A Short Statement of the Services of Those Naval Officers Who Were Overlooked in the Last Promotion of Admirals; With Observations on the Question a (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1788 edition. Excerpt: ... C $% and forty-four Captains passed a stigma upon them f And yet if the passing by of Captain Balfour, Captain Uvedale, and Captain Thompson fixed a stigma upon them and degraded them, every Captain passed by, of the two hundred and forty-four formerly, and the thirty-fix now, had been equally stigmatized and degraded; an assertion too monstrous and too glaringly absurd for any man in his senses to hazard, Many Osficers might be deemed improper to be made Adr mirals, for want of capacity, and for a variety of other reasons. And want of capacity did not here mean want of fense. They might have very good sense and understanding, and nevertheless be by no means fit for command. The instances of passing over Captains were so frequent, that they occurred in various periods. In 1728, two Admirals were made, and one Captain passed over. At a subsequent period, eight Admirals were made, and seventeen Captains were pasted over. How was the House of Commons, composed as it was, to judge whether Captains were qualified for Admirals f Would they undertake to say they thought from their knowledge of naval subjects, that the Captains Balfour, Thompson, Uvedale, &c. ought to have been made Admirals, and that all the other Captains that had been passed by, ought to have been objected to? The next thing they would have to do, would be to resolve that they were better judges of the Admiralty concerns, than those who had a professional education, Did the taking the ship in Louisbourg harbour, prove that Captain Balfour was as fit as any of those who were made? Was his meritorious conduct; as a private Captain a susficient cause for giving him an Admiral's Flag, whether he was fit or not fer an Admiral's command? Prove by fact and experience only that, but...