Tames II. granted the Trinity House a fresh charter, the one now in force, in the first year of his reign. It recites the former grant and charter, and declares the body to be a corporation, and that for the future it shall consist of one master, and one deputy master, four wardens, and four deputy wardens, eight assistants, and eight deputy assistants, eighteen elder brethren, and a clerk. The master no minated by the charter was Pepys, then secretary to the admiralty. It determines the mode of election of those officers, their continuance in office, and the mode of removing them from it, if necessary ; and declares that all seamen and mariners belonging to the guild shall be younger brethren. It directs the masters and wardens to examine such boys of Christ's Hospital as shall be willing to become seamen, and to apprentice them to com manders of ships. It also enables them to appoint and license all pilots into and out of the Thames, and prohibits under penalties all other persons from exercis ing that office; it also authorises the cor poration to settle rates of pilotage, &c., to hold courts, &c. to punish seamen, desert ing, &c., and make laws as to their sub ject-matters not inconsistent with the laws of the kingdom. It also contains many pro visions directed to the object of keeping the navigation of the channels secret from foreigners, and renders the officers of the corporation liable to attend when required at the king's bidding. Since that time several acts of parliament have been passed for the purpose of authorising the Trinity House to regulate matters con nected with the pilotage, &c., of vessels.
The various provisions in matters of pilotage under the management of the corporation were repealed by the 6 Geo. IV. c. 125, entitled ' An Act for the Amendment of the Law respecting Pilots and Pilotage, and also for the better Pre. servation of floating Lights, Buoys, and Beacons,' which recites the extent of the jurisdiction of the Trinity House in re gard to pilots to be upon the river Thames, through the North Channel, to or by Orfordness, and round the Long Sand Head, or through the Queen's Channel, the South Channel, or other channels into the Downs, and from and by Orfordness and up the North Channel, and up the rivers Thames and Medway, and the several creeks and channels be longing or running into the same ; and contains a variety of minute regulations respecting the examination, licensing, and employment of pilots, the rates of pilot age, provisions for decayed pilots, the protection of buoys, &c. At present, how ever, besides those under the jurisdiction of the Trinity House and of the lord warden of the Cinque Ports, many inde pendent pilotage establishments exist in various parts of the kingdom ; but the expediency of subjecting all these to the uniform management of the Trinity House has been felt for some time past. The inconvenience resulting from the exercise of similar authorities vested in the hands of different parties had been felt with regard to the lighthouses on the coast, several of which had been vested in pri vate hands by the crown ; while some had been in times past leased out by the corporation itself, the lights in both in stances being found to be conducted pro bably rather with a view to private in terest than public utility. By an Act therefore of the 6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 79, passed "in order to the attainment of uniformity of system in the management of lighthouses, and the reduction and equalization of the tolls payable in re spect thereof," provision was made for vesting all the lighthouses and lights on the coasts of England in the corporation of Trinity House, and placing those of Scotland and Ireland under their super vision. Under this Act all the interest
of the crown in the lighthouses possessed by his Majesty was vested in the cor poration in consideration of 300,0001. allowed to the Commissioners of Crown Land Revenue for the same; and the corporation were empowered to buy up the interests of the various lessees of the crown and of the corporation, as well as to purchase the other lighthouses from the proprietors of them, subject, in case of dispute, to the assessment of a jury. Under this Act purchases have been made by the corporation of the whole of the lighthouses not before possessed by that body, the amount expended for which purpose is near a million of money.
The annual revenue of the corporation is very considerable, and is derived from tolls paid in respect of shipping, which receives benefit from the lights, beacons, and buoys, and from the ballast supplied. The ballast is raised from such parts of the bed of the river as it is expedient to deepen, by machinery attached to vessels, and worked partly by the power of steam and partly by manual labour. The re mainder of the revenue proceeds from lands, stock, &c., held by the corporation, partly by purchase, partly from legacies, &c., and donations of individuals. The whole is employed upon the necessary expenses of the corporation in construct ing and maintaining their lighthouses and lights, beacons and buoys, and the buildings and vessels belonging to the corporation ; in paying the necessary officers of their several establishments, and in providing relief for decayed sea men and ballastmen, their widows, &c. Many almshouses have also at various times been erected, which are maintained from the same funds The present house of the corporation is on Tower Hill ; the Trinity House was formerly in Water Lane, where it was twice destroyed by fire. There are thirty-one Elder Brethren. The Younger Brethren (who are unlimited in number) are or have been commanders of merchant-ships. Neither the honorary members nor the Younger Brethren de rive any pecuniary advantage from their connection with the corporation. King William IV. was master at the time of his accession to the throne. Formerly, according to Stowe, sea-causes were tried by the Brethren, and their opinions were certified to the common-law courts and courts of admiralty, such cases help* re ferred to them for that purpose. This is not the practice at present; but two of the Elder Brethren now sit as assistants to the judge in the court of admiralty in almost all cases where any question upon navigation is likely to arise. The various duties of the corporation are parcelled out among the wardens and different committees appointed for the purpose of discharging the same. One of the most important of these is the Committee of Examiners, before whom all masters of vessels in the navy, as well as pilots, undergo an examination. The deputy master and Elder Brethren are employed on voyages of inspection of their light houses and lights, beacons and buoys, not unfrequently in most trying weather and seasons; and they are also often engaged in making surveys, &c., on the coast, and reports on such matters of maritime cha racter as are referred to them by the government. The sums paid to the de puty-master and Elder Brethren for their services are—to the former 5001. per annum, and 100/. further as the chairman of all committees, and to each of the Elder Brethren 300/. per annum.