections are distributed with much precision all the duties of an extensive and thorough naval administration. The Minister of Marine alone is responsible to the chief magistrate for his acts. The Board of Admiralty, of which he is president, is but an advisory body, its chief and only important duty being to prepare the annual lists of officers from which the selections for promotion are made. It has, in fact, but little, if anything, to do with the administration of the affairs of the French navy.

It may be said, in general, that under a liberal form of government, like that of the United States or Great Britain, where the civil power predominates, the head of the navy will always be a civilian. In countries where the military spirit prevails the head of the navy will always be a naval officer of rank. In all maritime countries the work of the navy department must be distributed among a number of experts and a certain clerical force.

AUSTRIA.-The Minister of National Defense presides over both war and navy departments. Under his general supervision a vice-admiral administers the affairs of the navy.

DENMARK.-The Minister of Marine is a cabinet officer and a naval officer of rank.

GERMANY.-Has a Board of Admiralty, with an admiral for "Inspector-General of the Navy," and a commander-in-chief of all the ships in

commission.

ITALY.-Has a Minister of Marine, at present a rear-admiral, assisted in his duties by a Board of Admiralty.

RUSSIA. The Minister of Marine is an admiral, and communicates directly with the sovereign. He has sole charge of the administrative department of the navy, while the executive

Admiral. Sir Wm. Monson, writing about 1600, says, "There have been often disputes whether the title of Admiral or General were more proper to a sea commander; and though I dare not presume to conclude of either, yet I think it is as unproper to call an Admiral General by Sea as to call a General Admiral by Land, though I confess their authorities are like in command of men's persons, yet is the jurisdiction of the Admiral by sea greater than the other, in that he ruleth and guideth a fleet of ships, which are of more importance to the King and State than the lives of men that are to serve in them."

The English title of admiral,-in French and Danish, amiral; German, ammiral; Dutch, admiral, or ammrael; Italian, ammiraglio; Spanish, almirante,-evidently in all modern languages derived from the same source, is yet of doubtful etymology. Most of the old writers trace it to the Arab emir or amir, a prince or ruler, and a Greek word signifying the sea; but Spelman, who condemns this "Centaur" derivation, thinks the term was first in use among the Saracens, and from thence brought to England about the time of Richard I. or Henry III.; "for I find," he says, "that not only Amera but Almirante was the ordinary title of the Governors of countries through all the territories of the Saracens, even from Spain when they possessed it, unto the uttermost parts of Lesser Asia, and Mahomet was so called as king, a name of dignity and estimation." In the great ship or dromond taken by Richard I. from the Saracens there were seven admirals.

The Earl of Berkeley is said to be the only individual not of royal blood who has ever won the flag of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain at sea. At the age of 20, then known as Lord Dursley, he was captain of the "Lichfield," 50, his second command. When 23 he commanded the "Boyne," 80. At 27 he was vice-admiral of the blue, and the next year vice-admiral of the red. March 29, 1719, at the age of 38, he hoisted his flag on the "Dorsetshire" as Lord High Admiral, being actually Vice-Admiral of England and First Lord of the Admiralty.

The first English admiral on record is Richard de Lacy, to whom, 1216-72, Henry III. granted Maritimam Angle. Some, however, assert that the honor belongs to Roger de Leyburn, who was appointed by Edward I. Admirallus Maris Regis A.D. 1297. During the reign of Edward I. there were three admirals in contemporary command of the three coasts of England, one having jurisdiction from the mouth of the river Thames northward, another from the same point westward, and another of the west coast, including the shores of Wales and Ireland.

All admirals in the Royal navy were wont anciently to carry St. George's flag at the head of the topmast, but on the accession of James I. he added to it the cross of St. Andrew, as due to Scotland. The Lord High Admiral alone was

permitted to wear "the cross of the arms of England," that is, the standard of England at the main. He had also the power in the sixteenth century to permit another man to wear the bare English flag in the main-top in his presence. Sir Wm. Monson speaks of the Rear-Admiral as a recent invention, and says, "The Vice-Admiral wears his flag in the fore-top, being Vice-Admiral, so he is to wear what colored flag he pleases in the main-top as Admiral of a squadron. The Rear-Admiral wears his flag in the mizzen, and every ship besides is to wear a streamer of the same color in the forehead or mizzen-yard to be distinguished from other squadrons.”

The Sicilians or Genoese are said to have been the first who, at the beginning of the Crusades, conferred the rank on the commander of a squadron of ships.

"St. Louis" introduced the title into France. The rank of Admiral was formerly equivalent to that of a Marshal of France, and a decree of Phillippe-le-Bel ordains that "each wing of our army must be commanded by a Prince, an Admiral, or a Marshal." It also constituted the fourth dignity of the order of Malta. The admirals of France possessed such great prerogatives that Richelieu suppressed the title, and invested himself with their functions, under the name of "Grand Master, Chief and Superintendent-General of Navigation and Commerce." Louis XIV. revived the title of Grand Admiral in 1669, but he reserved to himself the nomination of the officers and the right of giving orders direct to flag-officers. Notwithstanding these restrictions the privileges attaching to this post were enormous, comprising the nomination of the officers belonging to the naval courts of justice, the delivery of passports, permissions, and furloughs, the countersigning of royal decrees, and the receipt of a tithe of all prize-money and fines levied in admiralty courts. So valuable were these privileges, that when the Duc de Penthierre abandoned his claims to them in 1759, he received in compensation an annual grant of about $30,000, which was regularly paid until the revolution.

The first"Admiral of France" was Florent de Varennes, who, appointed by St. Louis, accompanied his sovereign in the expedition to Tunis; and since his day down to 1791, when the title was abolished by the National Assembly, it was conferred upon 59 different persons.

The most celebrated of these naval commanders

were

Nicolas Béluchét, who seized Portsmouth, England, in 1339;

Jean de Vienne, Seigneur de Clairveaux, who was killed in the battle of Nicopolis;

Gaspard, Comte de Coligny, a victim of St. Bartholomew;

Anne de Joyeuse, a devoted adherent of Henry III., killed at the battle of Contras;

François de Coligny, the eldest son of the murdered admiral;

Charles de Gontaut, Duc de Biron, the trustiest counselor of Henry IV., who was afterwards beheaded for high treason; and

François de Vendôme, Duc of Beaufort, nicknamed "Le Roy des Halles," who, appointed Grand Master of Navigation, was killed at the siege of Candia.

The Comte de Vermendois and the Comte de

Toulouse were also appointed "Admirals of France," one at the age of two, and the other at the age of five, years.

Napoleon, in 1805, conferred the dignity of "Grand Admiral" on Murat; but the post, abolished at the revolution, was merely honorary, and as such was held by the Duc de Angoulême after the Restoration. The title of "Grand Admiral" was finally suppressed after the revolution of 1830.

The French have now the titles of admiral, vice-admiral, and rear-admiral in their navy.

On the establishment of the Continental navy, or a few months later, viz., November 15, 1776, having established the rank and command of the captains the month previous, Congress resolved that an "admiral should rank as a general; a vice-admiral as a lieutenant-general; a rear-admiral as a major-general;" evidently looking to the addition of those ranks to the navy. The prejudices of the people, however, prevented the establishment of such high-sounding titles (?), and, until 1862, no officers were commissioned in the United States navy of higher rank than captain, except in 1859, when, in special compliment to his services, Charles Stewart was commissioned as "Senior Flag-Officer."

The act of July 16, 1862, reorganizing the navy, was the first to recognize the necessity of the grade, and authorized the commissioning of not more than nine rear-admirals on the active list, and nine on the retired or reserved list, the former "to be selected, during the war, from those commanders who have distinguished themselves, or shall hereafter eminently distinguish themselves, by courage, skill, and genius in their profession; Provided, That no officer shall be promoted to this grade unless, upon recommendation of the President, by name, he has received the thanks of Congress for distinguished service. During times of peace vacancies to this grade shall be filled by regular promotion from the list of commodores, subject to examination as to mental, moral, physical, and professional qualifications." "The three senior rear-admirals were to wear a square blue flag at the mainmasthead, the next three at the foremast-head, and all others at the mizzen." Rear-admirals to have relative rank with major-generals.

The same law authorized nine rear-admirals on the retired list, ranking relatively with majorgenerals, who were to be selected by the President, by and with the consent of the Senate, "from those captains who have given most faithful service to the country." After these were commissioned, promotion to rear-admiral on the retired list was to be by seniority, subject to an advisory board.

Under this law David G. Farragut, Louis M. Goldsborough, Samuel F. Dupont, and Andrew H. Foote were commissioned July 16, 1862, Charles H. Davis and John A. Dahlgren, February 7, 1863, David D. Porter, July 4, 1863, on the active list, and Charles Stewart, William B. Shubrick, Joseph Smith, George W. Stone, Francis H. Gregory, Elias F. Lavallette, S. H. Stringham, Samuel L. Breese, Hiram Paulding, George C. Read, on the retired list. Rear-Admiral George C. Read died on the 22d of August, 1862, the first rear-admiral to die in our navy, and Rear-Admiral Lavallette died on the 18th of November following. Of all the above-named