waters, the total number impressed—­including these latter—­could not have exceeded greatly the figures first given.  We know that owing to the reduction of 1802, as stated by Sir Sydney Smith, the seamen were looking for ships rather than the ships for seamen.  It seems justifiable to infer that the whole number of impressed men on any particular day did not exceed, almost certainly did not amount to, 2000.  If they had been spread over the whole navy they would not have made 2 per cent. of the united complements of the ships; and, as it was, did not equal one-nineteenth of the 39,600 seamen (’blue-jackets’) raised to complete the navy to the establishment sanctioned by Parliament.  A system under which more than 37,000 volunteers come forward to serve and less than 2000 men are obtained by compulsion cannot be properly called compulsory.

The Plymouth reporter of TheNaval_Chronicle_ does not give many details of the volunteering for the navy in 1803, though he alludes to it in fluent terms more than once.  On the 11th October, however, he reports that, ’So many volunteer seamen have arrived here this last week that upwards of L4000 bounty is to be paid them afloat by the Paying Commissioner, Rear-Admiral Dacres.’  At the time the bounty was L2 10s. for an A.B., L1 10s. for an ordinary seaman, and L1 for a landsman.  Taking only L4000 as the full amount paid, and assuming that the three classes were equally represented, three men were obtained for every L5, or 2400 in all, a number raised in about a week, that may be compared with that given as resulting from impressment.  In reality, the number of volunteers must have been larger, because the A.B.’s were fewer than the other classes.

Some people may be astonished because the practice of impressment, which had proved to be so utterly inefficient, was not at once and formally given up.  No astonishment will be felt by those who are conversant with the habits of Government Departments.  In every country public officials evince great and, indeed, almost invincible reluctance to give up anything, whether it be a material object or an administrative process, which they have once possessed or conducted.  One has only to stroll through the arsenals of the world, or glance at the mooring-grounds of the maritime states, to see to what an extent the passion for retaining the obsolete and useless holds dominion over the official mind.  A thing may be known to be valueless—­its retention may be proved to be mischievous—­yet proposals to abandon it will be opposed and defeated.  It is doubtful if any male human being over forty was ever converted to a new faith of any kind.  The public has to wait until the generation of administrative Conservatives has either passed away or been outnumbered by those acquainted only with newer methods.  Then the change is made; the certainty, nevertheless, being that the new men in their turn will resist improvements as obstinately and in exactly the same way as their predecessors.