The Naval Committee made what probably was its most important report on November 23, when it laid before Congress “a draught of rules for the government of the American navy, and articles to be signed by the officers and men employed in that service.” On the 25th and 28th of November, these were debated by paragraphs and after slight amendment were adopted.[18] The rules, eight or ten pages in length, are brevity itself as compared with the present rules and regulations of the United States navy, which make a book of some six hundred pages. More than one-half of the navy’s first rules are concerned with the feeding, care, rights, duties, and punishments of the ordinary sailor; while the present rules of the American navy in large part apply to officers. A few of the provisions of these old rules are worthy of notice. The commanders of ships of the thirteen united colonies were “to take care that divine service be performed twice a day on board, and a sermon preached on Sundays, unless bad weather or other extraordinary accidents prevent.” Sailors were to be punished for swearing by the wearing of a wooden collar, “or some other shameful badge of distinction.” Sailors were to be put in irons for drunkenness; while officers guilty of the same offense forfeited two days’ pay. The extreme punishment which an officer might inflict on a seaman was “twelve lashes upon his bare back, with a cat of nine tails.” In case a sailor deserved greater punishment, he must be tried by a court-martial, which should consist of “at least three captains and three first lieutenants, with three captains and three first lieutenants of marines, if there shall be so many of the marines then present, and the eldest captain shall preside.” A penal code was established. A court-martial might inflict death for desertion, mutiny, or murder. Rations for the sailors were fixed by these old rules for each day of the week. Saturday’s bill of fare, which consisted of “1 lb. bread, 1 lb. pork, half pint peas, and four ounces cheese,” may be taken as a sample one. Each seaman was given a half-pint of rum a day, with a “discretionary allowance on extra duty, and in time of engagement.” The following provision, for keeping the eatables sweet and palatable, is noted: “The captain is frequently to order the proper officers to inspect the condition of the provisions, and if the bread proves damp, to have it aired upon the quarter deck or poop, and also examine the flesh cask, and if any of the pickle be leaked out, to have new made and put in, and the cask made tight and secure.”