PARLIAMENTARY COLBERTISM 
Such were the provisions for those who served in the Royal 
Navy, and men in the Merchant Service were not forgotten. 
Attempts were made to give definiteness to the contracts of 
Masters and Seamen?, and a corporation was erected for the 
relief of disabled seamen and of the widows and orphans 
of seamen in the Merchant Service®. During the time of 
Queen Anne special arrangements were made for appren- 
ticing pauper boys to a seafaring life?, and great facilities 
were given for the naturalisation of foreign seamen who 
had served for two years on English ships< 
Public attention was also directed to the dangerous 
mito nature of our coasts, and the authorities of Trinity House 
lr took in hand the erection of a light-house on the Eddystone. 
et A London merchant, named Winstanley, first proved the 
oasis, 2 possibility of the attempt; by unremitting labour he had 
ight- succeeded in erecting the wooden light-house in which he 
souses eventually perished. The expense, however, of replacing this 
building far exceeded the ordinary resources of the brethren 
of Trinity House, and they were empowered to levy 1d. per 
ton on all shipping in order to carry out this work in 1696. 
Their light-house was destroyed by a storm in 1703, and 
resort was had to a similar expedient for its re-erection®. 
In some cases the work of erecting light-houses was under- 
taken by local bodies, or even by private persons, who were 
empowered to receive tolls to maintain the light. The 
first light on the Skerries, near Holyhead, was put up by 
Mr William Trench®; that on the Spurn, at the mouth of 
the Humber, was reconstructed by one of the neighbouring 
proprietors’, though subsequently the matter was taken over 
by Trinity House®. Lights were also erected, and landmarks 
and buoys placed, so as to facilitate navigation to Chester?; 
there were some signs of improvement in the construction of 
lights, especially in a house erected near Ipswich in 1778 
A good deal of care was bestowed on the improvement 
of harbours. Some had been destroyed by the carelessness 
2Q 
c. 26). On complaints of the system in London in 1777, see Parl. Hist. x1x. 1159, 
and xx. 966. 
L 2 Geo. IL c. 36. 2 20 Geo. II. c. 38. 8 2 and 8 Anne, c. 6. 
4 13 Geo. IL. c. 3. 5 Macpherson, o. 682; 4 Anne, c¢. 20; 8 Anne, c. 17. 
3 Ib. 1. 157; 3 Geo. IL. c. 36. 7 6 Geo. III. ¢. 31. 
3 12 Geo. IIL. c. 29. 9 16 Geo. IIT. c. 61. 10 Macpherson. oI. 624.