The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-08 00:00:00

PROMOTIONS.
But whatever men find their way into the dockyards
as apprentices, or by board order, it is their Lordships'
determination that once there they should learn to look
to themselves alone for promotion. With this view, I
am commanded by their Lordships to desire that, taking
the existing staff of foremen, inspectors, and leading
men, of shipwrights, joiners, caulkers, &c., as the me-
dium through which the change mast be wrought (sub-
ject to certain modifications, which I shall state after-
wards), you will immediately organise a system of
weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports, upon which all
future recommendations are to be founded.
SYSTEM OF WEEKLY AND pIONTIILY RETURNS.
Weekly Returns.—Using the forms that will be trans •
mitted to you for this purpose by the storekeeper-gene-
ral, you will direct each leading man to prepare, in his
own handwriting, a weekly return of the conduct of the
men composing his gang, which he will hand over on the
Monday morning to his inspector, stating in it, on the
one hand, any causes of complaint that he may see rea-
son to make against the men for waste of stores, neglect
of work, insubordination, or insobriety; and on the other,
his opinion of their respective merits.
Inspector's Report to Foreman once a Fortnight.—The
inspector to make these returns once a fortnight to the
foreman of the yard under whom he is more immediately
serving, accompanied by remarks also in his own hand-
writing, and stating whether, in his judgment, the lead-
ing men had done their duty satisfactorily; and the fore-
men whose business it is to make themselves personally
acquainted with the character and conduct of all who
work under them will, in like manner, transmit the
inspector's reports and returns on the Ist of every. month
to the master shipwright, stating how far their own
opinion confirms the character given of the gangs by the
leading men and inspectors.
Both the foremen and inspectors will include in these
returns the single station men placed under their orders,
who, with the artificers, form the class out of which the
leading men are to be selected. Other single station
men are to be reported upon in like manner by the officer
under whose immediate orders they are serving.
Care must be taken not to permit these returns to
lapse into a matter of form. The superior shipwright
officers must investigate them closely at the end of every
month, and the inferior officers and leading men will be
noted at the Admiralty, according to the ability dis-
played in them.
Mode of Recommending for Promotion as Leading
Men.—lt is their Lordships' intention that the weekly
return made originally by the leading man should pass
on to the master shipwright, with the remarks of the
inspectors and foremen attached to it; and whenever a
vacancy for a leading man occurs, the master shipwright,
with his assistants, will lay before the superintendent
the three names which they recommend for promotion,
stating in writing the grounds of their recommendation,
and producing the returns upon which it is founded
It is the duty of the superintendent to investigate closely
these returns and recommendations, and if he see reason
to suppose that they have not been prepared with per-
fect impartiality, to report the same to the Admiralty.
Examination.—He will also direct the candidates to
be examined in his presence by the master shipwright
and his assistants, in those matters which are essential
to the proper performance of their duties ; for my
Lords are convinced that no man can exercise a moral
power over others who is not superior to them in ac-
quirements; and they are consequently most desirous
that officers, e'en of the lowest grad:, should possess a
professional knowledge above that of the workmen.
Qualifications of a Leading Man.—To be a leading
man an artificer should, in addition to a thorough prac-
tical knowledge of his trade, be able to write a legible
hand; he should understand arithmetic, as far as vulgar
and decimal fractions; and he should be well acquainted
with the details of forming and combining the different
parts of a ship, and the various methods used in trim
ming and fastening them. Upon all these points the
superintendent will draw up a report, which he will
transmit to the Admiralty, with the original
documents
annexed to it, submitted to him by the master shipwright,
and having reduced the list of candidates to two, by
omitting the ono he thinks least qualified, one of the
names thus sent up will be appointed by board order to
fill the vacancy.
Promotion from Leading Men to Inspector.—Monthly
Report of Foremen on Conduct of Inspectors and Leading
Men,—My Lords regard it as the peculiar duty of the
master shipwright, his assistants, and the foremen of the
yard, to watch over the conduct of the leading men and
the inspectors, and they desire that on the Ist of every
month the foreman will prepare a report upon the effi-
ciency or inefficiency of the officers serving under them,
which is to be kept in the master shipwrights office,
stating any grounds of complaint that they may
against them, and any particular cause of satisfaction,
such as the increased efficiency of labour, a greater
economy in the use of stores, or any other circum-
stance which they may think conducive to t better
conduct of the work for which they are responsiblehe
.have
Reports of Foremen on Officers to be sent , Quar-
terly to the Admiralty, Originals not Copies.—My
Lords intend to see these reports themselvo, which
are to be sent up quarterly, with the remarks of the
master shipwright attached to them, and the promo-
tion of foreman to the rank of master-shipwrlght's
assistants will depend very much upon the impression
thus given to their intelligence and capacity.
Mode of Recommending for an Inspectorship.—When a
vacancy for an inspector occurs, the master shipwr
m ouightld
will select from the leading men, and from the
loft, the names of the individuals whom he thinks most
competent to fill it, and submit them to the superintendent
with the reports of the foreman, upon which his redditio n tcom-
mendation is founded. The superintendent, in ao
these, will call for the reports made by the inspectors to the
foremen, and pay particular attention to the returns pre-
pared by the leading men, as well as the qualifications
of the draughtsmen who are put in nomination, as
these ought to furnish proof of their zeal and intelligence
as subordinates; and having satisfied his own mind as to
the fitness of the individuals submitted to him for the
office of inspector, and as to the fairness with which they
have been selected, he will, as in the case of the leading
men, direct them to be examined, in his presence, by the
master shipwright and his assistants.
Qualification of an Inspector.—To be an inspector a
man should write well; he should understand arithmetic
as far as vulgar and decimal fractions, and be able to
understand laying off ships on the mould floor, and the
measure plane surfaces and cubes. He should likewise
details of forming and combining the different parts of
ships, the various modes of fastening them, and the cor-
rect method of taking account of work.
Report of Superintendent.—The superintendent will
advert to all these points in his report, stating his own
opinion of the capacity of the candidates; and having
reduced the number to two by striking off the name of
that candidate whom he thinks least qualified. One of
the two names thus sent up will be selected to fill the
vacancy.
Pay and Duties of Inspecters.—My Lords having
taken into consideration the case of the inspectors, are
of opinion that they. have a just ground of complaint in
increased
the smallness of their salary, and hi the slowness and
uncertainty of their promotion. They wish to see their
inspectors take their proper place, as a class of intelli-
gent and independent officers, upon whose exertion the
discipline of the yard mainly depends, and who have it
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Increase of Salary for Year beginning April 1, 1847.
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