%0-;;i: f t*^ -^ B RARY OF THE U N I VLR51TY or ILLI NOIS TliAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS; FOR THE TRAINING OF BOYS FOR THE NAVY, ARMY, AND MERCANTILE MARINE. EDMUND EDWARD ANTROBUS, F.S.A. jrSTIOE OF THK PE VCE FOR THE COUNTY OF MmDEESEX AND THE CITY AND LIBERTY OF WESTMISSTEK : CHAIRMAN OF THE STRAND DIVISION; VISITING JUSTICE OF THE HOUSE OF CORRECTION', WESTMINSTER, AND THE MIDDLESEX INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. FELTHAM ; DEPOrY- LIEUTENANT FOR THE TOWER HAMLETS. LONDON : STAUNTON AND SON, 9, STRAND 1875. INDEX. ; Liblic interest with respect to the supply of Soldiers and Sailors. The Army. The Report of Major-Greueral Taylor, 1874- Xuiuber of Recruits for 1872-73 Tlie Xavy. X amber of Men and Boys in the Navy Xumber who have left the Service . . Training Ships for the Xavy . . Boys entering the Xavy Mercantile Mai'ine. Report of the Royal Commission on w^orthy Ships Liverpool Shipowners' Committee, &c. Inference to be drawn from the extracts of Reports and Rl Recruits for tlie Army in future Planning the Xavy Seamen formerly employed in Colliers Admiral Sir Byam Martin, on the difficulty of obtainiii during the last War Mercantile Marine Inspector of Reformatories and Industrial Schools' Report, Ships, &c. Xviraber of Inmates in Reformatory and Industrial Ships, &c Comprehensive measure required Reformatory and Industrial Training Ships. . Captain Bedford Pim's Training Schools and Ship's Bill Extract from the Report of the Commission on Unseaworthy Ships Training Boys for the Royal Xavy . . Page 5 5 6 6 7 7 9 11 11 12 13 13 14 14 17 17 18 18 18 19 INDEX. the control of Captain Bedford Pirn's BiU of 1875 An Imperial Question . . Middlesex Industrial School, Feltham G-eneral character of Seamen . . Boys Trained at Feltham Captain Bedford Pim's Bill of 1875 Training Schools and Ships to be under Magistrates . . Training Ships . . Clauses 39 to 43 Clauses 44 to 47 and 39 System of Apprenticeship Withdrawal of Captain Bedford Pim's Bill, April, 1875 Middlesex Industrial School and MiHtary Sub-Districts Military Sub-Divisions. . Boys for Training Schools and Training Ships County 19 19 20 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 26 26 27 28 28 \ utuc! . TRAIXIXG SCHOOLS IND TRAINING SHIPS. „ ,,. . There is no qnestion at the present time of Public interest ^ ^ Mith respect to more vital importance, and whicli is exciting the supply of r ' "^ ?^:uiorsanci deeper public interest, than the state of our army, navy, and mercantile marine. At no period has the subject required more consideration. It is not onl}" that these services should be efficient, but that there should be a supply of men not only for a time of peace, but sufficient to meet every contingency, especially when continental armies are composed of millions, fleets of ironclads of the most for- midable character are being added to the marine of European nations, while in the far East, China and Japan are forming navies which at any time may greatly injure our eastern commerce. It is for the people of this country to decide whether they will take such timely steps as T^dll secure the safety of our country and its commerce by having especially that first and ^-ital line of defence in a state to repel any attack, even if all the nations of Europe were combined in arms against us. Two questions naturally arise — firstly, is the present state and future prospects of the services such as to require imme- diate legislation; and, secondly, if so, the nature of such legislation, and the details consequent thereon. The Army. From the " Re^Dort upon Kecruiting for the Regular Ai^my, for the year 1873," we learn that Report of q^ ^]^g j^g^ of April, 1873, the new arrangements Major-General 1 ' ' o Taylor's, i»74. foj. the sub-di\dsions of the military districts in Great Britain and Ireland came into operation. Under this system the whole country has been divided into 46 sub-districts for infantry, 12 for artillery, and 2 for b TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. cavalry, the infantry sub-districts, as a rnle, corresponding with the several counties into which the United Kingdom is divided. In each infantry sub-district a brigade depot now exists, commanded by an experienced officer not under the rank of a substantive lieutenant-colonel, who superintends and directs within the limits of the sub-district the recruiting ser\T.ce for the line, and the militia battalions of his brigade, as well as, when so directed, for the other arms of the service. The number of recruits required for the year ^vZsfoviSi 1S^2 was 17,791, and for the year 1873, 17,194 and 1873. the number required, but, the Report adds, "although the number of men raised for Her Majesty's army has, during the past year, been sufficient to supply the ordinary casualties in time of peace, yet it becomes a very serious question to determine how, in case of an out- break of war, the requirements of the service may be met, especially as it must be borne in mind that in the year 1876 the operation of the Army Enlistment Act of 1870 will l)e apparent. " From that time the results of short enlistments will be- come marked, and a much larger number of recruits will be required annually to fill the places of those who will have completed their term of army service, and who will be passed into the Keserve to complete the remaining six years of their engagement." The Navy. ^j ^ return to an order of the House of Com- mons, it appears that the number of hond-fide seamen serving in the fleet (inclusive of j)ensioners and of men in the Indian troop ships) per return me^and Bo^y?.' ^^^^ ^P ^^ N'ovcmbcr, 1873, w^as 18,960, and the coast-guard 3,891, making a total of 22,851. To these are to be added 4,238 first class boys and 2,628 second class. The service does not appear popular with the seamen of TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. 7 the mercantile marine, for by a Parliamentary report only 382 bond-fide seamen entered the Royal Navy from the shore, merchant, or other service during the year 1872-1873. The number hond-fide seamen (including pen- men'whVhfve ^ioners) who have left the 'service from all causes !fthe veari8T2 ^^^^^S ^^^ J^ar 1872-1873, the last printed return, md 1873. appears to have been, according to the return, as under. By purchase . . 48 Invalided 647 Died 124 Deserted 800 Disgraced 6 Pensioned for long service .... 310 Objectionable 42 Coast-guard on shore 265 Other causes 165 2,847 This return shows that upwards of 2,800 men have died or left the service in one year, which may be fairly taken as an average, and whose places will have to be filled up. Of this number, no less than 800 have deserted, from which it appears that the service is not very popular with many who have entered it. In some degree to supply the annual loss of sea- Training Ships inen, there are only five training ships, namely, the "Implacable " and "Impregnable," at Devon- port, " St. Vincent," at Portsmouth, "Boscowen," at Port- land, and the "'Ganges," at Falmouth ; in these five ships 2,500 boys are trained at a cost of not less than £45 per annum for each boy. The qualifications requisite for boys entering the navy, or for admission on board these training ships, is thus given by a naval officer in an excellent article in Fraser's Magazine in August last : — 8 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. " We will take a boy at the earliest age that ?helsav^^"&c ^® Can join, 15. He can only be accepted by cer- tain officers, in certain places named in the Regu- lations ; he must bring with him a certificate of birth, and a declaration made by his parents, or nearest relation if an orphan, giving consent to his joining Her Majesty's Navy and serving for ten years from the age of 18. No apprentices are accepted, or boys from prisons or reformatories, every care being taken to get as good a stock of lads for the service of the Crown as possible. " The boy must be at least 4 feet 10 J inches in height without his shoes, and measure 29 inches round the chest, with his hands above his head, backs together, and counting aloud. The measure is taken when between 30 and 40 has been counted in a steady way. The boy must be able to read and write, and is then subject to a very exact medical exami- nation. One fancies that no boy could ever be so sound as seems necessary. Joints, skin, chest, teeth, eyes, &c., have to be examined minutely, and the examination invariably detects and rejects those poor lads who have wanted care or nourish- ment in childhood. The waifs and straifs of society are seldom able to pass the medical test for the Royal Navy ; and the service is recruited chiefly from the sons of small farmers, shopkeepers, and artisans, who have been fed fairly, and have therefore some constitution on which to work." The age and required size for the training ships stand as follows: — Age 15 to 15| years, height 4 feet lOJ inches, chest 29 inches; age 15| to 16 years, height 5 feet 1 inch, chest 30 inches ; after 16^ the heights and chest measure- ments increase, and the boy is not sent to a training ship. In their final Report the Commissioners (Royal Marhie. Commisssion on Unseaworthy Ships) observe, — Report of the " The Grrowth of trade, and consequent addi- Koyal Commis- .• -, • ••' r i x i, siononUnsea- tional Opportunities tor employment on snore, worthy Ships, ^^ ^^-^j ^^ ^^ ^^^^ have increased the difficulty TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. 9 of obtaining able seamen. The wages of seamen have risen largely within the last few years, but yet shipowners com- plain that they are often compelled to take such men as pre- sent themselves, of whom many prove to be incompetent to discharge properly the duties of seamen; the ignorance and incapacity of these men throw additional work on the good seamen, cause dissatisfaction in the ship, and enhance the dangers of navigation, " The general tendency of the evidence leads to the con- clusion that there is a deficiency of British able seam^en ; captains of merchant ships could not, it is said, man their vessels without Swedes, Norwegians, and Lascars. " The British seamen at the present time are not, it is said, wanting in elementary education. It is a rare exception when they cannot write ; but nevertheless the men do not always seem to have received the benefits which are com- monly supposed to belong to education in early life. They are otten deficient in thrift, in sobriety, in discipline, and in that self-control which education is intended to promote." Liverpool -^ Liverpool Committee of Enquiry, composed Coiiiniitte? ^^ shipowners and merchants, in a Supplementary Report, dated October, 1874, observe, — " While the lapse of these five years has altered in some degree the suggestions of this Committee on points of detail, it is a matter of congratulation that the main points or basis upon which these suggestions were made — viz., the deterioration of our seamen and inadequate supplies of good men — are now recognised as facts. " The total waste of seamen in our mercantile marine from all causes — death, drowning, desertion, giving up sea life, &c., in other words which has to be supplied yearly — is estimated at about 16,000 ; we get about 3,500 per annum from the apprenticeship system, and probably as many more from training ships, so that there remains about 9,000 to be got from all other sources, and what these sources are the 10 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. present condition of onr forecastles abundantly testifies, and it is this void the Committee desires to see filled with o^ood Extracts from papers placed before the Unseaworthy Ships Commission, by Thomas Gray, Esq., Board of Trade. Leith, Mercantile Marine Office to Board of Trade. " All agree that something should be done to increase the supply of seamen ; think that grants from the mercantile marine fund should be made with this ^dew ; would be glad to take boy trained in training ships ; think that there should be separate training ships for boys 'charitably convicted ' and for sons of respectable parents ; are of opinion that boys turned out at the age of 18 from training ships would make good ordinary seamen, and that there is no necessity for continu- ing them as apprentices after they leave the training ship ; there would be no difficulty in these boys belonging to the Naval Reserve." Dundee Local Marine Board to Board of Trade. The Secretary writes, — " I got the Lord Advocate to introduce a clause into Mr. Crawford's Bill for amending the parochial system of Scotland to enable the managers of training ships to receive boys up to 15 years of age and to detain them until 17. The Bill, however, was withdrawn, and the law in consequence stands unaltered. If we had the power sought by this clause nine-tenths of the boys would be fit to go on board any vessel as ordinary seamen, and with another year's actual sea service, fit for the Royal Navy Reserve." The State of the Mercantile Marine Service. Conference at Cardiff, September, 1872. The Chairman of the meeting, Mr. Hill, said, — " It ap- peard from the Report of a Committee appointed by the Associated Chambers of Commerce to consider training ships TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. 11 for the merchant service, that in the year 1858 there were 23,831 apprentices to the sea service on board ships ; in the year 1868 there were only 17,875, a reduction of 5.956, or 25 per cent. This extraordinary decrease, the Committee remarked, must sooner or later effect the character of the crews. With an increase of tonnage we must have resort to foreigners or imperfectly educated hands. We have already increased our foreign seamen from 13,200 in 1854 to 21,817 in 1867," since which time a much larger increase has taken place. Dwelling strongly on the necessity of training sh;ps, he dis- criminated between such schools as that of the "Formidable" at Bristol and the " Havannah " at Cardiff, and pointed out that they did not want to train only the refuse of the streets and the worst characters of the town, but desired to get a good class of respectable lads, who w^ould grow up respectable men and intelligent sailors. At conferences held by the Mercantile Marine Boards at Dublin, Sunderland, Bristol, and other ports, the importance of training schools and ships was invariably admitted, and promises given to support the Government in any measure that might be introduced for this purpose. The brief extracts which have been given drawn"from ^ from Bcports and Parliamentary Returns could Sve?frm?the ^c supplemented and supported by numerous Returas.*^'^ others of a similar character, independent of local and personal evidence, they demonstrate firstly : — Recruits for That although recruits for the Army are now the Anny in obtained In sufficient numbers, it is very doubtful that when the Army Enlisment Act of 1870 comes into operation, which it will do next year, and a greater number of recruits are required, that they will be obtained without great difficiilty, especially as the demand for able- bodied labour is greater than it has ever been and a higher 12 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. rate of wage given for it, and this when only the number is required for the Army in time of peace. It was not probably in the province of Major- General Taylor in his Report to enter into the educational condition of the recruits enlisted, but unless a very great change has taken place since the Crimean War, and which is not probable, it must have been of a very limited kind. N'ow it is univer- sally admitted that soldiers of the present day, from the altered system in modern warfare, ought to be far better educated and more intelligent than the gallant fellows who marched through the Peninsular with Wellington or who carried the British colours to victory over the blood-stained field of Waterloo. Another cause may in future prove prejudicial to the recruiting service, namely the greater amount of education given to the lower classes of society, and which will probably render them generally less inclined to the rougher kinds of manual labour and service. Secondly.- — Especial attention has been directed ^arming e ^^ Major- Greneral Taylor's Report of the 1st of January, 1874, on recruiting for the Army, and the difficulties which may arise in the case of an outbreak of war. Serious as these may be, the difficulties are far ex- ceeded by those which present themselves with respect to the manning of the Navy and mercantile marine. It is in evi- dence that captains of merchant ships could not man their vessels without Swedes, Norwegians, Lascars, and other Foreigners, so much so that it is stated on reliable authority that more than one-half of the crews are now composed of foreigners, who generally enter the mercantile marine of this country merely nominal seamen, and thus the service has be- come the nursery for seamen of our rivals, or may be our enemies, and who would, in the case of war, be found in the ships of our adversaries, fighting against us. And further, TRAIXIXG SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. 13 that of the men obtained belonging to our own country, a large number are utterly unfit for the service. To the mercantile marine the Royal ISTavy has hitherto looked for a supply of hond-fide seamen, especially in time of war, but on this source the nation must no longer rely, and attention must be directed to other quarters and other means. One branch of the mercantile marine until the Seamen for- j^st few years has been an important nursery for nierly employecl '^ i ./ in Colliers. seamen, namely, the large number of seamen em- ployed on board the colliers; these vessels re- quired thousands of hands, from the natui'e of the service trained hond fide seamen, and have furnished numerous men for the Navy in time of peace and war. From this quarter little can be expected for the future, steamers are fast superseding sailing vessels, and the old " collier " will soon be a thing of the past, and that hitherto nursery of seamen will in future be only for engineers and stokers. The great difficulty of obtaining seamen for the N'avy in time of war is given with great conciseness by Admiral Sir Byam Martin before the Committee on manning the Navy in the year 1859. " The maritime population of this country," By?a^Maninon observes Sir Byam Martin when before the Com- Man'lSg'^ir^ mittee for Manning the Navy, in the year 1859, o?v?ar!^ ^""^ " ^^ comparatively very small ; perhaps it is, taking it in great excess, at 300,000 men. If what was our condition in the late war be admitted as a fair criterion of what may be required hereafter, I am warranted in saying that the whole maritime population of the country vrill not be more than sufficient for the Navy and merchant service. " Such was the distress for seamen in the late war and such the alarm which it occasioned, that the patriotic merchants of London offered a bounty of 40s. to able seamen, and 20^. to 14 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. ordinary seamen, in addition to tlie Royal bounty, to every man who would enter the I^avy. " Finding this did not produce the desired effect, another meeting was held in the City, when it was agreed to give 10 guineas additional bounty to able seamen, and eight guineas to ordinary seamen, and six guineas to landsmen. " Still the call for more men, by the Admirals in command of the fleets, was so incessant and urgent, as to occasion the greatest uneasiness to the Government; and Mr. Pitt in 1795 procured an Act of Parliament for raising a certain number of men in each county for the Navy, which I think brought into the service about 10,000 men, thus swelling our numbers, but without adding much to the efficiency of the fleet. " Very soon after this, Mr. Pitt obtained two other Acts, one setting aside the protection from impressment in the coal trade, and making it compulsory on the maritime counties to raise each a certain number of men — in proportion to the shipping belonging to their respective ports. The effect of this was to bring together a great many men, but of such a description as to be perfectly useless as far as regarded the efficiency of the fleet." The state of the mercantile marine and the Marine.^^ ^ number of seamen required annually to supply the loss by death, shipwreck, and other causes, has become a grave question, how this is to be accomplished in future. To a great extent this has been done by the intro- duction of foreigners, supplemented in some limited degree by the establishment of lieformatory and Industrial Training Ships. The results and these institutions are given in the last Report (the 18th) of the Inspector of Reformatory and Industrial Schools. " For the special training which prepares the iS-Satodcs boys to go to sea, we have now eight school ships. Scho^'SpSt. Three are reformatories, viz., the ' Akbar,' con- taining 170 boys, and the ' Clarence,' containing TRAIXIXG SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. 15 "280 (both, in tlie Mersey, off Liverpool), and the ' Cornwall,' containing 230, in the Thames off Purfleet. The ' Clarence ' receives Roman Catholic boys only. More than 2,200 have been sent out of these three institutions since their first esta- blishment, and of these more than four-fifths have gone to sea, and the great majority are doing credit to the naval and professional training they have received. The five other school ships are certified under the Industrial Schools Act, viz., the ' Formidable," in the Bristol Channel, the ' Sonth- amptoD,' in the Hnmber, the ' Wellesley,' in the Tyne, the ' Cumberland,' in the Garelach, near Helensborough ; the ' Mars,' in the Tay, opposite Dundee These vessels are of more recent institution than the Reformatory ships — they cannot therefore show so large an amount of work, and have not been so fully tried. . The ' Wellesley ' and the ' South- ampton ' were certified in 1868 and 1869. About 3,000 boys have been received, and nearly 1,600 discharged ; of these nearly 1,000 have gone to sea, i.e., nearly five-eighths, and have mostly turned out well. The working of some of the Industrial School Ships has not been satisfactory, however, as regards their special vocation of training boys as sailors. In the case of the ' Wellesley,' only half the boys discharged went to sea ; in that of the ' Southampton, ' less than half ; in that of the ' Mars,' less than four-sevenths ; from the ' Cumberland,' two-thirds ; from the ' Formidable,' more than four- fifths have been so provided for. Considering that the Treasury allowance to the ships is 6s. per week instead of 5.5., as to all other industrial schools, and that this increased assistance is given with the express object of recruiting the merchant service and Xavy with lads fitted and likely to be- come well- trained and efficient sailors, the public have a right to complain when half, or nearly half, the lads so paid for are sent back to land employment, naturally less suited and pre- pared for these than if they had been trained regularly to them in an ordinary land school. The failure of school ships 16 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. which show these results, has chiefly arisen from the bo3^s being received into them at too young an age. It is a great mistake that magistrates should send, or that managers should receive, mere children of 8, 9, 10 or 11 years for training in such institutions. They come too young to benefit by the special discipline and occupation, and unless detained for un- reasonably long periods, are too young to go to sea or to be likely to continue at sea when so disposed of. I have strongly urged the necessity of _^adoptiiig a higher minimum age for admission into a school ship, no boy should be received under 12 years of age. "It is remarkable that from four to five hundred boys have gone to sea from the ordinary schools without passing through the ships at all. Feltham alone has sent out 250 and maintains a system of nautical exercise and instruction as a land school can be made to furnish. This circumstance shows that there is a large number of lads that might be advan- tageously sent by transfer to the school ships as to a nautical college for a finishing course of very useful preparation, and suggests the conclusion, that unless the school ships fulfil their proper object, and train their inmates for a sea life, the additional Treasury allowance can hardly be justified ; cer- tainly they fall far short of their proper operations, when a third or half the boys received into them become errand boys or common labourers." The statement in the Report that only 250 boys have been sent to sea from Feltham is an error. During the last four years, 1871-72-73-74, no less than 334 have entered the mer- chant service, besides others who have entered naval bands. Of those trained in the nautical section, no less than 90 per cent, go to sea. TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. 17 Number of Reformatory Sliips. \ ^j^.^^^tes. Discharged during the Tears 1871, 72 and '73. Sent to Sea, Industrial School Ships, Wellesley Formidable Southampton Cumberland Mars 277 289 198 350 303 44 113 119 325 163 1417 764 Thus it appears that out of 567 bojs discharged from the three reformatory training ships during the three years 1871- 72-73, about four-fifths, or probably 5o0, were sent to sea, and during the same three years, 1871-72-73, of the 764 dis- charged from the five industrial school ships, as near as can be gathered from the Inspector of Reformato lies' Report, about an eqaal number has been sent to sea, or about a total of 1,100 in the three years, or less than 400 per rinnum. The Inspector further reports that in the Formirlable a large proportion of the boys are very young, in the Southampton many too young for training, and in the "Welleshy it is stated that of the 277 inmates 60 are too young or too diminutive for training. Upon the perusal of the extracts from the Re- comprehensive ports and Returns which have been e^iven, it is measure re- -t^ . (luired. evident that some comprehensive measure is re- quired to meet the present and future want of efficient recruits for the army, and more especially of bond- fude seamen for the navy and mercantile marine, not only for C 18 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. the services in time of peace, bat for a reserve in time of war. The introduction of reformatory and industrial Kcformatory traininsf ships has proved both a benevolent and and Industrial oil Tmining siiips. uscful step ; but the extent to which these insti- tutions can be carried must be limited, uor is it desirable that it should be otherwise. It is to a more com- prehcnsive system that attention must now be directed for the training of a sufficient number of boys, who will consider it a privilege to be received into the institutions established under it, and who will not be regarded with the same suspicion that boys trained particularly in reformatory ships Captain Bedford ^,^,q ^ow too often looked UDon, It was with this Pim s Trai mug -•■ sciiooisarid view that Captain Bedford Pim, the member for Ships Eill, lfS75. ^ • f . ' (iravesend, introduced a Bill for establishing county training schools and ships in the last session of Par- liament. Before entering upon the details of the Train - SRTpor't'r'Jihe*'^^fe" School and Ships Bill of Captain Bedford Commissioners Pim, the followinj? cxfcract will be read with on unseaworlhy ' _ "^^ _ Ships. Reporr, much interest : — " The increased employment of ■with sugg"stions ... . . for future man- steamers has diminished the opportunities for ningtheMer- , i i i , , cantiie Marine, training sailors, and although steam vessels en- gaged in the coasting trade and in short voyages obtain many of the best men, they train up few for the ser- vice. Different schemes have been suggested to supply this acknowledged evil — firstly, compulsory apprenticeship ; second]}^, training ships ; thirdly, a combination of both schemes. It is proposed that every vessel above 100 tons register, whether propelled by sail or steam, should be required to carry apprentices in propoi'tion to her tonnage (the number to be fixed' hereafter), or to pay a small contribution (such as sixpence per ton register), this sum to be applied towards the maintenance of training ships in ail the principal ports of the Umted Kingdom. The a,pprentices should, it is said, be in- TRAIXIXG SCHOOLS AND TliAIXIN'G SHIPS. 19 lentured at or about 14 to the master of a training ship for four years, and after serving in this ship for one or two years the indenture should be transferred to any shipowner who would be willing to take the apprentice, and with whom the apprentice might be willing to serve, nntil the completion of his term. In order that these training ships might fit the boys for service at sea, a small vessel should, it is suggested, be attached to each ship, so that, with other instruction, the habit of a sea life might be acquired. These school shijos should be inspected, and receive grants from the State accord-, ing to their efficiency. In the Report of the Commission on Manning the Navy, in the year 1859, training ships were pro- posed to be maintained at the public expense. To these suggestions the Commissioners report : " The system of apprenticeship undoubtedly affords the best means of training boys for a service in whiclf fitness can only be acquired in early life, and if shipowners were willing to contribute, as suggested, it would in our opinion be a wise policy for the Government to aid these industrial schools of the mercantile marine. " The system of training boys for the Royal Training Boys Xavy has been successful, and if a somev/hat for the Royal -' ' ^'i*^7- similar plan could be adopted for the mercantile marine, the sailors and shipowners would be bene- fited, while many sources of danger to the merchant service would be diminished or removed." Thus the Commissioners recommend for adop- S^P;^5.?;*^<^^«:^ tion the verv system Captain Bedford Pim pro- Pim.s Bill, 18/0. „ J r- i posed effectually to carry out by his Bill. It is An Imperial ^^ Imperial question, not a local or personal one. It vitally affects the United Kingdom, and not alone the shipowners and merchants. The Bill of the last session, and which is about to be again brought forward in the coming session of Parliament, of which notice has been given, contemplates the establishing of either county c 2 20 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. training schools or training ships, as may be deemed expe- dient ; for experience has proved that boys can be as well trained for the sea in an inland school when a model ship is attached as in a ship anchored in the Thames, the Tyne, or the Mersey. By way of exemplification, it is sufficient to Middlesex In- ^ame the County of Middlesex Industrial School dustrial School, "^ Feitham. ^t Feltham. This school, which contains between seven and eight hundred boys, has a section in which one hundred and fifty are trained for the navy and mercantile marine, while a large number .are being prepared to enter it as soon as age and competency will permit. Two advantages a school possesses over a training ship moored in a river — firstly, that a better discipline can be carried out ; and, secondly, the health of the boys more effectually secured. « The boys in tbe nautical section are trained at an early age in all the duties required on board a ship — to go aloft ; to learn the names of the rhasts and yards ; standing and run- ning rigging; to knot and splice ; the use of the palm and n^'cdle ; the compass ; bending and unbending ; reefing and unfurling sails ; swimming ; rigging and unrigging a vessel and models ; the name of all the lighthouses and light-ships round the coast, and the description of the lights. Boats are kept on the river at Staines, in which they are taught rowing, and in which they acquire considerable proficiency. Further, the boys are all taught a trade, the chief being that of a car- penter, painter, tailor, shoemaker, cook, or baker, which renders them extremely useful when on board a ship, indepen- dent of their nautical training. Another important element runs through the entire esta- blishment, namely, a kind but strict discipline, which renders a boy familiar and accustomed to that which is maintained in the a^my, navy, or marine service, without which a soldier or sailor is comparatively valueless. TRAINIXG SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. 21 It has been before stated that sailors at the General Cha- present time are often deficient in thrift, in so- racter of Sea- ^ nien. briety, in discipline, and in that self-control which education is intended to promote. This then leads to the enquiry what kind of education have these men when boys received, and nnder what circumstances ? Has it been purely secular and irregular ? Has it been in a school in which religious instruction has been carefully attended to or altogether ignored ? And have they been accustomed to a discipline which will prepare them for that which must be exercised in either the Army, the Navy, or mercantile marine ? Have habits of industry been inculcated ? It may fairly be assumed, from the nature of the schools in which the children of the poorer classes of society receive the little education they can receive, they have not been under any great degree of restraint; indeed the few hours in which they are in the schoolroom prevents any attempt at efficient discipline, and when not within its walls, they are generally uncared for and uncontrolled. It is therefore not surprising that in after life, having been without kind parental influence, living in a contaminated atmosphere, without a benevolent guide, and subject to no good example, they should find dis- cipline and order irksome, and be deficient in thrift and sobriety. Turn, however, to the boys trained at Feltham. Kmia'S""^ ^* Entering the Institution from the ages of ten to fourteen, remaining until fifteen or sixteen, they are on an average about three years under instruction and training, and under a discipline similar to that under which they will have to live, provided they enter the Navy, the Army, or the mercantile marine. To this education and training may be attributed the fact that so very many of the boys who have left the school have proved excellent soldiers and sailors, especially has this been the case in the mercantile marine. 22 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS, The Bill introduced by Captain Bedford Pirn Captain Bed- i^ the last Session of Parliament, and which was ford Fim's Bill ^ ' of 1875. withdrawn at the request of the Home Secretary, had for its object the founding of county training schools and ships for the supply of recruits for the Army, for the training of boys for the Navy and mercantile marine, par- ticularly for the two latter services throughout the country. The mechanical sections of the Bill were the same, with a few verbal alterations, and with the addition of powers of counties to unite, as are found in the Middlesex Industrial School Act, 17 and 18 Vic, c. 169, and which have been found of great practical value, and to meet all the various requirements after the experience of twenty years. It may aj)pear to contain too many clauses and be unnecessarily elaborate, but the Committee of Visitors of the Industrial School at Feltham who have had to work under the provisions of the Middlesex Act, have found every one of the clauses essential to the due and effectual working of it. The other clauses were drawn to meet the requirements of the contemplated county training schools and ships. It may not be generally known that at the Schoois1;o be present time the ^lagistrates of a county at tro? o'f the *"""" Q^iarter Sessions have the power to establish and SeT ^^'*^''" support out of the County Rate both Reformatory and Industrial Schools. The powers, therefore, which this Bill proposed to be given to the same authorities were not novel, but only extended to another and different kind of Industrial Schools, and for the reception of boys who have not necessarily been guilty of any offence. It is of great importance that schools of this nature should be under the control of a permanent body of men exercising by law greater powers than are given to a fluctuating or iri-e- sponsible body. The Bill provided for the establishing of either training schools or training ships, firstly, because in some localities the TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. The 39th Clause. former miglit be more convenieiit and desirable, and secondly, that although training ships might be less expen- rainmg . iips. g-^^^ ^^^ Sanitary state of old ships might prove a serious objection to their being adopted for the reception of a number of young lads, independent of the difficulty which it is asserted is found in obtaining proper ventilation in them. When divested of the mechanical part, the Bill contains only ten clauses, namely the 39th, 40th, 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th, 49th, and 50th. Clause 39 contained powers of Justices to order boys to be placed on the register, and be received into a county training school or training ship. Clause 40 gave the power to the managers of a county training school or training ship to trans- fer a boy from a school to a ship or from a ship to a school if they think fit, or to discharge a boy if unfit for training. Clause 41. The entry on the register of a county training school or training ship being of the nature of an indenture of apprenticeship, this clause gives the power to the Committee of Managers to detain any boy entered upon the register. Clause 42. Power is given in this to the Com- mittee of Managers to provide for a boy on his discharge in a sum not exceeding five pounds for clothes, or in any way the Managers may deem desirable, or in case of apprenticing any boy to the mercantile marine, a further sum of ten pounds. Clause 43 gave the power to Justices to make an order for maintenance on parents or guardians. Clause 41. Clause 42. Clause 4.3. 24 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. Clause 44. Clause 44. In case of death notice to be sent to the Registrar of Deaths. Clause 45. County training schools or training ships may be inspected by order of the Secretary of State. Clause 46 contained powers of Justices to visit county training schools and training ships. Clause 47. Clausc 47. Penalty on Officers allowing desertion. The most important clause in the Bill was the 39th ; it is therefore important that it should be given in full : — " When it is represented by one or more qualified person or persons to two or more Justices acting in Petty Sessions, that any boy under the age of fifteen years is found wander- ing, and not having any home or settled place of abode, or proper guardianship, or visible means of subsistence, that is, found destitute, being an orphan or having parents unable from sickness or infirmity or any other reasonable cause, oi- having a surviving parent unable to support such boy, the Justices shall, after due enquiry, if they should think fit, and upon the application of such person or persons, order sucli boy to be entered upon the register and be received into a county training school or on board a training ship for sucli period as they may deem requisite, to be educated and trained for the Army, the Navy, or mercantile marine, and in sucli industrial work as may render the said boy more efficient when entering upon either of the aforesaid services : Pro- vided always, that the Committee of Managers of such county training school or training ship are willing to receive him for any term not extending beyond the time when such boy shall have attained the age of seventeen years. " When any Board of Guardians, either personally or by their clerk, shall in like manner represent to two or more Justices acting in Petty Sessions, that any boy under the age TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. 25 of fifteen years who is receiving parochial relief, or is an in- mate of any workhouse or district union school, and is willing to be placed in a county training school, or on board a train- ing ship, to be educated and trained as aforesaid, the Justices shall upon application after due enquiry, if they think fit, order such boy to be entered on the register and received into a county training school or on board a training ship, to be educated and trained as aforesaid : Provided always, that the Committee of Managers of such training school or train- ing ship are willing to receive him for any term not extending beyond the time the boy will have attained the age of seven- teen years ; and the aforesaid guardians shall pay such weekly payment for his support and maintenance out of the rates le^-ied for the relief of the poor, as may be deemed reason- able. " When any parent or step-parent, or guardian of a boy under the age of fifteen years represents to two or more Justices acting in Petty Sessions, that he or they desire such boy to be entered upon the register and received into a county training school or on board a training ship, to be educated and trained as aforesaid, and are willing to pay such weekly sums for the support and maintenance of such boy, the Justices may, if they think fit, order such boy to be entered upon the register and received into a county training school, or on board a training ship : Provided always, that the Committee of Managers are willing to receive him for any term not extend- ing beyond the time the boy shall have attained the age of seventeen years." If the Bill was not sufficient to meet all the evils at present existing, it is ample to provide a very considerable and im- portant addition to our land and marine services, and at a very small cost to the ratepayers ; firstly, it would relieve the rates of the support and maintenance of thousands of boys who are now in the workhouse and district union schools ; secondly, the future burden of others who, if not provided for in the 26 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. mauner proposed, will be thrown on the rates, and, as too fre* quentlj happens, either become habitual paupers or criminals instead of proving a valuable addition to our army, navj, or mercantile marine. The system of apprenticeship is in the opinion The System of p , , ii ^ i j» Apprenticeship. 01 many Competent persons the best means of training boys, and this is to some extent carried on by some of the most respectable shipowners, but it has been generally abandoned, and the opposition to it renders it improbable that it will be ever revived as a compulsory mea- sure; it is therefore to another of a comprehensive character that attention must be drawn, and this w^as and will be again presented for the consideration of the Legislature, and it would be wise policy for the Government not only to support the Bill when it again comes before the House of Commons ; but if it becomes an Act, to aid by pecuniary grants the training schools or training ships established under its pro- visions. Withdrawal of The Coujity Training School and Training Ss Bii?'^^"''^ Ship's Bill of Captain Bedford Pim came before the House of Commons on Tuesday, the 6th of April last for second reading, and was of necessity withdrawn after the speech of the Home Secretary. Captain Bedford Pim might have exclaimed on leaving the House — " The world may say I've fail'd ; I have not failed, If I set truth 'fore men they will not see ; 'Tis they who fail, not I : my faith holds firm, And Time will prove me right." It was satisfactory to find, however, that the objects contem- plated by the Bill had the sympathy of the Home Secretary, and it is probable that if he had more maturely investigated its details, he wonld have found the objections he appears to entertain do not exist, or are capable of a satisfactory explana- tion. In the fii-st place, he considers the objects aimed at by TRAIXIXG SXIIOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. 27 tlie Bill could be attained either under the Reformatory or Industrial Schools Act. To the first an insurmountable ob- jection presents itself, namely, that every boy must not only have committed some offence against the law, but have been committed to prison for a period not less than fourteen days before being sent to a Reformatory School or Training Ship, a provision which remains a blot on the statute book, so that every boy would have to pass through the prison gate on his road to the army, the navy, or mercantile marine. The clauses of the County Training School and Ship's Bill were framed to avoid this disgraceful contingency. With respect to the Industrial Schools Act, the children who come under its pro\asions are, as a rule, far too young to be trained for the army or the sea, and the experience derived after the last four or five years shows that the training of boys in the five industrial training ships, according to the Report of Inspec- tors of Reformatories, &c., has failed in sending more than a very inconsiderable number in proportion to the number discharged into the navy or mercantile marine, and for this purpose appears to nave signally failed. The Home Secretary objects to the burden of the schools being throwm on the rates ; but one of the recent amendments of the Reformatory and Industrial Schools Acts gives the power to the magistrates acting in Quarter Sessions to esta- blish and maintain these schools, and to charge the expense on the county rate, and the Bill of the Member for Gravesend does no more. With respect to another objection of the Home Secretary that the Bill would compel a boy to adopt a trade even against his will, this is a misapprehension. In the first place, it is provided that a boy shall only be sent to a county training school or on board a training ship if the magistrates, after due inquiry, sliould think fit to direct him to be entered on the register, and further if the Committee of Managers are willing to receive him. In the first instance, if the magis- 2S TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. trates found a boy unwilling to be placed in a county training school or on board a training ship, they would not make an order, nor would the Committee of Managers receive him under such circumstances ; the process is, in point of fact, nearly the same as an ordinary apprenticeship, only in another form. With respect to boys in district union or workhouse schools, the transfer under the clause can only be made if the boy is wilhng to be transferred. It is true that the present industrial schools and training ships are partly supported by contributions from benovolent persons, while thousands of wealthy men and women who never give, either to a charitable or philanthropic institution, but enjoy all their advantages, escape paying an instalment which their country has a right to demand of them. The subject under consideration is a national one, and therefore ought to be taken out of the category of philanthropic or charitable institutions. It is for the people of this country to determine whether they will adopt a comprehensive system like that proposed by the Bill of Captain Bedford Pim for the future supply of men for our army, navy, and mercantile marine, the latter not only as it effects the ship owners, mer- chants, our commerce, and the lives of thousands, but as a reserve for our navy in case of war, or hereafter have to submit, like the Continental nations, to compulsory service for this the nation must sooner or later come to if not averted by timely, energetic, and efficient measures. Two questions naturally arise — Is there any Middlesex In- industrial school already established which can dustnal School •^ Feitham and be taken as a model? and, further, are there Military Sub- _ ^ ... districts. any districts or divisions already mapped out which appear appropriate for the erection of them, and the mooring of ships to be used as training ships ? To the first it is sufficient to name again the County of Middlesex Industrial School at Feitham ; and to the second the military sub- districts, which came into operation in the TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. 29 year 1873. For the training sliips tlie ports, harbours, and estuaries afford ample accommodation acd secure anchorage. The county of Middlesex Industrial School at ^iidu^^^*^^i Feltham "was established under the provisions of a dustriai .School, local Act, 17 and 18 Yic, c. 169, for the reception Ireltham. _ ' ..... . of 800 inmates. The building is di^-ided into sec- tions, which can be enlarged or lessened as circumstances may require. There is a farm, workshops, band rooms for the training of boys for the military bands, training ship after the model of a 10-gun brig for the training of boys for the navy or mercantile marine, and a very large swimming-bath. Boats are provided by the Committee of Managers on the Thames at Staines, in which the boys are taught rowing and the management of boats. The school-rooms are large and well ventilated ; the instruction given is plain, useful, and prac- tical. The chapel will contain a thousand jDersons. The management is under a superintendent (Captain Brookes, of the Marine Artillery) and subordinate officers ; the religious instruction and superintendence of the school under a chap- lain (Rev. U. A. ^N^ewton) assisted by qualified schoolmasters. With the excej)tion of the school- and trade- masters the sub- ordinate officers are all men who have served either in the army or navy. There is a military and nautical section of 150 each, which are filled up by boys from other sections as they are deemed qualified and adapted for the services, and as vacancies occur. From the first opening of the school, sixteen years since, it has been what may be termed a semi-military and naval school, a system of this character having been considered best adapted for boys for whom the school was intended, and who in rank of life are similar to those for whom the projDOsed schools are intended. The institution is under a Committee of Magistrates, elected annually by the Court of Quarter Sessions, who meet 30 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. at the School every alternate Monday. There are invariably military and naval officers on the Committee, whose profes- sional knowledge is most important to the successful working of the school. To the second question the military sub-dis- ?T*^'^7 ^^^' ■^^icts may be fairly taken as a guide. Should the proposed Bill become an Act, it would be of essential service if the Government w^ould place before the respective Courts of Quarter Session a general scheme for their consideration, so that the training schools and ships might be so placed as not to interfere one with the other, and in localities most likely to ensure the successful working of the system. Finally, there remains for consideration, from Boys for Train- whence are these proposed training^ schools and ing Schools and _ ^ -^ _ _ _ Training Ships, training ships to be supplied with inmates ? There are about 256,000 children on an average receiving in-door or out-door relief from the various parishes and unions. Assuming one-half of this number are girls, there remains 128,000 boys, of whom there are probably 30,000 above 12 years of age, and of this 30,000, 20,000 would be found eligible for a training school or training ship, and might fairly be di-aftod into one or the other, a step which would not only relieve the rates, but would prove a source of infinite satisfaction to the boys themselves. The country has a rio-ht to look to this class for future service in return for o the great expense which has been incurred on their account. The transfer of these boys to a training school or training ship should be made a reward for good conduct, and the boys should be taught to look forward to it as a privilege, and as a future support and advancement in life. Then there is a very large class who from sickness or accident have great difficulty to support their families — widows left with children, and orphans dependent on relations who would consider it a boon to have their boys trained in TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. 31 the schools and ultimately drafted into the land or sea service. There is also a large number of boys not coming under the category of the classes enumerated, who would be rejoiced to enter either service ; and further, these schools would prove of essential benefit to the children of soldiers and sailors. It must, however, be made manifest that these training schools and training ships are not to be made the receptacles for boys who have committed offences against the law, but as a reward for good conduct. If this principle is carried out there will be as much solicitation for boys to be entered upon the register of these training schools as there is now for ad- mission into the various schools and asylums supported by the benevolent in every part of the United Kingdom. The proposed training schools and training ships are intended for those boys only who are physically qualified for the training, and the Bill before the House of Commons in the last Session for their establishment contained a pro- vison for the removal of those who are not so or who are not worthy of it. It is contemplated that after two or three years' education and training the boys will be competent to enter the Army, the Navy, or Mercantile Marine. The various qualifications required by the Admiralty during this time of peace excludes a large number of boys from the Navy who Avould be of essential service in time of war. These excluded boys, however, are in every respect adapted for the Mercantile Marine, a service which it is hoped the gTeat majority wiU enter and do justice to the care which has been taken of them and the instruction they have received. It is furtlier anticipated that, after a few years at sea, they will enter the Naval Reserve, and it is hoped that the Government may be able at some future time to offer some inducement for them to do so. The boys thus trained may hereafter form even a distinct branch of the Naval Reserve wath its esprit de corps, and should war arise become a valuable addition to the marine forces, and supersede those levies which have been found in 32 TRAINING SCHOOLS AND TRAINING SHIPS. war time to add to tlie numbers, but not to the efficiency, of the fleet. MilHons have been spent during the last few years in remodelling the Navy, in building ironclads of various sizes and types, worked by all kinds of intricate machinery, but without efficient crews no ability on the part of the officers will avail. To have at command a reserve of men properly trained and accustomed to discipline, not only for the imme- diate wants of the Navy in time of peace, but to meet all contingencies, is of vital importance. It is the duty of the Grovernment to see that provision is secured for this purpose. It is not a question of hundreds, but of thousands, and, even it may be added, of tens of thou- sands. It is to this first line of defence that the safety, wel- fare, and honour of our country must be entrusted ; for, in the words of Mr. Pitt, " Our Navy is the grand and proud l)ulwark of our fame ; that Navy which has extended our commerce, our dominion, and power to the most remote parts of the world ; that Navy which has explored new sources of wealth, and which has discovered new objects of glory." It is of vital importance that our Navy should be not only efficiently manned, but that a reserve of ho7id fide seamen should be available at all times in case of war for active service. To materially supplement other means is the object of the Bill of the member for Gravesend, which is to be again introduced in the coming Session of Parliament, and of which notice has been given. It is earnestly hoped that the Grovern- ment will give it their support, or introduce some other measure of a comprehensive character for the consideration of and adoption by the Legislature. r^ A ^->- t'iffxj. ^^;m.,-: •:•: B ^?sf^ « ■o^