The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-15 00:00:00

NAYAL TRAINING OF WILLIAM IV

(From the United Service Gazette.)
We have received letters from various corres-
pondents relative to the proceedings at Malta, and
requesting us to draw a comparison between the
training of his late Majesty King William IV.,
when Prince William Henry, and Prince Alfr€ d.
In deference to their wishes we draw the following
parallel : Prince William Henry embarked in khe
Royal Navy as a midshipman on the 15th June,
1779, not having quite completed his fourteenth
year. The first ship in which he served was .the
Prince George, 98, bearing the flag of Rear-Ae.mi-
ral the Hon. Henry. Digby. The Prince's private
tutor was Dr. Majendie, afterwards BiShop of
Bangor; and the late Admiral Sir Richard Keats,
lieutenant of the-ship, one of the strictest and most
polished officers in the service, was chosen to be
his Royal Highness's professional instructor. The
Prince George was attached to the Channel Fleet
until the latter end of the year, when the ship was
ordered to form part of the fleet proceeding to the
relief of Gibraltar, which for some time had been
closely blockaded by the Spaniards. A Spanish
64. gun ship, captured on this occasion by the fleet,
was re-named the Prince William, out of compli-
ment to the youthful midshipman.
After participating in this important service the
Prince George returned to England, and remained
attached to the Channel Fleet, until the spring of •
1781, when she was employed at a second relief of
Gibraltar, after which she proceeded to North
America, as flag ship at that station. To avoid the
tedium and temptation incident to a stationary ship
the Prince was transferred to the Warwick, 50,
commanded by Captain the Hon. G. K. Elphin-
stone, afterwards Lord Keith, under whose com-
mand he served until the 3d Nov., 1782, at which
latter period he joined the Barfleur, bearing the
flag of Rear-Admiral Lord Hood. While in the
Barfleur the Prince first met Nelson, and the ac-
quaintance then commenced was closely maintained
until the hero's death. )
His Royal Highness had been three years and a
half at sea before we .meet with any particular
mark of attention paid to his exalted rank, as the
son of George 111. He appears to 'have been rigidly
kept to his duty as a subordinate naval officer.
During the -time he served in the Barfleur he
strictly performed very much the same routine of
boat service and watch keeping as any other mid-
shipman, a portion of each day only being allotted
by the particular orders of Lord Hood, to' the ac-
quisition of theoretical knowledge and the general
improvement of his education. This task was. su-
perintended by Captain Knight, who was Lord.
Hood's flag captain.
On the arrival of the Barfleur at Port Royal, in
Feb., 1783, the Prince being then in his eighteenth
year, the first recorded marks of public attention to
the midshipman in his princely character were paid.
During the stay of the Barfleur at Jamaica his
Royal Highness was treated with every mark of
respect- and distinction by all ranks of people. The
inhabitants presented a suitable address, and a ca-
valry corps was expressly raised under the denomi-
nation of " Prince William Henry's Regiment," by
the merchants and planters, for the purpose of at-
tending him while he remained on the island. After
the termination of hostilities Lord Hood permitted
his Royal Highness to visit Cape Francois and the
Havannah, embarking on board the Bloodhound
for that purpose. He was received at Cape Francois
with the honours due to his exalted rank, and
6,000 French and Spanish troops lined the streets
on his way to the governor's house. He was
made the happy instrument of releasing from death
several British subjects and other persons who had
been concerned in a revolt at Natchez, the prisoners
having been released in honour of his royal high-
ness's visit. The Barfleur returned to England in
June, 1783, the Prince having been upwards of two
years out of England. The subsequent career of our.
late beloved Sailor King is foreign to our present
object, which is to show that for the first four or
five years of his professional life he was under the
restraints of the service, and employed during that
time under the strictest and best officers who ever
hoisted flag or pendant. Until he had attained a
state of manhood, he was subject to the same coer-
cion as other well-bred youngofficcrs, and he is said
to have entered heart and soul into the performance
of his professional duties.
The contrast between the training of the royal
midshipman in 1779-84 and 1858-59 is very great.
At the outset Prince Alfred was carefully and ably
instructed. He passed his preliminary examination
well, evincing on the occasion much natural ability,
highly cultivated. He embarked on board a fine
frigate, under one of the steadiest and best officers
in the service ; but, instead of going abroad, out of
the way of foreign courts, he was sent first to Co-
runna, where he was feted and escorted by generals
and etairtiers ; from thence, to Lisbon, where royal
courtesies aw aited him; thence to Gibraltar,Tangiers,
and Malta. Wherever else theEuryalus may anchor
similar displays await upon a lad, who will not
complete his 15th year until next August. Is it at
all probable that such Jeasting and gay goings-on
will assist the acquisition of nautical knowledge, or
strengthen the authority of those who are account-
able to her Majesty for the professior 11 education
and discipline of the royal cadet ?
We presumed, in November last, to mggest that
the Euryalus should in despatched to the other
hemisphere, where dinners, balls; and routs would
be out of the question. We repeat that advice, and
trust that, ere it is too late, some such plan
will be acted upon. We look upon the young
Prince as " the Hope of the Navy." To the prestige
which he, if well indoctrinated, will establish we
rely for the restoration of that glorious branch of
the service—the navy—to its once proud position ;
and we, consequently, watch his steps with a de•
gree of painful anxiety which may prompt our
venturing on tender ground.
The training of Prince William Henry was the
admiration of all nations. The Admiral Don Juan
de Langara, who commanded the Spanish squadron
dispersed and captured by the fleet under Rodney,
in which his Royal Highness was serving, is re-
ported to have said—" Well does Great- Britain
merit the empire of the seas, when the humblest
stations in the navy arc supported by princes of the
blood Royal !". The observation, it is well known,
has been cherished as one of the most elegant tri-
butes ever paid to British Royalty. Let us hope to
find some such pleasing compliment elicited by the
Royal cadet who now graces the British navy.