27, it was revived for a short time in the person of His Royal
Highness the Duke of Clarence.

The epithet of _admiral_ was also formerly applied to any large or
leading ship, without reference to flag; and is still used for the
principal vessel in the cod and whale fisheries. That which arrives
first in any port of Newfoundland retains this title during the season,
with certain rights of beach in flakes. The master of the second ship
becomes the vice-admiral, and the master of the third the rear-admiral.

ADMIRAL. A beautiful and rare shell of the genus _Conus_; the varieties
are designated the grand-admiral, the vice-admiral, the orange-admiral,
and the extra-admiral.

ADMIRALTY. An office for the administration of naval affairs, presided
over by a lord high-admiral, whether the duty be discharged by one
person, or by commissioners under the royal patent, who are styled
lords, and during our former wars generally consisted of seven. The
present constitution of the Board of Admiralty comprises--the first
lord, a minister and civilian as to office; four naval lords; one civil
lord attending to accounts, &c.; one chief secretary; one second
secretary. Two lords and one secretary form a legal Board of Admiralty
wherever they may be assembled, under the authority of the board or its
chief.

ADMIRALTY BLACK-BOOK. _See_ BLACK-BOOK.

ADMIRALTY COURT. The constitution of this court relatively to the
legislative power of the king in council, is analogous to that of the
courts of common law relatively to the parliament of the kingdom.--_High
Court of Admiralty_, a supreme court of law, in which the authority of
the lord high-admiral is ostensibly exercised in his _judicial_ capacity
for the trial of maritime causes of a civil nature. Although termed the
High Court of Admiralty, more properly this is the Court of
Vice-Admiralty, and relates solely to civil and military matters of the
sea, and sea boundaries, prizes, collisions, vessels or goods cast on
the shore where the vice-admirals have civil jurisdiction, but no naval
power, as the lord-lieutenants of counties are named in their patents
"vice-admirals of the same;" in like manner all governors of colonies.
All cases in connection are tried by the Admiralty Court in London, or
by our "courts of vice-admiralty and prize jurisdictions abroad."
Admirable as some of the decisions of this expensive tribunal have been,
it has all the powers of the Inquisition in its practice,