The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-15 00:00:00

THE ROYAL NAVAL VOLUNTEERS.

The first day of the New Year will witness the
commencement of a system from which a most valu-
able accession to the defences of the country is an-
ticipated. We may say, indeed, that if the scheme
in question should prove absolutely successful the
navy will never want men, and that, as far as this
arm of the public service is concerned, we shall be
prepared for any emergency at any moment.
Already, besides the various measures adopted to
insure the ordinary supply, we have a reserve in
the Coastguard, and a further support in the Naval
Coast Volunteers ; but, in addition to these forces,
it was enacted in the last session of Parliament that
a body of 30,000 trained seamen might be condi-
tionally retained in the service of the country, un-
der the title of " The Royal Naval Volunteers."
The proceedings required for the organisation of
this powerful force have now been taken, and the
Ist of January, 1860, is fixed upon for the day on
which enrolment may commence.
The object of this new scheme is to provide the
country with a reserve of seamen as strong, so
effective, and so readily available, that no emer-
gency, however formidable, should surprise us
unawares ; and these conditions, if the system
succeeds, will certainly be fulfilled. As regards
the strength of the force, 30,000 sailors would
almost double our existing establishment, for
there were but 38,000 seamen voted last year for
the whole service of the fleet. Then, again, as to
effectiveness, it is hoped that the Royal Naval
Volunteers will attract and take up the very pith
and marrow of the mercantile marine, for the men
must all be free from infirmity, under 35 years of
age, and trained to the sea by at least five years'
service on it, of which one year must have passed
in the rating of an able seaman. This promising
material will then be shaped by regular naval dis-
cipline, including thorough instruction and practice
in the exercise of great guns and small arms. In
order that the men may be at hand when wanted,
every volunteer will report himself to an appointed
omcer every six months, and give due notice of any
change in his residence or employment. These
conditions, it is obvious enough, would answer all
the purposes of the new establishment. It only re-
mains to be seen whether they be effectually recon-
ciled with certain other conditions, and this, we
hope, will be accomplished through the arrange-
ments proposed.
The inducements offered to seamen will consist in
immediate pay, prospective pension, and conside-
rate treatment throughout. The pay of a Royal
Naval Volunteer is to be £6 per annum, which he
will receive quarterly, and, as the average earnings
of a merchant seaman are but £27 a-year, this would
constitute an addition of 25 per cent. to his income
—no bad thing, as times go. After remaining in
the Reserve for a certain period—it may be with-
out ever having been called out—the volunteer will
be enttitled to a pension, which can in no case be
less than £l2 a-year. If! called out for actual ser-
vice, he will be provided with the same necessaries,
receive the same pay and allowances, and enjoy the
same chances of promotion and prize-money, as a
continuous service seaman of the fleet; he will be
equally eligible to the Coastguard and Greenwich
Hospital, and in case of wounds or injury, be
entitled to the same pension as the regular seaman
of his own rating. At the expiration of every five
years he may, if not actually called out at the time,
retire from the reserve ; or he may do so, subject
to the same condition, at any time by paying back
his retainers. If, however, he should rise by fair
progress in his profession to be master or mate, and
obtain employment in that capacity, he will be
allowed to quit without any return of payment at
all. These are the advantages offered.
In return for these advantages the volunteer
must undertake to be trained to the duties of a
man-of-war, and to keep himself so far in commu-
nication with certain functionaries that he may,
generally speaking, be at hand when wanted. The
first of these conditions can be easily satisfied. It
is calculated that every merchant seaman is, upon
an average, unemployed between voyages for three
months in the year •, and, as the drill required of
him will only extend over 28 days, and those not
continuously, he cannot be much inconvenienced by
the requisition. The place of drill will be either some
ship or hulk, or battery ashore, selected so as to
give the least amount of trouble and travelling to
the volunteers of the district. If possible, the men
will be drilled close to their own homes, but if they
are compelled to travel their whole expenses will
be paid for them, and they will all, in addition to
their retaining fee, receive during the periods of
drill the same wages, victuals, and allowances as
seamen of the fleet. Subject to general considere.-
tions of public convenience, a volunteer may take
his drill at the times and places most suitable to
himself, provided only that he takes not less than
seven days of the exercise at any one time.
So far we do not see that the proposed conditions
can involve any kind of difficulty. The drill can-
not be irksome, the remuneration is considerable,
and actual service will only be required when some
emergency demands a sudden increase in the naval
forces of the country. The question is, how to re-
concile this contingent duty with the ordinary
duties of the merchant service. Apart from the
occasion of an emergency, we engage the Naval
Volunteers for 28 days only out of the 365. For
the rest of the year they follow their own calling,
and subsist upon their own means, with the com-
fortable addition only of the £6 retaining fee.
How, then, are they to be held available for actual
duty when their services are required? The princi-
pal condition laid down on this point is, that every
man belonging to the force shall report himself
once every six months to a certain officer charged
with the duty of supervision, and it follows neces-
sarily from this
regulation that no Naval Volunteer
can leave the United Kingdom on a voyage likely
to extend beyond a six-months' period. In order,
however, to mitigate the pressure of this restric-
tion, it is provided that leave of absence may,
under certain circumstances, be granted, so that
a Naval Volunteer would not be always or
necessarily excluded from the chance of distant
trips. These arrangements, it is conceived, will
render the reserve force as available as the na-
ture of the case admits. It must not be for-
gotten that on both sides the bargain is to some
extent speculative. The State desires to secure
the services of a strong body of trained seamen
at periods of emergency without imposing upon
itself the entire charge of their maintenance. It
speculates, therefore, upon always finding a certain
proportion of the Royal Naval Volunteer Force at
home and at hand. The Volunteers, on the other
hand, may fairly speculate on getting a material
addition to their ordinary income for very little
service. In point of fact, as they will bo paid
extra for the time of their drill, and be saved harm-
less in all incidental expenditure, the pay of £6 per
annum will be so much clear gain, except on the
occurrence of actual emergencies, and even then
they will be paid for their service like regular sea-
men. Should no emergency occur, and should the
peace of Europe be happily preserved, a
Volunteer
may net his £6 a-year, and secure a pension to
double that amount, without ever having done
more than report himself every six months, and
gone through his 28 days of agreeable and remune-
rative exercise. Whether the problem which has
been so long before the country will be actually
solved by the present scheme must be left to time
to determine ; but the prospect, we think, appears
by no means unpromising,. Complete service can
only be obtained through comr,lete engagements.
We could,
for the exclusive service of the Royal Navy, and if
if we pleased, maintain 100,000 seamen
our establishments were once organised on that
scale there would be no difficulty in keeping them
up. The expense, however, would be certain and
burthensome, while the necessity would be uncer-
tain, and we are endeavouring, therefore, to pre-
pare for a contingent demand by a species of con-
tingent supply. This is the object of the Royal
Naval Volunteer Force, and everybody would
rejoice to sec it effectually obtained.—Tinres.