The Sun.
London, England, 1849-01-29 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JAN UARY 29, 1849.

throu,h them in one coroinulus line, when entc,ring or
le,vine; th- H.r.,1,

The ticlo-ts. v.ltet, en by the b
posited in boxes kept by the leading men, and the heads
of the different trades to which the men belong, at their
respective working places; and these boxes are not to
be re-•opened until the ten minutes' bell, for dining, or
quitting the yard,has actually begun to ring. The super-
intendent is to take care that the muster galleries are
opened at the same time, and not sooner; so that the
men, having to take up their tickets at the ship's side,
and then to deposit them in the muster galleries, will
not leave the yard before the time intended by the re-
gulations. H. G. WARP.

NO. Y.-SUPERINTENDENCE AND WORKING STRENGTH.
Baring fixed the working strength of the yards, my
Lords have also considered the amount of superinten-
dence, and they see reason to believe that it consider-
ably exceeds the legitimate wants of the service.
The whole of the evidence collected by the committee
of revision proves that a leading man may take charge
of 20 men as easily as 15, which was the number fixed
by the " Dockyard Cirular" of February 27, 1847; and
my Lords are consequently pleased to direct that the
yards shall be new shoaled in March next, and the size
of the gangs increased from 15 to 20, including appren-
tices, 10 men and boys being placed under each leading
man, and three leading men under each inspector.
This will make a reduction of 51 leading men out of
219 now employed in the dockyards; but as men who
have earned their present situation by passing the ex-
amination required cannot be deprived of it without in-
justice, ray Lords desire that, after superannuating such of
the leading men as are no longer fit for active duty, the
intended reduction in the number of the remainder shall
be made by filling one vacancy in two, leaving the extra
leading men, for the time, at the disposal of the master
shipwrights.
At Deptford, where no promotions have been made
under the new system, the reduction will take place im-
mediately, the extra leading men being reduced to their
tools after the yard is re-shoaled, with the promise that
they shall be noted for the first vacancies.
My Lords also consider that the present number of
inspectors is larger than the new distribution of labour
will warrant; and they are, consequently, pleased to re-
duce eleven inspectors—seven of shipwrights, and four
of joiners, as will be shown by the printed forms of the
new establishments.

My Lords are also pleased to reduce eight foremen :
—One at Woolwich, one at Chatham, one at Sheerness,
two at Portsmouth, two at Devonport, and one at Pem-
broke.

The master shipwrights and master shipwrights' as.
sistants remain unaltered. H. G. WARD.

NO. VI.-MORNING MEETING OF OFFICERS.

My Lords, desiring to secure a prompter co-operation
between the different departments of the dockyards, and
to afford to the officers in charge of them more frequent
means of communicating immediately with the superin-
tendent, are pleased to direct that a morning meeting of
all the principal officers be held at 9f A.M. precisely in
each dockyard, where the orders for the day aro to be
read in the presence of the superintendent, or of the
officer next to him in rank.
My Lords desire it to be understood that at this meet-
ing any principal officer may make personally, and pub-
licly, such suggestions to the superintendent as he may
think necessary for the better conducting of his depart-
ment, or for the more prompt execution of the particu-
lar duty assigned to him, which under the present sys-
tem he can only do by a written communication, passing
through the superintendent's clerk; and where two de-
partments are concerned in the same order, the superin-
tendent will have the means of satisfying himself that it
is properly understood by both.
My Lords see reason to believe that many misunder-
standinge and delays will be put an end to by this ar-
rangement; but, in carrying it out, the superintendents
will recollect that their first duty is punctuality, not
merely because the officers should not be kept from their
duties unnecessarily, but because the regularity of their
own attendance will serve as the measure of that of the
dockyard. H. G. Went).

NO. TIL-QUARTERLY MEETIN3 FOR THE DEMAND OF

STORES.

The progressive increase of the vote for stores, which
has risen from 426,9581. in 1835, to 1,694,1521 in 1846 7,
and has averaged 1,524,0321. during the last three years,
has called for the most serious consideration of the Board
of Admiralty.
My Lords are aware that a large proportion of this
increase may be ascribed to the purchase of machinery
for the steam navy, which amounted, in 1846-7, to no
less a sum than 450,0001., and to the growing consump-
tion of coals, which reached 108,1801. in 1847-8. But
they are also convinced that there is room for much
greater economy in the use of stores, and that this will
be best enforced by making the superintendents respon-
sible both for the demand and the expenditure, over
which at present they exercise no direct or personal
control.

The storekeeper of each yard now receives, at the
commencement of every quarter, from the professional
officers, the "demands" for their respective departments,
and calculates his own by the quantities remaining in
store of the principal articles required. But these calcu-
lations are very loosely made. The " demands" are not
formally brought under the notice of the superintendent,
nor does he consider it a part of his duty to ascertain, be-
fore transmitting them to Somerset House, whether there
may not be on hand, " repairable" articles fit to supply
their place.

aMy Lords are, therefore, pleased to direct that the
professional officers shall make their "demands" upon
the storekeeper on the sth day of the first month of each
quarter, and that on the 7th, or on the following day, if
the 7th be a Sunday, the superintendent shall hold an
estimate board, to be attended by all the principal offi-
cers, at which the demands of each department shall be
discussed and settled. The result is to be communicated
at the usual time, and in the ordinary form, to the Store-
keeper-General, who now receives on the 14th, and 21st,
of the first month of each quarter, a return of the quan-
tities of each article in store, and of the probable wants
of each dockyard (Forms No. 162 and No. 163); but
the superintendent is to communicate directly with the
Board of Admiralty, and to state that the demands for
the quarter have been duly considered at the estimate
board, and do not, in his opinion, exceed the legitimate
requirements of the yard.
In those dockyards where there are factories or metal
mills a separate statement of their " demands " is to be
made at the estimate board by the chief engineer, and
not departed from, when sanctioned by the superinten-
dent, with due reference to the work in hand, and to the
probable wants of the ensuing quarter, without the
special sanction of the board. For my Lords ascribe to
the novel, and unforeseen, demands of the factories the
growing
under vote No. 10, upon the standing
7 9 6 .
in " c 8
contracts,wlhe4iBc7sh has risen from 6,3351. in 1846, to
4,,, and to 54 , 0004 in the first six months
of the present financial year.
My Lords are also pleased to direct that, in the super-
intendent's quarterly return, the storekeeper of the yard
shall insert the money value of the stores demanded, as
well as the quantities, so that it may at once appear
whether the demand for the quarter exceed its fair pro-
portion of the Parliamentary vote.
An account of the works in progress,' and of the pro-
bable expenditure upon them, should also be laid before
the superintendent, at the estimate board, by the officer
in charge of works ; and the certificate of the audit of
the wages for the preceding quarter is to be made out,
and transmitted, at the same time; so that each of these
quarterly meetings will present a complete epitome of
the progress and requirements of the yard.
A record, or register of the proceedings of the esti-
mate boards is to be kept by the superintendent's clerk,
and to be submitted to the Board of Admiralty upon its
annual inspection of the dockyards, it being their Lord•
ships' intention to examine closely into the manner in
which these instructions have been carried out.

H. G. WARD.
NO. VIII.-MONTHLY RETURNS OF EXPENDITURE OF