COMPASSIONATE ALLOWANCES. Grants are made on the compassionate fund to
the legitimate children of deceased officers, on its being shown to the
Admiralty that they deserve them.
COMPASS-SAW. A narrow saw, which, inserted in a hole bored by a
centre-bit, follows out required curves.
COMPASS-TIMBERS. Such as are curved, crooked, or arched, for
ship-building.
COMPENSATION. If a detained vessel is lost by the negligence and
misconduct of the prize-master, compensation must be rendered, and the
actual captors are responsible. The principal being answerable in law
for the agent's acts.
COMPENSATOR OF THE COMPASS. _See_ MAGNETIC COMPENSATOR.
COMPLAIN, TO. The creaking of masts, or timbers, when over-pressed,
without any apparent external defect. One man threatening to complain of
another, is saying that he will report misconduct to the officer in
charge of the quarter-deck.
COMPLEMENT. The proper number of men employed in any ship, either for
navigation or battle. In navigation the complement of the course is what
it wants of eight points; of latitude, what it is short of 90 deg.
(_See_ CO-LATITUDE.)
COMPLEMENT OF LONGITUDE. _See_ SUPPLEMENT OF LONGITUDE.
COMPLETE BOOK. A book which contains the names and particulars of every
person borne for wages on board, as age, place of birth, rating, times
of entry and discharge, &c.
COMPLIMENT, TO. To render naval or military honour where due.
COMPO. The monthly portion of wages paid to the ship's company.
COMPOSITION NAILS. Those which are made of mixed metal, and which, being
largely used for nailing on copper sheathing, are erroneously called
_copper nails_.
COMPOUND. A term used in India for a lawn garden, or inclosed ground
round a house.
COMPRADOR [Sp]. A Chinese contractor in shipping concerns, or in
purchasing present supplies.
COMPRESS. A pad of soft linen used by the surgeon for the dressing of a
wound.
COMPRESSION OF THE POLES. The amount of flattening at the polar regions
of a planet, by which the polar diameter is less than the equatorial.
COMPRESSOR. A mechanism generally adopted afloat for facilitating the
working of the large guns recently introduced; the gun-carriage is thus
compressed to its slide or platform during the recoil, and set free
again by the turn of a handle for running up. It is of various forms;
one of the simpler kind used to be always applied to carronade slides.
COMPRESSOR-STOPPER. A contrivance for holding the chain-cable by
compression.
COMPROMISE. The mutual agreement of a party or parties at difference, to
refer to arbitration, or make an end of the matter.
COMPTROLLER OF THE CUSTOMS. The officer who controls and has a check on
the collectors of customs. (_See_ CONTROLLER.)
COMPTROLLER OF THE NAVY. Formerly the chief commissioner of the navy
board, at which he presided.
COMRADE. A barrack term for a fellow-soldier, serving in the same
company.
CONCEALMENT, OR SUPPRESSIO VERI. Consists in the suppression of any fact
or circumstance as to the state of the ship, the nature of her employ,
and the time of sailing or expected arrival, material to the risk of
insurance, and is fatal to the insured. But it is held immaterial to
disclose the secret destination of privateers, the usages of trade, or
matters equally open to both parties.
CONCENTRATED FIRE. The bringing the whole or several guns to bear on a
single point.
CONCH. A large univalve, used as a horn by pilots, fishermen, &c., in
fogs: a _strombus_, _triton_, or sometimes a _murex_.
CONCHS. A name for the wreckers of the Bahama reefs, in allusion to the
shells on those shores. Though plunder is their object, the _Conchs_ are
very serviceable to humanity, and evince both courage and address in
saving the lives of the wrecked.
CONCLUDING-LINE. A small rope hitched to the middle of the steps of the
stern-ladders. Also, a small line leading through the centre of the
steps of a Jacob's ladder.
CONDEMNATION. A captured ship declared by sentence of the admiralty
court to be lawful prize. But the transfer of a prize vessel carried
into a neutral port, and sold without a condemnation, or the authority
of any judicial proceedings, is null and void.
CONDEMNED. Unserviceable, as bad provisions, old stores, &c.
CONDENSER. The chamber of a marine engine, where the steam, after having
performed its duty, is instantly reduced to water. Sailing ships
frequently carry condensers, for the purpose of making fresh from salt
water.
CONDER. A watcher of fishes, the same as balker, huer, and olpis. See
statute (1 Jac. cap. 23) relating to his employment, which was to give
notice to the fishermen from an eminence which way the herring shoals
were going.
CONDITIONS. The terms of surrender.
CONDUCT-LIST. A roll to accompany the tickets of all persons sent to a
hospital for medical treatment; it details their names, numbers on the
ship's books, the date of their being sent, and the nature of their
ailment.
CONDUCT-MONEY. A sum advanced to defray the travelling expenses of
volunteers, and of soldiers and sailors to their quarters and ships.
(_See_ SAFE-CONDUCT.)
CONDUCTOR. A thick metal wire, generally of copper, extending from above
the main truck downwards into the water, or in the form of a chain with
long links. Its use is to defend the ship from the effects of lightning,
by conveying the electric fluid into the sea.
CONE. A solid figure having a circle for its base, and produced by the
entire revolution of a right-angled triangle about its perpendicular
side, which is termed the axis of the cone.
CONE-BUOY. _See_ CAN-BUOYS.
CONEY-FISH. A name of the burbot.
CONFIGURATION. The relative positions of celestial bodies, as for
instance those of Jupiter's satellites, with respect to the primary at
any one time.
CONFINEMENT. Inflicted restraint; an arrest.
CONFIRMED RANK. When an officer is placed in a vacancy by "acting
order," he only holds temporary rank until "confirmed" therein by the
Admiralty. An acting order given by competent authority is not disturbed
by any casual superior.
CONFLICT. An indecisive action.
CONFLUENTS. Those streams which join and flow together. The confluence
is the point of junction of an affluent river with its recipient.
CONGER. A large species of sea-eel, furnishing a somewhat vile viand,
but eatable when strongly curried. Not at all despised by the people of
Cornwall in "fishy pie."
CONGREVE-ROCKET. A very powerful form of rocket, invented by the late
Sir William Congreve, R.A., and intended to do the work of artillery
without the inconvenience of its weight. In its present form, however,
the rocket is so uncertain, that it is in little favour save for
exceptional occasions.
CONICAL TOPS OF MOUNTAINS not unfrequently indicate their nature: the
truncated sugar-loaf form is generally assumed by volcanoes, though the
same is occasionally met with in other mountains.
CONIC SECTIONS. The curved lines and plane figures which are produced by
the intersection of a plane with a cone.
CONJEE. Gruel made of rice.
CONJUGATE AXIS. The secondary diameter of an ellipse, perpendicular to
the transverse axis.
CONJUNCTION, in nautical astronomy, is when two bodies have the same
longitude or right ascension.
CONN, CON, OR CUN, as pronounced by seamen. This word is derived from
the Anglo-Saxon _conne_, _connan_, to know, or be skilful. The pilot of
old was skillful, and later the master was selected to conn the ship in
action, that is, direct the helmsman. The quarter-master during ordinary
watches conns the ship, and stands beside the wheel at the conn, unless
close-hauled, when his station is at the weather-side, where he can see
the weather-leeches of the sails.
CONNECTING-ROD. In the marine engine, the part which connects the
side-levers and the crank together.
CONNINGS. Reckonings.
CONQUER, TO. To overcome decidedly.
CONSCRIPTION. Not only furnishes conscripts for the French army, but
also levies a number of men who are compelled to serve afloat.
CONSECRATION OF COLOURS. A rite practised in the army, but not in the
navy.
CONSIGN, TO. To send a consignment of goods to an agent or factor for
sale or disposal.
CONSIGNEE. The party to whose care a ship or a consignment of goods is
intrusted.
CONSIGNMENT. Goods assigned from beyond sea, or elsewhere, to a factor.
CONSOLE-BRACKET. A light piece of ornament at the fore-part of the
quarter-gallery, otherwise called a _canting-livre_.
CONSORT. Any vessel keeping company with another.--_In consort_, ships
sailing together in partnership.
CONSORTSHIP. The practice of two or more ships agreeing to join in
adventure, under which a strict division of all prizes must be made.
(_See_ TON FOR TON.)
CONSTRUCTION. In naval architecture, is to give the ship such a form as
may be most suitable for the service for which she is designed. In
navigation, it is the method of ascertaining a ship's course by
trigonometrical diagrams. (_See_ INSPECTION.)
CONSTRUCTIVE TOTAL LOSS. When the repair of damage sustained by the
perils of the sea would cost more than the ship would be worth after
being repaired.
CONSUL. An officer established by a commission from the crown, in all
foreign countries of any considerable trade, to facilitate business, and
represent the merchants of his nation. They take rank with captains, but
are to wait on them if a boat be sent. Commanders wait on consuls, but
vice-consuls wait on commanders (_in Etiquette_). Ministers and _charges
d'affaires_ retire in case of hostilities, but consuls are permitted to
remain to watch the interests of their countrymen. When commerce began
to flourish in modern Europe, occasion soon arose for the institution
of a kind of court-merchant, to determine commercial affairs in a
summary way. Their authority depends very much on their commission, and
on the words of the treaty on which it is founded. The consuls are to
take care of the affairs of the trade, and of the rights, interests, and
privileges of their countrymen in foreign ports. Not being public
ministers, they are liable to the _lex loci_ both civil and criminal,
and their exemption from certain taxes depends upon treaty and custom.
CONTACT. Brought in contact with, as touching the sides of a ship. In
astronomy, bringing a reflected body, as the sun, in contact with the
moon or with a star. (_See_ LUNAR DISTANCES, SEXTANT, &c.)
CONTENTS. A document which the master of a merchantman must deliver to
the custom-house searcher, before he can clear outwards; it describes
the vessel's destination, cargo, and all necessary particulars.
CONTINENT. In geography, a large extent of land which is not entirely
surrounded by water, or separated from other lands by the sea, as
Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is also used in contradistinction to
_island_, though America seems insulated.
CONTINGENT. The quota of armed men, or pecuniary subsidy, which one
state gives to another. Also, certain allowances made to commanding
officers to defray necessary expenses.
CONTINUED LINES. In field-works, means a succession of fronts without
any interruption, save the necessary passages; differing thus from
_interrupted lines_.
CONTINUOUS SERVICE MEN. Those seamen who, having entered for a period,
on being paid off, are permitted to have leave, and return to the
flag-ship at the port for general service.
CONT-LINE. The space between the bilges of two casks stowed side by
side.
CONTOUR. The sweep of a ship's shape.
CONTRABAND. The ship is involved in the legal fate of the cargo; the
master should therefore be careful not to take any goods on board
without all custom-house duties being paid up, and see that they be not
prohibited by parliament or public proclamation. Contraband is simply
defined, "merchandise forbidden by the law of nations to be supplied to
an enemy;" but it affords fat dodges to the admiralty court sharks.
CONTRABAND OF WAR. Arms, ammunition, and all stores which may aid
hostilities; masts, ship-timber going to an enemy's port, hemp,
provisions, and even money under stipulations, pitch and tar,
sail-cloth. They must, however, be taken _in delicto_, in the actual
prosecution of a voyage to the enemy's port.
CONTRACT OF AFFREIGHTMENT. The agreement for the letting to freight the
whole or any part of a vessel for one or more voyages; the
_charter-party_.
CONTRACT TICKET. A printed form of agreement with every passenger in a
passenger-ship, prescribed by the legislature.
CONTRARY. The wind when opposed to a vessel's course.
"Cruel was the stately ship that bore her love from Mary,
And cruel was the fair wind that wouldn't blow contrary."
CONTRAVALLATION, LINES OF. Continuous lines of intrenchment round the
besieged fortress, and fronting towards it, to guard against any sorties
from the place. (_See_ CIRCUMVALLATION.)
CONTRIBUTION. Money paid in order to save a place from being plundered
by a hostile force. (_See_ RANSOM.) Also, a sum raised among merchants,
where goods have been thrown overboard in stress of weather, towards the
loss of the owners thereof.
CONTROLLER. Differs from _comptroller_, which applies chiefly to the
duties of an _accompt_. But the controller of the navy controls naval
matters in ship-building, fitting, &c. There is also the controller of
victualling, and the controller-general of the coast-guard.
CONTUMACY. The not appearing to the three calls of the admiralty court,
after the allegation has been presented to the judge, with a schedule of
expenses to be taxed, and an oath of their necessity.
CONVALESCENT. Those men who are recovering health, but not sufficiently
recovered to perform their duties, are reported by the surgeon
"convalescent." Convalescents are _amused_ by picking oakum!
CONVENIENT PORT. A general law-term in cases of capture, within a
certain latitude of discretion; a place where a vessel can lie in
safety, and holding ready communication with the tribunals which have to
decide the question of capture.
CONVENTION. An agreement made between hostile troops, for the evacuation
of a post, or the suspension of hostilities.
CONVERGENT. In geography, a stream which comes into another stream, but
whose course is unknown, is simply a convergent.
CONVERSION. Reducing a vessel by a deck, thereby converting a
line-of-battle ship into a frigate, or a crank three-decker into a good
two-decker; or a serviceable vessel into a hulk, resembling a prison or
dungeon, internally and externally, as much as possible.
CONVERSION OF STORES. Adapting the sails, ropes, or timbers from one
purpose to another, with the least possible waste.
CONVEXITY. The curved limb of the moon; an outward curve.
CONVICT-SHIP. A vessel appropriated to the convicts of a dockyard; also
one hired to carry out convicts to their destination.
CONVOY. A fleet of merchant ships similarly bound, protected by an armed
force. Also, the ship or ships appointed to conduct and defend them on
their passage. Also, a guard of troops to escort a supply of stores to a
detached force.
CONVOY-INSTRUCTIONS. The printed regulations supplied by the senior
officer to each ship of the convoy.
CONVOY-LIST. A return of the merchantmen placed under the protection of
men-of-war, for safe conduct to their destination.
COOK. A man of each mess who is caterer for the day, and answerable
too, wherefore he is allowed the surplus grog, termed _plush_ (which
see). The cook, _par excellence_, in the navy, was a man of importance,
responsible for the proper cooking of the food, yet not overboiling the
meat to extract the fat--his perquisite. The coppers were closely
inspected daily by the captain, and if they soiled a cambric
handkerchief the cook's allowance was stopped. Now, the ship's cook is a
first-class petty officer, and cannot be punished as heretofore. In a
merchantman the cook is, _ex officio_, the hero of the fore-sheet, as
the steward is of the main one.
COOKING A DAY'S WORK. To save the officer in charge. Reckoning too is
cooked, as in a certain Antarctic discovery of land, which James Ross
afterwards sailed over.
COOK-ROOM, OR COOK-HOUSE. The galley or caboose containing the cooking
apparatus, and where victuals are dressed.
COOLIE, COULEY, KOULI, OR CHULIAH. A person who carries a load; a porter
or day-labourer in India and China.
COOMB. The Anglo-Saxon _comb_; a low place inclosed with hills; a
valley. (_See_ CWM.)