The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-28 00:00:00

Another was that at all the great commercial ports training
Ships should be placed for boys, some of whom should af-
terwards enter the navy, and others of them be at
liberty to join the merchant service. When the Admiralty
came to consider those two suggestions it ap-
peared to them that they would have to do something more
than place a vessel at each of the large ports—that they
would have to attach to each of those vessels
a d
na small brig
have
or yacht in which the lads should go to sea,
opportunities for practice in seamanship. U
cir-
cumstances he had thought it would be welltonr thea
pdea
use before
they adopted in the large commercial ports a system of
training schools such as had been recommended. But, in
the meantime, he had thought it desirable to try the ex-
periment on a different scale—namely, to have training
ships stationed at Portsmouth and Plymouth for boysummer
s, with
small vessels attached, so that during the whole
the lads might be going out to sea, and rendering themselves
really efficient seamen. He believed that would be the right
course to adopt as a commencement, and the Admiralty had
accordingly decided on giving practical effect to it. Another
recommendation of the manning commission related to sea-
men gunners. and certainly nothing was more important
than good naval gunnery. The Admiralty had made ar-
eamgementa for giving increased pay to seamen gunners,
had appointed gunnery lieutenants and instructors of gun-
nery, so that they had done everything they could to give
effect to the recommendations of the commission. The com-
missioners had reported that the supply of provisions to the
seamen was too small, and the Admiralty, acting upon the
suggestion, had increased the quantity issued to the men.
Free grants of bedding and clothing were now also given,
the practise having been begun by the late Board of Admi-
ralty, in accordauee with the recommendations of the com-
mission. With respect to the suggestion that the seamen
should be paid at shorter intervals, that question required
some consideration, which it was now receiving ; but all
these men who had entered the service during the present
year had received the bounty, which, perhaps met the views
of the commissioners, that an allowance should be given to
the men at a time when they most required it. With re-
spect to warrant officers the commissioners recommended
that certain alterations should be made, and that pensions
should be granted to their widows. The Admiralty thought
the propositions were just, and had acted upon them. So
also with respect to petty officers,—they were to receive an
allowance upon being promoted. The number of marines
had been increased by 2,000 men last year, and by 1,000 this
year, thus raising the force from 15,000 to 18,000. It war
not desirable to increase the force too rapidly, because of the
difficulty of drilling a large number of recruits. He next came
to the coastguard, the importance of which force he fully ad-
mitted. That force had been increased this year by 500
seamen, and the number of seamen would be continually
increased as the landsmen serving in that body were pen-
sioned off. He had next to refer to the great question of a
naval reserve. That reserve at present consisted of the
coastguard, of the Royal Navy Coast Volunteers, and the
new reserve force created last summer. There were at pre-
sent in the coastguard serving on shore only about 3,200
seamen. In the district coastguard ships about 1,800 more,
making a total of 5,000 seamen fit for service at sea. In the
Royal Naval Coast Volunteers there were of men who had
been drilled and were ready for immediate embarcation in
case of emergency about 6,600. It must be remembered,
however, that in creating the new force many men had been
attracted to it who would otherwise have joined the Coast
Volunteers. The scheme of a naval reserve was one at-
tended by many difficulties, and required the combined ac-
tion of the Royal Navy and the mercantile marine. He had
been told by those well. acquainted with the commercial
marine that it the Admiralty trusted entirely to naval offi-
cers to raise the force they would fail, from the suspicions
that would be entertained by the merchant seamen. He,
being desirous to avail himself of the assistance of
masters in the commercial marine, applied to the Board
of Trade, and the officers of that department had exhibited
great zeal and taken great pains to promote his object.
The regulations which had been drawn up had, he believed,
been generally approved, but he had felt it his duty to make
certain restrictions. Thus he had restricted the entry for
the present to able seamen. He had been told if he wanted
30,000 men it would not do to restrict the entries to able
seamen. He admitted that statement, but if it had been
announced that on a given day the Admiralty were prepared
to receive all who might choose to enter,—whether able or
ordinary seamen,—the number might have been too large to
allow of the whole being drilled at once. He had therefore
thought it beat in the first instance to confine the entries to
able seamen, and if they succeeded in getting good men the
force would become popular, and they could take more
volunteers as they were able to drill them. The liberality
of the Admiralty and of Parliament had created the sus-
picion of the sailors. For many years schemes of a reserve
had been in agitation, but the objection always was that the
country walild pay the bounty, but would not get the force.
Last year the offer of £6, and pay while serving, was made,
and the force only to be called to serve upon occasions of
great emergency. He quite agreed with the noble earl that
no Government should use the reserve, except in case of a
&eat national danger or critical emergency. The particular
emergency could not be defined beforehand, but before the
men of the reserve could ho called upon to embark there
must be an order in Council and a special pro-
clamation addressed to the reserve. Thus the
men in that force could only be called upon
to serve after a decision of the Cabinet ; and
under circumstances which made it almost certain that
Parliament, if not then sitting, must be immediately as-
sembled. At first, however, seamen thought the terms
were too good, and were suspisious that as soon as they
had joined the Government intended to ship them off to
China. There was no ground, of course, for such doubts, and
as to China that was the most popular station just now.
Indeed, had he had five times the number of ships to send
to China, he would have had no difficulty in manning them.
The new scheme only came into operation on January 1,
and, despite its restriction to able seamen, the natural sus-
picions of the men, and the difficulty of all at once under-
standing the arrangements, he believed about 40 or 59 were
entering every week, and if that wont on Air a short time
longer the country would have the nucleus of an efficient
reserve. The noble earl had suggested that the reserve
ought to be formed of sailors who had served 10 years in the
fleet, their places being supplied by bringing in other men.
This, however, would greatly injure the efficiency of the
service, for the men who had beer 10 years afloat were some
of the best men in the navy, and could not at present be
spared. Perhaps hereafter, as the service increased in po-
pularity, this plan might be resorted to, but at present it
was necessary tl proceed gradually, otherwise the country
would be committed to a large outlay and the efficiency of
the navy might at the same time be greatly impaired.
Under the system he had adopted none were entered but
able seamen and those who were likely to be really effec-
tive. It had been objected that men were required to be
doubly approved, first by a shipping master and then by a
naval officer. To some extent that objection was well-
founded, but if you tried to raise this reserve by naval
officers alone the men would not join. It was found
necessary to deal with merchant sailors by those to whom
they were accustomed. The responsibility of accepting
or rejecting any men must rest, of course, on the naval
officer, but arrangements had been made by which the
naval officer now attended along with the ship-
ping master, so that, although a double approval was
still necessary, only a single attendance was required on
the part of the men. The noble earl complained that 22
days' training was quite inadequate. The same complaint
had been made respecting the 28 days' training to which the
militia were subjected. It was true that the naval reserve
would not be made so efficient as if they were trained for
several months, but it should be remembered that the coun-
try did not want to engage these men entirely, and that the
object was not to draw them away from their present em-
ployment, but to retain their services on an emergency at a
moderate cost. As able seamen only were admitted into the
reserve, be did not think it impossible.to train them in gun-
ndy. earyaandke them efficient for the Royal service in 22
Having recently attended sonic gunnery practice, he
was told p that a great many who took art in it had only
been in training for about three weeks. and
not to weigh
yet had become
very efficient. This objection, therefore,
ought
with their lordships and lead themt o. condemn the system.
The noble earl had spoken of the desirability of connecting
the reserve force with a seamen's
fu
had
fund. No doubt, it would
be desirable, but the commission expressed their
opinion that the object aimed at would be better attained
by means of a fund voluntarily supported.
seemedlle (the Duke
of Somerset) thought that, as these men
already, they would perhaps imagine that some further
hold upon them was to be established by a compulsory
pay-
ment. It had beeu thought better, therefore, notomll
up any such fund with the new force, but to leave it for
voluntary adoption whenever a good scheme could be laid
down. The Merchant Seamen's Fund, it would be remem-
bered, had become bankrupt, and great distrust would
therefore exist on this point. The noble earl said there was
at present no sufficient instruction for officers or men on
board the coastguard ships. Every district ship, how-
ever, had one or two gunboats attached to it, and
during most of the year these boats were sent met
along the coast, and excellent practice was thus
afforded. There was great difficulty in securing all
the advantages which could be wished for in this way,
with a due regard to economy. The estimates this year
were very heavy, but the chief amount was taken for men,
and the more men introduced into the navy the wider the
basis for a future naval reserve. He had thought it bettor
to begin cautiously in the formation of a reserve; but if it
continued at its present rate of increase, some 40 or 50 men
joining it per week, and if sailors got rid of their suspicions
that they were about to be entrapped, and found that they
would be called out only on some national, emergency, he
hoped before long that they would join it still more freely,
and that it would become a valuable and reliable force in
case of need. (Hear, hear.)
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said that about 14 years
ago he was a member of a commission which had to consider
the state of the Merchant Seamen's Fund. They found it
in a bankrupt condition, through the miscalculations of
those by whom it had been established • but the earnest
desire of the commission and of die Government which then
existed was that the fund should be re-established on a
better footing. He, indeed, when occupying the position
now held by the noble duke, had gone so far as to conceive
the design of a hospital fur merchant seamen, which should
show that they, as well as the sailors in the Royal Navy,
were
their country.
of the tenderest care and solicitude on the part
country. (Hear, hear.) As regarded the measure
for
the establishment of this naval reserve, he confessed
that he never expected great things from it. He Juld
always felt that persons would be disappointed who hoped
by its means to be able at all times to lay their hands upon
a certain number of menoer service in the Royal Navy,
men
wfer
because the beatabsent on distant voyages,
imminent. In
and were not at home when m
point of fact, however, there was atr was
such
ties
iea
ncitthedis.
country a reserve which had not been duly appreciated.
People fell into two errors in speaking of the mercantile
marine. Some thought that, in the event of war, the whole
of that body of men, consisting, according to some ealcu.a2
tions, of 200,000 or 300,000, would be available far service
lu the navy, while others supposed that no sailors Would be
available, except those who actually engaged to serve. No„.
the tact was this :—There was at. all times in the United
Kingdom a very considerable body of merchant seamen un-
employed, the number varying according'to the senson.
That would form the reserve force of her Majesty's navy in
case of war. The moment there arose a reasonable appre-
hension, and long before a declaration of war, merchants
were afraid to send their ships to sea, and of course did not
need hands. The men were compelled to find some service,
and, being unable to do so in merchant ships, they were of
necessity forced to seek employment in the Royal Navy.
The number of men unemployed at the commencement of
the next war would be infinitely greater than at the com-
mencement of former wars, because, in consequence of the
very narrow balance between our naval force and that of the

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