imported or exported in foreign bottoms, as all foreign nations had not such a maat a higher rate than the national vessels rine, and as all those which had did not or their cargoes. The most celebrated immediately pass similar laws, the British law of this description is that passed by navigation not only regained from the the British parliament in Cromwell's time, Dutch the transportation between British in 1651. Its object was to wrest the car- and other foreign ports than those of rying-trade of Europe from the Dutch, Holland, but also acquired a very large into whose hands it had, at that time, portion of the foreign carrying-trade bemostly fallen. For this purpose all for- tween one foreign port and another; of a eign vessels were prohibited from engag- large proportion of which they have kept ing in the trade between one British port possession now (1831) for 170 years. and another, or between any British port Such are the general features of the naviand a colony or dependency of Great gation acts of Great Britain; but they Britain. This trade is equivalent to the allowed of some exceptions, as where it coasting-trade of the U. States, and such was supposed to be for the advantage of other countries as have no foreign de- Great Britain to supply foreign countries pendencies. The trade between the ports with any particular product of England or subject to any government, whether at its colonies, and such a supply would be home or abroad, is a proper object of promoted by relaxing the navigation laws, legislative regulation, and the reasons for as was the case, for a time, in respect to confining it generally to the national ship- some West India products, the vessels of ping are obvious; since, if a country de- other countries were permitted to trade to pends upon foreign vessels to carry on the the colonies, and take away cargoes of trade between its different ports, the means such products for any foreign port. This of communication are liable to be with- was a relaxation of the colonial system, drawn in case of a war with the nation which is closely interwoven with the navwhose shipping is employed in such trade. igation laws. It was adopting, so far, the Another reason in favor of such a law is principle of free trade. But this principle founded in the policy of most countries to does not, by any means, form the basis of open to their own citizens the means of the present system of the navigation laws employment, as far as their habits, dispo- of Great Britain, nor, indeed, of any other sition and capabilities dispose them to fill country having a commercial marine of up such employments. There are other any considerable extent. In the trade bereasons for such a regulation, which need tween any two countries, one cannot obnot to be stated here, but which, with tain any advantage by legislation, except those above stated, have induced maritime by the supineness or mistakes of the other; countries to pursue a similar policy. The for whatever regulation is adopted by one, other material provision of the law of may be countervailed by a corresponding Cromwell's parliament, was a requisition regulation of the other. In case of a reathat foreign ships should bring to England sonable share of intelligence on the part only the products of the countries to of both, each must be content with a reciwhich the ships belonged. This at once procity; and in this nations are, at present, cut off the Dutch from all their foreign willing to acquiesce. Another object of carrying-trade, as far as Great Britain and the navigation laws is to promote the its dependencies were concerned. The fisheries, as a source of wealth, and also a operation of such a law would, of course, nursery of seamen. The laws of Engbe limited by the amount of commerce of land, Holland, France, and the U. States, the country by which it should be adopt- favor this branch of maritime industry by ed. But the commerce of England being strenuous encouragement and protection. extensive, it would necessarily have a powerful influence in increasing the maritime industry and capital of the country. If every nation with which England had any commerce, had had a commercial marine, and had passed a similar law, still the British shipping would have stood upon an equal footing with that of each foreign country in carrying on the trade between the two, and the Dutch, the great rival against whom the law was levelled, would have been confined to the trade between Holland and Great Britain. But NAVIGATOR'S ISLANDS; a group of about ten islands, in the southern Pacific ocean, to the north-east of the Friendly islands; between lat. 13° and 15° S., and lon. 168° and 173° W. Like most other islands of those seas, they are surrounded with coral reefs, and appear to be of volcanic origin. The natives are numerous, strong, well made, fierce and active. The islands abound in cocoa, bread-fruit, bananas, and domestic animals of several sorts. They were discovered by Bougainville in 1768. NAVY, in the usual sense of the word, the whole body of the ships of war belonging to a nation or monarch. In no state of society, however primitive, has man long learned to navigate the rivers and seas that surround him; before his evil passions have involved him in contention and war. It is not enough that murder should stalk the earth, and make its fields drink the blood of him to whom it was given as a heritage; the ocean, already terrible in its own horrors, is also too often crimsoned with the same carnage. It may, perhaps, be questioned whether maritime pursuits be not more likely to produce discord than those of the land. The shepherd subsists upon his flock; it furnishes him at once with food and raiment; the cultivator lives upon the produce of his field; but the moment that the merchant goes forth to exchange his superfluity for the superfluity of others, there arises a collision of interests; that spirit of cupidity which has, in all ages, characterized commercial nations, is aroused; avarice, hatred and revenge excite to discord, and the seeds of war are already sown. Thus we are told that the Phoenicians, in their solicitude to retain the vast monopoly of trade, for which they were indebted to their enterprise and industry, not only concealed studiously the courses of navigation by which they arrived at the remote countries with which they traded, but, if followed by strange vessels, would seek to mislead them, conduct them into dangerous situations, and even risk the loss of their own vessels to effect that of their pursuers. To complete the discouragement of their commercial rivals, they plundered and destroyed every foreign vessel and crew that they met witha system which doubly favored their desire of gain. Such is the origin of maritime war and naval armies. The earliest instance of naval warfare recorded in history, is that of one Erythras, a prince who made himself master of the Red sea, and monopolized its commerce, to the exclusion of the Egyptians, who were only allowed to navigate it with a single ship. The Egyptians, thus restricted, are said to have partially evaded the edict by making their single ship of an unusual size; much as the British did, in past centuries, with their single annual ship to Puerto Bello. Erythras is not, however, allowed the undisputed honor of originating naval war. He has a formidable competitor in Jason, and two still more so in Neptune and Hercules. Without attempting to settle the respective claims of these nautical worthies, we will content ourselves with endeavoring to discover the nature of naval war in the earliest ages of history. The most noted battle of ancient times is that which took place between the Greeks and Persians at Salamis, five centuries before the Christian era. The situation of the Grecians struggling to preserve their liberty from the threatened yoke of Xerxes; the generous rivalry of Aristides and Themistocles; the heroism of Artemisia, with many romantic incidents, combine to shed a strong interest over this famous engagement. The Grecian fleet consisted of three hundred and eighty ships, all, doubtless, very small, as we are told that the largest galley was of but fifty oars, with only eighteen fighting men. The vessels were without decks, and the contest was decided either by running each other down, or else by grappling and fighting hand to hand, the victory declaring for those who excelled in numbers or in personal prowess. The fleet of Xerxes was superior in numbers, as well as in the size of its ships, and as his army was numerous beyond anything known in modern times, it was easy for him to man it powerfully. But the situation of Salamis favored the Grecians, as it hindered the Persians and their allies from displaying their whole force. The Greeks having determined to give battle rather than await it to their inevitable destruction, Themistocles bore down with the full impetus of a fresh breeze, which blew regularly every day. The Persians received the first attack undaunted, and even returned it with so much vigor that the Greeks began to falter, when, according to Herodotus, an heroic Athenian by the name of Pallene, retrieved their situation by boldly steering his galley into the midst of the enemy, and drawing his countrymen after him to his rescue. And now the height and sluggishness of the Persian vessels, even their excessive numbers thus embarrassed in a narrow strait, and the disconnected efforts resulting from the various nations of the allies, and from a plurality of commanders, threw them into utter confusion. Moreover, among the Persians and their allies, there was much disaffection; while, on the contrary, the Greeks had a good cause, and every thing at stake; their vessels, too, were light and manageable, and they were expert in manoeuvring them; they did every thing in good order; finally, they had but one supreme commander, and he Themistocles. Under such circumstances, it is not much to be wondered at that they should have proved victorious. There are one or two incidents, which took place during the battle, not a little characteristic of the mode of fighting and of the manners of the times. We are told of a Grecian galley being sunk by an Ionian of the Persian fleet; this, in turn, sustained a like fate, being run down by a galley of Egina. But, before their vessel sunk under them, the Ionians had time to throw themselves into the ship of their antagonists, and by the desperate bravery to which they were urged by their situation, seconded by their dexterity in the use of the spear, for which they were famous, gained possession of the Eginetic galley. Still more peculiar was the stratagem by which the queen Artemisia contrived to escape. She had opposed the engagement; but when it was determined to give battle, she displayed greater valor than any of the followers of Xerxes, so that he took occasion to say, as he viewed her conduct from his throne on a neighboring eminence, that only the women of the fleet behaved like men. This unsustained courage involved her, at length, in imminent danger, and she found herself hotly beset by many enemies, when, as the only means of escape, she resorted to the stratagem of hoisting Grecian colors, and attacking a Persian ship, commanded by one Damasithymus, king of Calynda, which she speedily sent to the bottom. This deed, doubtless, cost her the less, that Damasithymus had once been her enemy. Her pursuers, seeing this, believed her vessel to be one of their own fleet, and so Artemisia escaped. In the two centuries succeeding this battle of Salamis, many improvements were introduced into naval warfare. They originated chiefly with the Carthaginians, who had inherited all the commercial skill and enterprise of their Phoenician forefathers. No longer contented with the trade of Egypt, Phoenicia, the Red sea, Gaul, Spain and Mauritania, and the narrow limits of the Mediterranean, they stood boldly forth beyond the Pillars, hitherto esteemed the ne plus ultra of the earth, and carried their commercial enterprises to the western coasts of Europe and Africa, and even to the British isles. So extended a commerce, and the spirit of monopoly with which it was carried on, led to the creation of powerful armaments; which were also necessary for the protection of the many colonies which Carthage possessed in Spain, Sicily, and elsewhere. The galley was the form of ship used in war by the Carthaginians. Their triremes, as they were called by the Romans, from their having three rows of oars, were usually one hundred feet in length, ten in breadth, and seven in height. This form, long, low, and narrow, though not adapted to encounter a stormy sea, was admirably suited to move rapidly in smooth water; for, whilst the small breadth opposed little resistance in dividing the water, the extreme length made room for many rowers, and gave great impetus to the attacks of the beak. The bow curved upwards, forming a circular beak, which was faced with iron; or else it receded suddenly, having a single sharp point, like a ploughshare, projecting at the surface of the water, and intended to open the side of an antagonist, and cause her destruction. Frequently the beak was formed to represent a lion, tiger, or other ravenous beast calculated to inspire terror It was always surmounted by the national emblem; thus an owl stood on the prow of an Athenian galley; a cock on a Phonician or Carthaginian, and the eagle on a Roman. Here or at the stern were also placed the ensigns and standards, and trumpeters, standing beside them, sounded their shrill blasts to inspire courage at the moment of onset. From the bow to the stern there extended a flooring or deck, which served as a battle-field for the mailed and heavy armed soldiers who fought. The stern was covered with a circular shed or pavilion, richly carved and decorated with streamers and trophies. Under this was placed the tutela, representing some patron deity, to which sacrifices and prayers were offered, and which was held so sacred as to furnish a sanctuary to whoever took refuge there. From this elevated station, too, the commandersurveyed the fight and directed the efforts of his followers. There were two distinct classes of officers and men in each galley. The commander of the soldiers was supreme, and under him the pilot, who took his station abaft, at the side of the steersman, directed all necessary evolutions and manœuvres. was assisted in the command of the sailors by his mate, and by the agitator or encourager of the rowers, whilst a musician marked the measure of the stroke, and, by the harmony of his voice and instrument, inspirited the rowers when weary with toil. As for the rowers themselves, they were placed below deck on rows of benches, ascending above each other diagonally, the bench of one serving The pilot for the footstool of his comrade immediately above and behind him. We read of five benched, eight benched, and even forty benched galleys; but this cannot possibly mean, as many suppose, so many distinct banks of rowers. L'Escallier very reasonably suggests that this enumeration must have applied to the various divisions of rowers, similar to that of the batteries of modern ships; for, in an American first rate, we have ten or more divisions of cannon; and a ten decked ship is no greater absurdity than a galley with ten ranks of rowers. In proof of this, the medals, which in all cases copy the noblest forms, show us no galley of more than three rows; and even in this case, the upper tier must have been very unwieldy, for the length of the oar necessarily increased with each ascending bench. Hence it was not only necessary to place the stoutest and most athletic rowers at the upper oars, but likewise to load the handles of them with lead, in order to counterbalance the great weight without. We have already said that these rowers were distinct from the soldiers who fought, for rowing was esteemed a great drudgery, and was not unfrequently, in ancient as in modern times, the punishment of malefactors, who were chained perpetually to the benches on which they rowed. It was, perhaps, from the infusion of such unamiable materials, that sailors came to be esteemed infamous and wicked wretches, totally destitute of humanity and religion. Galleys were steered with oars run out on the quarters, and managed by men standing near the pilots, and ready to obey their orders. Sails were also used to ease the rowers, and attain a greater velocity, when the wind was fair; both masts and yards were, however, always taken down and stowed out of the way, on the eve of an engagement, and the oars alone used, thus enabling the galley to move and turn without reference to the direction of the wind. These sails were sometimes made of variegated stripes, and we occasionally read of the galley of an emperor or an admiral having sails of purple, embroidered with gold. The body of the vessel was tastefully painted, representing gods, animals, or historic scenes, and sometimes the oarblades were richly gilded. Such were the locomotive means of the galley. Its means of offence consisted in the various weapons and missiles used on land. Javelins and arrows were discharged in showers from the deck, or from turrets at the bow and stern. As a protection from these, a curtain of hides was used, from behind which the soldiers discharged their missiles in return, or thrust with very long spears, used only at sea. In the centre were engines from which rocks were projected of sufficient size to sink a ship; and, as the combatants approached, great masses of iron, from their form called dolphins, were let down from the elevation of the mast-bead, and sometimes passed through the bottom of an adversary, to his inevitable destruction. Battering rams, which were beams pointed with iron, were also suspended from the mast, and forced with destructive effect against the enemy's side. But the great means of annoyance was the attack of the beak; and, in order to make it with complete effect, it was very desirable to gain the wind, so as to bear down upon an adversary with the greatest velocity, demolish his oars, open his side, or even overturn and run down the vessel. Earthen pots of live coals and pitch, and of combustibles ready to combine and burst forth in flames, were either cast from ship to ship, or so suspended over the beak, that when the shock took place they would fall on the deck of the assailed. It is said of Hannibal, an ancestor of the great Hannibal, that he threw, on one occasion, pots containing live snakes upon the enemy's deck, and, as he bad conjectured, filled the crew with horror at so unwonted an attack, and availed him self of their consternation in securing the victory. Fire ships were also used at this early period with destructive effect. The line of battle was usually triangular, the admiral's ship being at the angle in advance, and the line of store-ships forming the base. Before engaging, it was usual for the admiral to pass in a small boat throughout his fleet, haranguing his followers, and urging them to do their duty. Thus inspirited, a shout of anticipated triumph would pass from ship to ship; and when the gilded shield was at length displayed as a signal for battle, the shrill trumpets sent forth their blasts, and the combatants rushed to the encounter, rending the air with shouts and war songs. The battle won, the victors returned to port, towing their prizes, their ships being decorated with fragments of the wrecks, themselves crowned with laurel, and singing pæans to Apollo. The richest of the spoil was reserved as an oblation to the gods, and broken, or even entire galleys were placed in the precincts of the temples. Such was the state of naval warfare, until the Romans, incited by their contest with Carthage for the possession of Sicily, first turned their attention to naval affairs. Such was the invincible daring of this nation, that, having scarce ever dreamed of navigation, they yet resolved to attack the Carthaginians on their own element. At this conjuncture, a Carthaginian cruiser, accidentally stranded on their shores, furnished them with a model. But where should they procure mariners to man their galleys? This difficulty yielded to Roman resolution. Benches were established on the land; the recruits were placed with their oars, as if embarked, and an officer, standing in a conspicuous position, made signs with his hand, to indicate the instant when they should together dip their oars, and then sweep them with a concerted movement of the arms and body. In this way, a sufficient number of men were taught to row, during the construction of the galleys, and a fleet of 120 vessels, with nearly 40,000 oarsmen and soldiers, was equipped for sea. Before sailing, however, to meet the enemy, these hastily manufactured sailors were exercised for some time on board the galleys. After all, it was probable that this fleet was as awkward and unmanageable as might have been expected, and that the consul Duilius, ere he had long been to sea with it, discovered that, though he had copied much from the Carthaginians, there was much still that had escaped him. For we find him soon calling up his ingenuity to devise some means of neutralizing the superior skill and seamanship of the Carthaginians; this he effected by the invention of the corvus. It was a bridge or platform planted at the bow, and which could be turned at pleasure from side to side, or hoisted up to a mast erected for the purpose. At length the two fleets came in sight, and prepared for battle. The Carthaginians, being superior in numbers, and still more so in experience and skill, were filled with contempt at the rude appearance of the Roman galleys, and their more clumsy evolutions. They were certain of victory. Nevertheless, as they approached nearer, the awkward appendage at the bow, which had at first excited ridicule, began to inspire mistrust. This was augmented when they found that the Romans paused not to discharge their missiles, but, receiving those of the Carthaginians, steered boldly on, until each Roman galley had struck an enemy, when the ropes that held the corvus suspended to the mast being loosed, it fell with fatal force upon his deck, crushing those who had collected to defend the entrance. The bars of sharpened iron with which the bottom of the bridge was armed, transfixed the deck, with those who stood in the way, and the two galleys remained firmly grappled. And now the Romans, receiving the enemy's arrows on their shields, raised their war cry, and rushed, sword in hand, to the assault; seamanship and skill were set aside, and courage and personal prowess became the arbiters of the contest. The former confidence of the Carthaginians was only equalled by their present consternation. Great and terrible was the slaughter. Eighty galleys were either taken or destroyed, among them the famous galley of Hannibal, the Carthaginian admiral, which had once belonged to Pyrrhus. The admiral himself narrowly escaped in a small boat. This victory, if we consider the circumstances under which the battle was fought, `is inferior to none in history. It was duly estimated at Rome; the most extraordinary honors were decreed to Duilius, he being the first Roman who enjoyed a naval triumph. A rostral column was also erected to him, upon which were placed the beaks of the Carthaginian galleys. This columna rostrata is still seen and admired in old Rome, where the stranger does not fail to visit it, and where, turning from the humiliating picture of modern degeneracy, he traces with pleasure an inscription which recalls the best days of the republic. From this time until the invention of cannon, naval warfare underwent little variation. The emperors of Constatinople continued to observe the same system of annoyance and defence in their navy, which must have been considerable, as we read of an expedition sent to subdue Crete, consisting of 200 ships and 49,000 men. They wisely reduced the height of their galleys, using none but dromones of two tiers, having in all 100 oars, rowed by as many men. A level platform covered the rowers, upon which the soldiers drew up and fought as upon land. The captain stood at the poop between the two steersmen, whence he directed the efforts of his followers. Thence, too, he discovered and obeyed the signals of his admiral-an invention already introduced to signify orders at a distance. The line of battle was somewhat changed; from a triangle it had become a crescent. The horns pointed rearward, and the admirals stationed in the centre began the attack. The same means of annoyance were still employed: arrows were shot from bows and cross |