The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-22 00:00:00

THE DOCKYARDS.

Doclyard and Steam Factory Labour Charts
have ust been issued for 1862-3, arid for nine
months to the 31st of December, 1863. The Ac-
countait-General of the Navy reports that these
are the first accounts of this description which have
been prepared, and then proceeds, as follows, to state
the principles and data upon which they have been
made cut :

" Under each dockyard and steam factory are
exhibited the various services upon which the work-
men hove been employed, grouped under several
genera. heads, so as in the main sufficiently to illus-
trate the character and extent of the works upon
which they have been engaged. The several grades
of workmen so employed are likewise shown against
the ships and services, together with the wages paid
to and the time worked by each grade, the latter
being worked out with reference to the number of
men employed for the whole period of the account.

" Tie net value of materials issued to and returned
from the several ships and services is likewise given,
" At the end of each dockyard and factory a
tabular statement is appended, showing the per
centap of the number of men employed and of
wages paid upon each of the general services, as
compared with the total number of men employed
and tctal amount of wages paid at each yard.
" Under the column of Remarks,' the profes-
sional officers of each yard have inserted brief gene-
ral observations, descriptive of the character of the
particular works for which the charges have been
incurred.

"'lle amounts included for wages and materials
in the accounts of each dockyard and steam factory
are certified by the Admiralty audit clerks as agree-
ing with the final classified charges for such expen-
diture in the dockyard expense accounts, Nos. 88
and 89, for the same period, and the amount paid
for wages agrees with that taken credit for in the
finance accounts for the period.
"In the Appendix No. 1 attached to these ac-
counts are given detailed particulars of the several
amounts paid to the workmen landing, receiving,
issuing and shipping stores, as well as those for
landing, receiving, removing, &c., timber, in expla-
nation of the total charges for these miscellaneous
services.

" In Appendix N 0.2 is shown the labour expended
in each of the workshops and at the saw-pits and
saw-mills under each dockyard for manufactures
and conversions of timber, in order to indicate the
amount of labour expended upon each of these
operations, the results of which constitute the sub-
sequent issues to and charges against ships.
"A description is likewise given of the charges
which constitute the cost of labour under General
Expenditure' in the several workshops at the dif-
ferent yards.
" Prefixed to the accounts and statements before
referred to are general abstracts, showing in debter
and creditor form under the several heads of service,
and at the different yards and factories, the total
amount of wages paid and materials charged, and
under each service the average percentage of men
working and of wages earned on account of such
service, with reference to the total number of men
employed and total amount of wages paid at the
several dockyards and steam factories. A further
abstract is also attached indicating similar results
under each of the heads of service at each of the
dockyards and factories."
The amount paid for labour in the dockyards in
the year to the 31st of March, 1863, is £875,995,
and this represents the employment for the year of
14,414 workmen, with a fraction of 143 k days for
one msn. The net value of the materials consumed
upon these several operations is £1,753,874. The
percentages of the total number of men employed
and of wages paid upon the several operations are
as follows :

Per Cent.

Men. Wages,
New work, Head No. 1 .. 21 .. 211
Repairing, fitting, and maintenance of fleet,
Heads 2 and 3 .. 251 261

Yard craft, Head 4 .. .. 2i .. 25
Harbour service, Head 6 .. 211 .. 21
Manufactures and conversions, Head 7 29a .. 28
Other departments, Head 5 .. . , • .

Similar results are worked out with regard to the
services upon which the workmen of the several
steam factories in the dockyards have been em-
ployed. Only the abstracts for nine months to the
31st of December, 1863, are as yet printed, but it is
of no small importance that, before the discussing
the Navy Estimates of next year, the House of
Commons should have before them accounts of the
expenditure upon ships building and repairing up
to so recent a period, and thus ba put in possession
of the state of things up to the latest time, and so
be enabled to form a more practical opinion of
of future requirements.