The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-28 00:00:00

The Duke of Wellington Receiving-ship.

A nation that has ungrudgingly expended millions
on the perfection of its ships of war is necessarily
compelled at the same time, on the score of eco-
nomy as well as of reason and justice, to take mea-
sures for improving the condition of its seamen.
Every advance we have in the powers of our iron-
clads must be accompanied by some thought for

their crews. Much has been done in this respect of
late years ; extreme punishments have been abo-
lished, the sailor is better fed and better :paid, and
various other salutary measures have been intro-
duced by Boards of Admiralty for the benefit of the
seaman, but yet much remains to be done in the
same direction. We may yet very materially im-
prove his moral character and education, increase
his self-respect,and also his love for his ship and his
officers, and teach him especially to look upon the
former as his homo, and the latter as his natural
friends and advisers. But it is evident that, how-
ever much the several Boards of Admiralty may
concoct measures for the improvement of his posi-
tion on board ship, the seaman himself can only
feel such beneficial measures at the discretion of his
captain. Thus, there are officers even in the pre-
sent day who affect to look upon " the Queen's Re-
gulations" as the " Sailor's Bible," and who rule
their men literally by their instructions, read only
by their own cold egotism. These officers :may
sometimes be "smart," but they aro always " mar-
tinets,"
and generally unjust. The amount of con-
tentment on board their ships is broadly enough
marked in their enormous " defaulters" and " pu-
nishment" books at the close of their ships' com-
mission. Other and an intermediate class of officers,
humane and just in their intentions, render their
ships almost as distasteful to their crews as does
the callous martinet, from a want of tact or firm-
ness in their rule. As a good illustration of the
necessity of these two qualities by the captain of a
ship we may mention here a circumstance that took
place so long as 1811 on board the then finest frigate
in the Mediterranean, and one that will be remem-
bered by more than one post captain now com-
manding one of her Majesty's ships who was then
serving on board this same frigate as a junior officer.
In those days seamen had their full allowance of
grog, and it was the custom at sea to 14e all hands
on deck to muster and make the ship snug for the
night in her sail aloft very quickly upon the serving
out of the night's allowance of grog. The result of
this arrangement in all ships was that many men
were reported for drunkenness when on duty aloft
or at muster, and were punished accordingly.
Drunk these men undoubtedly were, and at times
they would so seriously increase their offence by an
attack upon the sergeant of marines or master-at-
arms, perhaps, that their punishment was increased
accordingly ; and in those days a captain could give
a man four dozen with the cat at his pleasure. The
frigate in question was no exception to the general
rule. Men were either falling from aloft after sup-
per
or staggering along the deck in such a manner
that detection and punishment were sure to follow.
The officer in command got disgusted with this state
of things, but soon discovered the cause of the evil
and devised its remedy. It was the custom to serve
grog immediately after the men's tea, and the pipe
on deck immediately followed upon the issue of the
grog. It was the rule with the master-at-arms and
the police of the ship to search over the mess deck
while the crew were away in answer to the pipe on ,
deck, and any grog left on the tables, or anywhere
in the men's messes, was inexorably emptied in the
scuppers. This rule the men knew perfectly, and
the consequence was that, after drinking their basin
of hot tea, they hastily gulped down upon it their
basin full of cold grog to save it from the ship's
police. Under such circumstances the only wonder.
was that all the ship's company were not drunk, in-
stead of only a moderate percentage of their num-
ber. Our captain fully appreciated all the points
of the position on board his ship, and issued an
order that the police of the ship should neither
make nor allow of any interference with the
men's messes while at muster after supper, and
that the men should be allowed to drink
their grog at their leisure any time before
the pipe "down all hammocks." The result
of this order was that drunkenness vanished from
the frigate. This is an instance of " tact" combined
with sound knowledge of a sailor's character and
peculiarities. There is another character belonging
to many of the captains of her Majesty's ships in the
present day, in which not only firmness and tact are
j blended in admirable proportion, but they are also
united with humanity and frank trustfulness towards
those under them in such a manner as to command
the admiration and esteem of all. There can be no
bounds to the heroism of a crew led by such a cap-
tain. It is, however, paramount over all other con-
siderations that the impression upon the mind of
the seaman en first entering the Royal service should
be favourable, as giving a tone to his after conduct,
and thus rendering his training a profitable invest-
ment of the nation's money, as well as making him
an efficient agent of its power. This has not always
been wisely managed, and it is therefore witi pecu-
liar pleasure that we are now enabled to notice the
endeavours being made in this respect at Portsmouth
on board the receiving-ship, Duke of 'Wellington,
Captain Charles Fellowes, where a system has been
adopted which promises the happiest results. All
men are received on board this ship en entering for
service at Portsmouth, whether new hands from the
mercantile marine or old hands valose term of ser-
vice has expired while serving on board other vessels.
The old proverb, " All work and no play makes
Jack a dull boy," applies to seamen as well as to
children, and on board the Duke of Wellington its
simple wisdom is the mainspring of the captain's
rule. A very brief description of what was seen on
board during an unexpected visit to the ship about
7 p.m. a few days since will best depict the leisure
hours of her crew, a body of men, it must be remem-
bered, who are only temporarily belonging to the
Duke of Wellington as the receiving ship of the port,
and therefore the more liable to feelings of discontent
or to fancied gricyances, than if they were shipmates

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voices—that is, no loud noise ; but walking forward
greater part of the men on board were forward on
the starboard side of the deck. Sailors' hornpipes
were going on vigorously, their messmates grouped
round smoking and criticising the performance. To
the hornpipes succeeded a favourite waltz, in which
some 20 brawny fellows took part with a gravity
and elegance of motion not unworthy of a ballroom.
It was impossible to doubt the intense enjoyment of
these fellows, notwithstanding their profound gra-
vity. Among these men was one who, while serv-
ing in one of her Majesty's ships on the P4cific sta-
tion, won the silver belt offered for the best dancer.
Further aft, on the same side of the deck, was a
row of mess tables, at which about 50 men and boys
were engaged iu playing dominoes, draughts, &c.
But just abaft these tables, in a temporary room,
with an open window in front, was the great inno-
vation of all in the form of a canteen, at which
every man was privileged to purchase at any time
between 6 and 9 p.m. one pint of beer, and every
boy a half pint. A ship's corporal presides over the
sale and receives the money, petty officers assisting,
to measure the liquor and watch that no ma.n
doubles his privileged pint. The beer is excellent,
the price 2d. per pint, and the profits of the sale are
devoted to the purchase of games, newspapers, &c.,
and also form a fund for exhibitions of science,
feats of jugglery, and theatrical displays. The cap-
tain of the ship is treasurer of the fund, and is
assisted by a committee in its disposal. The read-
ing room was next tisift,ed;' which is situated en the
pert side of the lower dedi-aft, is furnished with an
excellent library, newspapers,and games of all kinds
being on the tables, and, like the main deck, is ad-
mirably lit. Upwards of 70 men and boys were
seated at the tables, some reading and others play-
ing games. On inquiring as to the number of men
on board ship and on leave, it was stated that, all
hands told, the number on the ship's books was just
over 700. Of these, 62 were away on long leave at
their homes, and 66 were on shore since sunset for
the night. Of these last the greater part were ex-
pected off again to sleep, it being one of the great
features of the Duke of Wellington system that a
man is allowed to take an hour or two's run on shore
from her of an evening without being compelled to
stay on shore until the next morning. The men, in
fact, in this particular, as in all others on board the
ship, are treated with a certain amount of confi-
dence in their good faith, and any infringement of
this :privilege is very rare indeed. The cooking
arrangements for the seamen of the Duke of Wel-
lington are on a par with everything else on board.
One of the " Grant " cooking galleys has been
fitted on board, and this is capable of supplying
daily 1,200 men with baked or boiled meat and with
fresh-baked bread—such bread as is purchased by
housekeepers at the best shops in London. The
men can also have biscuit if they prefer it to the
bread. The " Grant" galley is perfect of its kind,
efficient to an extraordinary degree, and is so simply
constructed of boiler-plate iron as to be capable of
repair under any circumstances of damage at sea
by the ship's blacksmith. It also, in its reserve
reservoir, always, day and night, contains a large
quantity of hot water available for baths in case of
sudden illness, and altogether is one of the greatest
boons that can be conferred upon the crew of ono
of her Majesty's ships.

We are not aware whether the new system of
things on board the Duke of Wellington is due to
the Admiralty or to Captain Fellowes singly, or
both combined, but we do know that Admiral S.
Pasley, the Naval Commander-in- Chief at Ports-
mouth, thinks very highly of this attempt to im-
prove the condition of our seamen on board ship ;
and we join heartily in his best wishes for the suc-
cess of so desirable an undertaking.

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