The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-06-30 00:00:00

PLYMOUTH YARD.

Ss the rowdies Pages endeavourd to
.tztatimilar account of the regulations at dif-
established, for the employment and
vilyttisile a the vatious classes of workmen in His
Wlaksty' mss yard at Plymouth.; and to skew in what
mter those regulatt s hive been carried into ex-
ecution. In the course of the detail we have made
Pub observations, and suggested such alterations
las the circumstances appeared to reqeir?. We pro-
Isir_tatly to add a few general remarks.
- The inegulstities and abuses which we hivs•
pointed out Ingy 'be attributed in a great measure
to innovations in the mode of employing and ing
she workmen, which have taken place 'wits is the
twenty years, and principally duriny the Inc
liaersiditenovations adopted without due consideration,
to an extravagant lenEth, and punned
'without system, or that degree of attention which is
.particularly requisite in all new undertakings, to
prevent mistakes, and COMA such puts as rape-
trienet point out to be defeitive schemes cf
Volk which, perhaps, might have been introduced
-.with advantage part:ally, have been adopted gene-
an employment by the piece or job has been
eitredlod under circutnuances, and in cases where
awl a mode of er.iployment was impraeticable • ir-
•jegaga47 and .inception in tne accounts, and a
• waste of the public money, have been the conse-
nn playing the arifieeti in
fixed rate of daily pay for

ii.

each class, with an addition fur extra time, hat ;ng
been abolished, a payment for wort by the piece
established in its room, and great expectations of
advantage held forth from the change, it might rea-
sonably have been expeded that some pains would
h eve been taken to ascertain, by a comparison of
the eipence and time employed in similar
work, under the old and new system, whether any
real advantage had accrued by the adoption of the
latter, and whether experience mullioned the pre-
ference which had been given to it ; and we appre-
hend, that at the beginning, sus a comparison
rai;fht eavily have been made. We hoped to have
derived information and assistance front some ac-
tual experitnmts and accounts taken with this view,
but in this we were disappointed. The Navy Board
were not in possession of any documents or state-
ments by which such a comparison could be made.
If the system of work by the piece could be fairly
and completely carried into execution in His Ma.
jesty's duck-yards, we might in many instances be
inclined to join with those who give it the preference;
but befinie the question was decided in its favour, it
might have been proper to inquire to what extent
the public service hail suffered under the former
system ; what complaints had been preferyed of the
neglect of duty in the artificers, what means had
been taken to prevent such miscondurft ; and, if the
evil was found really to exist, whether it was or
was not attributable to an inadequate rate of daily
pay, and how far an increase thereof might have
been expeded to effect a cure; or, whether a total
change of system was the only remedy that could be
applied.
Previous to introtlucieg, the new system, it ought
first to have been laid down as a foundation, what, in
the circumstances of the times, was a proper cons.
pensation for the full exertion of an artificer during
such a number of hours as he could continue his daily
labour with efed ; and next, what quantity of work
he was to perform to entitle him to the whole or to
certain proportions of that compensation ; or, in
other words, a table of prices was to be settled for
all kinds of work in small divisions, in order that by
this table of work and prices, the artificer might be
paid, uherher his labour was confined to the usual
hours, or required for extra or additional time. Sup-
pe-,ing the plan to be so far matured, the difficulties
that might be found in carrying it into pradice would
then have claimed attetrtion. and, by experience and
due observance, it might have been determined
whether the system, it generally introduced, would
be likely to be beneralal to the public.
In considering the pradicability of working by the
piece, particularly in job work or repairs, the cir-
cumstances which co:is...awe the difference between
the extensive and various concerns of Elk M qesty's
yards and those of private builders, should have had
their due Weight. It might have been surmised,
that it would be almost impossible to keep faithful
and regular accounts of the various and minute
works to be performed, and the prices to be allowed
for them; that the expence of such accounts
would be great; and that diverting the time and
attention of the officers from the inspection of the
works carrying on, to the duties of the accountant
branch, would be a set ions inconvenience.

Whatever opinions might Informed by individual
members of the Navy Board, from their own obser-
vation or reasonings upon the subjea, it might have
been worth while to have :r. nixed, and to have made
some trial, whether the old system might not have
been pursued with advantage, after some alterations
and corrections: but this course was not punned;
it seems to have been concluded, that little work WAS
done, because more might be produced by greater
encouragement; but whether that encouragement
might not have been given without a change of sys-
tem, appears not to have been originally considered.
It was apparent, that the fixed rates of pay were
ivauEicient ; but no desire was shewn to have them
increased by author::}, in a plain and C.ired way.
'the daily ray of the artificers, when first esta-
blished in the seventeenth century, must have been
very consi.lerable for the times. The settled change
in the expence and mode of had reduced that
pay below what tea:. :.Lc.ssary for their suppoi t, and
had taken away every ohjetion to an increase, at is-
inz from an expeaation of a return to the former
state of things. Wien a rate of pay becomes insuf-
ficient, from cause, of a sudden and extraotdinary
nature, temporary means may be resorte i to ; but
when the cause is permanent, temporary expedients,
so far from being useful, vncrally cod conceding
to impot tunity more than, ifgra v 1 .1 t prayer time,
would have been gratefully received.
When job work was introduced, the rate of work-
ing, or, in other words, the higher; amount of pay to
which the earnings of the men were allowed to ex-
tend, while they worked the common hours of the
yard, was confined to a single day Ind one tide in
*sinter, or 2s. e:4l. and single day and two tides in
summer, !Is. 4d. As job work is said to have been
intended as an employment aßually by the piece, it
must have been considered by the Navy Board, that
if the men exerted thgnselves, and proper prices
were set upon the work by the otEc;!rs, their earnings
would have been equal only to those rates of pay.
On what principle, then, maid the rate of wotbng
have been increased within the same hours, either in
the v•;ster or summer season, and afterwards made
etrnal in both seasons, in wi:ster and summer, when
the numher of hours for which the men could work
in the first, was less titan they could work in the
other?

A!thrriteh '‘ve thirk the general system of job
wr•rk dl suited to th,e various and enensive concerns I
0:: His Majesty's yards, yet We do not mean to assert
that all the abuses which have arisen out of it were'
necessary attendants sir,win :or that more intelli-
rence and attention might not have made the plan
less defeftive, or have prevented many of the abuses.
We have noticed evils of this description, evils not
inherent to the sytern, in the following instances:—
Namely, in a combination of self-interest. which hat
been permitted to exist against the public in all the
-persons who were concerned in die-accounts of job
"work :—ln the manner of taaVeg the accounts,
which have, is most instances, been altogether filii-
tions as to the men employed en the work, and the
time in which it had been executed, and merely
'culated to cover the pay at which the Navy Bo
had set their highest stint of earnings :—ln the allow-
ance of different pricer for siniihtr works at diilerent
cards :—ln requiring more work at one yard than
at another, for the •ame money :—ln the extrava-
' "puce of the pries a:vzie article, iu particular

COURSE OF EXCHANGE, Fotamr, Julia 29

knisterillam .... os o ' u• Venice 57
Diu" it Sight .. 37 4 Naples
Rott:mians C. F.. 11 19 2 U. Lisbiin
!la ••burgh..... 35 11 21U. )owt, 6V
Minna 136 0 VIU. I)ublin
fart.... 45 R Lir.
nno 1 U,...... 25 111 2 U settle*. S. •4.
Itoitudesux .515 16 Portugal Gold its Coto
51,e1-41
Ditto
I
Capps — it. Paper New MAIM% 0 3 1.1
Dorn
!Whoa
Leghorn 4l Agon on the listik of Holland
Ciento& 4l I.i.F.c. 41 per Cent.

Dublin on London (June '22) Ifil 1$

;voice& -
The former mode of e
h
. 'ape IlLijcstry yards-at a
...