The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-07
ROYAL NAVY DISCIPLINE.
Iron in Severity, But With Few Trans
sressions Reported.
Crank L. Bullen in The London
loader

Leader.)
The discipline Of the royal navy is
iron in it's severity, but all that human
effort can effect is tried to insure that
impartial justice shall be done. The
bulk of the punishments awarded are
headed Summary in order to distin-
guishe them from those awarded by
courts martial, but strictly speaking
there are no cases of summary pun
ishments in the navy.
by one of the WiseSt rules possible
period of "a hours must elapse between
the report7of an offense and the award
ing of punishment therefor, so that the
officer passing sentence (who may have
been personally aggrieved) has time to
think the matter over, and has not ex-
cuse for infiicting punishment in a
spirit Of revenge.
Only the most minor offenses are al
lowed to be thus dealt with, offenses
which, Il is safe to say are in the ma
jority of cases peculiar to the navy,
and would not be considered offenses
at all in private life. Trivial as they
may BE- regarded, a hasty word, for
getfulness of duty, want of tidiness or
cleanliness, it is on the rigid suppress
sion of such ttrifies" as these that the
beautiful condition of a ship of war de-
ponds.
For we need discipline, we Britons~b be
ing prone to take full advantage Of any
slackness on the part of those bearing
rule. 1t is true that we love to choose
for ourselves these latter, and are
quick to resent the exercise of disci-
plinary powers by them if they fail to
realize our ideal of manliness, but if
they be men they may go far in sever
ity toward us, and we will willingly
obey.
The first thing that strikes me in this
report is the triviality of the total of
serious offenses indebtedness such as
would be tried in a court ashore and
are tried in the navy by courts martial.
The total number of seamen and marin
ers afloat during the year under review
in 1898 was S8,264. This number Of men all
In the prime of life, would account for
the population of a very large town
indeed. And they are all confined in
small spaces under conditions that to
say the least do not make for righteous
ness, few of the social amenities and re-
laXations of ordinary life being open
to them
Yet out of that army of full blooded
men the total number tried by courts
martial for all offences during the year
was 1893! A percentage Of the whole of
of US matter for just pride. But even
this low percentage of offences for
which courts martial were considered
necessary Will appear higher than the
facts warrant if the nature of these of
fences is analysed. Owing to the clari-
ty of the tables we are easily enabled
to do this.
For instance, the offence for which
there are more cases than any other
striking and attempting to strike a
superior officer"-serious enough, no
doubt, in naval or military service, but
bound 40 occur in the very nature of
things to occur in the very nature of
highspirited men are confined to one
another's company for long periods of
time, and where the slight gradations of
rank induce forgetfulness of superb
GRITTY
Petty officers mix so freely with the
men that we can not wonder that at
times an angry man trips over the line
that divides him from his superior, and
becomes candidate for court mar
tial without being a criminal in the
ordinary sense at al.
Willful 'sobedience of orders ac-
counts I forty-six cases, theft and
embezzlement for forty-four, but, be it
noted, only sixteen of those were of the
sedIudH CLASS, ana Iuftner 1nVeStlga-
ton would probably reveal that most
if not all, of the offenders were boys
who had not yet learned to appreciate
the dignity of their calling.
Mutiny none; we have Travelled
long way from the awful conditions of
life in the navy which eliminated in
the mutiny at the More; using profane
language none (the recording angel
must have dropped a perfect flood of
tears over these lines): drunkenness.
ten. This last item is sufficient to
make one gasp. Ten cases of drunk
enness calling for court martial among
nearly ninety thousand sailors in
year!
Yet it is only one more proof of the
hold obtained over ouraseamen by tenn
perance principles, and it doubtless ac-
counts for the gratifying paucity of all
the other offenses.
Now. lest it should be thought that
only very serious cases are entered as
being tried by court martial, it may be
well to state with considerable empha-
sis that this is certainly not the case.
While | was on board of the Mars. a
boy was found to be in possession of
money for which he could give no sat
isfactory account. 1t must be re-
membered that the leading seaman or
petty officer at the head of each mess
exercises quite parental supervision
over the boys in his mess, which ex-
plains how such a circumstance came
to light. The boy was suspected too.
Of other lapses from virtue.
Upon the matter being reported in
the usual way sort of preliminary in
quiry was held at which the boy stub