"Mostly arr. for voices in four parts, in score. "This book is issued to the Royal Navy in the hope that it will introduce some better songs into the Service" [Preface.]" - By authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.
After centuries of usage Salve Regina and the like had been totally banned and all the old songbooks burned. The place went to crap for a century or so. Enter the Blue Lights.
Big difference between an English Navy and a British Navy.