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Sir John Hay of the advantages of the conditions of service under which he had been serving from 1835 to 1866, yet, as he did not obtain his flag till the 6th April, 1866, he has no right to complain of the mode in which this Order in Council was to affect him. This Order in Council stated, that if he continued a Rear-admiral until he was sixty-five years of age he was to be retired; if he obtained his Vice-admiral's flag before that time, he was to be retired as a Vice-admiral when sixty-eight years of age; and if he obtained his Admiral's flag before that date, he was to be retired when seventy, unless before that he obtained the rank of Admiral of the Fleet. As he was only forty-five years of age when he became a flag officer, it was certain that if he lived he must attain the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, the object of ambition of every naval officer.
In June, 1866, he was requested to form one of the Board of Admiralty, and had various responsible duties entrusted to him, such as the armament of the Navy and the conduct of the naval part of the Abyssinian war. Feeling, however, that his superiors might desire him to serve afloat, he proposed to Mr. Corry, then First Lord of the Admiralty, before the general election
- Flag Officers at present on the Active List, who have hoisted their Flags, or been employed at the Admiralty since their promotion to Flag Rank, are to be allowed to retain their places on the Active List, if they should prefer it, but they may bo placed on the Retired List at their own request, with the consent of the Admiralty. Officers coming on the Flag List after this date will be subject to compulsory retirement at the age specified above, whether they have served or not.—Navy List, April, 1870, Appendix, pp. 479-80.
sions, and by retirements from age, whether optional or compulsory. Vacancies from all other causes to be filled up as they occur. Vacancies on the List of Flag Officers on Reserved Half Pay in receipt of Service Pensions, and on the List of Flag Officers of Greenwich Hospital, will not be filled up.
