Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/198

 190 NAVY During the war of 1812 the navy obtained a vast increase of reputation. The superior force of the frigates of 1794 was evinced in their al- most uniform success in action with an enemy hitherto deemed invincible on the ocean. The policy of maintaining an efficient navy was now considered settled; and although, compared with the navies of other nations, that of the United States is very small, the aim has always been to keep pace with the improvements of the day, and to have none but the most effi- cient ships of their class in the service. The navy of the United States still possesses wooden sailing vessels, but it is not probable that any of them will ever go to sea again as cruisers, or in any other capacity, except as practice ships or on some peaceful service. The sailing navy may be considered as out of existence. In the navy of the United States the wooden war steamers were on Jan. 1, 1874, as follows : RANK. Num- ber. AVERAGE. Guns. Tonnage. First rates... Second rates. Third rates 5 31 24 5* 45 20 8 4 3,000 2,200 800 400 1 The wooden sailing vessels at the same date werfe as follows : RANK. Num- ber. AVEBAGE. Guns. Tonnage. Second rates. Third rates.. Fourth rates. 5 10 8 4 15 20 10 2 2,600 1,500 800 600 j First class ... There were also 48 iron-clad vessels and 26 tugs and other small vessels. Admiral Porter in his annual report, Nov. 6, 1874, says that though the ironclads fulfilled in the late civil war the specific purpose for which they were built, none of them can now compete with recently constructed foreign monitors; 20 of them have been condemned, and only 17 are serviceable. Of the wooden ships only 31 can properly be called vessels of war, and a thor- ough rebuilding of ttte navy is recommended, especially of monitors for coast defence. The personnel of the navy, and its annual pay when at sea, were on Jan. 1, 1874, as follows : 1 ad- miral, $13,000 ; 1 vice admiral, $9,000 ; 11 rear admirals, $6,000 ; 25 commodores, $5,000 ; 50 captains, $4,500 ; 90 commanders, $3,500 ; 132 lieutenant commanders, $2,800 to $3,000 ; 236 lieutenants, $2,400 to $2,600; 100 masters, $1,800 to $2,000 ; 35 ensigns, $1,200 to $1,400 ; 103 midshipmen, $1,000; and 235 cadet mid- shipmen at the naval school; $500. There were 150 medical officers of the various grades, 131 paymasters, 211 engineers, 42 cadet engi- neers, 22 chaplains, 12 professors of mathe- matics, 17 naval constructors and assistants, and 7 civil engineers. The warrant officers NAYLOR were 58 boatswains, 64 gunners, 46 carpenters, 40 sailmakers, and 58 masters' mates. On the retired list there were 280 commissioned and warrant officers. In the marine corps there were 92 officers of all grades from brigadier general to second lieutenant on the active list, and 10 commissioned officers on the retired list. The navy is governed under the president by the secretary of the navy. In his depart- ment are eight bureaus which have charge of all the details of administration of the service. Each of these has for its head an officer of the navy of high rank, who serves for four years. JffAXOS, or Naxia, an island of Greece, and the largest of the Cyclades, in the Archipelago, 5 m. E. of Paros ; length about 20 m., greatest breadth 14 m. ; area, about 150 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 11,508; of the eparchy of Naxos, which includes Paros and several smaller islands, 20,582, all members of the Greek church, ex- cept about 400 Roman Catholics. The surface is diversified and picturesque ; the plains and valleys are remarkable for their fertility. In the centre of the island is the mountain an- ciently called Drius, now Zia or Dia, 3,300 ft. high, from which 22 islands and the Asiatic continent are visible. The vine, olives, oranges, iron, marble, &c., are produced, and cjieese, honey, and wax are among the principal ex- ports. ' The wine of Naxos, called Bacchus wine, was celebrated. Naxos formerly fur- nished the bulk of the emery used in trade, the annual production amounting to 2,000 tons. The island contains about 40 villages. Naxos, the capital, is on the W. coast; pop. about 5,000. The streets are narrow, and the for- mer ducal palace is in ruins, but the white houses present a cheerful appearance. It is the seat of a Greek bishop and a Roman Catholic archbishop, and has ten Greek and four Roman Catholic churches, a Lazarist, a Capuchin, and an Ursuline convent, and a cus- tom house. This island in antiquity was some- times called Strongyle from its circular form, sometimes Dionysias from the prevalence there of the worship of Dionysus (Bacchus), and fre- quently Dia in honor of Zeus. It was inhab- ited in early times chiefly by lonians from At- tica. It was conquered by Pisistratus, and in 490 B. C. by the Persians. After the battle of Salamis it regained its independence, but nine years later became a dependency of Athens, and after many vicissitudes of the Roman and then the Byzantine empire. In A. D. 1207 it became the seat of a duchy, comprising several other islands, established by the Venetian Marco Sanudo. In 1566 the island was taken by the Turks, and under Selim II. was ruled by a Jew, Joseph Nasi (the Prince). NAYLOR, James, an English religious enthu- siast, born at Ardsley, Yorkshire, about 1616, died in Huntingdonshire in 1660. In 1642 he took up arms for the parliament. After the overthrow of the royalist party he became a follower of George Fox and an itinerant preacher. He fancied that he was inspired,
 * Second class
 * Three iron vessels.