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ADMIRALTY
ADMINISTRATION
has been instituted, and came into force in the year | 1897-98. The result is gradually to raise the age for entering by one year, and to shorten the course of instruction in the Britannia to about sixteen months, and cadets are now entered three times a year instead of twice. The effect of this change is that about 190 cadets pass through the Britannia yearly instead of 125, as was the case formerly, and that 170 sub-lieutenants will be ultimately produced annually instead of 116. The question of a limited competition as compared with an open one has been much discussed. It has been argued that it is anomalous to have open competition for some branches and limited competition for others, and that the exercise of the right of nomination by the First Lord is liable to be influenced by political considerations.1 After passing a certain time afloat, or in the case of the most successful boys at the date of their leaving the Britannia, the cadets are appointed midshipmen, and upon gaining the age of nineteen and completing three and a half years’ service afloat as midshipmen, they may pass for sub-lieutenants, the examination being in seamanship, navigation, torpedo, gunnery, and pilotage. As an acting sub-lieutenant the young officer proceeds to the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, where his navigation and pilotage examination takes place, and he then passes to the gunnery and torpedo establishments at Portsmouth, where upon passing the examination he is confirmed in the rank of sub-lieutenant. Promotion to lieutenant depends upon the class of ofo7nce°s certificates obtained at these examinations. Thus,
- five first-class certificates and promotion-marks
secure the promotion of the sub-lieutenant after six months from the date of seniority in that grade, five ordinary firstclass certificates after twelve months, and so on down to twenty-seven months as sub-lieutenant, after which promotion is only by seniority. The duties of a lieutenant afloat are many and various, and include the charge of watches and of a division of men, with drill at the guns. A certain number of lieutenants specially qualify in gunnery, torpedo, and navigation, and are appointed to ships to act in the capacity of specialists in these matters. Above the rank of lieutenant promotion is by selection, twice a year, according to the needs of the service, a certain number of lieutenants being promoted to the rank of commander. Lieutenants are also promoted to commander from the royal yacht and for distinguished service. Before this time, however, a separation of duties may have occurred, for it is open to a certain number of lieutenants, under particular conditions, to be transferred to the coastguard, and to forego further chances of promotion. Captains are promoted by selection from the commanders’ list, and captains, like officers of every other branch, are retired under the limit of age applicable to their rank. Their promotion to flag rank is by seniority, and depends upon the vacancies arising in the rear-admiral’s list. In the same way rear-admirals rise to vice-admirals and admirals by seniority, but are promoted “ admirals of the fleet ” by selection. The position and pay of officers of the engineer branch has steadily improved during recent years. They enter between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, mostly by competitive examination, though a few nominations remain with the Admiralty. The course at the Royal Naval Engineers’ College at Keyham is of four or five years. The most successful students at the final examinations go to the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, for a further course, and the most successful of these may be appointed to the royal corps of naval constructors. The less successful students are appointed probationary 1 See appendix to the Life, of Admiral Lord C. 1'aget, who was for six years parliamentary secretary of the Admiralty.
[BRITISH
assistant engineers, and are confirmed in the rank after a period of service. Assistant engineers may pass for engineers after three years’ service, and are eligible for promotion after five years’ service. Promotion to chief engineer is by seniority as vacancies occur, and further promotion to inspector of machinery is by selection, and to chief inspector of machinery by seniority, these last two ranks being for officers appointed to various establishments at home and abroad. The entry of accountant officers is like that of cadets, by nomination and limited competition, and under recent regulations the entry is made between the ages of seventeen and eighteen. The successful candidates are assistant clerks, passing after twelve months as clerks, and at the age of twenty-one, upon examination, become assistant paymasters. Promotion to paymaster is by seniority, and by qualifying time afloat there is promotion to staff-paymaster, and fleet-paymaster. Admirals’ secretaries are selected from the ranks of assistant paymasters and paymasters. Officers of the medical branch must be qualified under the Medical Act, and upon examination the candidates are appointed surgeons in the royal navy, and are specially trained at Haslar Hospital. After twelve years’ full-pay service surgeons are advanced to the rank of staff- surgeons, and after a further period the rank of fleet-surgeon is gained. The deputy inspector-general is selected from the fleet - surgeons’ list, and the inspector - general of hospitals and fleets from among the deputy-inspectors. Chaplains are appointed to the fleet by the Admiralty after examination. They must have been ordained deacons or priests in the Church of England, or be of the same orders “ by the lawful authority of one of the churches within the realm of Great Britain and Ireland which are in communion with the Church of England.” In addition to his clerical duties the chaplain may act as naval instructor, but there is a special branch of naval instructors who are found qualified after attaining at least a “ senior optime ” at Cambridge, a second class in the final mathematical schools at Oxford, or junior moderator in pure or mixed mathematics at Dublin. These officers are further trained at Greenwich, and it is only after passing a qualifying examination that chaplains can also undertake the duties of naval instructors. The royal naval reserve is an extremely popular force composed of officers (and others) of the mercantile marine —lieutenants, sub-lieutenants, senior engineers, and engineers, assistant engineers, and midshipmen. These officers are entered by the Admiralty upon certification by the Board of Trade, under regulations which are found in the Quarterly Navy List. Many of them undergo twelve months’ training in ships of the fleet, and all those on the active list are required to drill on board one of the royal naval reserve drill-ships for a certain number of days yearly. The number of those on the list who had served or were serving was 267 in April 1900. Vacancies for executive officers of the reserve are filled as soon as they occur, and many qualified candidates present themselves for every vacancy. In 1898-99 provision was made for increasing the executive officers’ list by 100, and the establishment of engineer officers of the royal naval reserve has been fixed at 400. The fleet reserve is a new organization devised to secure the, retention of time-expired men on a system analogous to that of the army reserve. The royal marines (q.v.), including the royal marine artillery and the royal marine light infantry, the former with their headquarters at Eastney, and the latter with their divisions at Chatham, Portsmouth, an,d Plymouth, are an extremely fine body of men, who serve alternately
