CHAPTER XXXV.

BOOKS, ACCOUNTS, AND CORRESPONDENCE*

*	As to the mode of keeping and rendering Engineers and Warrant Officers' Accounts, - See Chapter XXXVI., page 271, "Stores and Provisions."

1.

As the want of proper and timely accounts in office causes great inconvenience, unnecessary trouble, and delay to the public service, the Captain is to take care that every Officer under his command, whose duty it may be to render accounts, returns, &c., to the Admiralty, or any other department, forwards the same within a reasonable time after they shall have become due, according to the several instructions on that head; and should any delay occur in the making up or transmission of such accounts or returns, the Captain is to call for an explanation from the Officer in charge, which explanation, with any observations he may have to offer thereon, he (the Captain) is to forward to the department to which the accounts, &c., relate.

2.

SHIP'S BOOKS, &c.
i.	Record Book	All these Books, Accounts, &c., and the documents connected with them, are to be kept and rendered (under the control and direction of the Captain) by the Paymaster, who is held responsible for their correctness, and for the transmission into office, at proper times, of such of them as are required at the Admiralty. The regulations to be observed in making them out, &c., will be found in the Instructions for Paymasters, and are referred to in different parts of these Instructions.
ii.	Muster Open List
iii.	Description Book
iv.	Pay Book and Charge List, - and Pay Open List.
v.	Charge Book
vi.	Quarterly Victualling List
vii.	Allotment Lists
viii.	Remittance Lists
ix.	Ticket Book
x.	Bounty Lists
xi.	Monthly Advance Lists
xii.	Officers' Full-Pay Lists
xiii.	Pay Tickets and Pay Lists
xiv.	Transfer Lists
xv.	Monthly Returns of Alterations, &c., for correcting Record Book in Office
xvi.	Monthly Return of the number of Men borne
xvii.	Monthly Return of casualties by death
xviii.	Annual Balance Sheet

3.

A separate code of Instructions being issued for the Paymasters of Her Majesty's Navy, Captains, and all others to whom they may directly or indirectly relate, are enjoined to cause the directions therein contained to be duly observed and carried into effect; and the Captain or Commanding Officer of any one of Her Majesty's Ships is required to afford the Paymaster every facility the Service will admit of in the performance of the onerous duties devolving upon him.

4.

The Paymaster is, under the control of the Captain, to have the direction and superintendence of the Assistant Paymasters, Clerks, and Assistant Clerks on board, for conducting the office duties of the Ship, and for assisting him in any matter appertaining to his public accounts. The Captain, however, is authorized to select a Clerk, or an Assistant Clerk, to assist him in his correspondence, and for such other duties connected with writing as he may require; but as it is not expected that the whole of the time of such Clerk or Assistant Clerk will be so occupied, he is, for the period during which he may not be employed for the Captain, to be available for the ordinary office duties under the Paymaster.

5.

When the office staff is incomplete in number, and in cases of continued sickness or absence of any Assistant Paymaster or Clerk, or in the event of any extraordinary pressure of office work which cannot be overcome without additional aid, the Captain may authorize the employment of any person belonging to the ship's company, competent to assist the Paymaster, and he may direct that Officer to pay the person so employed at the rate of not more than 1s. 3d. a-day; and the Captain is to be careful to insert in the vouchers full particulars of the nature of the duties performed, and of the circumstances which led to additional assistance being required, in order that the Admiralty may judge whether it was necessary that he should avail himself of the permission accorded in this Article.

6.

On every occasion of the Ship being about to proceed to sea, and once a-week at least, the Paymaster is to furnish the Captain with an account of the number of days' provisions, oil, candles, wood and coal on board for the crew; and at the foot of the account is to be inserted the balance of public money that may be remaining in the hands of the Paymaster.

7.

No stores, or provisions (except fresh beef and vegetables) are to be purchased for the use of any of Her Majesty's Ships without the written sanction of the senior Officer present; and to enable such senior Officer to judge of the necessity for sanctioning purchases, the Captain of the Ship for which the stores are required, is to cause him to be furnished with a return in the form given in the Appendix, containing all the information called for in the several columns thereof. When the application to purchase may relate to provisions, the Captain is, for the like purpose, to forward to the senior Officer the Paymaster's account of the actual quantity remaining of the particular articles required, and of such as may be used as substitutes for them. The senior Officer's order to purchase is always to be attached to, and forwarded with, the original voucher, and a copy of it inserted on the other vouchers.

8.

For such purchases of stores or provisions as it may be absolutely necessary to make for the use of the Ship, under the regulations contained in these or the Paymasters' Instructions, the Captain is to employ the Paymaster, or the Consul at the Port where the Ship may be.

9.

When the Paymaster shall have received an order to purchase provisions or other articles for the use of the Ship, the Captain is to see that he takes measures for procuring the same on the best possible terms for the public, and, whenever practicable, by public advertisement, and when that shall not be practicable by private agreement; in either case the mode in which the purchase was effected is to be certified on the vouchers by the Captain.

10.

If the Captain shall, under peculiar circumstances, think it more advantageous for the public interest to employ the Consul to effect purchases instead of the Paymaster, the latter is to make payment for the same to the Consul, in which payment is to be included the Consul's charge for commission, at such rate as shall be certified to be usual at the place, not, however, in any case exceeding 2½ per cent, on the amount of the purchases; the Paymaster is also to procure the usual purchase vouchers, in which the Captain is to explain the circumstances that may have induced him to order the purchases to be effected through the agency of the Consul; and in the event of such explanation being considered satisfactory, the charge for commission will be allowed, otherwise it will be placed as an imprest against the Captain's pay.

11.

All vouchers for purchases are to be obtained in duplicate; one to be forwarded with the Paymaster's monthly cash account, the other to be retained by that Officer; and an attested copy of the voucher for every purchase made, is to be transmitted by the Captain, at the earliest convenient opportunity, to the Commander-in-chief, or senior Officer on the Station, or, if he be not serving under the orders of such, to the Secretary of the Admiralty.

12.

In addition to the monthly examination, which may be conducted by two Officers, the Captain will, as often as he may deem necessary personally inspect the Paymaster's cash account, and ascertain that the balance due thereon to the Crown is correct, and that it corresponds with the balance remaining in the public chest.

13.

The Paymaster's half-yearly report of the Assistant-Paymasters, Clerks, and Assistant-Clerks, is to be forwarded with the Victualling Lists to the 30th of June and 31st of December of each year; and on paying off.

14.

The Captain, from the date of his joining, is to see that a correct and proper log book is kept, according to the established form, containing an account of the proceedings of the ship, and of every occurrence and circumstance worthy of note, or specially ordered to be recorded. At the end of every six months (30th June and 31st December) and for the broken period up to the date of his discharge from the Ship, he is to forward a complete copy of such log book to the Secretary of the Admiralty, signed by himself, with a tract chart of the passages or cruizing of the ship, similar to that ordered to be inserted in the Ship's Log. He is to examine the ship's log book every day soon after noon.

At the end of every twelve months the Captain is to receive from the Master, the ship's log book in a perfect state, and grant that Officer a receipt for the same. All the original log books are to be kept in the ship until she is paid off, when they are to be forwarded by the Captain to the Secretary of the Admiralty.

15.

The Captain is to keep a Remark Book, in the form in the Appendix, in which he is to note every useful information regarding the places he may visit, stating, in separate paragraphs,-

i.	The latitude and longitude;
ii.	The variation of the compass;
iii.	The prevailing winds and currents; - specifying whether the currents are permanent, or due to periodical winds, and the direction of the prevalent or strongest wind;
iv.	The time of high water, full and change, and especially the rise of tide at springs and neaps;
v.	The aspect or appearance of the Coast in making the land, and in the vicinity of the port, describing the conspicuous objects. Where Pilots are to be obtained, and their charges. Lighthouses and Lights, - form, colour, height above the sea, &c.; leading marks, - form and colour, - with a sketch of each, if possible;
vi.	The dangers in approaching the various anchorages, and the means for avoiding such dangers. The depth of water at each anchorage, and the nature of the bottom. The bearings from the anchorage, which are always to be taken at right angles, or as nearly so as possible;
vii.	The supplies of water, provisions, coal, wood for fuel, and spars;
viii.	The facilities for all repairs the places can afford for ships or fleets; mentioning where there are docks or patent slips, their length, width of gates, and depth over sill;
ix.	Inaccuracies that may be discovered in the charts supplied to the ship;
x.	Directions, applicable to the place, for sailing, or steaming, - and for working by day, by night, and in a fog; and,
xi.	Every other information regarding the places visited, and their inhabitants, which may be deserving of notice, and useful in compiling new sailing directions, or revising those already published.

When compass bearings are taken on board, they must be corrected for local deviation, - that is to say, the real magnetic bearing must be stated.

As a general rule, when the Coast, Anchorage, or Harbour is well known, there is no occasion to refer to it in the Remark Book, unless some inaccuracy in the Chart or Sailing Directions should be observed, in which case the same should be noted. But on a Coast, or a Harbour, little known, or for which there are no published sailing directions, the remarks cannot be too full, - as on the East and West Coasts of Africa south of the Equator; Burmah, and the Eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal; Cochin China; the Eastern Archipelago; Australia; Korea; Japan; the Pacific Ocean; California; the Western shores of Mexico and of Central America; Brazil; the West Indies, and Newfoundland.

At the beginning of the Remark Book, an abstract of every passage made from port to port is to be given, in the form in the Appendix; and at the end of the Book, the Captain is to note the names and ratings of such of the Sub-Lieutenants, Second Masters, and Subordinate Officers as may be likely, from their general qualifications, to become good draughtsmen or surveyors.

The Remark Book is to be forwarded with the other periodical returns, through the Commander-in-chief or senior Officer, for the Secretary of the Admiralty, to the 31st of December in each year, and for the broken period up to the date of the Captain being superseded, or the ship being paid off.

16.

The Chronometer Journal, in the form supplied with that instrument, is to be kept by the Master, and forwarded to the Admiralty with the Captain's Remark Book.

17.

Every Officer is enjoined to be correct in all the accounts which he may have to render of the receipt and expenditure of Public Money, Stores, or Provisions, always representing them as being received, disbursed, expended, or returned precisely in the manner in which they were received, or disposed of, and in no other. Any neglect in rendering the accounts at the prescribed periods, and in the manner directed, will be visited with the severe displeasure of the Admiralty.

18.

Every Flag Officer and Commodore, before he strikes his Flag or Broad Pendant, and every Captain, and other Officer (who may be a signing Officer), before he leaves the ship to which he belongs, is to sign all books, accounts and certificates, which may be necessary to enable her Officers to pass their respective accounts or to receive their pay, provided he be satisfied that the same ought to be signed by him; but every Officer is to examine, very carefully, all Ship's books, accounts of the receipt, expenditure, or other disposal of money, stores or provisions, and all other books, accounts, or papers, before he signs them; and to sign such only as he shall know to be correct; he is also enjoined not to sign any certificate for any service, without ascertaining that such service has been actually performed.

19.

When a Captain is removed from the command of a Ship, he is to transfer to his successor the private signals and signal books, - all the Ship's Log Books from the date of her being commissioned, - the Engineer's and Warrant Officers' store accounts, - the defaulters Book, - record of conduct book, - leave book, - together with such other books and general regulations as may have been supplied to him, - and the originals of all unexecuted orders. For the above, he is to obtain five separate receipts from his successor, (four of which he is to forward to-the Secretary of the Admiralty) - namely, one for the private signals and signal books, another for all the Ship's Log Books, another for the store accounts, and the other for the remainder of the books, &c. The fifth receipt, namely, that for the originals of all unexecuted orders, is to be forwarded to the Commander-in chief or senior Officer.

20.

On the ship being paid off, the Captain is to take care that all the books and accounts kept under his control and direction, are delivered in a perfect state, into the respective offices to which they relate. He is to put the Private Signals under a sealed cover, marked "Secret," and return them to the office of the Commander-in-chief, together with the Signal Books, obtaining that Officer's receipts for the same, which, he is to transmit to the Secretary of the Admiralty.

In the event of Signal Books or Private Signals not having been supplied to the Commanding Officer of a ship, or in any special case of the same not having been transferred to his successor, or returned to a Commander-in-chief as before-mentioned, the said Commanding Officer must report the case to the Admiralty, with a view of obtaining a certificate, or a dispensing order, to enable him to receive his pay.

21.

With the view of obtaining and preserving an authentic record of marriages solemnized on board Her Majesty's Ships, the Captain is, when marriages are solemnized on board the Ship he commands out of the United Kingdom, to cause a declaration of the marriage, signed by the Minister of the Church, by the contracting parties, and by two-competent witnesses, to be entered in the log book of the Ship, specifying the fact, the day on which the marriage was solemnized, and the place where the ship then was. And he is to transmit to the Admiralty a certified copy of such declaration, which will be forwarded to the Registrar of the Consistory Court of the Lord Bishop of London, in Doctors' Commons, for the purpose of being registered.

A fee of one pound being required by the Officer of the Bishop of London's Court for registering such marriages, that sum is to be received from the parties by the Captain, who is to deliver the same to the Paymaster, directing that Officer to debit himself therewith in his cash account, the Paymaster's receipt for the amount of the fee is to be transmitted by the Captain with the certificate before-mentioned.

22.

The notices respecting the registry of the birth of any child of an English or Scottish parent, or of the death of any English or Scottish subject, at sea, are to be complied with in all particulars by the Captains of Her Majesty's Ships.

23.

All Naval and Marine Officers, and Officers belonging to the Civil Establishments of the Navy, are to observe the following rules in their correspondence with the Admiralty:-

24.

No Captain or other Officer in command, shall, while serving under the orders of a superior Officer, correspond direct with the Secretary of the Admiralty, except he be instructed to do so in special cases; but all matters for the information or consideration of the Lords Commissioners are to be addressed by him to his superior Officer, who will forward them, with such remarks as he may see occasion to offer thereon; and if any circumstances should occur, or any intelligence be obtained, which ought, in his opinion, to be communicated to the Admiralty sooner than they or it could be through his superior Officer, he is, nevertheless, to make his reports to him, and to transmit a copy of the same to the Secretary of the Admiralty, by the earliest safe conveyance, informing his superior Officer of his having done so; he is not, however, to omit acknowledging the receipt of orders or letters from the Admiralty, direct to the Secretary of the Admiralty, if they should not have been, transmitted to him through his superior Officer.

25.

All Officers and others belonging to the Fleet, having any communications or applications to make to the Admiralty, or to the Commander-in-chief or senior Officer of the station on which they are employed, are, invariably, to transmit the same through their respective Captains or commanding Officers, who are to forward them, by the earliest convenient opportunity, through the proper channel, with their own observations thereon. And all Officers who may have occasion to correspond with, or furnish reports or accounts to, the several departments of the Admiralty, are to submit the same for the perusal of their respective Captains, who will append to them such remarks as they may deem necessary.

26.

Upon the death or desertion of any Officer, Petty Officer, Seaman, Marine, or other person belonging to any of Her Majesty's Ships, the Captain is to cause his clothes and all his other effects, including cash, to be collected and delivered into the charge of the Paymaster, by inventory, which is to be signed by two or more messmates in the case of an Officer, and by the Commander or senior Lieutenant, and Master-at-Arms or Ship's Corporal, in every other case; or by a Commissioned and Non-commissioned Officer of Marines, should the effects have belonged to a man of that corps. Such inventory is to be approved by the Captain, and to be retained by the Paymaster, for the purpose of its being afterwards completed by the addition of the amount of sale, &c., as directed in the Paymaster's instructions. But in the case of the death of an Officer, the Captain may, if he think fit to do so, direct that his effects, or any portion of them, be preserved until an opportunity shall offer of forwarding them to his relatives or executors, instead of having them sold by auction at the mast; in exercising this discretion, the Captain will, of course, be governed by a consideration of the circumstances of the deceased, the distance the Ship may be from his family, and what would, to them, in all probability, be the most agreeable course to pursue; and he will cause full particulars of such effects as may not have been sold to be inserted in the inventory before referred to, mentioning the name and rank of the Officer in whose charge they may have been left to be forwarded.

The private books and papers of deceased Officers are to be sealed up in parcels, in the presence of witnesses, and, if possible, forwarded to their relatives or executors; such of the public books and papers as are not required to be retained on board the Ship (of which an inventory is also to be taken) of Officers who may have been in charge of stores, are, on their death or desertion, to be transmitted into office, with their accounts, by their successors.

If amongst the effects of a Petty Officer, Seaman, or Marine, there should be any article which the Captain might think proper to preserve, for the purpose of its being given up to the nearest relative or friend of the deceased, the same may be kept for that purpose; but the particulars must be noted in the inventory, as is directed in the case of the effects of Officers not sold.

Care must be taken not to dispose of any of the annual clothing that may have been supplied to Marines within the previous eight months.

27.

The following periodical returns, &c., will be required from the Captains of Her Majesty's Ships, namely:-

*	These returns are to be considered as confidential. Those relating to Engineer Officers and Leading Stokers are to be sent by the Commander-in-chief in a separate cover, marked for the "Controller of the Navy." On the removal or discharge of a Chief Engineer, the report of his qualifications, &c., is to be forwarded through the Commander-in-Chief, for the "Controller of the Navy."
†	For the "Controller of the Navy."

28.

Incidental returns, &c., required from the Captains of Her Majesty's Ships:-

*	The qualifications necessary for candidates for entry in the Coast Guard will be published in the Navy List from time to time.
†	No man, whose age exceeds 35 years, is to be recommended; and all Seamen who maybe so recommended, are to be informed that they can be entered only as vacancies may occur in the Establishments of the several Yards, and with the approval of the respective Superintendents, to whom lists of all men recommended will be forwarded.
	Continuous service men may be recommended in the same manner as other Seamen; but, in the event of their being discharged from the Dockyards, they will be liable to complete at sea the remaining period of their service, but will be allowed to reckon the time served in the Dockyards.
	Pensioners are not allowed to receive their Pensions whilst borne on the Establishments of the Yards.
**	The duplicate to be sent by the Commander-in-Chief to the Accountant-General of the Navy.

29.

A list of the documents which each Officer, or his Agent, is required to obtain and deliver into the Office of the Accountant-General of the Navy, to enable him to pass his accounts, or to receive the residue of his pay, is given in the Appendix.