HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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whose excellencies had been experimentally proved, were still wanting for the com-pletion of that improvement justly considered necessary to ultimate perfection.The ship just mentioned, according to the newly adopted system, led the van, aswell in force as in superiority of construction ; and though somewhat later dates in re-spect to other vessels, included in the subsequent list, may create that idea of ana-chronism already alluded to, yet, as those sentiments which suggested the alterationarose, without exception, on that adoption of principle of which the ship in ques-tion was considered to form the acme, or principal point of perfection, it may beconsidered as extremely proper to introduce into the general scale adopted atthe commencement of the year 1750, some few, which, though long theoreticallyprojected, had not been introduced into practice till after that time.

The history of a science which naturally branches off into a variety of divisions,highly perplexes the describer, who, while he, through forcible compulsion, ad-heres to particular periods, finds a myriad of objections which militate against theadoption of so laudable a principle. Little, or to say the truth, no merit is everto be taken on embracing a system, the success of which has, through the longpractice of it, become manifest and apparent: for though, in former wars,the British navy has, in consequence of the exertions made by the persons em-ployed on board it, been fortunate enough to establish its consequence amongnations, degrading as the assertion may be to the science of this country, it cannotbut be confessed that those successes have, during those contests, been in muchgreater degree owing to the conduct of those persons who were intrusted with themanagement of those vessels, than to any superior quality in the smallest degreeattributable to the vessels themselves.

A remarkable degree of dilatoriness appears to have pervaded the maritime archi-tects to whom that governmental-party, invested with the management of publicaffairs, entrusted the direction of the navy. Ten years, or upwards, were, on manyoccasions, considered as scarcely competent to the construction of a ship of war of thefirst class; although it is very evident, to more modern conceptions, that a ship of the■same force might have been, with the utmost propriety, constructed in one-thirdof that time. The Roval-George with which the series commences, and which,as already remarked, is somewhat extended beyond the natural limits, may be saidto include one particular class only. This ship must continue ever memorablefor the services rendered by her to the country when under the orders of LordHawke; more ( particularly in the glorious encounter and defeat which the count deConflans, at the head of what might be considered the French navy, experiencedoff the island of Belleislc, in 1759.

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