The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-10-03 00:00:00

El2e (stourbribge Obsconr.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER, 8, 1874.

TRAINING FOR THE NAVY.

As the principal arm, either for attack or for
defence possessed by this nation, the state of
Lisa Navy must always be a question of paramount
importance with all classes of our people. How
In man it efficiently has often proved a problem
exceedingly difficult of solutiou: In the excit-
ing naval struggles of past centuries, when
volunteers cause in too slowly to fill up the gaps
made in the ranks by the cannon of the enemy,
the authorities had no hesitation in resorting to
what was called the press-gang. Bands of sturdy
villions roamed about the streets f our towns
after nightfall, kidnapped all the able-bodied
men upon whom they could lay their hands, and
borne them off to a ship of-war without even
giving them the opportunity of communicating
with their relatives. The press•gang, indeed,
became a name of terror in all our populous
places. Nor was this all. British men-of-war
were continually stopping our merchantmen at
sea, and forcibly taking from them all their best
bends. Where households were thus deprived
in a moment of a father or a son, and costly
ships were robbed at sea of their most efficient
men, thus leaving thein at the mercy of the
wind and the waves during' astoran, it is doubtful
whether the pride engendered by our splendid
naval victories effaced the memories of the
wrongs inflicted in order to obtain them. It is
singular to note how a belief in the necessity for
use of the press-gang outlived many another
prejudl .• ; and even his late Majesty, King
William IV., who had received a maritime train-
ing, was known to entertain such a conviction to
the end of his days. Fortunately we have had
no occatilen to call iuto force such an engine of
oppression since the close of the French war
sixty years ago. In the conflict with Russia
when we had to man two large fleets—one for the
Baltic and another for the Black Sea—besides
equipping numerous little flying naval expedtiona
there was not a single pressed man in all the
ranks of the navy. More humane methods had
been called into existence, and instead of the
most gloomy associations, in hundreds of fami-
lies, being connected with the very name of a
vessel-of-war, the navy became a source of just
pride. although its exploits came not up to the
btaudtinl a the fleets which swept the seam in
the days en Blake. Nelson, name, and Coiling
wood. -

One of the agencies for manning '_the navy
which has becu canedinto existence in these later
years is that of training ships. At first the idea
was to rescue young thieves from a life of crime,
but the impression begins to force itself upon the
public mind that training ships might well he
lifted out of the category of Reformatories, sod
placed in that of technical schools Some of
these ships receive only boys who have been
convicted oi sonic offence before a police mac.,s-
trate, and refuse lads who are likely enough to
fall into crime if they are allowed to roam at
large. Now, it is not satisfactory that the
qualification tor admisson should be the com-
mission of a theft—the breach of one of those
commandments sihicli the boy has been taught
from his infancy to hold in reverence. A boy
IC, to fact, tuid in effect—" We cannot take you
because of your honesty ; go and steal sonm
thing and get a kielltll,l of imprisonment and
then you can be adwittril." the boy, perhaps,
takes the hint, courinus a potty robbery, and to
his surprise, it is not dtscovcred. He trb's ag it.
with a anonar re,tt t. IL begins to think tb.d
a life which buds him the means of austename
without work is rather a pleasant one than
otherwise, and so he progresses in the line of
crimitiaiity step by step, until at laid, in some
more than nasally grave offence he is found out
and sentenced ton term of penal servitude. On
his release he finds the training shipinaceessible
on account of his age, and as his only profession
now is thot of a rote, tnere is no help but to
continue in it. Let not our readers imagine
that we are drawing a fancy picture, or painting
a career so improuable as to exist only in is
lively imagination. they will see at a glance
that the system is not a sound one which feeds
the navy by holding out to youthful criminals
advantages which are withheld rroin the children
of respectable mechanics. Let reformatory
schools, as such, continue by all moans; but
they should form but a small proportion of the
bulk of training institutions for sea sarvice.
There are exceptions to the rule we have com-
mented on, and we know of one training ship
accessible only to boys who are untainted with
mime. Bat there is room for many more, and
the sooner they ilre supplied, the better for our
maritime interes7s, for the class sought to be
benefited, and indeed for the people at large.
It is obvious that if this plan were more
extensively adopted, ire ononid, in the course of
time, see a great improvement in the perswinel of
the navy. Our maims would 110 longer be an
ignorant, unscientific body of wee, but a con-
siderable leaven of them would have been

--
specially educated for their duties. A training
L s required for most professions ; why should it
he looked upon as being comparatively unimport-
ant for the navy P lu too many cases our sailors
belong to what is often called the refuse of the
population; hut witn an extended system of
trianing sliii.s there is no reason whatever why
this.shoi,bl be ,o. lf ineaus were found for such

establishments for boys who were ''''''''''''
respectahie, twit could be in4intitineil jointly by
the Education Department, the Navy and the
Mereautiie Marine Fund, for our fleet of our.
ebautoen coedit then also tie supplied with
skilied and etli• :cut Ilion. With a proper s stem
of oliabi,in iilaced on
the sane fooLug +ikhore. Some such
scheme is certainly desirable. NOW that the
Education Act is in force, School Bard fficars
iu ail directions aro gad', I lin; lip the wdifs dud
strays of the streets, and drilling them into the
educational institutions which Parliament has
called into existence. .\ timbers of them are put
to learn tra,..s "'really overstocked, tind in which
• reStrietio,l 4,i t oar, of latiour is relit 'fly
demanded, in rh r that work may he found for
all who enter. Hot 4r.; •.ve. t greatest

otaritime oatiou in tl.e world deiug t keep up
oar supp'F of sesta 1. We are I.v euoug,,l I
filling up thos, hrchch,.,s of tr:de in which
workers in Belgiu;o, rnuy, awl tiwitz._!rlaud
e"geriY compete ~ But we do littlo or
not Hoc• • cm,;;:g youog men to be
excellent seamen, and this to maintain
Orvat Britsiu upon the ores.
all ruts
;y eve .y day that little or no gr.;,.'
C: ho 1114de without education; and tue Uwe
ruo:t c., "hen Eh,: 0ee0,4.y of toore system tie
instruet'on for those who go down to the sea in
ship,' wits he more genorilly re.ognised. If
knowledge is power, the truth of the siying is as
to thy, 051. w,,rk UpOU Cie Isk a, 1119 to
Ike busy host e who labour upon the land.