Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/435

 Ch. 13. of mariners being arreted and retained for the king's ervice, as of a thing well known, and practied without dipute; and provides a remedy againt their running away. By a later tatute, if any waterman, who ues the river Thames, hall hide himelf during the execution of any commiion of preing for the king's ervice, he is liable to heavy penalties. By another, no fiherman hall be taken by the queen's commiion to erve as a mariner; but the commiion hall be firt brought to two jutices of the peace, inhabiting near the ea coat where the mariners are to be taken, to the intent that the jutices may chue out and return uch a number of ablebodied men, as in the commiion are contained, to erve her majety. And, by others, epecial protections are allowed to eamen in particular circumtances, to prevent them from being impreed. All which do mot evidently imply a power of impreing to reide omewhere; and, if any where, it mut from the pirit of our contitution, as well as from the frequent mention of the king's commiion, reide in the crown alone.

, beides this method of impreing, (which is only defenible from public neceity, to which all private coniderations mut give way) there are other ways that tend to the increae of eamen, and manning the royal navy. Parihes may bind out poor boys apprentices to maters of merchantmen, who hall be protected from impreing for the firt three years; and if they are impreed afterwards, the maters hall be allowed their wages : great advantages in point of wages are given to volunteer eamen in order to induce them to enter into his majety's ervice : and every foreign eaman, who during a war hall erve two years in any man of war, merchantman, or privateer, is naturalized ipo facto. About the middle of king William's reign, a cheme was et on foot for a regiter of eamen to the number of thirty Rh