Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/459

NAVY ever again sailing under the American flag. If an American vessel makes any repairs in a foreign port, duty must be paid on the value of all such repairs on her return to this country. The repairing of foreign vessels in our ports, with foreign materials, is placed under restriction. A tax of six cents per ton of their burden, called a tonnage tax, is imposed on all vessels (except fishing and pleasure vessels) engaged in trade to ports not in North or Central America and a few other specified places, the maximum aggregate tax in any one year not exceeding 30 cents. Foreign vessels pay the same tax, but if one of the officers of an American vessel is a foreigner, it is forced to pay an additional tax of 50 cents. Materials for the construction of vessels for foreign trade may be imported free of duty, but the duty must be paid if the vessel engages for more than two months a year in the coasting trade. American vessels may unload at any port of delivery in the customs district, but foreign vessels can only discharge their cargoes at a port of entry, which is a certain designated port in each customs district in the United States. Exceptions are made when they are laden with coal, salt, or similar merchandise in bulk.   ISLANDS. See.  NAVY, THE, a term used for a country's armed force operating on water or in defense of coasts and harbors. The earliest recorded sea-fights were waged by the Egyptians against the Phoenicians, Phocæans, and Mysians, about 3000 The Phœnicians, among the greatest sea-faring people of antiquity, occupied a narrow strip of sea-coast in Asia Minor. After casting off the yoke of Egyptian rule, from 1200 to 870, the Phœnicians commanded the sea, but their power waned between 870 and 650 , and Carthage, a Phœnician colony, gradually surpassed the parent state in sea-power. One of the earliest recorded sea-fights was the battle of Salamis, 480, when the Greeks under Themistocles defeated the fleet of Xerxes, which marked the turning point in the last Persian invasion. A Carthaginian vessel wrecked on the coast of Italy supplied the Romans with the model for their navy. The first great naval battle of the Romans was fought 260 off the Lipari Islands when Duilius defeated a superior Carthaginian fleet under Hannibal.

The galley, the warship of the Greeks, was about 100 feet long and propelled by rowers, having an iron-sheathed prow like a beak, to pierce enemy vessels. It was surmounted by the national emblem, an owl for the Athenians, a cock for the Phœnicians and Carthaginians, and an eagle for the Romans. The galley was decked over for the fighting men who were shielded by a hide curtain, from behind which they launched arrows and javelins. There were machines for hurling stones, masses of iron, and flaming missiles. The commander directed operations from an elevated station. He commanded the soldiers, and under him were the pilot who directed the steersman; a mate who commanded the sailors, and a boatswain the rowers. A musician with voice and instrument cheered and inspired the oarsmen at their task. The vessels usually advanced in triangular formation, the admiral in the lead. After victory, the richest spoils were reserved as oblations to the gods. In the beginning of the Middle Ages, the countries bordering on the Baltic and North Seas, famous sea-rovers, began to organize navies. Tales of the sea-fights in those days are so colored by fable as to be unreliable. There exists an 