The illustrious voyager Captain Cook was, I believe, the first who introduced this admirable practice, as may be seen in his Essay on the Method of preserving the health of the crew of the Resolution, printed in the Philosophical Transactions for 1776, vol. lxvi. p. 402. From that masterly paper we discover that many of the most important of our modern improvements in naval discipline are essentially due to the sagacity of that great navigator. Of all officers that ever lived, Captain Cook may be said to have taken the best way of establishing the soundness of his principles—that of invariable practical success—not in one or two situations only, but in the midst of so great a variety of circumstances, that no part of his system remained untried. His plans were found applicable in the coldest regions, when his people were exposed to severe hardships in their attempts to reach the South Pole; and not less so when they became acquainted with the luxurious climate and voluptuous manners of the South Sea Islands. Unfortunately, the science of discipline cannot be reduced to rule and compass, like that of navigation; but a great deal has already been done, and may still be done, to establish some leading principles of this important branch of the profession, round which its numerous details revolve. It appears, however, that much remains to be accomplished towards its improvement. Nor am I aware of any greater benefit that could be conferred upon the Navy, than the composition of a perfectly intelligible, popular treatise on discipline, which should include all that is known, and has actually been tried by the best authorities, together with such examples of the operation of these principles as appear capable of useful application to general practice. Such, however, is the diversity of our nature, that, supposing a work of this kind to be distributed throughout the Navy, and supposing it possible to have it made as complete as the condition of things will allow, there would still remain, I suspect, an ample field for the exercise of any amount of talents and resource on the part of officers. So far, indeed, from such a methodised system acting as any constraint upon the conduct of a judicious officer, the chances are, that he would only derive from it fresh suggestions, or hints, for rendering his discipline still more perfect; while at each fresh increment of knowledge he would be made sensible how much more he had still to learn.