Contents of this section

In separate files:
Introduction and Contents
I. France
II. Prussia
III. Austria
IV. Bavaria, Holland, Saxony
V. Italy
VI. Russia
VII. Sweden, Norway, Denmark
IX. Switzerland
X. United States

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PART VIII.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS
IN GREAT BRITAIN.

519

X. MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN ENGLAND.

I. MILITARY SYSTEM.

The British army originated in the feudal system, by which the great barons were bound to furnish a contingent to the army of the State; and their vassals were bound to attend them in person, and to furnish each the contributions in men, horses, arms, and other materials of war, for which he was liable by the tenure on which he held his lands. When regal power absorbed the privileges of the great feudatories, the people were expected to provide themselves with arms, and, in case of invasion, to respond to the summons issued through officers commissioned by the sovereign to array the fittest men for service in each county. In the time of Henry VIII, lord-lieutenants and deputy-lieutenants of counties were first appointed as standing officers for assembling and mustering the military forces. For a time, contracts were made with “captains,” who undertook to provide, clothe, and feed a certain number of fighting men for a given money allowance. In the reign of Charles I, the important question arose, whether the King of England did or did not possess the right to maintain a military force without the express consent of Parliament. Charles II, was compelled to abandon all control of the army, except a body guard of 5,000 men, sanctioned by Parliament. These regiments still exist, and are proud of their genealogy. They are the First Foot Guards, Coldstream Guards, Life Guard, Oxford Blues, the Royal Scots, and the Second Queen’s Royals.1 The Declaration of Rights, in the time of William and Mary, settled in positive terms “that the raising and keeping of a standing army in time of peace, without consent of Parliament, is contrary to law.” The first Mustering Act was passed in 1689, to last for six months; but it has been annually renewed ever since, except in three particular years; and it constitutes the only warrant on which the whole military system of England is exercised by the sovereign with the consent of Parliament. For 172 years, with only three interruptions, the ministers of the crown have 520 annually applied to Parliament for permission to raise a military force and for money to defray expenses. The sovereign can make war and bestow military employment and honors; but the House of Commons can refuse supplies.

Military service in England is voluntary, except in rare cases, and then only in the militia. As the chances of promotion from the ranks are small, the recruits are drawn from the most necessitous classes of the community, or the least fitted for industrial pursuits. The system of recruiting, with the bounty and machinery of deception is the most characteristic feature of the British army as compared with those of Europe, and makes the distinction between officers and men more broad than in any other service.

The British army, in its completeness, is theoretically commanded by the sovereign, assisted by the secretary of state for war in some matters, and by the commander-in-chief in others. The component parts are the household troops, the infantry of the line, the ordnance corps, comprising artillery and engineers, and the marines. There are also certain corps, raised and belonging to the principal colonies; the troops in India; the yeomanry cavalry; the dockyard battalions; the volunteer artillery and rifles; the enrolled pensioners, etc. In 1814, the regular army reached 200,000, and at the close of the war, 10,000 officers were retained on half pay. In 1860-61, in the army estimates, provision was made for the following force, viz.:

Home and
Colonies.
India. Total.
Cavalry 11,667 7,243 18,910
Infantry 103,169 66,345 169,514
Artillery 22,675 5,482 28,157
Engineers 4,730 —— 4,730
Staff & Depot 1,121 13,420 14,541
Total 143,362 92,490 235,852

Under the column “India” are included only troops sent to India, and paid for out of the Indian revenues. Of the total 235,852 forces, 10,459 are officers, 17,670 non-commissioned officers, and 207,723 rank and file. For the use of this army, 24,342 horses are provided. The total expenditure sanctioned by Parliament in 1860 was £14,800,000, viz.:

Military Pay and Allowances, £5,500,000;

Civil Salaries and Wages, £1,800,000;

Stores and Works of every kind, £5,400,000;

Pensions, Retired Pay, &c., £2,100,000.

The military force of various kinds within the United Kingdom, excluding the troops in East India, on the 1st of June, 1860, was 323,259, viz.:

Regulars (service companies,) 68,778;

Regulars (depot companies,) 33,302,

Embodied Militia, 15,911;

Disembodied Militia—Effectives, 52,899;

Yeomanry Cavalry—Effectives, 15,002;

Enrolled Pensioners—Effectives, 15,000;

Volunteer Rifles and Artillery, 122,867.

521

The total force of the United Kingdom in 1870-71, was as follows:

Total.
Officers on the General and Departmental Staff, 1,239
Regiments. Officers. Non-com.,
&c.
Rank
and file.
Royal Horse Artillery, 78 138 1,834 2,050
Life-Guards and Horse-Guards, 81 192 1,029 1,302
Cavalry of the Line, 465 969 7,733 9,267
Royal Artillery, 661 1,550 12,866 15,087
Riding Establishment, 7 13 205 225
Royal Engineers, 539 564 3,879 4,836
Army Service Corps, 8 386 1,801 2,195
Foot-Guards, 237 453 5,220 5,910
Infantry of the Line, 2,934 6,468 51,990 61,392
Army hospital corps, 1 165 694 860
West India Regiments, 104 150 1,680 1,834
Colonial corps, 58 149 1,632 1,839
Total, 6,276 11,197 90,593 108,066
Depots of Indian Regiments.
Cavalry, 27 54 513 594
Infantry, 200 600 5,000 5,800
Total, 227 654 5,513 6,394
Recruiting and Teaching Estab’ts.
Cavalry Riding School, 2 2 4
Infantry Depots, 5 9 14
Recruiting Establishments, 6 17 23
Inst. in Gunnery and Engin’ing, 10 57 62 129
Total, 23 85 62 170
Training Schools and Factories.
Cadet Company, Woolwich, 10 20 9 39
Royal Mil. College, Sandhurst, 17 30 1 48
Regi’al Schools and Factories, 32 281 7 320
Total, 58 331 17 407

The total force of officers and men was 115,037, viz.

General and Department Staff, 239
Regiments, 066
Depots of Indian Regiments 394
Recruiting and Teaching Establishments, 170
Training Schools and Factories, 407

The British forces in India, exclusive of depots at home, comprised the following troops, in 1870-71:

Officers. Non-Com. Men. Total.
Royal Horse Artillery, 200 253 2,680 3,133
Cavalry of the Line, 225 424 3,672 4,321
Royal Artillery and Engineers, 1,016 795 7,936 9,747
Infantry of the Line, 1,500 3,262 41,000 45,762
Total, 2,941 4,734 55,288 63,963

In addition to the troops above mentioned the army estimates include appropriations for four classes of reserved or auxiliary forces, viz.:

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1. Disembodied Militia, 128,971 officers and men.
2. Yeomanry Cavalry, 15,435 “   “
3. Volunteers, 25,688 “   “
4. Enrolled pensioners, 31,102 “   “
Total enrolled number, 201,196 “   “

In England and Wales the Militia Establishment comprises 42 regiments, with 5,066 officers; in Scotland, 16 regiments and 670 officers; in Ireland, 48 regiments, with 3,463 officers.

By Act of 1870, in case of invasion, rebellion, or insurrection, or of imminent danger thereof, the Militia, in pursuance of an order of Her Majesty in council, can be called out (the whole or any part) and embodied for actual service; but when so called out, her proclamation must be communicated to Parliament within ten days. By recent Royal Warrant, a lieutenant of the Militia is made eligible to appointment of sub-lieutenant in the Regular Army, and in the localization of the military force of the United Kingdom, the Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteers, are to be brought into closer connection with the Regular Army.

The total cost of the British army, voted by Parliament in 1870-71, was £13,093,500, besides a supplementary vote of £2,000,000 towards defraying the expenses of the military and naval services of the kingdom. Of the regular expenses, it appears from official statements that £893,200 were for the Militia and Inspection service; £81,900 for the Yeomanry; £412,400 for volunteers; and £76,000 for enrolled pensioners and army reserve force.

EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS FOR THE ARMY.

The sum of £140,700 was devoted to military education, in the estimates for 1871, when the educational establishments provided for the army were as follows:

Royal Military College at Sandhurst, preparatory for Infantry and Cavalry Officers.

Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, for service in the Artillery and Engineers.

Royal School of Military Engineering at Chatham.

Staff College at Woolwich.

Advanced Class of Artillery Officers at Woolwich.

School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness.

Survey Classes at Aldershot.

School of Musketry at Hythe.

Army Medical School at Netley.

Royal Hibernian Military School at Dublin.

Regimental Schools for Children of Soldiers.

Garrison Schools and Libraries for Adults.

Schools and Asylums for Orphan Children of Soldiers at Dublin and Chelsea.

Training School for Army Schoolmasters in Chelsea Military Asylum.

Military School of Music at Kneller Hall.

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II. ROYAL NAVY.

The administration of the Navy of the United Kingdom is vested in the Board of Admiralty, composed of five members, who are styled “Lord Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral,” which was formerly charged with all naval matters. The First Lord Commissioner is a member of the Cabinet, and dispenser of patronage, and, with his associates, goes out with the Premier.

The effective strength of the Navy in February 1, 1869, was:

Not included in the above list are several ships for the defense of the colonies. The total naval force, August 30, 1870, was:

In Commission—238 ships, of 57,205 horse-power, 1,984 guns and 314,449 tonnage. In Reserve, &c., 318 ships, 64,286 horsepower, 3,610 guns, and 318,845 tonnage. The total number of officers, seamen, boys and marines, in 1870-71, was 55,430, besides 4,300 in the coast-guard and 1,270 in the Indian service. Among the officers were 143 flag officers; 29 superintending dockyards, and 3,193 other commissioned officers on service.

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III. MERCANTILE MARINE.

The Mercantile Marine of the United Kingdom in number of vessels, their registered tonnage, and men employed, together with the value of property and number of passengers transported in them, exceeds that of any other country. The total number of vessels in the home and foreign trade, registered in 1869, was 21,881, with a tonnage of 5,575,303, employing 202,477 men, and freighted with imports and exports to the total value of 532,475,266l.

All matters relating to merchant ships and seamen, and the mercantile marine generally, are committed to the general superintendence of the Board of Trade, which, as constituted in 1786, is composed of certain high officers, (members of the Privy Council), and its President is a Cabinet officer. To this Board all consular officers, all officers of customs abroad, and all local marine boards and shipping masters must make reports in matter and form as required. Inspectors, duly appointed by this Board, may visit any ship, examine any registry, machinery, boats, equipments, &c., to ascertain if they are conformable to law. In every seaport a Shipping Master is appointed by the Local Marine Board, who must keep register of names and character of seamen, facilitate their engagement and discharge, as well as the apprenticeship of boys to sea-service. The Local Board must provide for the examination of persons who intend to become masters or mates according to rules laid down by the Board of Trade. And to such as pass a satisfactory examination as to sobriety, experience, ability, and general good conduct on board ship, shall be given a certificate of competency; and to those who have served as masters or mates, under certain conditions, a certificate of service with specifications must be given. Shipping Masters must assist, when applied to by parents or guardians, or masters of ships, in apprenticing boys to the sea-service. No person can be employed as master or mate, who does not hold a certificate of competency, and under certain conditions, of service. Opportunities of preparing for these examinations are now provided in all the large seaports, in Navigation Schools; and the Government, through the Department of Science and Arts, encourages the study of astronomy, navigation, steam and steam machinery, and other branches, which are serviceable to officers in command of vessels, whether propelled by sails or engines, by making appropriations of money to schools according to the number of pupils who pass satisfactory examinations in these studies.

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MILITARY EDUCATION.

The following account of the institutions for military education in England is abridged from an article in Blackwood’s Magazine for November, 1858:

There exist in this country three military seminaries—the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, where youths are educated for service in the Artillery and Engineers; the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, where cadets are prepared for the Infantry and Cavalry; and the Honorable East India Company’s Military School at Addiscombe, which educates simultaneously for the Artillery, Engineers, and Infantry services of the three Presidencies. Supplementary to these are the School of Practical Instruction at Chatham, where passed cadets from Woolwich and Addiscombe learn practical engineering; and the senior department at Sandhurst, supposed to be a Staff school, into which officers of infantry and cavalry are, under certain restrictions, admitted.

I. The Military Academy at Woolwich came into existence in the year 1741. It was created by George II., to supply a want under which the English army then suffered, by giving some instructions in matters connected with their respective arts to officers and men who served in the Artillery and in the Engineers. Its beginnings were of the humblest imaginable order. A single room in a house at Woolwich, where the Board of Ordnance used occasionally to assemble, was set apart by Government as a hall of study; and two masters were appointed to give lectures by rotation, during four consecutive hours, in three days of every week. At first only the officers of the single battalion composing the English Artillery and of the corps of Engineers were required to attend. By and by the room was thrown open to the non-commissioned officers and privates also, and eventually the cadets, of whom five were supposed to be on the strength of each company of Artillery, repaired thither in like manner. But the cadets being the sons of the officers of the corps, as they neither dressed in uniform, nor were under any military control, proved very difficult to manage; and the difficulty led to a great change as well in their condition as in that of the Academy itself.

In the year 1744 the cadets were, for the first time, clothed in uniform, and collected into a distinct company. Two officers, with a drum-major, undertook the management of them; and the arrangement worked, or was supposed to work, so satisfactorily, that by little and little, as the regiment enlarged itself, the numbers composing the Cadet Company were increased also. In 1782 they had grown from twenty to sixty; in 1798 to a hundred; after which steps were taken to lodge and board, as well as to educate and drill them, apart from the residences of their fathers. Hence, after trying for a while to accommodate some in a separate barrack, while others were billeted on private persons at a payment of 2s. a day per head, the pile which now attracts the attention of the passer-by on Woolwich Common was erected. And by the addition of a lieutenant-governor, and a whole host of officers and professors, it grew into the sort of establishment which is familiar to most of us. In 1806 the staff of officers and teachers appointed to the Cadet Company consisted of—

1. Lieutenant-Governor; 2. Inspector; 3. Professor of Mathematics; 4. Professor of Fortification; 5. Mathematical Master; 6. Arithmetical do.; 7. French do.; 8. Fortification do.; 9. Landscape-drawing do.; 10. Figure-drawing do.; 11. Second French do.; 12. Fencing do.; 13. Dancing do.; 14. First Modeller; 15. Second do.: 16. Clerk.

In 1829 the fencing and dancing masters were discontinued, and a chemical lecturer appointed. In 1836 three new masters were added; and in 1857 the staff stood thus:

Military.—A Governor; one Second Captain, commanding; one do. for Practical Class; four First-Lieutenants; one Quartermaster; one Staff-Sergeant; seven Drill-Sergeants; one Paymaster’s Clerk; one Assistant do.; Servants.

Civil or Educational.—A Chaplain; Inspector—a Lieut.-Colonel of Artillery; Assistant do.—Major, R.E.; Professor of Fortification—Lieut.-Col., R.E.; two Assistants—Second Captains; Professor of Mathematics; seven Mathematical Masters; Master of Descriptive Geometry; Master for Geometrical Drawing; Drawing-Master for Landscape; Second do.; Master for Military Plan-Drawing—Brevet-Major, R.A.; Instructor in Surveying and Field Works—Captain, R.E.; Assistant do.—Captain, R.A.; Instructor in Practical Artillery—Second Captain, R.A.; Assistant do.—Second Captain, R.A.; four French Masters; four 526 German do.; Master for History and Geography; Lecturer in Chemistry; Assistant to do.; Lecturer in Geology and Mineralogy; Lecturer in Practical Mechanics, Machinery, and Metallurgy; Lecturer in Astronomy and Natural Philosophy; Clerk; First Assistant do.—a Sergeant; Second do.—Bombardier; one Drill-Sergeant—Practical Class; Modeller, Modelling Smith, Servants, &c.

Admittance to the Academy was, till very lately, obtained only on the nomination of the Master-General of the Ordnance. There was a preliminary examination, it is true; but this all except the dullest might calculate on passing, and the ages of entrance ranged between fourteen and sixteen. In 1835 the minimum age was raised to fifteen, the maximum to seventeen; while candidates were called up to compete for admission in the proportion of four youths for every three vacancies. The arrangement did not avail to produce any radical change in the spirit of the institution. The preliminary examination still proved to be a “pass,” and no more; and so it continued till those political views obtained the ascendant which abolished altogether the office of Master-General and Board of Ordnance, and gave us in their place a Secretary of State for the War Department.

Occasions had arisen, even under the old regime, when young men were permitted to enter the service of the Artillery under what may be called exceptional conditions. During the pressure of the great war of the French Revolution, the demand for officers became at one time so urgent, that it was found necessary to dispense with a regular academical education, and to give commissions to candidates who were pronounced by competent examiners sufficiently conversant with mathematics and physical science to enter upon the practical duties of their profession. Lord Panmure, taking advantage of the precedent thus furnished, threw open Artillery commissions in 1855, and has continued ever since to treat admission into the Royal Military Academy as a prize for which the youth of the United Kingdom may freely compete.

The subjects of study to be pursued in the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, not less than the mode of dealing with them, and the text-books to be used, have hitherto been prescribed to the most minute particular by regulation. They embrace Mathematics, Fortification, Descriptive Geometry, French, German, Plan-Drawing, Geometrical Drawing, Landscape Drawing, History and Geography; to which, during his continuance in what are called the “theoretical classes,” the attention of the cadet is confined. When he enters the “practical class,” the student is instructed, over and above, in Practical Artillery, Surveying and Field-Works, and attends lectures in Astronomy, Chemistry, Geology, and Mineralogy. As many as five years may be spent by a young man in going over this course—viz., four years in the “theoretical,” and one year in the “practical” class—though the average period of actual residence does not appear to exceed two years and a half or three years. There are periodical examinations at the end of every half-year, the second of which, by its results, determines whether the young man shall be allowed to go on to a commission, or be removed from the Academy.

The moral tone of this military college has never, we regret to say, been of a very high order. Excellent men have been at the head of it, and the ability of the professors and teachers appointed to instruct admits of no question. Yet few right-minded officers look back upon the years spent in the cadet barracks except with disgust. It is not very difficult to account for the circumstance. Long after Continental nations had seen the absurdity of pressing upon boys the sort of training which belongs to men, we refused to be guided by their experience, and persisted, both at Woolwich and elsewhere, in our endeavor to accomplish an impossibility. “Boys of fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen,” says a very high authority on this subject, “require much personal supervision in order to form their characters, which young officers, very often appointed without any sufficient knowledge of their tempers and habits, cannot be expected to bestow. Such officers may indeed be able to superintend drill, but not moral training. Rarely do they draw the cadets towards them, and become their advisers; more frequently repel them by a harsh dictatorial manner, the cadet being in their eyes a soldier. There has been also, during all the time I have known the Academy, great inconsistency in treating the cadets. Honor is constantly 527 talked of, and yet doubts as to their truthfulness are not unfrequently expressed. I have heard even the lie given in rough and emphatic terms. Confidence is professedly placed, and yet offences are found out in a way that shows that no confidence existed. Hence a contest arises between the officer and cadet, and the latter becomes tricky and disingenuous.”

In these emphatic words Colonel Portlock has struck at the root of most of the evil which has long been felt, and heretofore combated without success, in the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. Whatever is wanting in the morale of that establishment, it owes to the original sin of its constitution. We know how to deal with boys so long as we recognize their boyhood, even while appealing to the point of honor among them. But we no sooner dress them up in uniform, and affect to treat them as soldiers, than we lose all moral control over them. They smoke, drink, swear, and fall into other vices, not because they are overcome by any irresistible temptation, but because they look upon such acts as tokens of manhood. And the corporals, who report readily enough for insubordination, and the officers, who punish for what they call military offences, take little heed of worse things; partly because, in a military point of view, they are scarcely criminal; partly because, not being regarded as such, they are seldom brought under the notice of the superior authorities. How a seminary so conducted and so managed should have given to the Artillery and Engineers a body of officers distinguished, as those of both arms unquestionably are for talent, intelligence, and gentlemanly bearing, would be inexplicable, were not the fact well known, that one of the first lessons taught to the young lieutenant, after quitting the Academy, is to throw off the habits which he had contracted there, and to adopt the high moral tone and excellent habits of his regiment.

It was partly with a view to provide a palliative for this admitted evil, partly to encourage in our young Artillery officers the habit of sustained study, that they were required, by a recent regulation, “to place themselves under the orders of a director of studies for half a year after obtaining their commissions. Meanwhile cadets who are appointed to the Engineers proceed to the training-school for that arm at Chatham; where they go through a somewhat careful course of surveying, and are instructed less elaborately in architecture, civil as well as military, and in mining, sapping, pontooning, and so forth. According to the report of the Commissioners, it does not appear that they reach their new field of instruction over and above well prepared to make the most of it. Indeed, the whole of the Woolwich system is by these gentlemen condemned in terms as decided as is consistent with good breeding.

II. It was not till the year 1804 that the propriety of training young men in ever so slight a degree for the service of the infantry and cavalry, seems to have occurred to any statesman or soldier in this country. Appointments to both arms took place for a time by purchase only, and by and by, when the numbers of the rank and file increased, through the weight of influence, personal, political, or social. Moreover, when the pressure of the great war was at its height, a third door of entrance to military rank was opened, and ensigncies and captaincies, and even lieutenant-colonelcies, became the prize of private gentlemen who were able to bring certain fixed contingents of able-bodied men under the royal standard. So far as the candidates for commissions themselves were concerned, however, the same even-handed justice was meted out to all. Nobody took the trouble to inquire whether the candidates were qualified morally, intellectually, or physically. He might be a pimp and blockhead, or lame, or deaf, or blind; but so long as his patron had the ear of the Government, or the men whom he brought with him were able to pass muster, his commission, whatever it might be, was secure.

The Military College at Sandhurst consisted at first, as it still consists, of two departments—one, called the Junior Department, for cadets—the other, the Senior Department, for officers desirous of qualifying for the Staff. But it had, in its original constitution, this marked advantage over the arrangement which has since been effected, that whereas now cadets and officers occupy portions of the same range of buildings, and come under the instruction 528 of the same professors, they were, in 1804 placed, the one at Marlow, the other at Highwickam—each class of students having its own teachers, though both were subject to the control and management of the same military administration.

As first constituted, the junior department afforded both an asylum and a place of education for the sons of officers exclusively. Youths once admitted ceased to be a burden to their friends, except for the necessary expenses of travelling; they were housed, clothed, and educated at the public expense. But no sooner was the great war ended than Parliament began to slacken in its gratitude to the army, and by little and little the grants for military education fell off, till in the end they ceased altogether. As a necessary consequence, the numbers of persons seeking education at the Military College fell off in like manner. And now the junior department exhibits a muster-roll of 180 cadets only, while the strength of the senior department has dwindled to nine individuals. To be sure, other causes than the withdrawal of public support from the institution have operated to produce this latter result. Whatever it might have been forty years ago, the senior department at Sandhurst is certainly no Staff school now. Indeed, the only science effectively taught there seems to be mathematics; and it is a curious fact, that though the army abounds with officers who have passed through that school, and taken high honors, the instances are rare in which Staff appointments have fallen to the lot of any of them.

Lads are admitted into the junior department at Sandhurst between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. The preliminary examination is of the most trivial kind, and the instruction communicated is, for half the course, that of a common school not of the highest order. No doubt each youth may, if he be disposed, master more than the elements of a good deal of science; for over and above physical geography and history, instruction is given in practical astronomy, dynamics, and statics, practical mechanics, co-ordinate geometry, the differential and integral calculus, trigonometry and mensuration, Euclid’s Geometry, attack and defence of fortresses, practical field-fortification, course of military surveying, the Latin, French, and German languages. Unfortunately, however, there is no compulsion to study, nor any inducement, unless the youth aspire to win for himself a commission without purchase.

III. The Hon. East India Company’s College at Addiscombe approaches nearer in its constitution and objects to what a military school ought to be, than any other of which we can boast in this country. It came into existence in 1818, previously to which date the Directors were in the habit of sending to Woolwich, for instruction, youths to whom they had given cadetships in the Company’s Artillery and Engineers. When first founded, it was intended as a place of training exclusively for these young gentlemen; but the benefits derived from it became so obvious and so great that the Court of Directors gradually enlarged its views, and now young men are educated at Addiscombe not only for the Company’s Artillery and Engineers, but for their infantry also. And herein it is that the Directors have mixed up evil with good. They consider an Engineer cadetship as their great prize, and next to that a cadetship of Artillery; and they select for these appointments, not the youths who may have exhibited special talents for either arm, but the best men, or the men reported as generally best, of their batch. The consequence is, that to the infantry—for good service in which talent is as much required as for either the Artillery or Engineers—the idlers of the College are appointed, while many a clever lad, who would have shone as an infantry officer, becomes an indifferent engineer or gunner, simply because he has been posted to an arm for the practical operation of which he has no genius.

In all other respects the Military School at Addiscombe may be fairly said to surpass both Woolwich and Sandhurst. In the first place, youths enter there almost invariably at a more mature age. Though eligible for admission after completing their fifteenth year, they seldom, if ever, come up for examination till after they have turned seventeen. In the next place, the entrance examination is more severe than either at Woolwich or Sandhurst; 529 and in the third and last place—and this is the most important condition of the whole—cadets must complete their course at Addiscombe in two years, unless for special reasons, such as sickness, they be allowed to prolong their stay one half-year more. Now, lads may linger on at Woolwich four, and even five years, gaining this remarkable advantage from their stupidity, that when forced to compete at last for choice between Artillery and Engineers, they compete with youths who may have had but two years’ training. And at Sandhurst, the course which nominally covers four years, may, if the youth have interest at headquarters, be completed, as far as his appointment to a commission completes it, in four months.

The general education given at Addiscombe is certainly not inferior to that which the cadets receive either at Woolwich or at Sandhurst. It embraces, indeed, almost entirely the same subjects which are set down in the curriculum of the others—including lectures in geology, chemistry, and artillery. But it undeniably falls short in specialties. Hence, after completing his course at Addiscombe, the Company’s cadet intended for the Engineers proceeds to Chatham, where, side by side with young men from Woolwich, he receives practical instruction in his art. For the Artillery cadet, on the other hand, there is no practical school. Like his comrade intended for the service of the Infantry, he proceeds at once from Addiscombe to India, and learns there how to turn to account the theoretical lessons which have been communicated to him at home.

Another distinction deserves to be noted between the constitution of the school of Addiscombe, and that as well of the Royal Military College as of the Royal Military Academy: Though all alike put from them the eleemosynary element, at Addiscombe alone is strict impartiality in the matter of payments observed. The youth who enters there, whether he be the son of an earl or of a subaltern’s widow, must be provided with his £100 a year, besides about £25 more to cover the cost of books, instruments, and uniforms. Both at Woolwich and Sandhurst there is a graduated scale, which exacts more from a general officer than from a subaltern, and more from a civilian than from either. The orphan of an officer dying in poor circumstances is admitted into Woolwich on payment of £20 a year. He pays for similar privileges at Sandhurst £40. The son of a gentleman in civil life pays in both cases £125, a sum more than necessary to cover the expenses of his own board and education, but which is exacted in order that there may be a surplus out of which the deficiencies occasioned by the payments of the sons of officers shall be made good.

Most important changes in the system of Military Education in England have been introduced since 1855, by Lord Panmure and the Council of Military Education, inaugurated under his auspices.

1. Admission to the various Military Schools is now gained by open competitive examination.

2. The order and method of studies, and all examinations for promotion, are governed by an independent Board of competent officers, and men of service, called the Council of Military Education.

3. The amount and order of studies in each school are minutely arranged, and each Professor is kept to the prescribed course by the supervision of a Master of Studies.

4. The development of the Staff School has given completeness to the system.

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III. FRENCH VIEW OF ENGLISH MILITARY SCHOOLS.

M. Alphonse Esquiros, in the Révue des Deux Mondes of September 1860, contributes two articles on the military schools and institutions of England, from which we make a few extracts:

THE MILITARY SPIRIT AND PREPARATION OF ENGLAND.

On what foundation is the assertion based that England is only a first-class naval power? Although never numerous, have not the English soldiers sufficed for all the great eventualities of history? Has not the weight of their arms been felt for centuries past in the balance in which are weighed the destinies of the Continent? Each time that it was necessary to conquer, have they not conquered? I will not awaken irritating recollections. I will not mention the name of a great battle so painful to our national self-love; it will suffice to recall the fact, that recently, England, with a handful of men, has reconquered India. Instead of denying history, it were better to ask by what links the British character is connected with the group of martial nations. The Englishman is not warlike from inclination; he does not love war for war’s sake, or maintain an army for the ruinous pleasure of seeing bayonets glitter and banners flaunt. He has an army to defend his territory, his commerce, the immense net-work of his external relations and possessions. Experience has more than once shown him the necessity of placing the pride of riches under the protection of courage. The Englishman has less enthusiasm than coolness. Immovable when attacked, he feels that the responsibility of the labor which has made England an opulent nation rests upon his arms. The military element, therefore, presents in Great Britain peculiar and interesting features. And then, quite recently, besides the regular army, a new independent army has arisen. Yesterday, it existed but as a project; to-day, it fills the towns with the blast of its clarions, passes review in Hyde Park and Holyrood, and covers the plains with the smoke of its skirmishers. I speak of the volunteers, or riflemen. We must investigate the origin of this movement, and the influence it has already exercised on English habits; but before busying ourselves with the army and volunteers, it will be well to study the military schools and arsenals.

REFORMS IN MILITARY EDUCATION AND PROMOTION IN 1856.

The delay and disasters of the operations before Sebastopol aroused the attention of the press and the people to the manner in which officers for the army were trained, appointed, and promoted. The Government was aroused by the emotions of the country, and in 1856, a commission was appointed by Lord Panmure, Secretary of War, to reorganize the education of the officers. That commission visited the different military schools of Great Britain, visited similar institutions in France, Prussia, Austria, and Sardinia, and collected all documents of a nature to enlighten it researches. Its report is a monument of science, and art, and impartiality. The authors of that investigation, Col. Yolland, Col. Mythe, and Mr. Lake, of the Oxford University, pointed out what reform ought to be made in the English system to raise the establishment of military education to the level of the inevitable progress claimed by the present age. They recommended a Council of Military Education, which, placed beyond and above the educating body, should direct the studies of the young men destined 531 for the army. From these various influences—the pressure of public opinion, the commission appointed in 1856 by the Government, and especially the Council of Military Education, arose those happy changes, which we shall endeavor to point out in the military institutions of Great Britain.

ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY AT WOOLWICH.

Before 1855, the candidates were named by the master-general of ordnance; and although there was an entrance examination, the requisitions were very elementary, and no youth, influentially connected or recommended, was rejected. The results, although the institution furnished some good engineers and artillery officers to the English army, were not satisfactory. Since 1855 the system of appointment and instruction has been re-organized. Appointment on nomination has given place to open competition. A ministerial circular made an appeal to all candidates desirous of entering the academy without distinction of class, or party. Public examinations thrown open to the youth of England, with independent examinations, succeeded the private examinations within the college walls. The axe was laid at the tree of privilege, and personal merit was substituted in its place.

The entrance examinations take place twice, a year, at Chelsea Hospital—the home of disabled soldiers, and the school of orphan soldiers’ children—in a large hall hung with the captured trophies and battle flags of different nations. The programme embraces mathematics, simple and practical; history, geography, and English literature; the Greek and Latin classics; the French language and literature; German, chemistry, and physics; mineralogy and geology; geometrical and landscape drawing. To each subject a certain numerical value is assigned. Each candidate is limited to five subjects, including mathematics, which he may select out of the programme, and on his obtaining an aggregate as well as relative number of marks depends his success. The results are made public, and the unsuccessful candidates are allowed another trial to fill succeeding vacancies. Then examinations exercise an indirect but elevating influence upon the schools of the country which send forth the candidates. Competition has put a check upon ignorance and mediocrity, no matter how well backed by social and political influence.

Another reform, not less important than that of competition, or the system of nominations, was that order of the minister of war, lengthening the age for the admission of candidates. That age was fixed between 16 and 20. The inconvenience of submitting young men too soon to military discipline has been recognized with great wisdom by Gen. Portlock.2 “The character of adolescents exacts,” he says, “a more delicate cultivation than that which must be expected from officers imbued with the command of a military school. In their eyes, no matter how young he is, the pupil is a soldier, and they treat him almost as one. Doubtless they excel in drilling him well; but do they possess the necessary qualities and experience for forming the morals of youth?” Another consequence of the early admissions was the introduction of a sort of confusion and uncertainty in the system of teaching. Now, a distinct line is drawn between the course of studies which precede and which follow admission to the academy. The conclusion was come to that a military academy formed a sort of line of demarcation in life between a good general education which ends, and a professional service which commences. The character, mind, manners of the candidate 532 are supposed to be formed according to the usages of the world; he has reached that age when a man knows himself, and looks out for a career.

It is needless to dwell on the course of instruction, which is now nearly the same in all the great military schools of Europe. There are thirty-five professors, many of them eminent in their respective departments. One leading object, both of instruction and discipline, is to cultivate the habit of self-improvement and self-government. Physical sports are practiced and encouraged, and the cadets frequently challenge the officers of the garrison to a match of cricket.

An examination takes place every six months, in which the progress of each cadet is ascertained and reported. Those who pass through the series in good standing are promoted to a commission; the most distinguished to the engineer corps, and the others to the artillery. The appointment of these young officers gives rise to an interesting ceremony. The Duke of Cambridge, with a numerous staff, visits Woolwich Academy twice a year. All the cadets are present in review in front of the monument. It is pleasing to see how admirably they go through the manœuvres. The duke then enters a hall where a viva voce examination takes place on the art of fortification. This over, the cadets form in square, and the duke then advances to the table where the prizes are laid out. These prizes consist of a sword of honor, telescopes, mathematical instruments, and books. The President of the Council of Education reads out the names of the cadets of the first class who are to receive commissions in the engineers and artillery. In conclusion, the Duke of Cambridge addresses some parental words to the young men who are about to leave the academy to enter the army. Such is a brief account of this academical festival, to which the brilliancy of the uniforms, the rank and names of the assistants, the happy emotions on the faces of the young men, impress a character of charm and solemnity.

MILITARY COLLEGE AT ADDISCOMBE.

Addiscombe was formerly the residence of the Earl of Liverpool, but was converted into a school at an expense of $40,000, by the East India Company. Within a few years it has passed into the hands of the Government. One of the first acts of the Secretary of War and Council of Military Education was to inaugurate a system of admission (which was open by patronage of members of the company) by competitive examination, and which has been attended with the happiest results. After passing a year at Addiscombe, the cadets enter according to merit (ascertained by examination) and either enter the engineers, artillery, or line service. The India service will always remain distinct and sought after; that life of adventures, encampments in the jungles, tiger hunts, the attraction of struggles against man and nature, the dazzling figures of a world shining in the east through the fogs of Great Britain, all this responds to one feature of the English character, the love of adventure.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SANDHURST.

Here are two distinct institutions—the college, which is a preparatory school for infantry and cavalry officers, and the senior department, or staff school. The scholars of the last department, who have already gone through the competitive examination, are commissioned officers; they have even served a certain number of years in the army; some of them have gone through the Crimean war and the Indian campaign. In 1859, one of these officers had received eighteen 533 or nineteen wounds, which had deprived him of one of his eyes. I was surprised at finding among them candidates for staff appointments who could write and speak French in a manner that would have done honor to a French officer.

The English find it an advantage to admit young officers of talent and energy into the higher branches of the service. To the experience of their profession, their picked soldiers add knowledge already acquired, which a second course of education develops and consolidates. It must, however, be admitted that it requires a certain moral strength to return, after having held a command, to the benches of a school, to follow various studies, and to submit to strict examinations, which exclude all ideas of promotion and favor, fortune or birth.

In an economical point of view, these two institutions, Woolwich and Sandhurst, cover their own expenses without any cost to the State. This fact, which was by no means foreseen, is owing to two measures relatively of recent date—the gradual withdrawal of subsidies formerly granted by Parliament, and the accession of the sons of rich men not belonging to the army; these latter pay a high premium, and thus contribute towards the education of the other cadets, who, being sons of officers, enjoy certain immunities. In England, it is thought equitable that the services of the father should be counted in favor of the son; according to this principle, the debt contracted by the country towards military men is paid to their sons by civilians.

Young men who have not passed through Sandhurst may, nevertheless, be admitted as officers into the line or cavalry, but on the condition of undergoing an examination and purchasing their commissions. This purchasing of direct commissions is doubtless detrimental to Sandhurst College. The abolition of the system has often been mooted. The Duke of Cambridge approves of the abolition, as does the Minister of War, and wishes that no officer shall be admitted into the English army except from a military college.

COUNCIL OF MILITARY EDUCATION.

So far we only behold the members of a great system. There is unity in the Council of Military Education, which to a certain extent is the head of instruction. The influence of their council, which consists of eminent men, is felt in the different schools, introduces changes and useful reforms, directs the public examinations—in a word, gives the impulse to the military studies of the United Kingdom. The civil and religious element is represented therein by one of the most learned men of England (the Rev. Henry Mosley, canon.) The other members are generals and colonels belonging to different corps of the army.

Thus it will be seen that England enjoys a system of military education which will bear comparison with that of any other nation in Europe. The chief purposes of this system are a good general instruction up to the age of sixteen or nineteen years, then a short military instruction, then, after some years of service, a final course of studies in the senior department or staff college. It must not, however, be supposed that the present state of things, though happily modified by the recent principle of competition, is the extreme limit of progress. In the name of liberty, I am too anxious that Great Britain should maintain her position in the world, to pay a full compliment to her self-esteem and enslumber her aspirations for reform. She has done much in these latter times; but there is still much to be done, and she is aware of it, to raise the moral power of her officers to the level of modern times, where enlightenment pervades every class of society.

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MODIFICATIONS IN 1871.

In 1867 a Royal Commission was appointed “to inquire into the Present state of Military Education and into the Training of Candidates for Commissions in the Army.” The Report, with the minutes of evidence and illustrated documents, was quite voluminous, and has been followed with important changes in both the system of military instruction, and in the mode of making appointments and promotions in the army, that will be noted in detail in the following chapters, which are compiled from historical notices by the Secretary of the Commission, and recent Regulations for the government of the several schools and the examinations for appointment and promotions.

The most important measure affecting the British army; after repeated discussions of the principle, in the last and former Parliaments, and particularly in the last, on a bill of the Gladstone ministry, in which the votes of the Commons in favor was overruled by the Lords, was the abolition of the whole system of purchase and sale of commissions by Royal Warrant issued July 20, 1871. This radical change was followed (October 30) by a revision of the Queen’s Regulations, in which original appointments and promotions in the military service are put on a new basis. Henceforth, commissions of the first grade are to be issued to sub-lieutenants, for any vacancy occurring:

1. To successful candidates, in the order of merit as ascertained by competitive examination in general subjects.

2. To graduates of the universities who shall pass a qualifying examination.

3. To Queen’s Cadets, Indian Cadets, and Pages of Honor, who have passed successfully the final examination of the Military Academy, or its equivalent.

4. To non-commissioned officers who are recommended for promotion by their commanding officers. If more candidates apply than there are vacancies to be filled, appointment is decided by competition.

5. To a lieutenant of the militia, who shall pass the professional examination required.

Sub-lieutenants are eligible to promotion only after passing a professional examination, and only after twelve months’ service with a regiment, under strict discipline, with liability to be removed for physical or moral unfitness. Within three years from the date of their commissions as lieutenants, officers may submit to an examination in respect to fitness for promotion to captaincies, and any officer failing to pass within three years, must retire from the army. Lieutenants are eligible to the rank of captain at any time after two years’ service in the army, having passed the examination. A captain may be made a major after two years’ service in the army; and a major is at any time eligible to a lieutenant-coloneley, which means the command of a regiment.

Every promotion must now be made on the recommendation of the Commander-in-Chief, with the approval of the Secretary of State for War; and from the principles laid down in the Royal Warrant, as will be seen further on, every precaution is taken to insure a gradual advance by seniority, and a more rapid rise by meritorious service founded on intelligent and disinterested tests. By the new Warrant the Militia is brought into closer connection with the Regular Army. To the abolition of purchase, and promotion by professional preparation and service, may be added the autumn field manœuvres, inaugurated in 1871, with 30,000 men, and the localization of the Army, by assigning a corps with staff, train, men, &c., to territorial divisions of the country.

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COUNCIL OF MILITARY EDUCATION.

HISTORICAL NOTICE.

In the debates which took place in Parliament during the Crimean war, in the year 1855, attention was frequently drawn to the necessity of improving the professional education of officers, and more particularly of providing means of instruction for, and requiring special qualifications from, those who were candidates for the staff. In the course of the same year a great alteration was made in the principles which had hitherto regulated preparatory instruction for the army, by abandoning, so far as the scientific corps were concerned, the system of juvenile military education, and throwing admission to the Artillery and Engineers open to public competition among candidates whose age would afford the presumption that their general education was already completed. At the beginning of 1856 three Commissioners, Lieut.-Colonel Yolland, R.E., Lieut.-Colonel Smythe, R.A., and the Rev. W. C. Lake, were appointed by Lord Panmure, then Secretary of State for War, “to consider the best mode of reorganizing the system for training officers for the scientific corps”; and for this purpose were directed to visit the military schools of France, Prussia, Austria, and Sardinia. The instructions issued to the Commissioners informed them that it was already decided that admission to the scientific corps should be obtained by open competition, and that the age of candidates admitted to the examination should be from 17 to 20.

While the Commissioners were still engaged in their inquiries, the question of military education was frequently brought before the notice of Parliament in the course of the session of 1856, more particularly by Mr. Sidney Herbert, who, in an elaborate speech on the 5th of June, explained to the House of Commons the details of a general scheme of education for officers of all branches of the service, the outline of which he had previously sketched out while Secretary at War in 1854, in a letter to the Commander-in-Chief.

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The subject of military education was one which at this time engaged the serious attention both of the Government and the public. Toward the close of the year, Major-General Lefroy (then Colonel Lefroy, and employed at the War Office as artillery adviser to the Secretary of State) was directed by Lord Panmure to draw up a general scheme for the education of officers; and numerous plans, with a similar object, were about the same period proposed for the consideration of the Secretary of State.

The military educational establishments which existed in 1856 were as follows:

The Royal Military College at Sandhurst, comprising a senior and junior department. Under the control of the Commander-in-Chief.
The Royal Military Academy at Woolwich.  
The Ordnance School at Carshalton, a preparatory establishment to the Academy. Under the control of the Clerk of the Ordnance.
The Department of Artillery Studies at Woolwich.
The Royal Engineer Establishment at Chatham.  
The East India Military College at Addiscombe. Under the Court of Directors of the East India Company.
The School of Musketry at Hythe. Under the control of the Commander-in-Chief.
The Royal Military Asylum at Chelsea, comprising a training school for army schoolmasters, and a model school for children. Under the control of the Deputy Secretary of War.
The Royal Hibernian School at Dublin.
Garrison and regimental schools for soldiers and children. Under the control of the Chaplain-General.

Up to this period no systematic organization for the direction of military education had prevailed in this country; the various educational establishments were under the control of separate departments, and no single authority exercised any general supervision over them. The appointment of a Director-General of Military Education had been already advocated in Parliament by Mr. Sidney Herbert, and the institution of a special department to superintend the whole system of education for the army was one of the main features both of Colonel Lefroy’s and of all the other schemes brought under the consideration of Lord Panmure at this period.

The Commissioners appointed in 1856, after having visited the military schools of the Continent, presented their Report in January, 1857. In this Report, although their instructions 537 had more particularly directed their attention to the training of officers for the scientific corps, they touched upon several points connected with the education of officers of the army generally. One of the changes most strongly recommended by them was the formation of a special Board of Military Education. “We consider it of the first importance,” their Report says, “that military education in this country should be regarded as a whole, and that perfect unity of system and harmony in its working should be made to prevail. This, we conceive, can only be done by bringing military education generally under the control of one head, the Secretary of State for War; and to effect this, a Board or Section of Military Education should be formed, as part of the establishment of the War Office.” The Report adds: “The creation of such a Section appears to us far more important than any other single object we can recommend.” The Commissioners also stated that after careful consideration, they recommended the combined action of a Board in preference to the undivided authority of a single individual, on the ground of the variety of knowledge and experience required for the proper treatment of educational questions.

The appointment of the Council of Military Education was the first result of the recommendations of the Commissioners. Its institution was proposed in a letter from the Commander-in-Chief to the Secretary of State for War on the 6th of April, 1857, and as originally constituted, it consisted of the Commander-in-Chief as ex officio president, a Major-General as vice-president, and two field officers as members. The appointment of the Council, although the members commenced their duties at once, was not officially gazetted until June.

The functions of the Council, however, did not in the first instance extend to a general superintendence over the whole system of military education. Almost simultaneously with their institution an Inspector-General of Army Schools was appointed under the Secretary of State for War, to whom the management of all institutions connected with the education of soldiers and children, which had previously been in the hands of the Chaplain-General, was entrusted. Nor was the supervision of the Council even over the education of officers at first general, as the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich remained under the management of the War Office (under which department it had been placed on the abolition of the 538 office of Master-General of the Ordnance), and the examinations for admission to it were conducted by a separate Board of Examiners, under the superintendence of Canon Moseley.

The instructions issued to the Council on their first appointment directed their attention more especially to the organization of a Staff College, the revision of the system of examinations for direct appointments to the army, the amalgamation of Woolwich and Sandhurst, and the professional instruction and examination of officers after entering the service. On all these questions they submitted reports in the course of the year, and at the beginning of 1858 they commenced to conduct the examinations in connection with the Staff College and the Cadet College at Sandhurst, although these establishments were not formally put under their authority until, by a Royal Warrant of the 1st of October, 1858, the Council were appointed Visitors of the Royal Military College. The examinations of officers for direct appointments to the staff, which had been instituted in 1857, were also placed under the superintendence of the Council in 1858; but at a later period, the portion of these examinations which has more especial reference to matters of drill and regimental duty was, on the recommendation of the Council themselves, removed from their control, with the view of its being conducted by a Board of Officers appointed by the Adjutant-General.

At the beginning of the year 1858, the office of Secretary to the Council of Military Education was created, and in June of the same year an augmentation of their number took place by the addition of two new members,—one a field officer, the other a civilian, the Rev. Canon Moseley. The constitution of the Council as then fixed continues to the present day, and consists of the Commander-in-Chief as ex officio president, a vice-president, and four members, one being a civilian.

The appointment of a civilian as a member of the central Board of Military Education had been recommended by the Commissioners of 1856, on the ground of the close connection between military and civil educational questions. The decision to carry out this recommendation, simultaneously with an augmentation in the strength of the Council, appears to have been connected with the determination arrived at, to place the superintendence of the Academy at Woolwich—the competitive examinations for admission to which had hitherto been conducted by Canon Moseley—in the hands of the Council. 539 They were formally appointed Visitors of the Academy in August, 1858, their control over the education of the officers of the army being now made almost entirely general. The powers of the Council, however, in regard to Woolwich appear, probably from the fact of their not being defined by Royal Warrant, to be theoretically somewhat less extensive than those possessed by them over Sandhurst, as the recommendation of the appointment of professors, which in the case of the latter college is formally vested in the Council, is at the Academy left to the Lieutenant-Governor.

In October, 1859, the Indian Military College at Addiscombe was placed under the supervision of the Council, and the examinations for admission to it were conducted by them until the close of the establishment in 1861.

In 1860, the superintendence of army schools, garrison libraries, recreation rooms, the Royal Military Asylum at Chelsea, and the Royal Hibernian School at Dublin, were transferred from the Secretary of State for War to the Council.

In 1864, the Advanced Class of Artillery Officers, on its institution, was placed under the control of the Council. Since this date the whole system of army education has been superintended by that body, with the exception of the examinations of officers for promotion, the School of Musketry at Hythe, and the more peculiarly regimental institutions which exist in the Department of Artillery Studies, the School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness, and the School of Military Engineering at Chatham, for the special instruction of officers of the scientific corps. The Survey Class at Aldershot, though not formally is indirectly subject to their supervision.

1. ORGANIZATION AND DUTIES IN 1869.

The Council of Military Education consists of the Duke of Cambridge, Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, President; Major-General W. C. E. Napier, Vice-President; Major-General Sir Fred. Abbott, of the Royal Engineers; Col. Pocklington and Col. Hamley, of the Royal Artillery; Rev. Canon Moseley, civilian; and Capt. Greentree, Secretary.

Military Schools and Examinations.

1. To recommend to the Commander-in-Chief, and the Secretary of War, gentlemen for the appointment of examiners in the army examinations.

2. To recommend professors and instructors for the Advanced Class of Artillery Officers, the Staff College, the Royal Military Academy, and the Royal Military College.

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3. To examine, by means of their staff of examiners, officers for direct appointment to the staff, chiefly the personal staff, and aids-de-camp and assistant military secretaries.

4. To examine officers of artillery for admission to the Advanced Class, and for certificates on quitting it.

5. To examine officers for admission to the Staff College, probationarily after a year’s residence, and for qualification for the general staff on quitting the College.

6. To examine candidates for admission to the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, and for qualification for commissions in the Royal Artillery and in the Royal Engineers on quitting that establishment.

7. To examine candidates for admission to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and for qualification for commissions in the army on their quitting the College.

8. To examine candidates for direct commissions in the cavalry, guards, and line.

9. To visit the several military colleges whenever they consider it desirable.

10. To report to the Commander-in-Chief on all questions connected with the education of candidates for the army, or with the educational departments of the several military schools.

Army Schools, Regimental and Garrison Libraries and Reading Rooms.

1. To receive and consider all applications for training schoolmasters or schoolmistresses; the usual course of procedure in these cases is annexed.

2. The appointment of trained schoolmasters and schoolmistresses, according to the regulations.

3. The appointment of acting schoolmasters and schoolmistresses, when trained masters and mistresses cannot be provided.

4. The appointment of civilian schoolmasters in embodied regiments of militia under special regulations as annexed.

5. The transfers of schoolmasters and schoolmistresses from one regiment or garrison school to another, as circumstances may require.

6. Promotion of schoolmasters and schoolmistresses from one class to another according to the regulations.

7. To receive and consider all communications from commanding officers on matters relating to the appointment of schoolmasters and schoolmistresses their discipline, application for leave to marry, furlough, etc.

8. To receive the monthly report of schools, prescribed by Article 16 of the Schools Regulations, and to consider the same, and take such proceedings thereon as may appear necessary.

9. The periodical inspection of all military schools, and of the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea, and the Royal Hibernian School, Dublin.

10. To provide for and superintend the half yearly examination at the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea.

11. The supply of suitable apparatus for the illustration of lectures for the instruction and entertainment of soldiers, according to the rules laid down by the Secretary of State.

12. The general supervision of regimental and garrison libraries and reading rooms.

13. To consider applications for, and appoint librarians at rates of pay previously authorized by the Secretary of State.

14. To supply games, and other authorized articles for reading rooms, according to the rules annexed.

15. To receive the quarterly reports of the state of barrack libraries in duplicate, and to consider any recommendation which maybe made therein; one copy to be forwarded to the Secretary of State for War, with the recommendations of the Council recorded thereon, should any be necessary.

16. To make out requisitions upon the War Office for additions to libraries, when necessary, within the annual amount granted by Parliament.

17. To receive and consider the half yearly reports of artillery and engineer libraries in duplicate, in aid of which a grant of money will be made annually to each brigade of artillery and company of engineers by the Secretary of State, on the recommendation of the Council of Military Education; one copy to be forwarded to the Secretary of State, with any remarks thereon which may appear called for, the other to be retained by the Council.

18. Hospital libraries and the schools and libraries of disembodied regiments of militia will remain under the Secretary of State for War.

19. Upon all matters connected with either schools or libraries, not specified above, and which may involve expense, reference should be made to the Secretary of State for War, previously to any decision being arrived at.

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EXAMINATIONS FOR COMMISSIONS AND PROMOTIONS.

I. EXAMINATIONS FOR DIRECT COMMISSIONS.

HISTORICAL NOTICE.

Previously to the year 1849, no educational qualifications were required as a condition of obtaining a commission, except from officers appointed to the scientific corps—admission to which could only be obtained by passing through the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich—and from the small proportion of officers, scarcely amounting, at that time, to one sixth of the whole number annually obtaining commissions, who entered the other branches of the service from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. Examinations for admission to the army generally were first instituted by the Duke of Wellington, when Commander-in-Chief, in 1849. The examination, in addition to general subjects of elementary education, included the professional subject of fortification, in which the candidate was required to have read some easy work on the subject, and to have received some instruction in drawing. This requirement was subsequently somewhat modified; and the knowledge of fortification afterward exacted from a candidate was, “to be able to trace upon paper, in presence of the examiners, a front of fortification according to Vauban’s first system, and also the profile of a rampart and parapet.” In other subjects, modifications were also introduced; but the general character of the examinations remained much the same as originally established, and the regulations introduced by the Duke of Wellington, in 1849, continued substantially in force, until the general revision of the system of military education, which took place in 1857. It appears, however, from the evidence given by Lord Panmure, before the Royal Commission on the Purchase System, that, during the Crimean war, the stringency of the examinations was very much relaxed.

The examinations were held at Sandhurst by the professors of the College, in the presence of the Lieutenant-Governor, and were conducted to a great extent vivâ voce. The Select Committee of the House of Commons on Sandhurst (1855) did not make any recommendation in regard to these examinations, 542 but stated in their report that in the only branch of the examination which was of a military character, namely, fortification, the knowledge required would easily be mastered in a week. The character of the examination, however, appears to have been very generally regarded with dissatisfaction. Mr. Sidney Herbert, when Secretary at War, in 1854, criticised it severely, as being “too technical, too limited, and within its limits too severe,” and as leading necessarily to a candidate cramming up a few books which happened to be in use at Sandhurst, without affording any test of general education. He contemplated at that time a revision of the examinations, and the institution of a special board of examiners, in place of the Sandhurst professors, for the purpose of conducting them; and the Treasury, in connection with this subject, suggested that the machinery proposed for the object in view should be combined, as far as practicable, with that about to be established for examining candidates for the Civil Service.

The outbreak of the Crimean war prevented Mr. Sidney Herbert’s proposals, which were connected with a general plan for the instruction of officers, from being carried into effect; and in 1856, Lord Panmure, before the Purchase System Commission, spoke of the defects of the existing examinations in nearly the same terms as those used by Mr. Herbert in 1854. After stating that they led to a system of cramming up particular books, he laid down the principle that the examination “should be such as young men may be supposed capable of passing without having any particular professional education. It ought to be upon general subjects, such as a young man ought to become acquainted with during his passage through any high educational establishment in this country.”

The various schemes for the reorganization of military education brought under the notice of Lord Panmure, at the end of 1856, proposed improvements in the system of examinations for admission to the army; and nearly all the authorities consulted on the subject at that time appear to have concurred in the opinion that the examinations should be strictly non-professional, and should be confined to requiring proof on the part of the candidates of a knowledge of the ordinary subjects of liberal education. The commissioners appointed in the same year to consider the training of officers for the scientific corps also recommended that the examination of candidates 543 for commissions, who did not pass through a military college, should be of a general, and not of a special, character.

The Council of Military Education, on their appointment, in April, 1857, were instructed “to revise the whole system of examination for direct appointments to the army,” which is at present very defective; and this subject was, in fact, the first of those referred to in their instructions which they were directed to take into consideration. After consultation with the head masters of some of the chief public schools of the country, with the view of ascertaining the amount of knowledge which might fairly be expected from young men of 17, the Council proposed a scheme of examination based on the fundamental principle that the examination should be entirely non-professional, and confined to subjects which form the course of ordinary liberal education at civil schools. Regulations founded upon the proposal of the Council were issued on the 1st of August, 1857, and it was announced that they would come into operation at the beginning of 1858. These regulations were subsequently modified in some of their details, even before the first examination was held under the new system; further modifications have been from time to time introduced in them, without, however, affecting their general character; and the scheme proposed by the Council of 1857 has, in its main principles, formed the basis of all the regulations under which examinations for direct commissions have been held to the present time.

It appears, however, from the evidence given before the Commission of 1869, that it has been found necessary, from time to time, to diminish the difficulty of the examinations, owing to the number of failures among the candidates, and that the present standard is considerably lower than that originally established. An acquaintance with French, English history and geography, and drawing, was at first an indispensable condition of qualification, but is now no longer required; the obligatory subjects of examination have thus been reduced from five to two—mathematics and English—while, at the same time, the amount of mathematical knowledge formerly exacted has been reduced.

The first examination under the new system took place in February, 1858. Even before this, at the end of 1857, the place of examination had been transferred from Sandhurst to 544 London, and the method of conducting the examinations by printed papers, instead of by vivâ voce, had been adopted. The examinations have, ever since that period, been conducted by examiners appointed by the Council of Military Education, and have, as a rule, been held half yearly. By a regulation which has been for some years in force, candidates for direct commissions are also permitted to be examined at foreign stations. The examination is, in this case, conducted in the presence of a board appointed by the officer commanding the station; but the method of examination is, in all other respects, identical with that adopted at home. The examination papers are forwarded by, and the candidates’ replies are returned to, the Council of Military Education.

The plan proposed by the Council was intended to regulate admission to the army in ordinary times of peace; but almost immediately after it had been formally approved, and before it had actually come into operation, the pressure occasioned by the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny led to an abnormal condition of circumstances. In September, 1857, a circular was issued, announcing that commissions would be given without examination on the condition of the applicant raising a certain number of recruits. In March, however, of the following year, this temporary measure was abolished, the pressure for troops being no longer such as to render its continuance necessary. Since that period no candidates, with the exception of graduates of the universities, have obtained commissions without passing the regular examination.

Before 1862, candidates were eligible for commissions without purchase, on passing the examination for direct appointments. Since that year, however, all free commissions have been reserved for cadets at Sandhurst, and those who pass the direct examination have only obtained commissions by purchase.

REGULATIONS IN FORCE IN 1869.

I. The examinations of candidates for direct commissions will be held in London at such periods as the exigencies of the service may require, and be conducted under the direction of the Council of Military Education by examiners appointed for the purpose. The number of candidates summoned to attend each examination will be limited to the requirements of the service.

II. The age of candidates examined for direct appointments will be, until further notice, from 17 to 20 years for the infantry, from 17 to 22 years for the cavalry, and from 17 to 26 years for colonial corps.

III. The candidate will be examined by a medical board, to ascertain that he is in every point of view, as regards his physical constitution, fit for military service.

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He will be required to produce the following certificates, which must be forwarded to the Council of Military Education, 13 Great George street, S.W., as soon as possible after the receipt of the Military Secretary’s order to attend for examination:

(a.) A certificate of baptism, or other satisfactory proof of his age.

(b.) A certificate from a minister of the church or of the denomination to which he belongs, that he has been duly instructed in the principles of religion.

(c.) A certificate of good moral character, signed by a clergyman of the parish to which he belongs, or by the tutor or head of the school or college at which he has received his education, for at least the two preceding years; or such other proof of good moral character as will be satisfactory to the Commander-in-Chief.

(d.) A statement of the subjects in which he wishes to be examined.

IV. The following will be the subjects of examination, but no candidate will be allowed to be examined in more than five of these subjects.

Marks.
The classics Latin, 2,000
Greek, 1,600
Mathematics, pure and mixed, 3,600
English language, 1,200
Modern languages (not including provincial dialects) each, 1,200
History, ancient and modern, with geography, 1,200
Natural sciences, i.e., mineralogy and geology, 1,200
Experimental sciences, i.e., chemistry, heat, electricity, including magnetism, 1,200
Drawing, 600

V. Of the foregoing subjects, the elementary branches of mathematics and the English language, to the extent stated in the following paragraphs, will be considered obligatory:

1. In mathematics, 1,200 marks will be given to the following obligatory portions, viz., arithmetic, including vulgar and decimal fractions, proportion, extraction of the square root, and simple interest.

Algebra, including fractions, simple equations, and questions producing them: Euclid, the first three books.

Of the 1,200 marks allotted to the foregoing portions of mathematics, 400 will be required for qualification, and of these at least 200 must be obtained in arithmetic.

2. In the English language, the candidate will be required to write correctly and in a good legible hand from dictation, and to compose grammatically. He will be required to obtain at least 200 marks in this subject.

3. Out of the remaining subjects the candidate may select any three.

4. No candidate will be allowed to count the marks gained in any one of the three voluntary subjects, unless amounting to one-sixth of the whole number of marks allotted to that subject; and for qualification, he will be required to obtain on his five subjects a total of 1,500 marks.

5. In the examination in classics, passages will be given for translation from the books usually read at schools; grammatical questions will be set, and English passages also given for translation into the Latin and Greek languages.

VI. The result of each examination will be reported to the Commander-in-Chief, and the names of any candidates who distinguish themselves will be specially brought to his notice.

VII. An unsuccessful candidate will not be debarred from applying to the Commander-in-Chief for permission to attend a future examination. No candidate, however, will be allowed more than three trials.

Should a candidate obtain only between 700 and 1,200 marks, he will not be allowed to present himself for reëxamination for at least six months. If he obtains less than 700 marks, a period of at least twelve months must elapse before he can be allowed to present himself again.

In all cases permission to be reëxamined must depend upon the number of applicants on the list.

In subsequent examinations no credit will be given for the marks gained by a candidate on former occasions.

In the event of a candidate not appearing for examination at the time appointed, such candidate will not be permitted to attend on the next occasion, and he will render himself liable to have his name either erased entirely or placed at the bottom of the list of those noted for examination.

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VIII. A student at either of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin, London, St. Andrew’s, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, or Queen’s University, Ireland, who shall have passed the examination necessary for taking a degree in arts, is qualified for a commission by purchase without being required to pass the foregoing examination, provided he is within the limits of 17 and 23 years of age if for the infantry, 17 and 25 years if for the cavalry, and of 17 and 28 years for colonial corps, and can produce the certificates marked (a), (b), and (c).

Such candidate must furnish a certificate of having graduated, or of having passed the examinations, signed by the Registrar of the University, and showing the date on which the examination took place.

On his application being approved, the candidate will receive an order to be medically examined as to his physical fitness for the service.

The candidate will address his application, accompanied by the necessary certificates, to the Military Secretary, Horse Guards.

III. PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION AS PREPARATORY TO MILITARY EXAMINATIONS.

A.—GENERAL NOTICE.

In connection with the Modern Departments, at some public schools, technical instruction in military subjects is actually at present given. This, for instance, is the case at Cheltenham College, the Modern Department at which appears, in fact, to have been originally instituted with the express object of affording means of special military education, and at the present day is officially called the “Military and Civil Department.” At one time, also, even at some schools in which Modern Departments did not exist, classes were formed in which instruction in military subjects was given to boys intended for the army. Both at Eton and at Harrow such classes existed, and fortification and military drawing were taught in them. The object of the formation of these classes appears in both cases to have been to enable boys to go up straight from school to the examinations for admission to the army, without the necessity of having recourse to private tuition. At the time of their institution a knowledge of fortification was required in the examination for direct commissions, and a candidate was therefore unable to present himself for this examination without some special preparation. At the commencement of 1858, however, the direct commission examinations were entirely remodelled; the small amount of fortification previously required was at that time excluded from the subjects of examination, which have ever since been of a non-professional character, and more or less such as enter into the course of ordinary liberal education. With the exclusion of technical subjects from the military examinations, the necessity for any special instruction in such subjects in 547 candidates for admission to the army ceased. The military class at Harrow seems to have died out within a few years of its establishment; it has not been in existence during the last ten years and more. At Eton, though the corresponding class is still maintained, the teaching of technical military subjects in it has been abandoned. Even in the Modern Department at Cheltenham the instruction appears of late years to have become of a less decidedly military character than it originally was; and fortification, which was at one time taught at Wellington College, no longer enters into the course of instruction there. In the Modern Side, which has within the present year been established at Harrow, though partially intended, among other purposes, to assist the education of boys intended for the army, no attempt is made to give special military instruction.

The question of the possibility of affording an adequate military education at civil schools was fully discussed by the Commissioners appointed in 1856 to consider the training of officers for the scientific corps.

Having arrived at the conclusion that professional military education as hitherto given in this country has been begun at too early an age, we are met by what may be called the extreme opposite view, which would suggest the desirableness of giving up altogether education in military colleges previously to entering the army, or to entering a purely practical class or college for the special corps of Artillery and Engineers. An opinion appears to exist that the ordinary schools of the country are the best means of giving nearly the whole teaching of general and even military science which is desirable for all classes of officers before entering the army. It seems to be thought that not only modern languages and mathematics, but military history and topography are likely to be taught in such schools sufficiently for the highest military purposes, and that even young men intended for the special arms of the service may, on joining a military academy, be absolved, or almost entirely absolved, from any other studies than those included under the expression “a purely practical course.”

The Commissioners expressed their unhesitating dissent from this view. After pointing out the difficulties of giving at ordinary schools a complete preparation even in studies of a general preparatory character, such as modern languages and mathematics, and the still greater difficulties of teaching special subjects, like military history and topography, the Report proceeds:

Agreeing, therefore, as to the fact of a “sound general education being given by public schools,” we are unable to draw from it the conclusion that they will “give a specific military education.” They may indeed assist our military education, in a manner which the true sense of the term “sound general education” expresses, by encouraging preliminary tastes and studies, such as general history, mathematics, and modern languages, English included, to a greater extent than they do at present. But if there is such a thing as a science of war at all, it stands to reason that it can only be taught fully in cases where young officers have the passion and the capacity to begin it early, by its own teachers, and in its own place. The teachers should be 548 practical men, as well as men of military science; the place a military college. And the great schools of the country will perform the same service to such an academy for young scientific officers as they do for places which give a specific education for other professions; they will prepare for it, but disclaim any attempt to complete it.

The Report of the Public Schools Commission does not appear to have made any direct reference to the question of the possibility of giving technical military instruction at civil schools; but the disinclination shown by the Commissioners to recommend even the general institution of “Modern Departments” would lead to the conclusion that they were not disposed to view with favor the introduction of any system of special instruction into the ordinary school course.

The question has been dealt with at considerable length in the evidence taken before the present Commission. In addition to the evidence given by Dr. Barry, Mr. Southwood, Dr. Benson, and Dr. Temple, to which particular reference is made in the Report, opinions on the subject were expressed by several military witnesses. Major-General Sir P. Herbert considers that all which is learnt at Sandhurst—all the knowledge requisite for a line officer—might equally well be acquired at a public school, if proper arrangements were made for teaching it. In his opinion fortification (including the practical construction of field-works), military drawing and surveying, military history and drill, could all be taught by military instructors at public schools without difficulty, and without interference with the subjects of general education. Major-General White considers that military history, modern languages, and drawing might be taught with advantage at public schools to boys intended for the army, although it would be difficult to teach the practical work of field fortification, artillery, and surveying. Colonel Baker appears to be of opinion that at the Universities, certainly, a special preliminary education might be given to candidates for the army, on a system similar to that which it was at one time proposed to introduce at Cambridge, but which does not appear to have ever been actually adopted. At the same time, though this instruction would be of a special character, Colonel Baker does not seem to contemplate its embracing strictly technical military subjects. On the other hand, His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge is of opinion that special military classes at public schools would fail; Major-General Sir F. 549 Abbott thinks it unnecessary to establish such classes; Colonel Hort is decidedly opposed to an attempt to give military instruction at any but a military college, on the ground that it could not be so effectively given at a civil establishment, and would, moreover, interfere with the acquisition of a general education; and Lieut.-General Sir D. Cameron considers that it would be impossible for public schools to give a thorough or perfect knowledge of the practical subjects taught at Sandhurst, such as fortification, artillery, military drawing, and surveying.

In connection with the same subject suggestions have been made by some witnesses that the Government should assign a certain number of free commissions annually, as prizes to be competed for, either at particular public schools, or more generally amongst candidates educated at such schools. The institution of military exhibitions or scholarships at civil schools, and of military degrees at the Universities, has been also suggested. By some witnesses these proposals are advocated with the special view of inducing public schools to adopt a system of military instruction; by others with the more general object of holding out increased encouragement to enter the service to candidates who have had the advantage of a public school education.

Although the question of giving military instruction at public schools was not specially discussed by the Public School Commissioners, their attention was directed to the results of public school education in preparing candidates for the military examinations. Their Report speaks as follows in reference to this subject:

The number of public-school boys who enter the army is not large. Of 1,976 candidates for direct commissions within three years, 122 only had been at any of these schools. Of these 102 succeeded and 20 failed. It will be observed, on reference to the returns, that this proportion of failures is considerably below the average; the public school men, therefore, were better prepared than the general run of candidates. Of 96 who passed at their first examination, 38 came immediately from school, 58 had had intermediate tuition. Of the 20 who failed, 14 had had such tuition.

The public-school candidates for Sandhurst during the same period were 23 out of 375; the proportion who succeeded being here also above the average. Of 18 who succeeded, 11 came straight from school; of five who failed, only one.

The scheme of examinations for direct commissions, framed to meet the suggestions of the Head Masters of public schools, is simple and easy, and requires nothing that is beyond the reach of any boy of moderate industry and ordinary capacity; and it is clear that no boy, who will give himself a little trouble, needs to forego the wholesome influences of a great school for the sake of being “crammed” in the house of a tutor. The Sandhurst examination is also evidently within the reach of the schools.

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The qualifying examination for Woolwich appears, before 1862, to have required an amount of mathematical knowledge difficult of attainment for a boy educated at a public school; but it underwent in that year some changes which have made it easier for candidates who have not received a special training. The obligatory mathematics do not now go beyond plane trigonometry; and a candidate need not obtain in them, to qualify, more than 700 marks out of 3,500; with this minimum, and with a fair proficiency in Latin, Greek, French, and geometrical drawing, he is entitled to enter into the competition. This standard is certainly not so high as to be inaccessible to a boy educated at a good public school, and from a table showing the working of the scheme at the examination of January, 1863, it appears that of the 20 successful competitors, 11 distinguished themselves in classics; the other marks were chiefly gained in mathematics and French. In three years, previous to this change, 35 public-school candidates passed and 49 failed to pass the qualifying examination, the totals being 545 and 689. Of the whole 84, two only went direct from the schools, and these failed.

In another passage the Commissioners say: “The main studies of the public schools being classical, it is obvious that, unless a due amount of weight is given to the classics in the Woolwich examinations, boys from those schools will not stand a fair chance in the competition. On the other hand, as it is of importance that the examinations should comprise other subjects besides classics, it is also obvious that unless the public schools provide a due amount of instruction in those other subjects, the candidates whom they send up must compete at a disadvantage. It is certain that there has hitherto been a want of adjustment between the Woolwich standard and the teaching of the public schools. The fault, we think, lies chiefly, though not wholly, in the deficiencies in the course of education pursued at the latter; and we are convinced that when these deficiencies have been supplied the difficulty which is now complained of will speedily disappear. But it is also to be observed, with respect to the Woolwich examinations themselves, that the scale of marks has lately (as we have already stated) undergone an alteration, which diminishes the amount of mathematical attainment required, and allows greater weight to classical scholarship. It appears probable that the Modern Departments at Cheltenham and Marlborough would not have been what they are had the old Woolwich standard, which is stated to have influenced them so strongly, been the same as the present; and probable, also, that they will hereafter feel the effects of the change which has been made in it.”

III. EXAMINATIONS FOR PROMOTIONS.

HISTORICAL NOTICE.

Examinations for promotion were for the first time instituted shortly after the introduction of examinations for admission to the army, by the Duke of Wellington when Commander-in-Chief, in the year 1850. A circular memorandum, published on the 14th of May of that year, announced that all officers would in future be subjected to an examination previously to promotion to the respective ranks of lieutenant and captain. The first examination was to be confined to subjects connected with the rudiments of drill, regimental duties, interior economy, and the Mutiny Act and Articles of War. The second examination for the rank of captain was in addition to extend to more general subjects, and to include geography, ancient and modern history, mathematics, and field and permanent fortification; but the examination in these subjects was not intended to affect lieutenants who had entered the service previously to 1849.

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The examination for promotion to the rank of lieutenant was to be conducted regimentally by the commanding officer and the two next senior officers of the candidate’s regiment. The purely professional portion of the second examination, for the rank of captain, was to be conducted in the same manner; with regard to the mode of testing the candidates’ qualifications in the more general subjects required in this examination, it was stated that such orders would be given in each individual case as the Commander-in-Chief might think proper and necessary.

These regulations continued in force up to the time of the institution of the Council of Military Education in 1857, although it appears, both from official statements made by the Secretary at War, and from numerous expressions of opinion in Parliament between the years 1854 and 1857, that, at least so far as regarded the second examination for the rank of captain, little attempt was made, even nominally, to enforce the regulations. Mr. Sidney Herbert proposed, in 1854, in connection with his general scheme of military education, to remodel the examinations and to institute a special machinery for conducting them; and though no actual steps were taken to carry out his proposal, the necessity of making the examinations real and genuine tests of professional knowledge, and of enforcing strict qualifications for promotion, was frequently recognized in the numerous discussions which took place in Parliament on the subject of military education during the course of the Crimean War.

The Council of Military Education, on their appointment in 1857, were directed to consider the question of the professional examination of officers for promotion up to the rank of captain, and in the course of the year submitted a proposal on this subject, in connection with a scheme for providing instruction for officers after entering the service.

New regulations on the subject were issued on the 19th of July, 1858, which, while introducing little change in regard to the examination of cornets and ensigns, rendered a knowledge of mathematics, history, and fortification no longer requisite in the second examination for the rank of captain. Geography, on the other hand, was still retained among the subjects, and, as a condition of promotion to a captaincy, a lieutenant was required “to be able to state the general divisions 552 of the world, the name of the capital of each nation in Europe, and the principal rivers, seaports, and military posts in Great Britain, Ireland, and Her Majesty’s Dominions in every part of the world.” The examinations of cornets and ensigns still continued to be conducted regimentally; that of lieutenants, so far as related to matters of regimental economy, detail, or discipline, was to be made by boards of officers appointed by the commanding officer at the station, consisting, when possible, of three senior officers not of the same corps as the candidate.

In November, 1858, revised regulations were issued, which, in accordance with the recommendations of the Council of Military Education, made considerable changes in the examinations, and placed them on their present basis. The subjects of regimental and ordinary duties on which candidates were to be examined were more minutely detailed than heretofore; the examinations were made entirely professional, geography being excluded from the second examination, and at the same time it was announced that lieutenants would be required to show a sufficient knowledge of reconnaissance and of field fortification. But the most important change made at this time was in regard to the mode of conducting the examinations, which were no longer to be carried on regimentally, but by a board appointed by the commanding officer of the district, consisting (if possible) of three field officers,—with the additional provision that in no case in which it could possibly be avoided, an officer of the same regiment as the candidate was to be a member of the board. Cornets and ensigns were to be required to pass the examination before completing eight months’ service; and, in order to give additional stringency to the regulations, it was announced that the Commander-in-Chief would “not hesitate to promote (either regimentally or from other corps) officers who may have passed the required examination, in place of the idle and incompetent.”

REGULATIONS IN FORCE IN 1869.

Infantry and Cavalry.

159. Before officers are recommended for promotion to the rank of lieutenant, the commanding officer is to apply to the senior officer of the district or station for a board to examine and report upon their qualifications as under:

(a.) They must have a thorough knowledge, and must give an account, of the duties they have to perform as regimental orderly officers, as officers commanding guards, or as subaltern officers of guards under officers of superior rank.

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(b.) They must have a thorough knowledge of, and be able to put a company through the various exercises and evolutions prescribed in the first two parts of the “Field Exercises of the Infantry;” and they must be acquainted with the rifle drill and practice, and the theoretical principles of musketry, as defined in the authorized book of instruction.

(c.) They must know exactly the place of all the company officers in every situation of the battalion, and be able to command a company in battalion exercise.

(d.) They must be acquainted with such parts of the Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Army as relate to the duties, and conduct of a subaltern officer, and with the Mutiny Act and Articles of War, so far as is necessary for the performance of their duties as members of a court-martial.

(e.) They must be acquainted with the regulations of the army in regard to the pay and messing of the troops, the supply of clothing and necessaries, and all details regarding the weight of, and mode of carrying, the various articles of the soldier’s kit, arms, accoutrements, and ammunition.

160. In addition to such portions of the foregoing as may apply to the cavalry service, it is necessary in the case of cornets recommended for promotion to the rank of lieutenant,—

(a.) That they shall have learnt their foot drill and sword exercise, and have been instructed in the single and double ride.

(b.) That they shall be able to put a troop through the carbine, lance, and sword exercise, and to exercise both a squad and troop in the drill and evolutions prescribed in the Cavalry Exercise Book.

(c.) That they shall be able to command a troop in squadron exercise.

(d.) That they shall have made themselves masters of the detail of saddlery, the mode of fitting the saddle, bridle, etc., and of the whole equipment of the cavalry soldier and his horse.

161. Lieutenants in the Cavalry and Infantry will, in addition to the foregoing, before they are recommended for promotion to the rank of captain, be required to show that they are further duly qualified as follows:

(a.) They must have a thorough knowledge of the provisions of the Mutiny Act and Articles of War, and of the forms and proceedings of courts-martial, and must give evidence of having studied some of the standard works on military law.

(b.) They must understand perfectly the evolutions of a regiment of cavalry or a battalion of infantry, as laid down in the regulations for those services respectively.

(c.) They must be acquainted with the light infantry drill, duties of outposts, patrols, escorts, advanced and rear guards.

(d.) They must perfectly understand the interior economy of a troop or company, and the established system of keeping their accounts.

(e.) They must be thoroughly acquainted with the Queen’s and War Office Regulations applicable to their own branch of the service.

(f.) They must be competent to take charge of a troop, company, or detachment, in every position in which it may be placed.

(g.) And they will be required to show that they have a sufficient knowledge of field fortification and reconnaissance.

162. The board of examination is to consist, if possible, of three field officers; but on no occasion, when it can be avoided, is any officer of the same regiment as the candidate to be a member. In all cases the board will ascertain by practical examination, as well as by verbal and written answers to questions, whether the officer is instructed in the subjects specified in the preceding paragraphs. The questions are to be written on half margin, and the replies written opposite to them. The board will mark in red ink its correction of any mistakes in the answers, and will certify in each case that “the candidate has not received any assistance from books or other sources.” The report of the board to be on a separate sheet, and when officers of different regiments are examined by the same board, the report in connection with each regiment is to be made separately.

163. The general officer commanding will forward the report of the board, and the written questions and replies, to the adjutant-general, accompanied by his own observations thereon, regarding the nature of the examination, the correctness of the answers, and the eligibility of the officer examined.

164. Every cornet or ensign is to be examined on the different points herein specified, before he has completed one year’s service; and should he fail to qualify himself for promotion within that period, his commanding officer must report, through the general officer commanding, for the information of the Commander-in-Chief, whether it is owing to a want of diligence and attention on the part of the officer, or to sickness, or other circumstances over which he could have had no control.

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165. No officer will be recommended for promotion to the rank either of lieutenant or captain unless his examination papers and certificate of qualification have been received by the Military Secretary; but the Commander-in-Chief will, in all cases, select the senior officer who may have qualified for promotion to the higher grade.

Artillery.

166. The examination of lieutenants of artillery for the rank of captain will include all the subjects required from officers of the line of corresponding rank, except that a general knowledge only of the evolutions of cavalry and infantry will suffice. In addition to the foregoing, lieutenants of artillery are to be examined as to their acquaintance with the more special duties of their arm of the service. The following will serve as a guide:

(a.) Field-gun drill. Exercise of heavy guns on ground and traversing platforms, mortar drill, rocket drill, Armstrong gun drill, practice with hot shot and molten iron shells, gun and transporting carriage drill.

(b.) General duties of the men, and principles involved in mounting and dismounting ordnance generally, in placing guns on towers, in embarking and disembarking ordnance, and in moving ordnance up steep inclines; also the tackle, etc., required in the above operations.

(c.) Different pieces of ordnance in use throughout the service at the time of examination, their weight and calibre, and special purpose.

(d.) Ammunition employed with ordnance generally; ammunition employed with Armstrong guns; general construction of a Congreve rocket, and the principle of its motion; manufacture and action of fuzes and tubes; the advantages of the rifle action, and the principle upon which it depends; essential points with regard to rifling ordnance: general principles of breaching; position and employment of artillery in the field; considerations which regulate the rapidity of artillery fire; principles connected with the construction of artillery carriages; general knowledge of laboratory duties.

(e.) Embarking and disembarking horses; management of horses on board ship.

(f.) To be able to define technical artillery terms, etc., in such a way as to make them understood by the non-commissioned officers and men under their command, such as,—1, point blank; 2, point blank range; 3, dispart; 4, chambers; 5, preponderance; 6, different kinds of artillery fire; 7, how elevation gives an increase of range; 8, windage; 9, deviation, etc., etc.

(g.) Subalterns who have been one year or more in the horse brigade, or in a field battery, will be required, in addition to the foregoing subjects, to be thoroughly acquainted with stable duties, and horse artillery or field battery movements and details. All must have a general knowledge of these subjects.

167. Every officer, on becoming the thirtieth on the list of lieutenants, must be prepared to undergo the required examination. Any officer, after four years’ service, may apply for such examination at an earlier period.

168. Instructions will, from time to time, be issued to the general or other officer commanding districts or stations, to assemble a board, to consist of three officers, viz., a field officer (of the artillery, if possible), an officer of the staff, and a captain of artillery, or an officer of that corps who may already have passed the examination. Either the gunnery instructor or the fire-master should, when practicable, be selected for this duty. If it be impossible to obtain a staff officer, a captain of the line should be substituted; if a second officer of artillery cannot be had, an officer of engineers should be substituted; but either the president or one member must be of the artillery.

169. That portion of the examination which can be best replied to in writing will be conducted by means of questions prepared by the deputy adjutant-general of artillery, and forwarded to the general officer commanding the district. The vivâ voce and practical examination will be conducted by the board of officers, who will satisfy themselves that the officer under examination not only possesses the requisite knowledge himself, but that he is able to impart that knowledge in a clear and satisfactory manner.

170. The board will then forward, through the general officer, its report, together with the written answers, to the adjutant-general of the forces; and, in returning to him the written answers, the president of the board will certify that they are the bonâ fide performances of the candidates, without assistance. The written papers will then be examined by the deputy adjutant-general of artillery, and the result, together with the opinion of the board, reported to the Commander-in-Chief.

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ROYAL WARRANT OF OCTOBER 30, 1871.

In pursuance of the abolition of the whole system of purchase, sale, or exchange for money, of commissions in the army, by Royal Warrant, dated July 20, 1871, certain changes in respect to first appointments, regimental promotion, and exchanges, became necessary, and were provided for in the Royal Warrant issued October 30, 1871, which became operative on the first day of November following. By these regulations, the first step in official rank is that of Sub-Lieutenant; the rank of Cornet and Ensign being no longer recognized. As a general rule, the final appointments will be given only to successful candidates at a competitive examination. These will be probationary, and revocable in case the unfitness of the incumbents shall be demonstrated by practical trial in their work. From the Memorandum of the Secretary of War (Edward Cardwell), which accompanies the Warrant, we cite the following as defining the present system of original appointments and promotion.

Commissions as Lieutenants will be given to all Cornets and Ensigns appointed before the 26th of August, 1871, and to Cornets and Ensigns appointed since that date from the A List at Sandhurst, their commissions to date from the first of November.

Commissions as Sub-Lieutenants will be given to:

(a.) All other Cornets and Ensigns appointed after the 26th of August, 1871, the rank of Cornet and Ensign being abolished.

(b.) Candidates who have passed the examination for Direct Commissions, in their turn as vacancies occur.

(c.) Candidates for commissions in the Household Cavalry and Foot Guards who are nominated to fill the vacancies which occur in those regiments, before the date of the first competitive examination for Sub-Lieutenancies, and who pass a qualifying examination.

(d.) Candidates from the Universities now on the Commander-in-Chief’s list.

Sub-Lieutenants will be attached for a year to regiments at home. They will then be required to go through a course of instruction, and on passing a practical professional examination, be commissioned to regiments as Lieutenants. They will be under strict discipline, and will be liable to be removed for unfitness, either moral or physical, and for misconduct. Those unsuited to the Cavalry may be transferred to the Infantry.

In dating their commissions they will be allowed a portion, not exceeding one year, of their services as Sub-Lieutenants; the time allowed being determined by the class of certificate they receive after their year’s regimental training, their conduct while under instruction, and their position at the final examination. Their service for retirement will reckon from the date of their commissions as Lieutenants.

Candidates who have passed the examination for direct commissions, and have also passed satisfactorily through a year’s course of study at the Royal Military College before being appointed to be Sub-Lieutenants, and Sandhurst Cadets from the B List will be commissioned to regiments as Lieutenants on serving satisfactorily for twelve months with a regiment as Sub-Lieutenants.

There are now a large number of supernumerary officers, and also a large number of candidates who have passed for commissions.

The absorption of supernumerary officers will probably be completed, and the candidates who have passed for commissions have received their 556 appointments in about two years from the present time, and personal appointments in the Army will then only be given as follows:

(a.) To successful candidates at a competitive examination.

(b.) To non-commissioned officers recommended for promotion by the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief.

(c.) To candidates from the Universities.

(d.) To Queen’s Cadets, Indian Cadets, and Pages of Honor.

(e.) To Lieutenants of Militia.

The competitive examination will be carried out by the Civil Service Commissioners; the standard of qualification being that recommended by the Royal Commission on Military Education. Ample notice will be given of the first examination, and there will be no advantage in any applications being made for admission to be examined before the publication of such notice.

Non-commissioned officers, on being selected for promotion, will pass an examination in certain professional subjects; and then, after twelve months’ satisfactory service as Sub-Lieutenants, will receive commissions as Lieutenants.

A certain number of Sub-Lieutenancies a year will be allotted to candidates who have passed the University examination specified in the Regulations. If they also pass the examination for the degree of B.A., they will be allowed two years’ extension of the limit of age. University candidates will be required to give at least six months’ notice of their desire to be admitted into the Army. If in any year there should be more candidates than appointments, the requisite number will be chosen by competition between the candidates; after their appointment they will go through the same course as other Sub-Lieutenants.

There will be no vacancies for two years for any candidates from the Universities whose names are not now on the Commander-in-Chief’s list.

Queen’s and Indian Cadets and Queen’s Pages will be required to pass a qualifying examination, which for the present will be the same as that recommended by the Royal Commission on Military Education. The nominations will remain as heretofore. When appointed, Cadets and Pages will go through the same course as other Sub-Lieutenants.

First appointments as Subalterns in the Militia will be made on the recommendation of the Lieutenants of counties. Candidates, before receiving their Commissions as Lieutenants in the Militia, will be required to pass a qualifying examination in general subjects equal to the standard fixed as necessary for a candidate for a Sub-Lieutenancy. They will next be required to be attached to a regiment of the Line for three months, or such time as may be necessary to teach them their drill. After serving with their Militia regiments for two annual trainings, they will be eligible for the appointment of Lieutenants in the Army. In order to obtain such an appointment they must be recommended by the commanding officer of their Militia regiment, his recommendation being confirmed by the general officer commanding the district, and they will be required to pass an examination in professional subjects of the same kind as that which will be required of a Sub-Lieutenant before he receives his commission as Lieutenant.

The limits of age, except for non-commissioned officers, will be fixed at from seventeen to twenty for Sub-Lieutenants, the limit being raised to twenty-two in the case of candidates who have passed their examination for the degree of B.A. at the Universities, and from nineteen to twenty-two for Lieutenants from the Militia.

In addition to the examinations hitherto required from regimental officers, those who are promoted to the rank of Captain after the 1st of November will, before being promoted to the rank of Major, be required, to pass a professional examination.

The General Order promulgating the Royal Warrant and the Memorandum of Secretary Caldwell contains the following paragraph:

His Royal Highness the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, in promulgating these regulations to the Army, would desire to impress upon each individual officer, and especially upon those of junior standing who have still a name to make in the service, that they must more than ever rely upon their own exertions, upon their professional knowledge and ability, upon their general character and conduct as officers, and the opinion with which they impress their military superiors, for advancement in the service.

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Examiners Employed by Council of Military Education.

Mathematics.—Rev. Canon Heaviside, Norwich; Rev. W. N. Griffin, late Fellow and Tutor, St. John’s, Cambridge.

Classics.—Rev. Osborne Gordon, D.D., late of Christ Church College, Oxford; Prof. Rawlinson, Camden Professor of Ancient History, Oxford.

English.—G. W. Dasent, D.C.L.; W. Stebbing, M.A., Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford.

French.—M. Esquiros; M. Savoye.

German.—Prof. Max Müller, Prof. of European Languages, Oxford; C. Schöll, Ph.D.

Hindustani.—Prof. J. Dowson; Rev. W. D. Mallagan, M.A.

Experimental Sciences.—Prof. Liveing, M.A., Prof. of Chemistry, Cambridge; Prof. Abel, Chemist to War Office.

Natural Sciences.—Prof. Morris, F.G.S.; H. W. Bristow, F.R.S.

Drawing.—Lt. Col. H. Scott, R.E.; Rev. W. Kingsley, late Fellow and Tutor, Cambridge.

Italian.—C. De Tivoli.

Spanish.—Señor Vives.

Portuguese.—Le Chevalier da Costa Ricci.

Dutch.—Rev. Dr. Gehle.

Modern Greek.—Rev. N. Morphinos.

Danish.—Rev. J. Plenge.

Military History.—Major G. P. Colley.

Fortification and Practical Gunnery.—Lt.-Col. Hutchinson, R.E.; Major Milman, R.A.

Military Administration.—Major M. Petrie.

Persian.—Col. Ouseley.

Military Legislation.—Col. J. H. Laye, D.J.A.

Artillery.—Major C. F. Yonng.

In the evidence before the Military Education Committee, of July 13, 1869, the Secretary of the Civil Service Commission expressed the opinion that the entrance examination, both to Sandhurst and Woolwich, on subjects purely civil, might be conducted by the latter; and that the same and other subjects, in their scientific value, both in all qualifying and competitive examinations for direct commission and promotion, could be conducted by the same examiners, thereby securing economy, more uniformity in the methods and tests, and more satisfactory results. The staff of examiners should be composed of changing as well as of permanent members, and when the service is professional, an expert should be called in. The entire work of the Civil Service Commission, including the India Service, is done by one Commissioner, the Secretary, and his permanent examiners, with occasional assistants.

Expenses of Council of Military Education.

Year. £ s. d.
1858-59, 6,325 3 1
1859-60, 6,956 7 7
1860-61, 7,757 12 1
1861-62, 7,789 14 3
1862-63, 7,681 17 6
1863-64, 7,529 11 10
1864-65, 7,976 17 5
1865-66, 7,884 2 8
1866-67, 7,353 16 5
558 559

ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE AT SANDHURST.

I. HISTORICAL NOTICE.

The Royal Military College at Sandhurst was instituted in 1799, on the persistent representations of its necessity and advantages, by General Le Marchant, an eminent and distinguished officer, who met his death in actual service on the plains of Salamanca, in 1812. The report of the Parliamentary Commissioners of 1855 and 1870 give the following particulars of the history and present condition:

It commenced as a place of instruction for officers, in 1799. In 1801, the Junior Department was organized. The united departments took the name of the Royal Military College, and his Majesty George the Third was pleased by Royal Warrant to appoint a Supreme Board of Commissioners for the purpose of managing all the affairs of the College.

An establishment and a course of study were recommended by this Board, and adopted in a Royal Warrant, passed in the same year, 1801. From this date warrants were issued from time to time until the warrant of 1808, which cancels all former warrants, and still regulates the College.

By this warrant, a Board of Commissioners was appointed, consisting of the Commander-in-Chief, the Secretary at War, the Master-General of the Ordnance, the Quartermaster-General, the Adjutant-General, the Governor, and the Deputy-Governor of the College,—all for the time being. Certain other officers were added to these ex officio members. In the Board so constituted were vested the control, direction, and management of all the affairs of the College. The College was to be under the immediate command of the Governor and Deputy-Governor, to be divided into a senior and junior department, each to have its own course of study, under its own staff.

A collegiate board was created to take cognizance, of all matters relating to the interior economy of both departments. This board consisted of the Governor, the Deputy-Governor, and three other resident military authorities.

The Royal Warrant of the 27th May, 1808, for regulating all matters relative to the Royal Military College, states the objects of the two departments of the College, as follows:

The Senior Department of the Royal Military College is established for the purpose of instructing officers in the scientific parts of their profession, with a view of enabling them the better to discharge their duty when acting in command of regiments (the situation in which they can best recommend themselves to Us, and be entitled to hope for advancement in the higher stations of Our service), and, at the same time, of qualifying them for being employed in the Quartermaster-General’s and Adjutant-General’s Departments.

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The Junior Department of the Royal Military College is appropriated to the instruction of those who, from early life, are intended for the military profession, and who, by this means, may be grounded in science previously to their obtaining commissions in Our army.

This department of the College is also intended to afford a provision for the sons of meritorious officers, who have fallen or been disabled in the service of their country, and the means of education to the sons of those officers who belong to Our regular service.

The first of the departments organized was thus the Senior Department, which was established at High Wycombe, in 1799, although it would seem that classes for the military instruction of officers had been in existence previous to that year. The origin of the Senior Department is thus described in the evidence given by Sir Howard Douglas before the Select Committee on Sandhurst:

General Jarry, who was the first Commandant of the Senior Department, was a Frenchman, highly educated in France, who entered the service of Prussia a short time before the commencement of the Seven Years’ War, and was on the personal staff of Frederic the Second through the whole of that war. He returned to France, and became afterward one of the generals of the French army; and, in the year 1795, defected from the French army, and came to London, where he soon became very generally known as a man of eminent talent, perfectly master of the science and the practice of his profession, and, from his having served so long about the person and on the staff of Frederic the Second, full of the most interesting anecdotes and instructive details connected with that war. General Le Marchant, having formed an acquaintance with General Jarry, in London, it occurred to him that, if General Jarry could be engaged to give lectures to a certain number of young officers Who might be disposed to go and reside where the general might attend, it would be very advantageous to the service. General Jarry was so engaged. A house was taken at High Wycombe; a considerable number of the rising young officers of the day became his students,—Sir George Murray, Sir Henry Bunbury, Sir Richard Bourke, General Richardson, and a great many others. General Jarry soon found that the rudiments of military science in the British army were not sufficiently known to enable all the students to profit by his instruction, and recommended that mathematical, and fortification, and other classes, should be established; and, accordingly, Mr. Dalby, a mathematical professor, M. St. Denis, professor of fortification, and M. Polchet, of the Polytechnic School, were engaged; and in this Way the Senior Department was established.

General Jarry became commandant of the establishment on its institution, and, in 1804, Sir Howard Douglas himself was appointed to assist General Jarry, as superintendent.

The formation of the Junior Department had probably been determined upon from the time when the Senior Department was established. It was actually organized in 1801, when it was established at Great Marlow, and, in the year 1803, consisted of 200 cadets; the Senior Department being, at the 561 same time, composed of 30 students. Each department had at this time its own commandant, superintendent, and special staff of instructors (7 for the Senior, and 19 for the Junior Department); while there was, in addition, a general staff, consisting of a governor, lieutenant-governor, and other officials, for the two departments, which, although in separate localities, together constituted the Royal Military College.

The Royal Warrant of 27th May, 1808, fixed the establishment on a still larger scale, as follows:

1 Governor, 1 Lieutenant-Governor, 1 Inspector-General of Instruction.

Senior Department.—1 Commandant, 1 Adjutant, 30 Students.

Junior Department.—1 Commandant, 1 Major, 4 Captains of Companies, 412 Gentlemen Cadets.

Staff.—1 Chaplain and Librarian and Superintendent of Religious and Classical Instruction, 1 Agent, 1 Secretary to the Board of Commissioners, 1 Paymaster, 1 Quartermaster, 1 Surgeon, 1 Assistant Surgeon.

The number of professors is not fixed by the warrant, but, in 1810, 5 were employed at the Senior, and 32 at the Junior Department. In 1815, the number of professors was 6 at the former, and 36 at the latter.

The establishment, with slight modifications, continued as above throughout the period of the war which terminated in 1815; but shortly after the conclusion of peace reductions began, in consequence of the recommendations made in the report of the Finance Committee of 1817, and at the same time the course of instruction in the Junior Department was made of a much less military character than it had originally been.

The Senior Department was, as has been stated, originally established at High Wycombe, and the Junior Department, as there was not sufficient accommodation for it at the same place, was, on its institution, placed at Great Marlow. It is probable, however, that it was intended from the first that the Military College should be at Sandhurst, and it appears that, as early as 1801, the greater part of the estate at Sandhurst had been purchased. Owing, however, to doubts having subsequently arisen as to the eligibility of Sandhurst as a site for the college, the works there do not appear to have been commenced until 1809; and it was eventually determined that the Junior Department alone should be placed there, the Senior Department being accommodated at Farnham. In 1812, the Senior Department went to the quarters prepared for them at 562 the latter place, and about the same time the Junior Department was removed to Sandhurst. In 1820, in consequence of the space left vacant by the reductions which had then been made in the Junior Department, the Senior Department was transferred to Sandhurst; its separate military staff was at the same time abolished, the number of students at it was reduced to 15, and the number of instructors to 2. It continued in this state down to the time of its conversion into the Staff College, which took place in January, 1858. The Junior Department was also, by successive reductions, brought, in 1832, to the state in which it stood in 1855, at the time of the appointment of the Select Committee of the House of Commons, the number of cadets having been reduced to 180, divided into two companies. In the year 1832, also, the Parliamentary votes in aid of the College, which, in 1815, had amounted, for the Junior Department alone, to £34,000, entirely ceased, and, from this time up to 1855, the College was not only self-supporting, but, in some years, actually paid money into the Exchequer.

In the year 1855, in consequence of attention having frequently been drawn in Parliament to the state of Sandhurst, a Select Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the condition of the Royal Military College. The establishment of the College, was, at that time, as follows:

1 Governor, 1 Lieutenant-Governor.

Senior Department.—2 Instructors, 15 Students.

Junior Department.—1 Major and Superintendent of Studies, 2 Captains of Companies, 180 Gentlemen Cadets, 1 Chaplain, 1 Secretary to the Board of Commissioners, 1 Paymaster and Quartermaster, 1 Surgeon, 1 Assistant Surgeon, 1 Riding Master, 16 Instructors.

This continued without material alteration to be the establishment until 1858.

The instructors undertook the following branches:

(A.) Senior Department.—1. Mathematics and Fortification. 1. Military Surveying.

(B.) Junior Department.—3. Mathematics. 2. Fortification. 3. Military Drawing and Surveying. 1. Landscape Drawing. 2. History, Geography, and Latin. 3. French, 2. German. [The seniors in those branches also gave instruction to the Senior Department.]

The Chaplain also gave instruction in History.

The title of Major and Superintendent of Studies dates from the year 1842. For some years previously, the offices of Adjutant, 563 Paymaster, and Superintendent of Studies, had been combined in the person of one officer, Major Proctor. On his retirement, in 1842, Lieut.-Colonel Prosser was appointed Major and Superintendent of Studies—an office which has been retained to the present day—and the appointment of Adjutant was abolished.

At the time of the inquiry by the Select Committee of the House of Commons (1855), the Junior Department of the College was a school for boys. The limits of age for admission were from 13 to 15. Candidates were admitted by application to the Governor, on passing a qualifying examination, before the professors of the college, in elementary subjects of ordinary education. The maximum term of residence was four years, the average period being three years. The course of study was intended to complete the general education of the youth, in addition to giving him military instruction, and included history, geography, and Latin, as well as more professional subjects.

The system of instruction which prevailed at the College at that time is described as follows by Mr. Twisden, now professor of mathematics at the Staff College:

The instruction and examinations in the Junior Department were, in the year 1855, conducted on the following system: There was a division of the department into upper and lower school; but, practically, the division was of little importance. The most important division was made by the line which, in each separate branch of instruction, divided the cadets in the Board class from those not in the Board class.

A cadet was in a Board class who was actually preparing for the public examination, which took place before the “Board of Commissioners for Regulating the Affairs of the Institution.” The Board was, however, in most cases, represented by not more than one or two of its members. In any given subject, a cadet had to pass through certain grades of elementary instruction before he could be placed in a Board class. Moreover, he was only moved from one grade of elementary instruction to another on passing examinations, which were held monthly by the senior instructors in the several subjects. The junior instructors reported those of their cadets whom they regarded as ready for promotion, and the senior ascertained that the proper degree of proficiency was obtained. Thus, in mathematics, a cadet had to pass examinations in Fractions and Decimals, mixed numbers, Rule of Three, Interest, and Square Root, Algebra up to the end of Quadratic Equations, and logarithms,—four successive examinations in all. He had then to spend a half year in the study of Euclid’s Geometry before admission to the Board class. It will be understood that all the cadets were not examined monthly, but only such as were reported as fit for examination; so that any one cadet might pass a long time without examination, or he might be examined for several successive grades in one subject, and not undergo any examination in another. There was, in fact, 564 scarcely any mutual dependence of one branch of instruction upon another. I believe the only exceptions to this were, that a cadet was required to have passed his examination in algebra before getting into the lowest fortification class, and to have gained a certain proficiency in military drawing before getting into the surveying class.

The Board class in each branch was taught by the senior instructor in that branch, except that the Board class of history was taught by the chaplain. When a cadet had passed an examination in any subject before the Board, he was said to have taken up a step. The steps which it was possible for him to take up were as follows, and I have arranged them in three groups, for conveniences of reference:

A.—(1.) Euclid’s Geometry. (2.) Fortification. (3.) Surveying.

B.—(4.) Trigonometry and Mensuration. (5.) Attack and Defence of Fortification. (6.) History and Geography. (7.) Latin. (8.) French. (9.) German.

C.—(10.) Elements of Mechanics. (11.) Elements of Coördinate Geometry and Differential Calculus.

To gain a commission without purchase, it was necessary to take up the three steps in the group A, and any three in the group B,—six in all. But if a cadet took up more than six steps, the fact was mentioned in the certificate given him on leaving the College. For gaining this honorary distinction, the steps marked in group C were allowed to count; but I believe not otherwise. I may mention that, in many cases, more than six steps were taken up.

The process of examination before the Board was this: About seven weeks before the end of the half year, the senior instructor in each branch reported the cadets in his branch whom he thought capable of taking a step. Thus the senior instructor or professor of mathematics reported those cadets in the Euclid Board class whom he judged capable of taking up the step. Shortly after, these cadets were examined before the Lieutenant-Governor; about a week before the end of the half year, they were examined again, on this occasion, before the Governor; lastly, they were examined publicly before the Board. Failure was possible in either of these examinations, and not unfrequently occurred at the preliminary examinations, and sometimes, though rarely, at the Board examination. The effect of failure was, that the cadet could not pass his step without going through his examinations at the end of the next half year.

The examinations were conducted entirely vivâ voce. The Governor’s and Lieutenant-Governor’s examinations were searching; they sometimes lasted from six to seven hours; but, of course, the cadets, severally, were under examination only during a part of that time. The Board examination, though less searching, was a real examination. A cadet under examination had not the least notion of what was going to be asked, except that it was fairly within the subject of the step.

The system thus briefly described was invented by Major Proctor, who was at first Adjutant and, afterward, Superintendent of Studies. It was in operation, at all events, as early as the year 1818. It was open to several objections; but it possessed this capital advantage, that it was calculated to bring, and, in point of fact, brought a large majority of the cadets up to a certain moderately high standard of proficiency. The instructors were under no temptation to take great pains with a few clever boys, and to neglect the rest; they were nearly sure to assist every cadet showing the least inclination to work, and to assist those most who were in need of assistance.

On the other hand, the system failed to supply a cadet of superior ability with a motive to attain a high degree of proficiency in any given subject. The 565 utmost attained was, that cadets of more than ordinary ability were encouraged to attain the standard of proficiency in more than the necessary six subjects. The system was also open to the serious objection that, under it, the cleverest cadets got through their course quickly. This was bad for them, for it had the effect of bringing their school-education to an early end; and it was bad for the institution, because the eldest cadets were not the most intelligent.

I must be allowed to add, that my experience of the examinations by vivâ voce has given me a very lively sense of the value of that kind of examination; and, though it is not adapted for all subjects, and, where many have to be examined, takes too much time, yet it might be used under many circumstances with very great advantage, and I regard its total disuse since the year 1858 as a very serious error.

I have mentioned above the fact of the Junior Department being divided into an under and upper school. I may add that there were six classes,—three in each school, and two removes in each class. I believe that this was the remains of an earlier organization, which, without being formally abrogated, was, by degrees, nearly obliterated by the introduction of the step system. The only thing that kept up the distinction between upper and lower school was, that a cadet, to be in a Board class, had to pass into upper school. The three classes in the upper school did not have a nominal existence in 1851.

With respect to the Senior Department, a somewhat different system was followed. The course was one of two years; but, in the case of officers who had been cadets, the course was one of a year and a half. There was an examination held at the end of each half year on the subject of the half year’s course. The method of examination resembled that in use in the Junior Department. The subjects comprised in the course are mentioned in a paper printed on page 215 of the evidence taken before the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Sandhurst (1855).

In certain respects, officers might do more than the prescribed course, and obtain honorary mention, e.g., they might do extra plans; they might take up a certain amount of analytical mathematics, with a portion of Poisson’s “Traité de Mécanique,” and of Laplace’s “Mécanique Céleste.” I have by me the synopsis of the ordinary course of mathematics in use before the year 1858; but, as the heads of it are given in the paper above referred to, it is unnecessary to give any details about it.

The Report of the Select Committee of 1855 contained various suggestions for the improvement of both departments of the College, but did not propose to alter the character of the Junior Department as a place of juvenile education. The only practical results of the report were, the establishment of Queen’s cadetships, and the revision of the rates of payment required from all classes of cadets. The institution of Queen’s cadetships was determined upon by the Government in 1856, but the other alteration was not immediately carried out, and no modification of importance in the constitution of the College ensued from the recommendations of the Committee. It was not until the general reorganization of the system of military education which took place in 1857 that any important change was made in regard to the Military College.

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It appears to have been decided at the end of 1856 by Lord Panmure, then Secretary of State for War, that an amalgamation of the Junior Department of Sandhurst with the lower classes of Woolwich should be effected. The Council of Military Education, on their appointment, in April, 1857, were directed to suggest the mode in which this amalgamation could be carried out, taking, as their starting point, the principle that Sandhurst was to be converted from a school for boys into a college for young men, with the age of admission ranging from 16 to 18.

The proposed plan having been approved, an announcement was made, in December, 1857, that the education of candidates for all arms of the service, who did not obtain commissions by direct appointments, would be given at Sandhurst; that entrance would be obtained by competitive examination, open to candidates between the ages of 16 and 18; that the period of study would be two years, and would be terminated by a competitive examination, the most successful candidates in which would be permitted to select the Engineers or Artillery, according to the number of vacancies in those corps, or would receive commissions without purchase in the Cavalry, Guards, or Line. Those who selected the Ordnance corps were to be removed to the school of application at Woolwich.

Almost simultaneously with this notification, appeared a General Order, announcing the conversion of the Senior Department into the Staff College, which was then placed under a separate commandant and staff of instructors,—the Junior Department being henceforward called the Cadet College.

An examination for admission to Sandhurst, under the regulations described above, took place in January, 1858, when 24 candidates were admitted to the College. On the 26th of April, however, a resolution was passed by the House of Commons, on the motion of Mr. Monsell, in consequence of which the plan for the amalgamation of Woolwich and Sandhurst was necessarily abandoned; and, in May, 1858, revised regulations were issued, which again placed Sandhurst on the footing of an entirely distinct establishment from Woolwich. In these regulations, however, a new provision was introduced, by which a cadet at the Military College was, if otherwise eligible, permitted to compete at the examination for admission to Woolwich, without his position at Sandhurst being affected by failure in this examination. This regulation has been retained.

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The large increase in the numbers of the College which was contemplated by the amalgamation scheme was not carried out, the establishment still remaining at 180 cadets, divided into two companies. At the same time, the other alterations recommended by the Council in the constitution and course of study of the College were brought into effect. Since this period the system of juvenile military instruction, which had been already abandoned at Woolwich, has been discontinued at Sandhurst. The establishment was converted from a school for boys into a college for young men, the minimum age for admission being placed at 16; while the course of instruction—the length of which was fixed at two years—was made almost entirely professional. The principle of competition was adopted as the condition of admission, although not to so full an extent as at Woolwich, the candidate for Sandhurst being required to apply to the Commander-in-Chief, in order to have his name entered on the list of competitors. The entrance examinations for admission to the College, and the final examinations for commissions, were placed under the control of the Council of Military Education; and the whole method of instruction was revised, the old system of “steps” being abandoned.

For many years, up to this time, the College had been almost entirely self-supporting. The orphan-class of cadets, established by the Royal Warrant of 1808, who had received a gratuitous education, had, after successive reductions, been finally abolished in 1822; and, though the sons of officers were still educated at reduced rates, the system had been gradually introduced of affording them this advantage without expense to the public, by increasing the rates paid by the sons of private gentlemen. This system, which had been animadverted on by the Select Committee of the House of Commons, in 1855, was altered on the reorganization of the College, in 1858; the rates of payment from all classes were reduced, and the principle was, at least partially, adopted, of defraying, by a Parliamentary vote, the difference between the actual cost of the education of a cadet and the lower rates charged for the sons of officers. The first public announcement of the institution of Queen’s cadetships, the holders of which were to receive a gratuitous education, was also made in 1858. Since this period, a large part of the expense of the College has been borne by the public.

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Some addition to the instructional staff was made in the year 1858, in consequence of the general changes introduced at that time in the system and subjects of instruction; and, in the same year, the office of Adjutant—which had been abolished in the year 1842—was revived, in consequence of the strong representations of the Governor, Lt.-Gen. Sir H. D. Jones.

The next important change in the organization of the College was in 1862. After the abandonment of the scheme for the amalgamation of Woolwich and Sandhurst, the Council of Military Education turned their attention to the subject of enlarging the latter establishment, with the view of making it a general military college, through which all candidates for commissions in any branch of the service, except the Artillery and Engineers, should be required to pass. The general outline of a scheme having this object in view was submitted by the Council as early as July, 1858, to General Peel, then Secretary of State for War. It was still under consideration when General Peel left office, in the summer of 1859, and was again brought under the notice of his successor, Lord Herbert, in August of that year.

After some consideration, the general principle of the scheme was sanctioned by Lord Herbert, in December, 1859; but no immediate steps were taken for carrying the plan into operation. At the end of 1860, however, the Council were directed to draw up a detailed scheme of organization for the College, on the assumption that all candidates for commissions in the Cavalry, Guards, and Infantry, would be required to pass through a year’s course of instruction there; a vote was also included in the estimates of 1861 for commencing the enlargement of the buildings, with the ultimate object of providing accommodation for 600 cadets. The details of the scheme were, after some correspondence, fully matured, and were on the point of being submitted to Her Majesty for approval, with the view of the new system coming into effect on the 1st of January, 1862. The plan, however, met with very great opposition, both in the House of Commons and from the authorities of the universities, who regarded it as necessarily leading to the exclusion of university men from the army. In consequence of this opposition, the Under-Secretary of State for War, toward the end of the session of 1861, announced, in the House of Commons, that the new system should not come into 569 operation until Parliament had had a further opportunity of expressing their opinion upon it. The original plan was also so far modified that the extension of the College was limited to providing accommodation first for 500, and then for 400 cadets, in the first instance; but the abolition of appointments to direct commissions, and the system of passing all candidates for commissions in the Line through the College, were still contemplated, though the commencement of the system was deferred until the 1st July, 1862.

The question was in this state at the time of the death of Lord Herbert, in August, 1861. Sir George Lewis, who succeeded him as Secretary of State for War, having, during the recess, reconsidered the question, announced, shortly after the commencement of the session of 1862, that it had been determined to abandon the idea of requiring all candidates for commissions in the Line to pass through the College, and that the system of appointments to direct commissions by purchase would be maintained. At the same time, it was proposed that non-purchase commissions should in future only be obtained by passing through Sandhurst, and that an enlargement of the College to 336 cadets should take place, to provide for the increased number of non-purchase commissions caused by the amalgamation of the Indian with the Imperial Army.

Even in this modified form, the plan for the extension of the College appears to have been viewed with considerable jealousy by the House of Commons. A vote adverse to it was actually at first carried; but the question having, in consequence of the representations of Sir George Lewis, been reconsidered, the plan proposed by the Government was at length agreed to. Regulations for the College on the new footing were issued on the 1st May, 1862. These regulations form the basis of the present system of the College.

One of the most important changes made at this time was the great increase in the number of free commissions placed at the disposal of the College. Under the old system which existed prior to 1858, while the institution was still a mere place of juvenile education, all cadets who passed in the six “steps,” to which allusion has been made, received free commissions; but there was, strictly speaking, no competition for such commissions. After the alteration in the age of admission to the College, and the general revision of the course of 570 instruction which took place in 1858, a limited number of free commissions were bestowed upon those cadets who stood highest in the final examination. A large number of these appointments, however, still remained in the gift of the Commander-in-Chief, and were granted to candidates who passed the ordinary examination for direct commissions. Since 1862, all non-purchase commissions have been reserved for cadets at the Royal Military College, with the exception of a small number (not exceeding on an average 12 annually) bestowed upon non-commissioned officers promoted from the ranks, and upon gentlemen who have held the appointment of page to Her Majesty. The commissions given to the latter are exclusively in the Foot Guards, and their number seldom exceeds one in each year. The free commissions allotted to the College are thrown open to competition among the cadets, with the exception of those reserved for Queen’s and Indian cadets. Both of these classes of cadets have, since the institution of Indian cadetships, which took place simultaneously with the change of the College system, in August, 1862, been entitled to receive free commissions on passing a qualifying examination at the end of their term of residence.

The course of study at the College was, at the same time, considerably modified, with the view of allowing its completion, under ordinary circumstances, in one year, instead of two years, as formerly,—the maximum term of residence being fixed at a year and a half. An attempt was also made to render the course more strictly professional, and better adapted to qualify a young officer for the performance of ordinary regimental duties immediately on joining his corps, by the introduction of instruction in military law, interior economy, etc.

The age of admission was fixed at 16 to 20 for candidates for the Infantry, and 16 to 22 for those for the Cavalry,—an extension of a year in these limits being for the first time introduced in favor of students at the universities. A further privilege held out to the latter class of candidates was that, while others could only obtain admission by competitive examination, the fact of having passed certain university examinations was of itself made a qualification for admission. These concessions, which, at first, were made to the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, have been since extended to the other universities.

571

The number of cadets was never raised to the extent contemplated in the plan proposed by Sir George Lewis. It was originally intended that the College should accommodate 336 cadets, divided into four companies of 84 each; but the establishment was ultimately fixed at 250. This increase, however (the numbers having, previously to 1862, been 180), led to the addition, in August, 1862, of a third company to the two in which the cadets had been previously divided. An additional captain was appointed to command this company, and, at the same time, three subaltern officers (one to each company) were, for the first time, added to the strength of the establishment, to assist the captains in the charge of the companies. Simultaneously with this, an important alteration was made in the discipline of the College, by abolishing the system which had hitherto prevailed of employing the sergeants to assist in maintaining discipline by reporting the cadets for offences committed against the regulations.

The increase in the establishment also necessitated in this year an augmentation of the staff of instructors.

The establishment of the Royal Military College in 1863, after the change of system had come into effect, was as follows:

General Staff.—1 Governor, 1 Chaplain, 1 Paymaster, 1 Quartermaster, 1 Surgeon, 1 Assistant-Surgeon, 1 Riding Master.

Staff College.—1 Commandant, 1 Adjutant, 9 Professors, 30 Students.

Cadet College.—1 Lieutenant-Governor, 1 Major and Superintendent of Studies, 3 Captains of Companies, 3 Subalterns, 250 Gentlemen Cadets, 1 Adjutant, 40 Professors and Instructors, of whom two were employed also at the Staff College.

The organization of the College has undergone no material alteration since 1863, with the exception of the abolition of the office of Lieutenant-Governor, and the substitution for it of that of Commandant of the Cadet College. The change, though decided upon in 1862, was not carried out during the tenure of office of the officer who, at that time, held the appointment of Lieutenant-Governor, and did not actually take effect until 1864. The Lieutenant-Governor, though nominally the deputy of the Governor, had exercised no control over the Commandant of the Staff College from the time of the institution of the latter establishment, in 1858. His functions were limited to the Cadet College, of which he was virtually, though not nominally, the Commandant.

The establishment of cadets was raised in 1865 to 300, and 572 some slight alterations have, at various times, been made in the number of professors and instructors; but, in its general character, the establishment at the present time remains as it was in 1863.

The modifications which have since been made consist chiefly in the reduction of the higher limit of age for admission to 19 for all branches of the service (retaining, however, the former exception in favor of students from the universities); the discontinuance of the study of military law, etc.; and the extension of the ordinary course of residence from one year to a year and a half.

In regard to discipline, the system of assigning marks for good conduct, which was introduced by the regulations of 1862, has been discontinued, owing to practical difficulties which were found to occur in carrying out the system with uniformity. At the beginning of 1868, an alteration was introduced in the powers of the professorial staff with regard to the maintenance of discipline. Previously to this period they had exercised no disciplinary powers; they have since been required to take notice of all offences which come within their cognizance, either in or out of study, and have been empowered to place a cadet in arrest pending an inquiry into the offence. Even at the present time, however, the professors have no power of punishment, this power being confined to the military staff of the College.

According to the Royal Warrant of 1808, the four companies of cadets were placed upon the establishment of the army, and every one admitted to the College received a warrant of gentleman cadet, with the daily pay of 2s. 6d. Down to the year 1857, the regulations for admission to the College contained the provision that, “in conformity to the Royal Warrant, dated the 27th of May, 1808, all gentlemen cadets at the Royal Military College are subject to the Articles of War.” This provision appears to have been omitted from all regulations published on the recommendation of the Council of Military Education since the reorganization of the College, which took place at the beginning of 1858. At the present time, a cadet, on admission, is required to sign a declaration “to conform, in every respect, to Her Majesty’s Regulations, and to the rules and discipline of the service.”

The Board of Commissioners, at the time of the report of 573 the Select Committee of the House of Commons, in 1855, still continued to administer all the affairs of the Royal Military College, in virtue of the wide powers vested in them by the Royal Warrant of 1808. For some years previously to this, however, the War Office had exercised considerable control over the financial acts of the Board. On the appointment of the Council of Military Education, in 1857, the latter body began to superintend the course of instruction at the College, their attention having been directed to this subject in the first instructions issued to them on their appointment. At the beginning of 1858, they commenced to conduct the examinations for admission, and, by a Royal Warrant of the 1st October, 1858, they were formally appointed Visitors of the College, and required to report to the Commander-in-Chief upon the instruction given at it. The power of recommending either the appointment or removal of the professors and instructors was, by the same warrant, placed in their hands.

The original warrant of 1808 has never been cancelled, and the powers vested by it in the Board of Commissioners still, therefore, nominally remain in force, except so far as by the warrant of 1858. Since this time, however, the connection of the Commissioners with the management of the College has been gradually diminished. In 1863, the office of Secretary to the Board was abolished, his financial duties being transferred to the Paymaster of the College, and the performance of his other duties being provided for in the Commander-in-Chief’s office. The discipline of the College still remains nominally under the superintendence of the Commissioners; but, even in regard to this point, their interference, except when questions of considerable importance have arisen, appears to have been little called for. Their duties of late years seem to have been principally confined to business connected with the management of the College property, in regard to which, although the estate is now formally vested in the Secretary of State for War, the former powers of the Commissioners are reserved.

The attendance in the College, since its reorganization, has been as follows, viz.:

1855   .   .   .   180
1862   .   .   .   250
1865   .   .   .   300
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Staff of Government and Instruction, 1871-2.

President.—Duke of Cambridge, Field Marshal.

Vice-President.—Rt. Hon. Edward Cardwell, Secretary of War.

Governor.—Lt.-Gen. Sir D. A. Cameron.

Assistant.—Col. J. E. Addison.

Paymaster.—Major Oliver Nicolls.

Chaplain.—Rev. E. J. Rogers, M.A.

Quartermaster.—John Davies.

Surgeon.—A. McLean, M.D.

Assistant Surgeon.—John Greig, M.D.

Riding-Master.—Capt. C. C. Brooke.

CADETS’ COLLEGE.

Adjutant.—Major W. Patterson.

Captains of Companies of Gentlemen Cadets.—Lt.-Col. W. R. Farmar, Lt.-Col. Alfred P. Bowlby, Capt. H. E. Couper.

Staff of Instruction.

Mathematics and Arithmetic.—Rev. J. W. Vintner, Rev. Alfred Deck, G. Hester, J. P. Ketley.

Fortification.—Capt. G. Phillips, Lt. E. D. C. O’Brien, Capt. H. L. Mitchell.

Military Surveying.—Capt. W. Paterson.

Military History.—Capt. E. M. Jones.

Military Drawing.—Capt. E. A. Anderson, Capt. C. W. Fothergill, Capt. R. L. Leir.

Landscape Drawing.—Robert Harley.

French Language.—J. Balagué.

Geology.—T. R. Jones.

Chemistry.—Edm. Atkinson, Ph.D.

STAFF COLLEGE.

Commandant.—Col. E. B. Hamley, C.B.

Adjutant.—Major A. S. Jones.

Professors and Instructors.

Mathematics.—Rev. J. F. Twisden, T. Savage.

Military History.—Major C. Adams.

Fortification and Artillery.—Capt. H. Schaw.

Military Topography.—Major S. B. Farrell, Royal Engineers.

Military Administration.—Capt. W. Walker.

French.—A. A. De Charente.

German.—Dr. Overbeck.

Hindustani.—J. Dowson.

Military Drawing.—Capt. E. A. Anderson.

575
QUEEN’S AND INDIAN CADETSHIPS.

The creation of Queen’s cadetships originated in the recommendations of the select Committee of the House of Commons on Sandhurst. At the time the Committee reported (in the year 1855) the age of admission to Sandhurst was from 13 to 15; in the following year, however, at the time the recommendations of the Committee were adopted by the Government, it was in contemplation to raise the minimum age for admission to the College to 16; and it was consequently decided that, in order to meet the case of those who under the former regulations would have been admitted as Queen’s cadets at a younger age, a special allowance of 40l. a year might, at the discretion of the Secretary of State, be granted to a candidate qualified for a Queen’s cadetship, at the age of 13, to assist him in his preparatory education, until he attained the age at which he would be eligible for admission to the College. This arrangement was sanctioned by the Treasury in 1856, and at first the results of the recommendations of the Select Committee seem to have been confined to granting candidates the special allowance in aid of their preparatory education, as no cadet entered until 1860.

The first public announcement of the institution of Queen’s cadetships, and of the regulations under which they were to be granted, was made by a General Order, dated Horse Guards, 5th January, 1858. It had by this time been finally determined to fix the ordinary minimum age for admission to Sandhurst at 16; but an exception was made in favor of the Queen’s cadets, who were to be admitted one year younger,—at the age of 15. The following were among the regulations:

These cadetships, of which there are twenty in all, are confined to the sons of officers of the army, Royal navy, and Royal marines, who have fallen in action, or have died of wounds received in action, or of diseases contracted on active service, and who have left their families in reduced circumstances.

Gentlemen cadets on this class are educated gratuitously.

The nominations, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State for War, are made by the Commander-in-Chief for the army, in the proportion of 15 cadetships, and by the First Lord of the Admiralty for the navy and marines, in that of five cadetships,—to whom applications are to be made.

No candidate can be admitted under the age of 15, nor above that of 17.

In a case where the services of the father and the circumstances of the family are deemed such as to constitute a claim, a candidate ineligible for immediate admission, on account of his not having attained the proper age, but being a promising youth, may, at the discretion of the Secretary of State for War, be allowed an addition to the compassionate allowance, with the especial view of promoting his education, until he is eligible for admission.

The regulations under which Queen’s cadets are at present nominated are similar to the above, with the exception that 576 the wording of the phrase “diseases contracted on active service” has been altered to “diseases contracted on service abroad,” and that Queen’s cadets, like other candidates, are not now admitted until the age of 16. An addition to the “Compassionate Allowance,” not exceeding 40l. a year, may at the same time be granted to a candidate after the age of 13, in order to assist him in his education until he becomes eligible for admission to the College. The number of Queen’s cadetships (20) includes both those who have entered, and those to whom the educational allowance is granted previously to their admission.

From the first institution of Queen’s cadetships, the candidates nominated to them have been admitted to the College on passing a qualifying examination, and have received a gratuitous education; they were, however, originally required to compete for commissions without purchase, with other candidates, at the end of the College course. The privilege of obtaining a free commission on passing merely a qualifying examination was not extended to them until the institution of the Indian cadetships in 1862. As it was found necessary to exempt the Indian cadets from competition with other candidates for commissions without purchase, a similar privilege was extended to the Queen’s cadets. Both classes of cadets, in addition to their free education and maintenance, receive clothing and pocket money.

The institution of Indian cadetships at Sandhurst took place in consequence of the transfer of the government of India from the East India Company to the Crown, and the subsequent amalgamation of the Indian and Imperial forces.

The notice of the admission of Indian cadets to the establishment appears for the first time in the College regulations of 1st May, 1862. Their number, like that of the Queen’s cadets, is limited to 20. They are nominated, under the provisions of Acts 21 & 22 Vict. cap. 106, s. 35, and 23 & 24 Vict. cap. 100, by the Secretary of State for India in Council, from the sons “of persons who have served in India in the military or civil services of Her Majesty or the East India Company.” The restrictions, however, regarding the death of the father and the circumstances of the family, which apply to a candidate for a Queen’s cadetship, do not limit the nomination of Indian cadets. The expense of the education and maintenance of the latter is borne by Indian revenues.

577
REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION, CLOTHING, BOOKS, PAYMENTS, ETC., 1867.

1. Candidates for vacancies at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, will be required to undergo an examination under the superintendence of the Council of Military Education. Examinations for this purpose will be held in June and December of each year, at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea.

2. Twenty Queen’s cadets will be borne on the establishment, being the sons of officers who have fallen in action, or have died of wounds received in action, or of diseases contracted on service abroad; and who have left their families in reduced circumstances. Fifteen will be sons of officers of the army, and five will be sons of officers of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

There will be, in addition, twenty Indian cadetships, for nomination to which the sons of persons will be selected who have served in India in the military or civil services of Her Majesty, or of the East India Company.

3. Candidates, whether for the infantry or the cavalry, must be between 16 and 19 years of age at the commencement of the term immediately succeeding their admission examination.

Terms commence on the 1st February and 1st August.

Students from the Universities will be admissible at the ages stated in Art. 11 of these regulations.

4. Every candidate for admission must apply (if under age, through his parent or guardian) to the Commander-in-Chief, to have his name entered on the list of candidates.

5. He must transmit with his application the following documents, viz.: (a) An extract from the register of his baptism, or, in default of that, a declaration before a magistrate, made by one of his parents, giving his exact age. (b) A certificate, from the minister of the Church or denomination to which he belongs, of his having been duly instructed in the principles of the Christian religion.

6. His name having been placed upon the list of candidates, it will be open to him to offer himself at any of the half-yearly examinations which may occur while he is within the prescribed limits of age. If unsuccessful in obtaining one of the vacancies at the college, he will be allowed to present himself at any subsequent examination until he has exceeded the maximum age. After he has exceeded the maximum age, he can only be admitted into the army on obtaining a direct commission by purchase, in the usual manner, after passing a qualifying examination.

7. He will be examined by a medical officer, who will ascertain whether he is free from all bodily and organic defects, and whether, as far as regards physical constitution, he is in every point of view fit for military service.

8. The following will be the subjects of examination, but no candidate will be allowed to be examined in more than five of these subjects:

Marks.
Classics: Latin, 2,000; Greek, 1,600, 3,600
Mathematics, 3,600
English language, 1,200
Modern languages, each, 1,200
History, with geography, 1,200
Natural sciences (i.e., mineralogy and geology), 1,200
Experimental sciences (chemistry, heat, and electricity), 1,200
Geometrical drawing 600
Free-hand drawing 600

Of the above subjects, the elementary portions of mathematics and the English language are obligatory on each candidate.

The following elementary branches will be included in the obligatory section of mathematics, viz.:

In arithmetic: vulgar and decimal fractions, proportion, extraction of the square root, and interest.

In algebra: fractions, simple equations, and questions producing them.

In Euclid: the first three books.

To these elementary branches 1,200 marks (out of the whole 3,600 for mathematics) will be allotted, and it will be necessary for qualification that at least 400 be obtained, of which 200 must be obtained in arithmetic.

In the English language 400 marks will be allotted to correct and legible writing from dictation, and to composition; and of these it will be necessary for qualification that 200 be obtained.

Out of the remaining subjects the candidate may select any three.

578

No candidate will be allowed to count the marks gained in any of the three voluntary subjects, unless amounting to one sixth of the whole number of marks allotted to that subject; and for qualification he will be required to obtain on his five subjects a total of 1,500 marks.

No marks will be allowed to count in any subject left optional to the candidate, unless he gain at least one sixth of the whole number allotted to that subject.

9. Every candidate will be required to forward to the Military Secretary, Horse Guards, one month before the examination, a statement of the subjects he desires to take up, as well as a certificate from the master or tutor under whom he has been educated, of his general moral conduct for at least the two preceding years. If a candidate has failed in a previous examination he will only be required to forward a list of the subjects he selects, and a certificate of conduct between the two examinations. These documents are under no circumstances to be transmitted before the date above specified.

10. After the examination the candidates will be reported to the Commander-in-Chief in the order of their merit, and will be appointed accordingly as far as vacancies will allow.

11. Candidates who have passed the examinations called “responsions” and “moderations” at the University of Oxford, or those called “previous examinations” at the Universities of Cambridge and Dublin, or the matriculation examination of the University of London; or any one of the three examinations required for the degree of M.A. at the Universities of St. Andrew’s and Glasgow; or the “class examination of the second year” (Curriculum of Arts) at the University of Aberdeen; or the “preliminary examination” at the University of Edinburgh; or the “first University examination” of Queen’s University, Ireland, will be considered as qualified for admission to the Royal Military College without further examination.

Candidates from the Universities must not be more than 21 years of age for the infantry, nor more than 23 years for the cavalry. They will be required to send to the Military Secretary, Horse Guards, two months before the commencement of the term at which they desire to enter, certificates from the responsible authorities of their college of general moral conduct during residence at the University, and of having passed the above-mentioned examinations, together with the certificate of age, as required by clause 5

Should the number of general candidates be considerably in excess of the number of vacancies at the college, a suitable portion of those vacancies will be offered to the University and to the competing candidates respectively.

12. Candidates for admission as Queen’s cadets must apply for a nomination to the Commander-in-Chief, if the sons of officers in the army; or to the First Lord of the Admirality, if the sons of officers in the Royal navy, or Royal marines. The above nominations will be made by the Commander-in-Chief or First Lord of the Admiralty, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State for War. The Secretary of State for India in Council will nominate to cadetships for the Indian services.

Provision of Necessaries, Books, Contributions, etc.

13. Every gentleman cadet will receive from the Military Secretary a list of the articles of clothing, books, and instruments with which he must provide himself before joining the college, and which he will be required to keep complete during his residence.

Any other books, instruments, or drawing implements that he may subsequently require for the prosecution of his studies, will be provided at the college, and charged to his account.

14. The amount of contribution for education, board, washing, and medical attendance, on account of each cadet, per annum, is as follows:

a. For sons of private gentlemen, £100
b. For sons of admirals, and general officers having regiments or receiving Indian colonels’ allowances, 80
c. For sons of general officers, 70
d. For sons of captains and commanders of the Royal navy, and field officers of the army having substantive rank, 50
e. For sons of all officers of the royal navy and army under the above rank, 40
f. For sons of officers of the royal navy and army who have died in the service, and whose families are proved to be in pecuniary distress 20
579 g. Queen’s cadets and cadets nominated by the Secretary of State for India in Council, Free.

15. General officers on the non-effective list will pay according to their last substantive rank.

Officers who have sold their commissions are, in this classification, reckoned as private gentlemen.

The cases of officers who have retired voluntarily upon half-pay previous to having served twenty-five years on full pay will be specially considered.

Officers who retire on half-pay after twenty-five years’ service on full pay will be classified for payment with the rank in which they last served.

16. The orphans of officers whose claims do not come under classes f, and g, must contribute according to the substantive rank last held by their fathers.

17. For sons of officers who have retired on full pay, the payments will be according to the substantive rank last held by their fathers.

18. The sons of officers of civil departments having relative rank with officers of the army and navy, of the permanent militia staff, and of adjutants of the volunteer force, are admissible to the college on the same terms as those prescribed for the sons of army and navy officers of corresponding rank.

19. The sons of Indian naval and military officers not specially nominated by the Secretary of State for India will be admitted on the same terms as the sons of officers of the Queen’s service.

20. Contributions for the sons of professors at the Staff and Cadet Colleges, at the Royal Military Academy, and at the late Indian Colleges, Addiscombe, will be . . . £50

For the sons of masters at the above institutions, . . . 40

21. Any change which may take place by promotion or retirement in the rank of the father of a cadet must be immediately notified to the Military Secretary, in order that the contribution paid to the college on account of such cadet may be regulated accordingly.

22. Previously to the admission of a cadet (not a Queen’s cadet) he, or if a minor, his parent or guardian, will be required to make the following payments, viz.:

1. His contribution for half a year.

2. The sum of 15l. for his first equipment of uniform clothing.

3. The sum of 10s. for the support of the company reading-rooms.

4. A deposit of 15l. on account, for contingent expenses.

23. The above sums are to be paid to the paymaster of the College.

24. For each succeeding half year the regulated contribution is in like manner to be paid in advance, to the paymaster of the college, to whom must also be remitted the sum of 5l. for the further provision of uniform clothing, and such sum as may be required to make up the contingent deposit to 15l. The amount of this balance will be shown by an account, rendered at the end of every half year, of the sums paid out of the deposit during the past term.

25. No cadet on whose behalf these regulations in regard to payments have not been complied with, will be received at the college.

26. No refund of contribution will be made for any portion of the half year in which the cadet may be removed from the establishment, without the special sanction of the Secretary of State for War.

27. No payments will be required from Queen’s or Indian cadets.

28. If a cadet be rusticated during a term, his contribution for the half year will be forfeited.

29. If absent a whole term in consequence of rustication or sickness, a contribution of 10l. will be required for the privilege of his name being kept on the rolls of the establishment, and for a vacancy being guaranteed at the commencement of the next term.

30. If absent from sickness during any portion of a term, a refund of that portion applicable to subsistence will be permitted.

31. In the cases of cadets of the orphan class, whose annual contribution is only 20l., the amount to be paid when the absence extends over a whole term will be submitted to and determined by the Secretary of State.

32. Every gentleman cadet will be supplied with a weekly allowance of pocket money, at the discretion of the commandant of the college; but this allowance will not exceed 4s. 6d. a week for a gentleman cadet who is a responsible under officer, 4s. a week for a gentleman cadet who is an under officer, 3s. 6d. a week for a gentleman cadet who is a corporal, and 2s. 6d. a week for all other gentlemen cadets. The expense of this allowance will be 580 defrayed out of the amount deposited for the purpose of meeting contingent expenses, and in the case of Queen’s or Indian cadets it will be borne by the public.

Discipline.

33. All gentlemen cadets are subject to such rules and regulations as are, or may be from time to time, established for the maintenance of good order and discipline.

34. Every gentleman cadet will be liable to be removed from the college at any time should his conduct be such as to render it obvious that his remaining would be either hurtful to the institution or unprofitable to himself.

35. To every cadet will be assigned, at the commencement of each term, 100 marks for conduct.

From this number deductions will be made in certain authorized proportions for every offence which shall have been met by a punishment of more than two days’ drill.

Should the cadet forfeit more than three-fourths, or 75 of the above 100 marks, he will not be gazetted to his commission until all other gentlemen cadets of the same batch shall have been provided for; and should he lose all his marks for conduct he will be rusticated for one term.

36. Gentlemen cadets are strictly prohibited from contracting debts with any publican or tradesman in the vicinity of the college.

37. No perquisites or presents of any kind are to be received by any person belonging to the college from either the gentlemen cadets or their friends.

38. Gentlemen cadets will not be allowed to remain at the college during the vacations without the special sanction of the Secretary of State for War, on satisfactory proof being shown that they have no friends in the United Kingdom to whom they could go. Payment of 1l. 1s. a week will be required in such cases from those who are not Queen’s cadets.

Termination of the Course, and removal from the College.

39. The course of study is calculated for a residence of three terms, or 18 months, reckoned from the commencement of the term in which a gentleman cadet may join. It is open, however, for any cadet, who at the end of his first term shall have proved himself qualified for promotion at once to the third term classes, to compete for a commission without purchase, or to be examined for a commission by purchase, at the end of his second term; but no fourth term will be allowed on any plea but that of long continued sickness, in which case special application must be made to the Commander-in-Chief, accompanied by an opinion from the surgeon of the college.

Gentlemen cadets allowed a fourth term will not be permitted to compete for commissions without purchase.

40. Examinations for commissions will be held periodically. The number of commissions to be given without purchase will be announced previously to the examination. These will be competed for and awarded to the candidates who are first in order of merit.

41. Candidates who have not succeeded in obtaining a place amongst those to whom commissions without purchase can be awarded, but who have obtained the minimum number of marks required for qualification, will be considered to have prior claims to all other candidates for commissions by purchase.

42. Queen’s and Indian cadets will receive commissions without purchase on passing the qualifying examination. The names of those who distinguish themselves equally with competitors for commissions without purchase will be published in the same lists with the latter.

43. In every case a certificate of conduct and proficiency in military and athletic exercises will be required from the governor of the college before a cadet can be examined for his commission.

44. Any gentleman cadet desirous of entering the Royal Artillery or Royal Engineers will be permitted, if otherwise eligible, to offer himself as a candidate at any of the competitive examinations for admission into the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich; and his position at the Royal Military College will not be affected by his failure at such examination.

45. No gentleman cadet will be allowed to present himself at a direct commission examination during his residence at the Royal Military College.

46. No gentleman cadet is to be removed from the college without the permission of the Commander-in-Chief, obtained through the governor of the 581 college. And when a parent or guardian intends to withdraw a cadet, or, if of age, the gentleman cadet intends to leave the college at the end of a term, at least six weeks’ notice of his intention is to be given to the governor. In default of such notice a quarter’s subscription must be paid.

Miscellaneous.

47. The establishment for Queen’s cadets having been sanctioned by Parliament when the age of admission to the Royal Military College was from 13 to 15 years, it has been decided that in any case when the services of the father and the circumstances of his family are such as to constitute a claim, an addition of not more than 40l. a year to the “compassionate allowance” may, at the discretion of the Secretary of State for War, be allowed to a candidate who is over 13, to enable him to complete his preparatory education, as he is ineligible for immediate admission into the college in consequence of the minimum age of admission having been raised to 16.

48. It is desirable that every candidate who is under 21 years of age should, at his admission, be accompanied by his parent, guardian, or some other responsible person, to satisfy the requirements of the college on his behalf.

49. The responsible parent or guardian of every successful candidate, and the candidate himself, before he can be admitted as a cadet, will be required to sign respectively the following declarations:

Declaration by Cadet.

“I ___________________, do hereby declare that I have attentively considered the regulations for admission to the Royal Military College, and I consent to abide by the same in every particular, as well as to observe and follow all such orders and directions as I shall from time to time receive from the governor, the commandant, or other officers or authorities of the Royal Military College. And I further hold myself bound to conform, in every respect, to Her Majesty’s regulations, and to the rules and discipline of the service.”

(Signature) _________________

Declaration by the Parent or Guardian.

“I hereby declare that I consent to the admission of my (son or ward) to the Royal Military College, on the foregoing conditions.”

(Signature) _______________

Subjects of the Final Examination.

Max. allowed to count. Min. allowed to count. Min. required for Qualification.
50. Field fortification and elements of permanent fortification, including preparatory course of practical geometry, 1,800 450 1,200
Military drawing and surveying, 1,800 450 1,200
Military history and geography, 1,800 450 1,200
Max. allowed to count. Min. allowed to count.
Mathematics:
First Section.—Arithmetic: algebra, up to simple equations; Euclid, four books, use of logarithmic tables, elementary problems in heights and distances, and mensuration, 1,200 300
Second Section.—Euclid, Books V., VI., and XI. (propositions 1-20), higher algebra, plane trigonometry, and mensuration, 1,200
Third Section.—Practical mechanics and hydrostatics, 1,200
Higher fortification, 600 300
French, 1,200 300
German, 1,200 300
Chemistry, 1,200 300
Geology, 1,200 300
Free-hand drawing, 600 150

In order to qualify for a commission, every gentleman cadet will be required to obtain 1,950 marks in the obligatory section of fortification, military drawing and surveying, military history, the first section of mathematics, and one foreign language; of which number of marks 1,300 must be gained in the three military subjects before specified.

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SUBJECTS AND COURSE OF INSTRUCTION.

The studies of the college are mathematics, fortification, military drawing and surveying, military history and geography, and one modern language (either French or German), which are obligatory on all cadets, and, in the final examination 1,950 marks (out of 5,400 required), with a certificate of proficiency in military and athletic exercises, are required to qualify for a commission. To these studies are added chemistry or physics, geology, and a second modern language.

For educational purposes, the cadet corps is divided into three companies, designated A, B, C, each company pursuing the same subjects at the same time, with a classification of members into sections, according to the results of the minor and term examinations. The minor examinations take place every six weeks, and the term examinations every six months, and the final examination at the close of the course, which occupies three terms of six months each. The final examination is conducted by examiners attached to the Council of Military Education. The final result, as bearing on a commission, is reached by adding the marks as determined by the average of the minor and term examinations, and the answers of the final examination.

The instruction is given in halls of study, of which there are 18, large enough to accommodate, each, 18 cadets, but generally occupied by 15. The lecture hall will accommodate 100 without crowding.

1. Mathematics, elementary for all sections, including arithmetic, algebra up to simple equations, euclid, the use of logarithmic tables, elementary problems in heights and distances, and mensuration; and higher in the third section, including trigonometry and practical mechanics and hydrostatics, occupies 21 hours a week during the entire residence. To this branch is assigned a professor, one senior master, and three other masters. To the highest proficiency in mathematics is assigned a maximum of 1,200 marks, and a minimum of 300 is allowed to count.

2. Fortification includes field and the elements of permanent fortification, with a preparatory course of practical geometry. To this study, which occupies three hours every day, or 18 hours per week, are assigned six professors, and to the highest 583 proficiency is awarded a maximum of 1,800 marks, with a minimum of 450. Field fortification is taught in the first two terms, plan drawing and practical work going on together. The cadets trace and execute portions of fieldworks, making and planting revetement, gabions, and fascines, and doing all but the heavy work, which is left to the sappers. They are also instructed in bridge making and in pontooning, and witness every species of work done in the hall, on the fortification ground.

3. Military Surveying and Drawing occupy together 17 hours, under 12 professors. The cadets commence by drawing from copies, then from models, being in the meantime also taught the use of instruments; then in six weeks after joining the corps, they are taken out to triangulate with the prismatic compass and pacing, and traverse roads. The former practice with the theodilite and sextant has been abandoned, and the whole instruction has been concentrated on the art of field sketching as of more importance to an infantry officer. To the highest proficiency in this subject is given 1,800 marks, and a minimum of 450 is allowed to count in the final result. In the final examination the candidate for a commission must obtain at least 1,200 marks in the above subjects.

4. Military History and Geography is under the charge of one professor and two instructors. The present course is to give instruction by lecture, in the organization and mode of action of the three arms, and explanation of the operation of the commissariat and transport department of an army, followed by a short and simple campaign. In the second half-year, two campaigns are selected, with a view to illustrate the generally received principles of tactics and strategy, and in the third half-year one campaign is thoroughly worked out in detail. The cadets take notes of the lecture, on which they are examined orally, and after the main propositions and facts are printed by the professor, a subsequent study and examination on the printed scheme is had. In this study the cadets draw plans of the theatre of war and of battles, showing the position of the opposing forces.

5. Languages, French and German,—the former with one professor and three masters, and the latter with one master. The usual course in either language is grammar, exercises, dictation, translation, and composition. To the highest proficiency 584 in either, 1,200 marks are assigned, and a minimum of 300 is allowed. One of these languages is obligatory in the final examination, but the candidate can be examined in both. The cadets can change from one language to the other at the beginning of the term.

6. Chemistry (including sound, heat, electricity, and magnetism) and Geology (including mineralogy and physical geography) occupy each a half hour four days in the week, and employ part of the time of two professors.

7. Freehand or Landscape Drawing receives two lessons per week, first from copies and models, and in the third term one lesson per week from nature. To the highest proficiency is assigned 600 marks, and a minimum of 150 is allowed.

8. Military exercises enter into the programme for the day, and consist of gymnastics for the first term, gun-drill and riding (one lesson per week) in the second term, and two lessons in the last exercises for the third term. Parade and infantry drill occupy, in addition, half an hour before breakfast, and 50 minutes between the first and second period of study in the morning (9.30 and 10.50).

For qualification a cadet must obtain an aggregate of 1,200 marks out of 5,400 on the three military subjects, and a total aggregate of 1,950 of these. Similar proportions of marks must be obtained each term that the cadet may return in the following term.

RESULTS OF EXAMINATIONS.

Out of 2,399 admission examinations in eleven years, from 1858 to 1868, 444 were unsuccessful; and in the final examinations, in the same period, out of 1,726, 25 failed. The results of the examinations show better preparation from year to year.

EXPENDITURES.

The expenditures of the government, on account of the Military College, were as follows: for 1858-9, £27,969; for 1863-4, £39,690; for 1866-7, £36,416, exclusive of payments made by the cadets or by the Indian government, which, in 1866-67 was £4,237.

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ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY AT WOOLWICH.

HISTORICAL NOTICE.

The Military Academy at Woolwich was instituted by George II. in 1741, to give instruction to officers who served in the Artillery and Engineers. It began in a small room in a building at Woolwich, where the Board of Ordnance used occasionally to assemble, under the instruction of two masters, who lectured by rotation during four consecutive hours in three days of every week. At first only the officers of the single battalion composing the Artillery, and of the corps of Engineers, were required to attend. In the second year non-commissioned officers, and privates too, were at liberty to attend, and upon its close cadets, to the number of five to each company of artillery, resorted to the hall. Being sons of officers of the corps, and not in uniform or under military control, the cadets became an element of disorder, which led to a more systematic organization. In 1744, the cadets were clothed in uniform, and collected into a distinct company, under two officers, with a drum-major. By 1782, the number of cadets had increased from twenty to sixty, and in 1798, to one hundred,—boarding with their families. In the last year arrangements were made to lodge and board the cadets by allowing 2s. a day per head, until by degrees, in 1857, an imposing pile of buildings had been erected, and the establishment for government and instruction consisted of 18 officers on the military staff, and some fifty professors and masters in the civil and educational corps.

REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION.

Previously to the year 1855 admission to the Royal Military Academy could only be obtained by a nomination from the Master-General of the Ordnance. The limits of age for admission were at that time from 14 to 16, and the candidates 586 nominated were required to pass an entrance examination before the professors of the Academy, which varied somewhat according to the age of the individual. A certain number of the candidates previously passed though the preparatory school at Carshalton, admission to which was equally obtained by nomination from the Master-General of the Ordnance, and were transferred to the Academy on passing an examination similar to that required from those who entered the latter establishment direct. The term of residence at the Academy varied, according to the progress of a cadet, from two to four years.

The inability of the Academy to meet the demand for officers for the Artillery and Engineers created by the Crimean war, led to the introduction of a new system of obtaining commissions in the scientific corps. At first a limited number of nominations were placed in the hands of the head masters of the great public schools of the country, and the candidates nominated by them were appointed to provisional commissions on passing an examination at Woolwich; but after a short time the principle of open competition for admission to the Artillery and Engineers was adopted, in 1855, by Lord Panmure, when Secretary of State for War. Simultaneously with this change—the first recognition of the competitive principle in regard to military education in this country—a great alteration was made in the limits of age for admission to the scientific corps. Both direct appointments to commissions in the Artillery and Engineers, without any previous special instruction, and admissions to the senior or practical class at the Academy, without passing through the lower or theoretical classes at that institution, were thrown open to public competition among all natural-born subjects of Her Majesty. The limits of age for candidates for the direct appointments were from 19 to 21. Those who were successful were in the first instance to receive provisional commissions, and to be placed for instruction under the Director of Artillery Studies, at Woolwich, for a period of about six months, at the end of which they were to be permanently commissioned. Candidates for admission to the practical class at the Academy were required to be between the ages of 17 and 19; those admitted were to remain in the practical class for six or eight months, after which, on passing an examination, they were to receive commissions 587 in the Artillery or Engineers. The first competitive examination under this system (the regulations for which will be found below) was held in August, 1855, and was conducted by a body of examiners specially appointed for the purpose, under the direction of Canon Moseley. The examination for both classes of appointments thrown open to competition was the same, and was based on the general education of the country, the object being merely to compare the abilities and attainments of the candidates without reference to special professional knowledge. Two other similar examinations, both for provisional commissions and for admission to the practical class, were held in January and June, 1856, the only difference being that the limits of age of the candidates were somewhat extended, and that in these later examinations no commissions in the Engineers were offered to competition.

On the conclusion of the Crimean war, however, the system of appointing officers directly from civil life to commissions in the scientific corps, as well as that of admitting candidates to the practical class at the Academy, which had been adopted to meet the pressure of the war, came to an end. No other examination after that in June, 1856, was held for a year; but in June, 1857, the first competitive examination for admission to the ordinary course of instruction at the Academy took place. The limits of age for admission were fixed at 17 to 20, and it was announced that the successful candidates would remain under instruction at the Academy “until sufficiently advanced in scientific knowledge to pass a satisfactory examination.”

Since this period open competitive examinations have been held regularly every six months for admission to the Academy; and though various modifications in their details have been made, their general character remains little altered. The limits of age for candidates, originally placed at 17 to 20, were, however, in 1862, reduced to 16 to 19, at which they are at present fixed.

The examinations for admission to the Academy, like those which had previously been held for provisional commissions and for appointments to the practical class, were at first conducted by Canon Moseley and a special Board of Examiners appointed by the Secretary of State for War, with whom the general management of the Academy, after the abolition of 588 the office of Master-General of the Ordnance, remained. In 1858, however, the superintendence of the system of instruction at Woolwich was transferred to the Council of Military Education, who, since July, 1859, have conducted the examinations.

Although the principle of open competition for appointments in the scientific corps was first recognized in 1855, and in 1857 was extended generally to admission to the ordinary course of instruction at the Academy, yet the system of competitive examination did not become the sole and universal means of admission to Woolwich until the year 1861. Time was required to clear off the vested interests of candidates who had been placed on the old nomination list of the Master-General of the Ordnance; of youths who had been admitted to the preparatory school at Carshalton; of cadets who, at the time of the proposed amalgamation of Sandhurst and Woolwich, had obtained admission to the former institution on the understanding that they would have the opportunity of obtaining commissions in the Artillery and Engineers; and, lastly, of cadets at the Indian Military College at Addiscombe, who, on the abolition of the local Indian army, were transferred to Woolwich before receiving commissions in the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers.

Out of 3,085 admission examinations in eleven years, from 1858 to 1868, more than one-half (2,136) failed. Of those who entered after this trial, in the same length of time, only three failed to pass the final examination.

STAFF OF GOVERNMENT AND INSTRUCTION.

President.—Duke of Cambridge, K.G.

Governor.—Major General J. L. A. Simmons, K.C.B.

Secretary and Treasurer.—Bt. Major E. J. Bruce, R.Art.

Professor of Mathematics.—M. W. Crofton, B.A., and five masters.

Professor of Fortification.—Lt. Col. J. J. Wilson.

Instructors.—Major W. J. Stuart, and three others.

Professor of Military History.—Capt. H. Brackenburg, R.Art.

Professor of Military Drawing.—Lt. Col. A. W. Drayson.

Landscape Drawing.—William Clifton.

Professor of Artillery.—Lt. Col. C. H. Owen, and five masters.

Professor of Practical Geometry.—T. Bradley, and two masters.

Professor of German.—C. H. Schaible, and two masters.

Professor of French.—Theodore Karcher, and two masters.

Professor of Chemistry.—C. L. Bloxham.

Chaplain and Classical Instructor.—Rev. W. F. Short.

EXPENDITURE FOR MILITARY ACADEMY AT WOOLWICH:

In 1858, £27,969; in 1861-62, £25,188; in 1866-67, £36,416,—exclusive of payments made by the cadets.

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REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION.

N.B.—All candidates for commissions in the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers are required to go through a course of instruction at the Royal Military Academy.

I. Competitive examinations for admission are held in London twice a year, in January and July. They are conducted by examiners appointed for the purpose, in the presence and under the superintendence of the Council of Military Education.

The candidates must be between 16 and 19 years of age.

II. The admissions will be determined by the result of the examination, the subjects of which will be as follows, viz.:

Marks.
1. Mathematics Pure

Section I. Arithmetic, algebra, Euclid, plane trigonometry,

2,000 3,500

Section II. Spherical trignometry, elements of co-ordinate geometry, and of the differential and integral calculus,

500
Mixed: Statics, dynamics, and hydrostatics, 1,000
2. English language and composition, 1,000
3. History of England, its dependencies and colonies, 1,000
4. Geography (modern), 1,000
5. Classics Latin language, 1,500
Greek do., 1,500
6. French language, 1,000
7. German do., 1,000
8. Hindustani do., 1,000

The examination in French, German, and Hindustani, will include writing from dictation.

9. Experimental sciences, i.e., chemistry, heat, electricity, magnetism, 1,000
10. Natural sciences, i.e., mineralogy and geology, 1,000
11. Drawing

Free-hand drawing of machinery, architectural, topographical, landscape or figure subjects,

1,000

Every candidate must qualify in geometrical drawing; i.e., drawing in ink, with accuracy, neatness, and to scale, the several problems of Euclid. The standard of qualification in this subject is 100 marks, which must be gained, out of a maximum of 300 nominally assigned to it. But the marks so gained will not count toward the general aggregate.

III. No candidate will be allowed to be examined in more than five subjects, of which one must be mathematics, and no one who does not obtain at least 700 marks in section I. of pure mathematics, will be eligible for an appointment.

From the other subjects of examination, to which marks are assigned as above, each candidate may select any, not exceeding four in number, in which he desires to be examined. The rules for counting marks in such subjects are as follows:

In all subjects carrying marks, except the 1st section of mathematics, in which 700 marks are required, one-sixth of the number allotted to each must be gained before they can be allowed to count.

In classics, the subject is divided into two sections as above, either or both of which the candidate may take up as one subject; but he will not be allowed to count the marks gained in either section unless they amount to one-sixth of the number allotted to it.

In either French, German, or Hindustani, every candidate will be required to obtain for qualification one-sixth of the maximum of marks, whether he takes it up as a subject in which he desires to compete or not.

It should be understood that, although only a small qualifying test has been imposed in respect to modern languages, a knowledge of them on admission will contribute greatly to a candidate’s future success at the Royal Military Academy.

IV. The candidates are allowed to answer as many questions as the time allotted to the subject will permit.

V. No candidate will be admitted unless he obtain an aggregate of at least 2,500 marks.

VI. The successful candidates will remain under instruction for about two years and a half, or until they are sufficiently advanced in scientific knowledge to pass a satisfactory examination, and they will then be qualified to receive commissions in the Royal Artillery or Royal Engineers. If, however, they should be found unable to qualify themselves within three years in their professional studies, or to acquire a sufficient proficiency in military exercises, or if at any time, by failure at the half-yearly examinations, it should appear 590 improbable that they will ultimately succeed in qualifying for a commission, they will be removed. Further, every cadet will be liable to be removed temporarily or permanently on the commission of any of those offences to which such penalty is awarded by the regulations of the Royal Military Academy.

VII. Each cadet on joining will be required to pay a sum of 25l. to cover the expense of uniform, books, etc., and to bring with him the articles of clothing of which he will receive notice, and which must afterward be kept up at his own expense. He will also be required to pay a contribution of 62l. 10s., payable in advance, for each half year of the time during which he remains under instruction; and a deposit of 5l. into the hands of the paymaster on account, for contingent expenses, which latter sum he will be required to make up on returning to the Royal Military Academy after each vacation, to cover any unavoidable expense that may be incurred on his account during the ensuing half year.

The annual contributions, however, for sons and orphans of naval and military officers will be regulated at the following rates, as heretofore:

For sons of admirals and of generals having regiments, £80
For sons of generals without regiments, 70
For sons of captains and commanders of the navy, and of colonels and regimental field officers of the army, 60
For sons of all officers of the army and navy under the above ranks, 40
For sons of all officers of the army and navy who have died in the service, and whose families are proved to be left in pecuniary distress, 20

The sons of general officers who are paid only on their commissions as field officers will pay the same contributions as the sons of field officers.

Officers who have sold their commissions are in this classification reckoned as private gentlemen.

The cases of officers who have retired voluntarily upon half pay previous to having served 25 years on full pay will be specially considered.

Officers who retire on half pay after 25 years’ service on full pay will be entitled to be classified for payment with the rank they last served in.

The sons of officers of the civil departments of the army and navy, of officers of the permanent Militia Staff, and of adjutants of the Volunteer Force, are admissible to the Academy upon the same terms as those prescribed for naval and military officers.

The sons of Indian naval and military officers will be admitted on the same terms as the sons of officers of the Queen’s service.

The sons of professors at the Staff and Royal Military Colleges, at the Royal Military Academy, and at the Royal Military College, Addiscombe, £60
The sons of masters at the above institutions, 40

If a cadet be absent a whole term in consequence of sickness or rustication, a payment of 10l. will be required for the privilege of his name being kept on the rolls of the establishment, and for a vacancy being guaranteed at the commencement of the next term.

If a cadet be absent from sickness during a portion of the term, his pay will continue to be issued and credited to his account; but no refund of the contribution will be permitted.

If rusticated during a term, the daily pay will cease from the date on which the cadet is sent away, and the contribution made for the half year will be forfeited.

In the case of a cadet of the orphan class, whose annual contribution is only 20l., the amount to be paid when absence extends over a whole term is to be determined by the Secretary of State.

VIII. Any gentleman who wishes to present himself at one of the half-yearly examinations must send in his name to the military secretary at the Horse Guards one month before the time of examination, forwarding with his application to be noted the following papers:

1st. An extract from the register of his baptism, or, in default of that, a declaration before a magistrate, made by one of his parents, giving his exact age.

2d. A certificate of good moral character, signed by a clergyman of the parish to which he belongs, and by the tutor or head of the school or college at which he has received his education for at least the two preceding years, or such other proof of good moral character as will be satisfactory to the Commander-in-Chief.

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3d. A statement of the subjects of examination in which (in addition to mathematics) he may desire to be examined.

A candidate who has been examined before, when he applies for leave to present himself again, will only be required to forward the list of subjects he selects, and a certificate from his tutor or the head of his school, etc., for the interval between the two examinations.

IX. The candidates will be inspected by military surgeons on the first day of the examination, in order that it may be ascertained that they are free from any bodily defects or ailments calculated to interfere with the performance of military duties.

Extreme short-sight, or any serious defect of vision, is regarded as a disqualification.

The responsible parent or guardian of every successful candidate, and the candidate himself, before he can be admitted as a cadet, are required to sign, respectively, obligations to conform to the regulations.

SUBJECTS AND STAFF OF INSTRUCTION.

For instruction the Cadets are divided into five classes of equal strength, according to length of residence; forty-four in the first four classes, and forty-six in the junior. The subjects are:

1. Mathematics, under a professor and four instructors, is studied in three classes, and the final examination is held after a residence of a year and a half, with a maximum of 6,800 marks in all.

2. Fortification, under a professor and four instructors, is studied in four classes. The final examination is in the last class, and the maximum of marks attainable in all is 6,300.

3. Artillery, under a professor and three instructors, is studied in two classes; the second and first, and the final examination, is in the first, with a maximum of 6,200 marks.

4. Surveying and topographical drawing, under a professor and four instructors, is studied in all the classes, and the final examination is at the completion of the course, with a total of 4,200 marks.

5. Practical Geometry, under a professor and two instructors, is studied in two classes, and the final examination is at the close of the first year, with an aggregate of 2,100 marks.

6. Mechanics and Natural Philosophy, under one professor, are studied in the last two terms, and the final examination is in the last, with a maximum of 1,600 marks in the former, and 900 in the latter.

7. French and German are studied, each under a professor and two instructors, for four terms, and after the final examination in the second class. The total marks in each is 1,500. Hindustani can be substituted for German.

8. Landscape Drawing, under two instructors, is studied in three classes, and the final examination is in the third class, with a maximum of 1,500 marks.

9. Military History is taught by one professor in the last two terms, and has a maximum of 2,000 marks.

10. Chemistry, under one lecturer, is taught in the last term, and receives a total of 1,200 marks.

11. Gymnastics, drill, and riding are taught as follows: Regular gymnastic instruction is conducted by a superintendent and three sergeants, for at least six months, and practised through all the terms. Artillery drill, with gun, sword, and other military drill and tactics, are conducted partly by military officers and partly by the professors and instructors of artillery. Riding drill is conducted under the officers of the Royal Artillery, in the last two terms, and is practised four or five hours a week. Swimming is taught optionally.

12. Recreations and amusements are optional and at the expense of the Cadets. Workshops are maintained by the government, but tools and materials are furnished at the expense of the Cadets. There are two reading rooms.

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SCHOOL PREPARATION FOR WOOLWICH.

From the returns and evidence furnished, it is an extremely rare occurrence for a candidate to go up direct from a public school which does not possess a Modern Department to the examination for admission to Woolwich. Out of 855 candidates admitted to Woolwich in 10 years—from 1858 to 1867—the six public schools of Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester, Westminster, and Shrewsbury, only sent up five direct. Colonel Addison states that at Sandhurst, out of 320 admissions during the last two years, there have been only 16 from the nine schools mentioned in the Report of the Royal Commission on Public Schools; but from Cheltenham and Wellington College the admissions have been more numerous. Even for the direct commission examination, those who present themselves from public schools (including Cheltenham and Marlborough, where Modern Departments exist), without seeking the assistance of a private tutor, scarcely amount to five per cent. of the whole number of candidates. At the same time, it may be observed that the proportion of failures among such candidates in the latter examination is comparatively slight, not amounting to more than 8 per cent., while the average number of failures among the candidates generally during the last four years has been very nearly 25 per cent. In fact, the general tenor of the evidence goes to show that, in the case of the examinations both for direct commissions and for admission to Sandhurst, there is, or at least should be, no necessity for candidates who have had the ordinary education of a classical public school to have recourse to private tuition. The Woolwich examination appears generally to be regarded in a different light. Its higher and more special character, and the great importance attached to mathematics, coupled with the competition which exists for it, render it apparently doubtful whether success would generally be obtained by candidates from public schools—other than those where, like Cheltenham, instruction is given with a particular view to this examination—without a special preparatory tuition.

The general character of the “Modern Side” at Harrow, which was established in September of 1869, “for the benefit of boys for whom, from various causes, an advanced classical training seems undesirable,” is explained as follows in a circular issued by the Head-Master when announcing the intention of adopting the institution:

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The principal subjects of instruction on the “Modern Side” will be mathematics, French, German, Latin, history, English literature, and physical science.

The requirements of boys not intended for the Universities will be specially kept in view, including the case of those who are candidates for Woolwich or the Indian Civil Service. It is hoped that this provision may obviate the supposed necessity for removing boys to a private tutor’s precisely at an age when the influences of public school life are most powerful and most salutary.

Except for purposes of instruction there will be no distinction whatever between boys on the Modern Side and boys on the Classical Side.

No boy will, for the present, be admitted to the Modern Side unless he has been in the school for at least a year, and has hitherto shown diligence and made fair progress.

The nature of the instruction in the “Army Class” at Eton is described by the Head-Master (Rev. Dr. Hornly) as follows:

The Army Class was established by Dr. Goodrich in the year 1858. It was established in order to give Eton boys greater facilities for preparing certain subjects which were required in the army examinations, and to obviate the supposed necessity of giving Eton boys a special preparation, elsewhere than at Eton, in order to fit them for the army examinations.

At first fortification and military drawing were included in the course, and a considerable proportion of the ordinary school work (e.g., Latin verse writing) was remitted.

This was not found to answer. The course included more than was necessary for the ordinary army examination, and not enough for the higher examinations at Woolwich. There seemed to be a danger of the class becoming a sort of refuge for the idlest boys in the school.

Dr. Goodford subsequently altered all this, and placed the class upon its present footing, which is as follows:

Two lessons a week (repetition lessons) are remitted to make time for lessons in modern history. English essays, or abstracts of what has been taught in school, are written by the boys out of school (one exercise a week), and carefully looked over. No other part of the ordinary school work (except the two repetition lessons) is given up. Boys cannot join the class till they are 16 years of age. They are expected to stay at Eton till the time comes for their examination. The class consists at present of 28 boys, with an average of 25.

The class has certainly been successful. No boy going up from Eton has failed yet in the army examination since the reconstitution of the class of which I have spoken. I think the class has done good in the school.

It will be seen that nothing more has been seriously attempted as yet than to secure boys from failure in the ordinary examinations. If boys are to be prepared at Eton for any higher competition, such as that at Woolwich, a very different course will obviously be necessary, and probably a system of “bifurcation” will be found indispensable.

I am not prepared to say that this may not be introduced with advantage at Eton; but the impending changes in the governing body at Eton, and the anticipated changes with regard to army examinations, make it difficult to commence any work of reconstruction at the present moment.

The most successful institutions in preparing candidates either for Sandhurst or Woolwich are the Cheltenham and Wellington Colleges—each having a Modern Department, in which Latin and Greek yield their supremacy to modern science and living languages.

The Modern Department in Cheltenham College was established in 1843 as a Military School, and is claimed to be such at this time. The studies of subjects consist of mathematics, drawing of all kinds, physical science, two modern languages (French and German), English, surveying, and fortification, both field and permanent. The principal (Rev. T. A. Southend), in his evidence before the Military Education Commission in 1869, states that his pupils, at 594 the age of eighteen, went through the whole Addiscombe course, and all that was done at Woolwich, and a good deal of what was done at Chatham. The whole of his class, in 1868, went up for the entrance examination at Sandhurst, and passed. From twelve to fifteen go to Woolwich every year, and in 1869, forty out of one hundred and twenty in the Academy were prepared at Cheltenham. The special military instruction is based on a course of Latin and Greek.

Out of three hundred and twelve students in Wellington College, ninety-six boys are in the Modern Side, entering at the age of twelve and thirteen, and remaining till seventeen or eighteen. But of the ninety-six, forty are preparing for the Engineers or Artillery, and twenty for the Line. The subjects taught in the military division are the same as at Cheltenham, except fortification; and the head-master (Rev. Dr. Benson) claims, in his evidence before the Commission, that his graduates are as well trained in the same subject as the pupils of Sandhurst or Woolwich. He advises the establishment of exhibitions in the Military School, open to competition to the pupils of all the public schools, and regards the modern side as an essential feature in all public schools.

Rugby School was the earliest of the great Public Schools of England to make Physical Science a regular part of its curriculum, and to give any considerable prominence to modern languages and history; but its governing authorities have resisted all efforts to establish a distinct Modern Side.

The Rev. Dr. Temple, head-master of Rugby School (now Bishop of Exeter), in his evidence before the Commission, remarked that the general education of boys entering Sandhurst should be the same as that given to other boys of the same age, destined for any other profession than that of arms. His opinion was adverse to having a modern department, in which the ancient classics held a subordinate place, in a school in which the classics held the first, and over which the head-master presided. The modern studies should have an independent scope, and their own master, who will by his character and personal attention fix the standard of attainment. The great public schools should hold on to their present aim and methods, introducing other studies to perfect their mental discipline and results. No side sections or departments in any existing school can do the work of scientific school culture so thoroughly as an independent school, in which the natural sciences and modern languages are taught by the main staff of professors. All teachers, in any school, civil or military, should be specially appointed for their educational qualities.

In Marlborough College, a modern department exists, which was established to prepare boys for definite examinations in which they would not succeed if they competed direct from the classical side of the College, and at the same time to solve the problem of giving a good school education on a basis of instruction in which the dead languages hold a subordinate place. Boys enter the Modern School after they have reached the fourth form in the classical department, so that Latin and Greek constitute a substantial part of their attainments and discipline. The success of the graduates of this institution in competing for admission into the military or civil service of the government, or in any of the walks of active or professional life, shows conclusively that the modern curriculum with its studies properly adjusted, and a well trained staff, under an able head-master, is quite equal to the classical, not only in practical utility, but in comprehensive and liberal discipline.

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ROYAL SCHOOL OF MILITARY ENGINEERING AT CHATHAM.

ORGANIZATION, ETC.

The Royal Engineering Establishment at Chatham was instituted in 1854, to furnish a sound course of practical instruction in Military and Civil Engineering to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and sappers of the corps of Royal Engineers, in addition and prior to which both officers and men pass through the ordinary drill and military duties common to the army generally.

The present organization and staff are composed of a director; an instructor and assistant in construction and estimating; an instructor and assistant in field works; an instructor and assistant in surveying; an instructor and assistant in telegraphy, photography, and an assistant in signalling; a brigade major; quartermaster in charge of stores, and field officer for military discipline.

The number of officers under instruction, recently commissioned, captains and subalterns, 81
Non-commissioned officers and sappers, average, 1,200
NATURE AND LENGTH OF COURSE.

There are six distinct courses:

1. Drill and military duties, which occupy 107 days. This includes, besides the interior economy of a company, proceedings of courts-martial, boards of survey, courts of inquiry.

2. Telegraphy, signalling, submarine mines, etc., which occupy thirty-five days. This includes the construction and maintenance of lines, a knowledge of instruments and batteries, application of electricity to explosions, management of torpedoes, etc.

3. Chemistry, which occupies fifteen days. This course comprises the analysis of limes, cements, and other building materials.

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4. Field works, military bridging, etc, which occupies 122 days. This comprises instruction in earthworks, pontooning, rafts, spar, and other temporary bridges, reports on existing fortresses, construction of railways, escalading, diving, etc.

5. Architectural course, which occupies 183 days. This course includes building material, design, estimate, and specification for a building, instruction and report, with hand sketches of various works in execution, lime and cement works, quarrying, brickmaking, etc.

6. Surveying and Astronomy, which occupy 183 days. This course includes trigonometrical survey, military reconnoissance, special survey, road reconnoissance, astronomical memoranda and calculations, adaptation of works of defence to a contoured site, inspection tours of works of defence in England, and report on same, isolated lectures on geology, electricity, machinery, etc., by selected professors.

The first allowance toward expenses of junior officers of the Royal Engineers, in visiting engineering works, at home and abroad, was made in 1854, and is now 500l. per annum.

INSTRUCTION FOR NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND SAPPERS.

All recruits for this corps join at Chatham, and for about sixteen months are subject to daily drill and military duties in field work and all branches of the engineer service, and are drafted off, from time to time, into the special classes in construction, photography, telegraphy, lithography, printing.

Synopsis of the Course.

The following synopsis of the instruction given at the Royal School of Military Engineering at Chatham, was drawn up by Major General J. L. Simmons, the Director of the establishment.

I.—THE SURVEY COURSE.

The course of surveying for the officers of the Royal Engineers is intended to qualify them for carrying on survey operations of every description, and for designing and laying out engineering works, so far as these are influenced by the features of the ground on which they are placed, or over which they are carried.

The course consists of two parts,—the one relating to surveying processes exclusively, the other to the uses made of the plans and maps prepared by such processes, for engineering purposes.

Under the first of these divisions the officers are practically instructed in astronomical, general, special, and reconnoitring surveying, including the accurate delineation of the inequalities of ground by levelling and by contours traced instrumentally, and also the giving reliefs to hill forms by sketching with the pen and drawing with the brush.

Under the second division they are exercised in the adaptation of works of fortification to contoured sites, and in the selection and survey of lines of communication by roads, railways, and canals, and in drawing up projects for their execution.

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Astronomical Surveying.

The officers are taught the construction and use of astronomical instruments, and are practised in making observations with them. They study from published works and memoranda printed at the establishment, the most useful problems for finding the time, the latitude and longitude, the direction of the meridian, and the variation of the compass.

Examples of each problem are worked out by them from their own observations or from observations made in their presence.

The use of meteorological instruments and the reductions of the observations made with them are also practised.

General Survey.

As a preliminary exercise in drawing each officer constructs a plate of scales from data supplied to him. For particular information on the delicate and powerful instruments and apparatus which have been used in great national surveys, and which cannot be studied in the establishment observatory, the officers are referred to published works; and they are instructed in the adjustments, the unavoidable errors of construction, and the powers of the instruments put into their hands for the execution of their survey course.

The general survey comprises:

1st. The selection and measurement of a base.—The base is measured with an ordinary chain and a five-inch theodolite, and this measurement having been reduced to its horizontal value at the level of the sea, the section of the base is laid down on paper.

2d. Triangulation.—The measured base is extended by a triangulation over 10 or 16 square miles of country, and the relative altitudes of, and the distances between, the stations selected are determined from observations. The computed horizontal distances are laid down, and the azimuth of one of them is determined.

3d. Traversing.—The positions of the roads, streams, boundaries of woods, and other marked features, surrounding and intersecting an area of six or eight square miles of the country triangulated, are then determined by running traverses with a theodolite from one station to another, so as to cut up this area into spaces which will admit of being filled in by a less accurate method, without introducing an error in the plan.

4th. Plotting of detail and completion of the work.—The protracted lines are now transferred to another sheet of paper, and the detail, obtained as the traverses proceed, is plotted from the field-book. From this plot sketch sheets are prepared, and the remainder of the work is sketched in with the aid of a prismatic compass, the form of the ground being represented by pencil strokes, assisted by contours put in with the aid of a portable level.

The sketch sheets are etched in with a pen, and a finished brush-work plan of the complete survey, embracing all the information collected, is prepared from them, with the original plotted detail, as a basis.

Special Survey.

A piece of ground, about half a mile in area, is surveyed with minute accuracy as for some special purpose, and is laid down on a scale sufficiently large to admit of the calculation of the areas of the enclosures from the paper. The method followed is the same as that pursued on the Ordnance Survey, and with the Tithe Commutation Surveys, etc.

Contouring.—On the ground thus specially surveyed contours are traced instrumentally at given vertical distances apart and are plotted on the plan.

Military Reconnaissance.

This is conducted on principles similar to those which govern the operations of the general survey; the instruments employed, however, are all portable. The measurement of a base is made by such means as readily offer themselves (generally by pacing), and the trigonometrical points are fixed simply by protracting angles observed with a box sextant or compass. The whole of the remaining features and details considered necessary in a military point of view are sketched in with the aid of bearings and pacing. The reconnaissance embraces about six square miles.

In addition to the topographical sketch of the ground, each officer sends in a detailed report of its general character, its resources, and military capabilities. Each officer also makes a hasty reconnaissance of a road with a view to 598 its employment as a military communication. All the information which can be obtained as to the character of the country through which it passes, and towns and villages near it, together with the construction, gradients, etc., of the road, are noted on the face of the sketch.

Fortification Branch.

Every officer is required, in this branch of the survey course, to design one or more works of defence for the occupation of a site, of which a contoured plan is furnished to him.

In performing this exercise the officer becomes, expert in reading the various forms and slopes of ground, as expressed by contours; he meets with and learns to provide for some of the many modifications of the conditions of defence which the occupation of irreglar sites necessitates, and he acquires facility in the application of descriptive geometry to the determination of the planes of defilade and the several planes of a work.

The data upon, which, the design, is framed consist of a plan of ground shown by contours and of some of the conditions to be filled by the proposed fortification, such as the objects for which; the site is occupied, the strength of the garrison, the extent, of the works, the nature of the defence of the ditches, the trace, or the, profile to be adopted, etc.

On the completion of his design the officer writes a report explanatory of the character of the works, he has adopted, and describing his arrangements both for the distant and near defence, with any improvements which have suggested themselves in working it out; and since the scale of the design, admits of considerable accuracy in its preparation, he is required to enter very fully into the detail of the arrangement he proposes.

The report is accompanied by tables showing how the remblai and deblai are equalized, and that the distribution of the latter is, economical.

Civil Applications.

Projects for a line of communication, general plan, and trial sections.—The officers are instructed in the general principles which should guide them in laying out lines of communication, whether by road, railway, or canal, and are then sent out to examine the country between two points five or six miles apart, and are required to decide on two or more routes which apparently offer the greatest facilities in point of gradients, soil, and the materials of construction. Availing themselves of the best map or plan they can obtain, they draw a plan showing approximately the divisions of the properties through which the trial lines are run; they then make trial sections; and from these sections and their previous examination of the ground, they determine on the line, to be adopted, embodying in a report a general description of the country, the obstacles encountered on each route, the gradients, curves, etc., and also the calculations which led to their decision. In their calculations they estimate the cost of the necessary constructions on each of the trial lines, the cost of conveyance for heavy goods on an assumed basis of daily traffic, and the time occupied in each case for quick transit.

Working plan and section.—A length of one mile of the route determined on as the best is selected, and for this a special survey is made, which is laid down as a working plan, the line being picketed out when no objection is made by the owners of the property through which it passes. A working section of the line is also prepared from accurate levels.

Plan of details, etc.—For the works proposed on that portion of the line Which is, included within the limits of the working section, a plan of details Is prepared, as well as a specification for the works and an estimate of their probable cost.

II. THE COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION AND ESTIMATING.

For this course 142 days, including Sundays, are allowed. The course is divided into four parts.

Part I—Theory of Construction.

This part consists of a series of examples in construction, about 50 in number, which will be varied from time to time.

They are drawn up with a special view to the application of the mathematical knowledge already possessed by the officers to some of the cases, which they are likely to have to deal with in practice.

References are given in the margin of the printed paper of examples to 599 some of the many books in which the information, necessary for their solution can he found.

The instructing officer will explain every morning, except Saturday, as many of the examples as he considers the officers can work during the remainder of the day, and the officers are expected to study these subjects from some one of the books referred to.

The object of these short explanations is twofold: 1st, to explain the principles on which the particular cases or similar cases are to be dealt with; 2d, to impart in a condensed form some of the varied information which is familiar to all engineers of experience, but which an engineer at the commencement of his career often has a difficulty in finding.

The officers will take notes of these explanations, and write each morning notes at the head of the fair copy of the examples, to which they refer. The examples explained on each day are to be worked out on that day in the fullest manner; the reasoning of each step is to be stated, and all rough calculations are to be left on the paper, so as to lessen as much as possible the labor of examination. They are to be brought to the instructing officer the following morning, and after examination are to be written out fair on ruled foolscap, quarter-margin, on the right-hand sheet, with explanatory diagrams to a large scale, where necessary, on the left-hand sheet.

The fair notes of each week’s work must be sent in before the end of the following week.

The weights, strength of materials, and other information, will be found in the printed tables.

This part of the course occupies about 40 days, and while it continues leave will be granted on Saturdays and Sundays only.

Part II.—Materials.

The object of this part of the course is to give the officers some sort of guide in judging of the quality of the principal materials which they will have to use, as well as to afford them information as to the particular material most suitable for a building or engineering work.

It may be subdivided into three parts, viz., lectures given by professors in the lecture theatre; lectures given by the instructing officer; and visits made by the officers to lime works, cement works, brickfields, etc.

The lectures in the lecture theatre are delivered at the periods most convenient to the lecturer, but the notes taken by the officers form part of this course, and will be bound up with the rest of the papers.

The notes of the lectures delivered by the instructing officer are to be written out fair immediately after the lecture, in accordance with the instructions given, and brought to, the instructing officer on the following morning.

A printed paper detailing the particular points to which officers visiting manufacturing works are to direct their attention will be given to each officer, and a report is to be sent in as soon as possible after each visit to the instructing officer.

Sketches to illustrate the lectures and visits are to be as numerous and complete as possible.

The value of these sketches for future reference, and as aids to officers in their professional constructions hereafter, will be very much enhanced by having the dimensions clearly written on them, which should include at least those of all principal parts of machines and structures.

This part of the course occupies about three weeks, inclusive of the time required to visit the works referred to.

The officers will also be instructed, after they leave the course of construction, in the method of testing the quality of some of the materials by chemical analysis, for which a fortnight is allowed.

Part III.—Valuation and Measurement of Work.

This part of the course will occupy in all about 37 days, and will commence with a series of lectures, the subject matter of which will be found chiefly in the printed “Notes on the Practice of Building” and “Notes on the Building Trades.” They will comprise, in separate lectures for each trade,—

1. The materials, tools, etc., and apparatus employed, together with their application to the different kinds of work produced.

2. The technical terms in vogue.

3. The general practice of measuring and valuing.

Hints and memoranda useful in designing, estimating, and carrying out works will be given, and explanations afforded by reference to models and 600 drawings, from some of which colored sketches, with the names and dimensions of the different parts given on them in full, will be made by each officer and attached to his printed notes. These sketches will be done in the Hall of Study from the originals deposited there.

A lecture will be given explaining the different steps taken in preparing the annual estimates of a district, to be laid before Parliament, and the various methods of carrying out the services which may be authorized.

The cost of a building will be approximately estimated by cubing it out from the general plans and elevations.

The quantities of the same building will then be taken out from the specifications, working drawings, and a model, by filling in a measurement form having the details of work done printed on it.

Details and estimates of the same building will be made out on W.O. Form 1554, the items and prices being taken from the W.D. Schedules of the district, and the descriptive part printed on.

Lastly, the quantities will be abstracted and brought into bill, as though the work were to be put up to tender, or as would be done in drawing out contractors’ bills for work to be paid for on a schedule of prices.

The portions of the copper plates to be colored will be partly done in the course of lectures, but about a week at the close of this part of the course will be allowed to complete the whole. They are to be colored in the Hall of Study from pattern drawings deposited there. No drawing whatever to be removed from the Hall of Study.

Part IV.—Design.

At the commencement of this part of the course each officer will read through the “Notes on Military Buildings,” by Colonel Collinson, Royal Engineers, studying more particularly the parts which have special reference to his own design. The lithographed drawings which accompany them are not intended to be models to be copied from, but are given as examples of works executed, many of which with the advance of sanitary science have become obsolete as a whole. They contain many useful details still applicable.

The design is intended to afford to each officer an opportunity of applying the knowledge he may have acquired in the course to some case which he may actually hereafter have to deal with.

About six weeks are available for this part of the course, and the conditions under which the design is to be made will be furnished to each officer.

As a rule the design will consist of a general plan and report, with some part worked out in detail, this part being specified for and estimated.

The drawings are to be prepared in accordance with the instructions deposited in the Hall of Study.

Tour Reports and Lectures.

All tour reports and lectures pertaining to the course of construction will be written in accordance with the general regulations for reports, that is to say, on foolscap paper, quarter margin, on both sides of the paper, divided into paragraphs, with headings in the margin, and signed and dated by the officer. They will form part of Part II. of the course, and will be bound in the proper places.

In writing tour reports and lectures the object should be to condense as much practical information and fact into as small a space as possible without abbreviating the language or omitting any of the facts. Sketches should be made by hand, approximately to scale, but should be clear, and contain full dimensions. Statistical and tabular information should be given in full.

For the tour report each officer will receive a statement of the particulars of each work he has to report on.

Binding.

The whole of the notes, etc., of each officer will be bound in one or more volumes. Therefore, before leaving the establishment, each officer should arrange his notes in the order in which he wishes them bound.

III.—FIELD WORK COURSE.

The time allowed for this course is 122 days, including Sundays. While on it officers may be required to attend drill one day in each week, and also brigade field days.

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The course comprises instruction in all those duties (with the exceptions mentioned below) which devolve upon the Royal Engineers when employed with an army engaged offensively or defensively, either at a siege or in the field.

The exceptions are surveying, reconnaissance, telegraphy, firing mines by electricity, etc., torpedoes, and demolition of permanent works; on all which subjects instruction is given to the officers while on other courses.

The officers are required to read carefully the notes on field work instruction, to make models in sand, etc., of such works as admit of this practice, to take part in the construction of the several works in the field, etc., and to draw up projects on the subject.

Before leaving the course an officer must be competent to impart instruction to sappers in all their field duties.

The practical instruction is divided into seven parts.

Part I.—Modelling in Sand, etc.

This part consists of making models of gabions, fascines, hurdles, and sap-rollers; of throwing up models in sand of portions of a first parallel and its approaches, of a second parallel, of single and double saps, both kneeling and standing, of a trench cavalier, of a lodgment by half double sap, of rifle-pits, and of trons-de-loup.

Also of making models in sand of field powder magazines, and of elevated, sunken, half sunken, and screen, gun and mortar batteries (ordinary and indented), revetted with gabions, fascines, and sand bags.

It includes the laying of model gun and mortar platforms, the making of a salient of a field redoubt, with gun en barbette, of a field kitchen, and of the passage of a wet ditch by means of gabions and fascines.

Also the erection of spar bridges of different forms with model spars, and the laying in of a cross-over road to connect two lines of railway.

Part II.—Siege Works.

This part consists of making gabions, fascines, hurdles, and sap-rollers; of tracing (part by night) parallels, approaches, batteries, etc.

Also of seeing parallels, approaches, batteries, saps, trench cavaliers, etc., constructed by the sappers; and the mode of extending men and setting them to work.

The officers are also required to take up for enfilade the prolongation of faces, etc.

Part III—Works of Defence.

This part consists of instruction in forming abattis, entanglements, rifle pits, trons-de-loup, etc., and in putting up stockades, palisades, fraises, etc.

Part IV.—Mining.

This part includes boring and blasting rock, sinking shafts, driving galleries, making chambers and powder hose, loading, tamping, and firing mines, also the preparation and firing of fougasses.

Part V.—Bridging.

This part includes knotting, splicing, and lashing spars, diving, rowing in boats, packing pontoons, and forming temporary military bridges over streams with large and small pontoons, casks, etc.

Also the construction of spar, timber, and suspension bridges to reëstablish a communication by turnpike road or railroad.

Part VI.—Railways.

This part consists in seeing the mode of laying down and repairing lines of railway, and of putting in a cross-over road to connect two lines of railway, and also the mode of destroying railways.

Part VII.—Sundry Practices.

Under this head are included boring for water (with the American tube wells as well as with the ordinary apparatus), erecting field kitchens, filling and throwing hand grenades, and escalading, also the erection of field observatories.

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The officers are, in addition, required to draw up the following projects:

1. Project of attack of a fortress actually in existence.

2. Project for the restoration of a bridge.

3. Project for a floating bridge.

4. Project for a field work as a bridge-head.

5. Hasty project for a temporary bridge, or hasty project for the demolition of a portion of a line of railway.

IV.—MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS.

(a.) Course of Telegraphy.—Fifteen days are allowed for this course.

All officers under instruction learn the theory and practice of telegraphy and visual signalling, bearing in mind that a thorough knowledge of the theory will enable them to overcome difficulties which would be perplexing to the men, who can only be expected to learn the practical working of the telegraph.

The various instruments in use for signalling and testing are explained to them, and they are taught the ordinary methods of measuring electrical forces and resistances, and of testing conducting wires for insulation and conductivity, and for determining the nature and positions of faults. The degree of accuracy which may be attained in these measurements is pointed out to them.

They learn the European Morse alphabet, and the method of sending and receiving messages, but they are not expected to devote so much time to the subject as would enable them to become expert telegraphists.

Each officer is required to give in a project for the construction of a line of electric telegraph, including at least three stations. In the report are described the instruments to be used and the modes of connecting them in circuit; the batteries, the conductors, the supports, the insulators, and the mode of putting up the line; and the number of cells required to work the line is calculated.

An estimate of the stores and materials required accompanies the report, with a general plan showing the route proposed.

The various methods of exploding gunpowder by electricity are taught while the course of telegraphy is going on; the application of this branch of electrical science is made when the officers are employed on projects for demolitions by mining.

In the School of Telegraphy a certain number of the men of the corps are trained every year as telegraphists.

The instruments of which the use is taught are.—

The single needle instrument worked by voltaic electricity.

The Morse recording and sounding instrument.

The double needle instrument.

Wheatstone’s magneto dial instrument.

Also day and night signalling with the approved visual apparatus.

Each man is required to read a specified number of words per minute, and to send correctly by each instrument, before he passes on to the next.

The European Morse alphabet is used with all the instruments, except with the double needle instrument, which has a special alphabet.

The men are taught how to make up and repair the voltaic batteries and instruments, and to put up conducting wires over ground, and to lay them underground, and also to test roughly for the position of faults. Their previous education does not generally admit of their acquiring a knowledge of the theory of electricity, or of performing the more delicate tests required in telegraphy.

The men who enter the Telegraph School are also instructed in the practical manipulation of Grove’s voltaic batteries, Wheatstone’s magnetic exploder, and the dynamo-electric machine, in the use of frictional electricity, in making the electrical fuzes, and in connecting and arranging the wires necessary for firing mines by electricity.

(b.) Chemical Laboratory Course.—Fifteen days are allowed for this course.

The object of this course is to enable officers and men at the establishment, who may show an inclination for chemical studies, to pursue them practically.

The course is confined to the chemical relations and behavior of the substances which affect the qualities of building materials, or which may influence the questions which are most likely to require the professional investigation of a military engineer. It is arranged with the idea of supplying the 603 want of practical experience in dealing with substances used in construction, by giving an insight into their nature and composition; and also with that of imparting such information as may lead in a new colony, should an officer be called upon to act as its explorer and pioneer, to a more rapid development of its resources.

The course for the officers consists,—

1st. In making themselves acquainted with the action of reagents, both by wet methods and by the blow-pipe, on different simple substances, in experiments to which they are directed by a text-book.

2d. In applying the information so gained to the qualitative examination of substances, simple and compound, specially prepared as exercises for analysis.

3d. In the quantitative as well as qualitative examination of building stones, lime and cement stones, gypsum, brick earths, paints, solders, and other building materials. A sample of water is also examined, and a qualitative examination is made of one or more ores.

4th. In preparing, on an experimental scale, bricks, limes, cements, and plasters, directly from natural stones or earths by simple calcination, and also by the more complex method which it is often necessary to adopt.

5th. The chemistry of the voltaic battery.

The course for the men only differs from that for the officers in respect of the order in which the several divisions of the subject are taken up. The men, instead of commencing with a thorough examination of numerous simple substances, begin with a few easy experiments on recognizing lime and cement stones, and on the mode of ascertaining their comparative values, so that, in case it is judged inexpedient, in any instance, that the whole course shall be completed, the knowledge which has been gained may be of a character requiring comparatively little skill and intelligence to apply to practical uses.

A certain number of men only are taught.

(c.) Course of Photography.

This study is not compulsory; but any officer and a limited number of men who have completed the prescribed course satisfactorily, and who wish to study photography, are allowed to do so.

The officers devote their attention more particularly to the chemical theory of the subject, in order that they may be able to overcome the practical difficulties which constantly occur when this art is pursued in foreign countries under circumstances of climate and situation different from those in England, and when chemicals get out of order and produce anomalous results. In such cases men who have acquired considerable skill in manipulation, but who have no knowledge of chemistry, are unable to devise remedies or to overcome difficulties, and it is the place of their officers to assist them by their superior knowledge and intelligence.

The men are taught the negative wet collodion process in all its branches (except the manufacture of pyroxyline), also the dry process, and photozincography.

They are also practised in the use of the dark tent, and in taking negatives in the field, and of photographic reductions of plans.

It is seldom that their previous education admits of their becoming well versed in the chemical theory of the art, but the means of overcoming the usual practical difficulties are pointed out to them. Each man is required to enter in a note-book the various solutions, and to make memoranda of the processes.

(d.) Lectures.

Lectures are delivered between the months of September and April on civil and mechanical engineering, metallurgy, architecture, electricity and its applications, and on other subjects of a professional character. The lectures are attended by all the officers and men under instruction, and the former are required to take rough notes, and afterward to write them out fairly, for binding with their other work.

(e.) Visits to Professional Works.

With the object of giving an idea of the best methods of carrying on extensive works, and of imparting practical information on professional subjects, a certain number of the junior officers are selected every year to visit 604 engineering, architectural, and other works of professional character, accompanied by one of the instructing officers of the establishment.

Of the various constructions and processes seen during these tours they make notes and drawings, which are embodied in the form of reports to the director, and are subsequently bound up with the other parts of the course.

General Note.—Further explanations of the mode of filling up the details of the course, and of the forms for the notes and drawings, are given in the special instructions.

(f.) Demolitions.

The ignition of gunpowder or other explosives by powder hose and Bickford’s fuze as well as by electricity, both on land and submerged under water, is taught to all officers.

In order that the best methods of using gunpowder or other explosives for the demolition of works and buildings by mining may be thoroughly understood, each officer is required to make projects for the following demolitions, viz.:

1. A front of fortification, or some similar work, exhibiting various sorts of revetments, and requiring the simultaneous explosion of a large number of mines.

2. A casemate, powder magazine, or other substantial military building under two suppositions: 1st, that there is plenty of time, that sufficient men and tools are available, and that it is required to effect complete demolition without wasting gunpowder unnecessarily; 2d, that time presses, and that the demolition must be effected in the most expeditious manner possible.

3. A bridge or viaduct under two different suppositions, as in No. 2.

The mines in some cases are directed to be tired by powder hose, and in others by electricity.

Each of these projects consists of a memoir and explanatory drawings. The memoir comprises,—

1st. A description of the building, or work to be destroyed, in all points which may influence the mode of demolition.

2d. A general description of the proposed mode of demolition.

3d. The calculations for the charges of the mines.

4th. The mode of preparing and firing the mines.

5th. An estimate of the men, tools, and materials required and of the time necessary for the operation.

6th. An estimate of the gunpowder.

7th. When electricity is to be employed for firing the mines, a full description of the batteries, etc., is given, with calculations of the number of cells, etc.

The drawings include a plan and such sections as may be required to explain clearly the situations of the various charges of gunpowder, and of the shafts and galleries.

(g.) Submarine Mines.

All officers and a certain number of men are practised in the use of submarine mines.

The course consists of,—

1. The nature and construction of case.

2. Mode of mooring.

3. Mode of arranging and laying insulated cables.

4. Mode of testing fuzes, also testing cables for conductivity and insulation and for the detection of faults.

5. Modes of firing at will and by self-acting arrangements.

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PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION FOR COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

HISTORICAL NOTICE.

Although examinations preparatory to promotion had been instituted by the Duke of Wellington in 1850, no attempt was made to provide any general machinery for affording to officers of the army means of instruction, even in those subjects a knowledge of which was by the regulations of the service required of them. The Department of Artillery studies at Woolwich, originally instituted on a small scale in 1850, and the Royal Engineer Establishment at Chatham, supplied to the officers of the scientific corps, though to a much more limited extent than at the present day, opportunities of carrying on their professional studies after entering the army. But to officers of other branches of the service no means of instruction were afforded in any subjects beyond the mere routine of drill and regimental duties, except by the Senior Department at Sandhurst and the School of Musketry at Hythe. The state of the former institution, the advantages of which extended only to a very small proportion of the officers of the army, is described in the accounts of the Royal Military College and of the Staff College. The school at Hythe was first established in the year 1853, for the purpose of training a certain number of officers and soldiers in the new system of musketry, which was adopted on the introduction of rifled arms into the service.

The first official suggestion, with the object of remedying the deficiency of professional knowledge among the officers of the army, was made by Mr. Sidney Herbert, when Secretary at War, in 1854. The outline of the plan proposed by him at this time was sketched out in a letter addressed to Lord Hardinge, then Commander-in-Chief, and its details were subsequently more fully explained in speeches in the House of Commons. The scheme contemplated a general reorganization of the system of military education,—the improvement 606 of the examinations instituted by the Duke of Wellington for admission to the army and for promotion,—the conversion of the Senior Department at Sandhurst into a special school for the staff,—and the introduction of a system of professional instruction for officers after entering the service. With the view of carrying out the latter part of the scheme, it was proposed, in 1854, to appoint garrison instructors at certain large stations both at home and in the colonies. It was not intended to make attendance at the instruction thus given compulsory, but a stringent examination in the subjects which entered into the course was to be a necessary condition of promotion to the ranks of lieutenant and captain respectively.

The scheme of garrison instruction proposed by Mr. Sidney Herbert met with the approval of Lord Hardinge, and obtained the sanction of the Treasury. A sum of 2,000l., for the purpose of making a commencement in carrying it out, was inserted in the estimates for 1854-5, and the plan, as explained by Mr. Herbert in moving the army estimates, met with the entire approval of the House of Commons.

The outbreak of the Crimean War, however, in the first instance, interfered with the practical realization of the scheme, although it appears that some of the instructors had been actually selected for their posts, and that it was intended to send them out to the Crimea to acquire a practical acquaintance with such of the minor operations of war as would fall within the intended course of instruction. This latter intention was not carried out, and after the resignation of Mr. Sidney Herbert, which took place in the beginning of 1855, no further steps appear to have been taken in the matter. At the same time money continued to be voted for the purpose of carrying out the scheme (although no application of the funds was made), until the general reduction in the estimates which took place on the conclusion of peace in 1856; it appears also, from statements made by the Under Secretary at War, in the House of Commons, that the Government had never abandoned the idea of adopting some measure for the professional instruction of officers.

In the debates in both Houses of Parliament, during the Crimean War, numerous discussions took place on the subject of military education; the failure of the existing examinations for promotion, the lax mode in which they were carried out, 607 the want of acquaintance with many of the mere rudiments of military science displayed by the majority of officers, and the necessity of supplying them with some means of instruction in the practical duties devolving upon them on active service, formed frequent subjects of remark. On the 5th of June, 1856, after the termination of the war, Mr. Sidney Herbert, then a private member, again brought his proposal for the appointment of garrison instructors before the notice of the House of Commons, in connection with his more general scheme for the improvement of the education of officers; but, although the proposal again met with the approval of nearly every speaker who took part in the discussion, the Government declined to pledge themselves to the adoption of the scheme in its details, as the question of the reorganization of the whole system of military education was then under consideration.

During the latter part of the year 1856, as has been elsewhere stated, the attention of the military authorities was seriously directed to the question of improving the education of the army. Nearly all the plans submitted to Lord Panmure with this object included, as an essential feature, the adoption of some means of professional instruction for officers after entering the service; and the machinery suggested was, in almost every case, based in its general principles on Mr. Sidney Herbert’s original proposal for the establishment of garrison instructors. The Commissioners appointed in the same year to visit the military schools of the continent, while their inquiries were chiefly confined to the improvement of the education of the scientific corps, recommended in their report that young officers of all branches of the service should, after entering the army, go through some course of professional study; at the same time they suggested no machinery for carrying their recommendation into effect. The military witnesses examined, during the years 1856 and 1857, before the Royal Commission on the Purchase System, very generally concurred in the opinion that higher professional acquirements should be demanded from officers, and that means of instruction should be afforded to them; and the Commissioners, in their Report, endorsed this view in the following terms: “Nor can it be fairly said that the purchase system is the obstacle to introducing a better system of military education. 608 A stricter examination before granting the first commission, an improved training afterward, and a further examination on promotion from ensign to lieutenant, are measures perfectly compatible with the system of purchase.”

The system of garrison instruction suggested by Mr. Sidney Herbert appears to have found general favor at this period. The instructions issued to the Council of Military Education, on their appointment in 1857, directed them, in connection with the subject of the professional examination of officers up to the rank of captain, to consider the question “of the establishment of instructors at the large stations.” The plan proposed by the Council, in 1857, did not contemplate the general appointment of either garrison or regimental instructors; its main feature was the establishment of officers’ schools at depot battalion stations, through which all young officers, who were in the first instance to receive provisional commissions, should pass before joining their regiments and being permanently commissioned. This recommendation was supplemented by one for the partial establishment of district instructors at stations where classes of ten officers could be formed, for the more advanced instruction of those who had been some years in the service.

The great demand for officers occasioned by the Indian mutiny, combined with practical objections which were made to the Council’s scheme, prevented their proposals from being carried into effect. The only immediate result of their recommendations was the establishment, in 1857, of a class at Aldershot for the instruction of officers quartered at the camp in military sketching. A full account of this institution, which has since been considerably developed, and is now called the Survey Class, will be found further on.

At a subsequent period the attention of the Council appears to have been directed more to the question of securing the professional competence of officers by a special military education before entering the service, than by compulsory instruction at a later period. The proposal, originally made in 1858, for requiring all candidates for commissions in the line to pass through Sandhurst, has been already described in connection with the Royal Military College. The Council have, however, never ceased to urge the expediency of providing officers, after they have entered the service, with facilities for 609 instruction in the higher branches of military science; and in their last General Report they recommended the establishment of institutions similar to the Aldershot Survey Class at other large stations.

Although no general machinery has been introduced for affording instruction to officers of the cavalry and infantry after entering the service, various steps have, from time to time, been taken with the object of extending their professional knowledge to subjects beyond the mere routine duties of their own arms. In January, 1859, commanding officers were directed to require from the officers of their regiments reports and, if possible, sketches of the roads traversed when route marching in winter; and later in the same year an order was issued that officers of infantry should, whenever practicable, be instructed in great gun drill. In the present year a system of instruction in military signalling has been introduced at the School of Engineering at Chatham, to which detachments of officers are periodically sent. In addition to the recommendations of the present Royal Commission for the introduction of a system of garrison and regimental instruction, the Royal Commission on Courts-martial, in their recent Report, recommended that more attention should be paid to the education of officers in military law, and that stricter examinations in the subject should be enforced.

The necessity of an improvement in the professional acquirements of officers appears to have been almost universally recognized from the time when Mr. Sidney Herbert brought the subject to public notice in 1854. Various opinions, however, have been entertained as to the means by which the desired object could best be effected.

The different plans which have from time to time been suggested may be classified under two main divisions:

(1.) Those which propose a special military education for all candidates for commissions before entering the service.

(2.) Those which advocate, in preference, the postponement of professional instruction, at least for the majority of the officers of the army, until a later period, after the service has been entered, and the rank of officer been attained.

Under the former head comes the scheme suggested by the Council of Military Education in 1858, the adoption of which was at one time determined upon by the military authorities, 610 for requiring all candidates for commissions in the cavalry and infantry to pass through Sandhurst. A similar proposal was suggested by witnesses to the Royal Commission on the Purchase System in 1856; it was supported by the authority of the Duke of Cambridge and Mr. Sidney Herbert (who had originally been opposed to it) before the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Military Organization, in 1860; and the Committee, in their Report, though declining to pronounce any decided opinion on the subject, stated that they considered the measure “well worthy of the most careful consideration.” Of late years the same principle has been publicly advocated by Sir C. Trevelyan, who considers that there should be but two modes of admission to the rank of officer,—one through a military college, and the other by serving in the ranks; and the advantages which would result from passing all candidates for commissions through a military college have been urged by several witnesses, including His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, before the present Royal Commission. On the other hand, opponents of this view have pointed out the objections entertained by them to any such measure.

Allied to the plan for making a military college the sole channel of admission to the commissioned ranks of the army is one for requiring all candidates for commissions to serve as cadets, in order to acquire a practical acquaintance with their duties, before obtaining the rank of officer. This proposal, originally suggested by Lord Clyde, before the Royal Commission on the Purchase System, has more recently been supported by the authority of Sir W. Mansfield and Lord De la Warr; the latter officer, however, appears of late to have somewhat modified his views, and to advocate at present, for all young men who obtain direct commissions by purchase, a probationary course of six or twelve months’ instruction in military subjects and drill, at their parents’ expense, prior to joining their regiments, in accordance with a plan submitted to the Commission. The cadet system has also been advocated by Lord Walden before the Commission.

To the class of plans which advocate the postponement of professional instruction for the majority of the officers of the army until after the service has been entered, belong Mr. Sidney Herbert’s original proposal, in 1854, for the introduction of a system of garrison instruction—the recommendation 611 of the Commissioners of 1856 “that young officers after entering the army should go through some course of professional study,”—the suggestion made by the Royal Commission on the Purchase System for “an improved system of training after the first commission is granted,”—and the proposal of the Council of Military Education, in 1857, for the establishment of depot battalion schools for young officers. Opinions founded on the same principle have been expressed by several witnesses before the present Commission. The system of garrison instructors at large stations, that of regimental instructors in each corps, and, lastly, a combination of both systems, have been respectively advocated by various authorities as the machinery by which the later instruction of officers should be carried out. Even those who advocate a special education at a military college as the universal condition of obtaining a commission do not, in the majority of cases, contemplate the cessation of all instruction on the commission being obtained; at the same time in many instances they do not consider that this later instruction should be made compulsory on officers, and, while recommending that facilities should be afforded for it, they maintain the superior efficacy of a system of preliminary military education at an earlier age.

I. SURVEY CLASS AT ALDERSHOT.

The survey class at Aldershot originated in an order of the Quartermaster-General in 1857, appointing two extra deputy-assistants to afford professional instruction to officers of the division stationed there in military sketching and surveying, field and permanent fortification, and photography.

These courses and conditions of attendance are as follows:

1. An elementary course comprises practical geometry, so far as is necessary for the understanding of the principles of surveying and fortification, plan drawing, the construction and use of scales, and military sketching.

The other course embraces surveying in its more advanced branches, military reconnaissances and road reports, field fortification, including the attack and defence of small posts, the construction of simple intrenchments, redoubts, and field works, profiling and tracing on the ground, gabion and fascine making, camping, and the construction of field ovens and cook-houses.

2. Officers will not be allowed to go through the course of instruction unless their commanding officer will certify that they are intelligent, zealous, and well conducted; but considering that the stay of regiments at this camp is frequently limited, the Lieutenant-General Commanding would wish that every facility should be given to officers to avail themselves of the instruction, even though they may not be thoroughly acquainted, with all their duties.

3. Every officer wishing to attend the course of instruction will submit his application to his commanding officer, who will forward it with his recommendation and the certificate mentioned in the last paragraph, or with such remarks as he may have to offer, should he consider it his duty not to recommend the application.

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4. Officers going through the elementary course will be struck off all duty for two months (Sundays excepted). They will go on flying columns.

5. Officers anxious to attend the second course will be allowed to do so for four months, during which time they will take all regimental duties which would entail extra work on the other officers, but will be excused all brigade and divisional duties, except those mentioned in paragraph 7.

6. Officers permitted to attend are not to absent themselves without leave from the Lieutenant-General commanding.

7. Officers are to be present at divisional field days, and when the division marches into the country during the winter months, either with the deputy assistants quartermaster-general sketching the ground, noting the movements, preparing reports, etc. (in undress, without swords), or if not so employed they are to fall in with their respective corps.

8. The number of officers attending is restricted to two per regiment.

9. The instruction will extend from 10 A.M. till 1 P.M., excepting on Saturdays, when all the officers will attend till 12 only.

10. Staff officers who may wish to avail themselves of the instruction given at the Survey Office, or in the field, may attend at such hours as the nature of the duties they have to perform will admit.

11. Officers of the division generally will be assisted by the D.A.Q.M.G.s as far as practicable, in pursuing their studies in other branches.

12. A diary will be kept showing the names of all officers attending, the hours of attendance, the work done, etc.; this diary is to be submitted for the inspection of the Lieutenant-General commanding, and from it a monthly report will be prepared for the information of the Field Marshal.

13. Officers will be allowed the use of surveying instruments but will have to provide their own drawing and other materials. They will, however, be permitted to retain all sketches, plans, and reports thus made on their own materials, after they have been returned from the Council.

The course actually carried out in 1868-69 was as follows:

Explanation, use, and construction of scales—several examples worked and a plate of scales drawn—mode of using the usual drawing instruments, protractors, and Marquois’ scales.

Use of the prismatic compass—a road is traversed with the compass—bearings and measurements entered in a field-book, and the result plotted indoors on a large scale.

A plate of the conventional signs used by the topographical department, and a set of the seven examples of shading ground (by the late Major Petley), according to the latest scale of shade, are given to each officer to copy.

The general principles of plan drawing, and the mode of conducting a survey by means of measuring a base, and by a triangulation, are explained, and a flat piece of ground is sketched with the compass, and plotted in the field.

The method of representing ground by contours only is now explained and illustrated by models, drawings, etc., and it is shown how from a contoured plan sections and elevations of ground are made, also how by adding shade to the contoured plan, a certain pictorial effect is produced, etc.

Abney’s pocket level and clinometer is explained, and various modes of rough levelling illustrated.

The method of using the pocket sextant is next shown, and the officers are taken to a plateau with strongly marked slopes, a base is measured, triangulation made by means of the sextant; and the artificial features filled in.

Contours at 25 feet vertically apart are now sketched in chain dotted lines, and several sectional lines taken by means of the level, clinometer, compass, and a scale of hypothenuses, and the various angles of inclination written on the sketch. The scale of shade is explained, and the officers taught how to apply it to the sketch of ground so contoured, and the sketch finished up as directed in the memorandum by the Council of Military Education.

Major-General Napier’s pamphlet on reconnaissance is given to each officer, and four or five miles of road reconnoitred, sketched, and reported on.

A sketch on a small scale of as large a tract of country as time and weather will permit of is next made, triangulation done with the sextant or theodolite, and lastly, a rapid eye-sketch, without instruments, of some hilly ground.

Some work on field fortification, chiefly the chapters describing the defence of buildings, villages, and positions, also some work on surveying, is read.

At the conclusion of each course all sketches and reports, with a return showing the number of hours’ attendance of each officer, his attention and progress, are forwarded to the Council of Military Education.

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ADVANCED CLASS FOR ARTILLERY OFFICERS AT WOOLWICH.

The necessity of more advanced attainments both in the science and practice of gunnery was pointed out by the Commissioners in 1856, but nothing was done till Colonel Lefroy urged the matter on the Council of Military Education in 1862, and in November, 1863, regulations were issued for the establishment of Advanced Classes of Artillery Officers at Woolwich.

A Director of Artillery Studies was first appointed in 1850, upon the recommendation of Field-Marshal Sir Hew Ross, G.C.B., R.A. (then Adjutant-General of Artillery). His duties were to take charge of and direct the studies of the young officers of artillery on first joining at Woolwich, to assist them in their professional pursuits, and read with them military law, military history, treatises on artillery, fortification, etc.

The appointment was made provisionally in the first instance, but confirmed before the close of a year. In April, 1853, the department was increased by the addition of French and German masters, who, besides assisting the young officers, were called upon to afford instruction in their respective languages to officers of artillery of all ranks who might be desirous of profiting by it.

An allowance of 300l. per annum was also made to enable a proportion of the more intelligent of the young officers to accompany the Director in visits to arsenals and fortresses abroad and manufacturing districts at home.

In July, 1855, the Director of Artillery Studies was allowed the following assistants: 2 Captains of Artillery, 1 Instructor in Surveying, 1 Instructor in Military Drawing, etc., 1 Lecturer on Natural Philosophy and Mechanics, 3 Non-commissioned officers, for the purpose of giving instruction to certain gentlemen provisionally commissioned from public colleges or schools after a competitive examination, but without passing through the Academy.

The Director was expected to advise and assist the efforts of officers of the Royal Artillery in improving their professional qualifications, and to arrange classes of officers for instruction in chemistry, photography, drawing, French, and German, at the Royal Artillery Institution. He was to inform himself of all the more interesting experiments under the Ordnance Select Committee, as well as the operations and processes carried on in the Government manufacturing departments. He was to arrange and conduct the annual military tour on the continent; and direct the studies of young officers.

Upon the formation of the Advanced Class in 1864, the staff was greatly increased, and an Assistant Director appointed, to take charge in the absence of the Director; to give instruction to classes of officers of the regiment sent to Woolwich from time to time, to officers from the Staff College, and to Militia and Volunteer artillery officers; to prepare questions for the examination of subaltern officers Royal Artillery for promotion, and report on the results of such examinations; to attend on foreigners of distinction, and other duties performed by the Director prior to the formation of the Advanced Class.

The following shows the attendance for the year ending 31st March, 1869:

Advanced class of artillery officers, 6 2 years’ course.
Firemasters’ class, R.A., 7 9 months’ course.

3 short course classes,

Royal Artillery, 29 2   “     “

Military Store Staff,

8
Shoeburyness gunnery class, R.A., 20 3   “     “
Officers of the late Indian brigades, 3

1 for 3 months’ course; 2 for 2 months’ course.

Officers from the Staff College, 13 1½ months’ course.
Militia artillery officers, 6 2   “     “
Volunteer artillery officers, 2
Total, 94

Non-commissioned Officers and Men, Royal Artillery.

2 long course classes, non-commissioned officers,

19 6 months’ course.

10 short course classes, non-commissioned officers and men,

200 2   “     “

Shoeburyness gunnery class, non-commissioned officers.

36 3   “     “
Total, 255

The young officers lately joined attend here twice a week to receive instruction, by lectures, from the Assistant Director of Artillery Studies on military law, courts-martial, and interior economy.

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REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION IN 1869.

The examination will be early in February of each year, at Woolwich, under the Council of Military Education.

Candidates for this examination must have undergone a course of instruction at Shoeburyness; or they must pass satisfactorily a preliminary examination in practical artillery.

No officer will be admitted who will not have completed six years’ service on 31st March, 1870.

The subjects in which the candidates will be examined, and the relative importance attached to the subjects, are as follows:

Mathematics, 700
Chemistry and physics, 300

Mathematics includes—

Plane trigonometry (so much of it as is included in the first 16 chapters of Todhunter’s treatise).

Coördinate geometry of two dimensions (Hymer or Todhunter), viz.:

Straight line referred to rectangular, oblique, and polar coördinates. The circle, parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola, referred to rectangular and polar coördinates. The equation to the tangent, and the normal to the circle, parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola referred to rectangular axes, the sections of a right cone made by a plane.

Applications of the above to solutions of simple problems.

Differential Calculus.—Differential coefficient of simple, inverse, trigonometrical, and complex functions; proof of Taylor’s and Maclaurin’s theorems and examples of expansions of functions; differentiation of functions of two variables; limiting values of functions which assume an indeterminate form; change of independent variable; maxima and minima of functions of one variable; tangents, normals, and asymptotes to plane curves; differential coefficients of arcs, areas, etc.; radius of curvature (Hall or Todhunter).

Integral Calculus.—Meaning of integration; examples of simple integration; integration by parts; lengths of curves; areas of plane curves (Hymer, Hall, or Todhunter).

Elementary Mechanics.—(Whewell or Parkinson.)

Chemistry.—The general laws of chemical combinations,—the chemistry of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, and of their chief inorganic compounds. The metallurgic chemistry of iron. The chemical principles of the manufacture and explosion of gunpowder.

Physics.—In heat,—the subject of “thermometric heat” as treated in the first seven chapters of “Tyndall on Heat.”

In electricity,—the subject of frictional electricity.

Officers competing are expected to be able to read French scientific works, such as Helie’s “Traité de Balistique,” Piobert’s “Cours d’Artillerie,” etc., etc., reference being constantly made to such works during the course of instruction.

At the conclusion of each year’s course there will be a final examination in the subjects read during the year; the marks gained at the first examination being carried forward to the second, when certificates will be given to those students who are found qualified.

The course of instruction extends over two years.

The subjects of study the first year are: Pure mathematics; metallurgy; chemistry; mechanism and the steam engine; royal gun factories; royal laboratory, Part I.

The subjects for the second year are: Mixed mathematics and applied to gunnery; metallurgy; chemistry; heat and electricity; royal laboratory, Parts II., III., IV.; royal gunpowder factory, including manufacture of gun cotton; royal small arms factories, Enfield and Birmingham; royal carriage department.

In connection with the instruction on metallurgy, the class visit each year some of the principal private establishments in England and Wales, accompanied by Dr. Percy, F.R.S., the lecturer on this subject. They also visit locomotive and marine engine works in connection with the lectures on the steam engine.

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The following processes of manufacture are noted:

In the Royal Gun Factories: Metallurgy of copper, tin, zinc, and their compounds; mechanical and chemical properties of gun metal.

Metallurgy of iron, including cast iron and wrought iron, steel and alloys; mechanical and chemical properties.

Principles of construction of cast guns.

Principles of construction of built-up guns, welding, etc.

The steam hammer.

Turning, boring, rifling, and sighting guns. All the machines, lathes, special tools, and processes.

Comparison of systems of rifling and breech-loading for cannon.

Gauges and micrometrical measurements.

Organization of labor in the Royal Gun Factories.

System of account keeping, pricing, and payment in the Royal Gun Factories.

Relations to the Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.

Patterns, system respecting them.

Examination of Stores.

Duties of the Inspector of Artillery: proof of guns; examination of guns and stores.

The Small Arms Departments, Enfield and Pimlico, will follow the Royal Gun Factories, and be treated in the same comprehensive manner, including the system of supply of small arms to the army, their repair, and comparison of systems of rifling and breech-loading for small arms.

From the Royal Gun Factories the class will proceed to the Royal Carriage Department, where the subjects will be:

Selection and purchase of timber.

Seasoning of timber.

Sawmills.

Planing and other machinery applied to working of timber.

Construction.

Mechanical principles as applied in military machines.

Friction, draught, traction, locomotive power.

Harness.

Organization of labor in the Royal Carriage Department.

System of accountability and payment.

Prices.

Relations to Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.

Patterns, systems respecting them.

Examination of stores.

Here will evidently conveniently come in the organization and duties of the department of the Principal Superintendent of Stores, including the detail of equipments for all services, and proportions of stores, packing ammunition, arrangement of magazines.

The last term will be devoted to the manufacture of gunpowder, ammunition, and generally the duties of the Royal Laboratory, including the chemistry of the subjects.

Selection and purchase of pyrotechnic material.

Examination and refining of saltpetre, etc.

Gunpowder and powder-mills.

Theory of gunpowder, qualities, effect of different sized grains.

Electro-ballistic apparatus, and other modes of proof.

Gun cotton.

Detonating compounds.

Other laboratory preparations.

Small arm ammunition, cannon ammunition, fuzes, rockets, etc.

Manufacture of bullets.

Casting of every description of projectile for smooth-bored and rifled ordnance.

Organization of the Royal Laboratory Department.

Supply of raw material.

System of account keeping and payment.

Prices.

Relations to the Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.

Patterns, inspection. Examination of stores.

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III. SCHOOL OF GUNNERY AT SHOEBURYNESS.

Shoeburyness first became a station for artillery practice in the year 1849. The practice was, however, at that time confined to experiments, which were conducted on a very limited scale, under the department of the Director-General of Artillery. A battery was constructed and some wooden huts erected at the station in that year; but for several years nothing but experimental practice was carried on by batteries of artillery who were sent to Shoeburyness merely for the summer months, and were quartered, at least partially, under canvas. No permanent staff were employed, the senior officer present with the troops being in command of the station. In 1854 the establishment assumed a more permanent character, and was placed under a lieutenant-colonel of artillery as commandant, who was also at the same time superintendent of experiments. It still, however, continued to be merely a station for artillery practice and experiments, until 1859.

The objects for which the School of Gunnery was established are to ensure a completeness and uniformity in the instruction of the officers and men of the Royal Artillery in the use of the weapons and military machines they are called upon to use; impart to them a knowledge of the ammunition, stores, and appliances made use of in the artillery service; of the effect of shot and shell under various circumstances; and, by constant practice from guns of every description, to train and educate from year to year a number of officers and men who would carry with them to their respective brigades an amount of valuable knowledge and experience which would become in that way, and in due time, diffused throughout the Royal Artillery, in the same manner as the gunnery instruction for the Royal Navy on board the “Excellent,” and the musketry instruction for the infantry at Hythe have percolated with such advantage through those services.

On the first of April in each year a class of from 20 to 25 officers is formed for what is termed a “long course,” embracing a period of 12 months; and a class of about 40 non-commissioned officers, for a similar course.

These classes are formed into two separate squads, and entirely occupy the time of the chief instructor, one gunnery instructor, and four assistant instructors. They are instructed 617 in the drills and exercises of every species of ordnance, and the mode of mounting and dismounting them under various circumstances and with different means; in transporting the heaviest guns from place to place and mounting them under difficulties; in making rafts; embarking and disembarking guns; making up ammunition; preparing demands for stores; carrying on gun practice with shot, shell, etc.; making signals; throwing up batteries as at a siege, and afterward testing their efficiency by firing at them; attending lectures on artillery subjects by the officers instructing the classes, and on subjects of a scientific nature, and bearing upon the science of artillery, by professional gentlemen engaged from time to time for the purpose.

The non-commissioned officers attend these latter lectures, and also receive from the schoolmaster, under the direction of the officer in charge of the class (and with great advantage), instruction in mathematics, and in mechanical drawing applicable to the course they are being carried through.

In addition to these “long courses,” as they are termed, another class of 33 non-commissioned officers is sent every three months to go through what is termed a “short course,” for the purpose of being instructed in the various duties connected with the service, transport, etc., of heavy guns.

The result of this system is that an officer and two non-commissioned officers highly qualified to instruct in all artillery duties and exercises are sent annually to each brigade; also eight non-commissioned officers well qualified to assist in the instruction of the non-commissioned officers and men of their brigades in most duties connected with heavy ordnance, and with enlarged views of artillery subjects generally.

Further instruction is imparted to the regiment by sending batteries from Woolwich, Aldershot, and other contiguous stations, to carry on their practice, and regimental duty. They take guards and fatigues, move guns, and otherwise prepare for experiments, and each in its turn goes through a short course of instruction. The officers and a proportion of non-commissioned officers of these batteries are formed into a class under one of the gunnery instructors and his two assistants, and when they have gone through a preliminary course, one of the batteries, or more if practicable, are taken off duty for a month, in order to go through a systematic course, which, though short, is nevertheless highly valuable.

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The staff for government and instruction consists of:

Commandant and Superintendent of Experiments, Brigade major, Surgeon, Adjutant, Quartermaster, Master gunner, Sergeant-major, Quartermaster-sergeant.

School of Gunnery.

  1 chief instructor, a field officer

  4 gunnery instructors (including 1 at Woolwich), captains.

  1 first-class clerk.

  1 third-class clerk.

  6 first-class assistant instructors.

  1 army schoolmaster.

22 store, magazine, and lobbymen.

Experimental Establishment.

  1 Assistant superintendent.

  1 second-class assistant superintendent.

  1 first-class clerk.

  3 laboratory sergeants.

  3 range sergeants.

15 storemen, etc.

1 staff wheeler, 1 hospital sergeant, 1 photographer, 1 armorer, 2 wheelers, 2 smiths.

Elementary exercises for the purpose of instructing the squad in dealing with heavy weights without machines, showing the best mode of applying power in moving guns, commencing with light and progressing to guns of 23 tons; instruction concerning ropes, tackles, knots, etc.

Field, garrison, and siege gun drill with smooth bore and rifled guns mounted on various carriages and platforms; drills with howitzers and mortars; throwing up works of offence and defence, arming them and laying platforms, making up ammunition, and arrangements for night firing.

Exercises with military machines; construction of sheers, derricks, etc., and placing them in awkward places; construction of trestle and other bridges for the purpose of passing heavy artillery across ditches, etc., and of rafts for similar purposes.

Embarkation of artillery and horses.

Mounting, dismounting, and moving heavy guns without the aid of machines.

Practice from heavy and field guns, smooth bore and rifled, at known and unknown distances, with full and reduced charges.

Battalion drill and telegraphy.

In the lecture room, instruction in the mechanical powers, in gunnery, systems of rifling, action and penetration of the service projectiles; construction, examination, and record of guns.

Army administration as affecting artillery.

Lectures on gunpowder, gun cotton, and fulminates; on metallurgy; on the various modes of computing velocities and the instruments employed; on electricity and steam; on strategy and tactics.

Cordage, knotting, tackles, parbuckling, pinching, slewing, etc.

Mounting and dismounting with and without gins.

Drill and practice with 32-pr. and 8 seconds guns.

Drill and practice with mortars on standing and travelling beds, also mounting and dismounting.

Drill practice with 40-pr. and 64-pr. guns, firing at moving target; drill with 7 seconds B.L. guns; drill with 7 seconds, 9 seconds, and 12 seconds M.L.R. guns and practice; dismounting and mounting the above.

Laying platforms, etc.

Use of platform wagon.

Light sheers.

Rocket drill and practice.

Facing B.L. guns.

Practical examination, etc.

Cordage, knotting, elementary exercises.

Ordinary shifts and machine drill.

Mortar drill and practice.

12-pr. B.L. gun drill and practice.

40-pr., 64-pr. and 7 seconds B.L. gun drill and practice.

7 seconds and 9 seconds M.L. gun drill and practice.

Dismounting 7 seconds and 9 seconds guns by gins and jacks.

Parbuckling 7 seconds and 9 seconds guns and moving on sledges.

Laying platforms.

Rocket drill and practice.

Sheers (heavy and light), derricks, etc.

Facing vent pieces.

Redrilling and examination of the non-commissioned officers.

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STAFF COLLEGE AND STAFF APPOINTMENTS.

HISTORICAL NOTICE.

The Senior Department of the Military College at Sandhurst was constituted in 1808, to enable officers “to qualify themselves for the Quartermaster-General’s and Adjutant-General’s departments;” and during the Peninsular war, most of the officers in these branches of the service were educated there. So high was its reputation, that the French Staff School was suggested and modeled after it. From motives of economy, its independent government and instruction was gradually reduced, and its graduates, no matter how well qualified, were no longer sure of appointment and promotion, as against purchase, until, in 1855, it became virtually extinct,—the teaching force being reduced to two professors in mathematical studies, and the number of students to six. In the same year, the French Staff School, with its thirteen military and five civil professors, and its range of instruction covering the entire field of practical duties which belong to an efficient staff officer, was held up as a model. In the plans and discussions respecting the reorganization and extension of the educational system of the army, which followed the Crimean war—in the Report (1855) of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Sandhurst; on the suggestions (1856) of the Commissioners on the Training of officers for the Scientific Corps; the plan of Mr. Sidney Herbert, as Secretary of War, in 1854 and 1856; in the instructions of Lord Panmure, in 1856; in the resolution of the House of Commons, July 28, 1857; in the recommendation of the Royal Commission on the purchase system, in their Report of 1857; in the plans of the Council of Military Education, in the same year—the supreme necessity of a staff college, with admission by competitive examination, and the assured encouragement of appointment and 620 promotion on ascertained proficiency and general fitness, was so clearly demonstrated, that at the close (December 17) of 1857, the Senior Department of Sandhurst was changed to that of a staff college, with a corps of professors of its own. A separate building was completed for its accommodation, in 1862; admission was open to officers of all branches of the service by competitive examination. All appointments to the Staff were limited to graduates of the College, who had been attached, for specified periods, to each branch of the service, and to officers of approved ability in the field.

The present establishment consists of

1 Commandant; 1 Adjutant; 2 Professors of Mathematics; 7 Professors (1 in each) of Military history, Fortification and Artillery, Military Topography, Military Administration, French, German, and Hindustani; besides the services of the Riding-master, and the Professors of Chemistry and Geology attached to the Cadet College of Sandhurst.

CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION IN 1868.

The college consists of thirty students. Fifteen vacancies will be offered for competition annually. Only one officer at a time can belong to the college from a battalion of infantry or a regiment of cavalry, and only four officers from the Corps of Royal Artillery; but any number can compete. The officer desiring to compete must be serving with his regiment.

The qualifications requisite for admission are:

1. A service of not less than five years previous to examination, exclusive of leave of absence.

2. A certificate from his commanding officer, as to his standing as a regimental officer, and his general knowledge of the service, character, habits, and disposition in respect to employment on the staff.

3. Certificate of having passed the examination for a troop or company.

4. Medical certificate of good health and fitness for the active duties of the staff.

The subjects of the admission examination, and the relative value of each, in the final result, are

Mathematics, 1,200 Marks.
Military History, 600     900   “
Military Geography, 300
French,   300   “
German,   300   “
Hindustani,   300   “
Fortification,   600   “
Military Drawing,   300   “
Mineralogy and Geology,   300   “
Chemistry, Heat, Electricity, and Magnetism,   300   “
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In mathematics 400 marks are allotted to arithmetic, the first four books of Euclid, and Algebra, including questions producing simple equations; and of this number, at least 250 must be obtained for qualification.

Every candidate must take up either the French, German, or Hindustani language for qualification; the qualifying minimum is, in French, 150 marks; in German or Hindustani, 100 marks.

The remaining subjects, as well as the higher portions of mathematics, may be taken up or not at the option of the candidate, the marks gained therein being reckoned in determining his position in the list of competitors. No candidate, however, will be allowed to count marks in any subject left optional unless he obtains at least one-sixth of the number allotted to it.

COURSE OF STUDY.

The course of study occupies two years, and the yearly course is divided into two terms, viz., from February 1 to June 15, and July 15 to December 15. The subjects are

Mathematics.

French, German, and Hindustani.

Fortification and artillery.

Topographical drawing, military surveying and sketching.

Reconnaissance.

Military art, military history and geography.

Military administration, including the organization and equipment of armies in the field.

Military legislation.

Elements of natural philosophy, chemistry, and geology, as applied to the military sciences.

Exercises in composition will be afforded to the students during the whole course of instruction, in writing memoirs or essays on the subjects of the course.

Riding.

During the whole course, monthly reports of the application and progress of each student are forwarded for the information of the Council of Military Education. Examinations are held at the end of every half year; the summer examination being conducted by the professors of the college, and the winter examination by examiners independent of the establishment, under the superintendence of the Council.

EXAMINATIONS.

The examination at the termination of the first year is probationary, and any student who fails to obtain the minimum aggregate of marks specified below, is required to withdraw.

The following five subjects will be taken up by every student at the probationary examination, viz.:

Maximum. Minimum.
  I. Fortification, 280 Marks   90 Marks.
 II. Military drawing and surveying, 270   “   90   “
III. Military history, 300   “ 100   “
IV. Military administration and legislation, 300   “ 100   “
 V. French, German, or Hindustani, 400   “ 133   “

Every candidate is expected to obtain 800 marks on the above subjects.

All credits gained on the four military subjects are carried forward to the final examination.

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Of the following subjects the student may select any two, and in those numbered from one to six, as well as in the language already selected as “obligatory,” the student may, at his option, carry forward to the final examination the marks he gains, provided they amount in each case to three-fourths the allotted maximum, when he will be considered as finally examined in that subject:

1. Mathematics, lower course, 400 Marks.
2. Mathematics, higher course, 500   “
3. French, 400   “
4. German, 400   “
5. Hindustani, 400   “
6. Any other modern language, 400   “
7. Natural sciences, lower course, 150   “
8. Experimental sciences, lower course, 150   “

In those numbered seven and eight, the marks gained are carried forward to the final examination.

In addition to any two of the above subjects, the following may be taken up at the probationary examination; and if 150 marks be gained in it, they may, at the option of the student, be carried forward to the final examination:

Spherical trigonometry and practical astronomy, 200 Marks.

The following are the marks attached to each subject at the final examination, including, in the maximum, the marks appropriated to the probationary examinations:

Subjects to be taken up by every student:

Maximum. Minimum.
Fortification and artillery, 600 Marks 300 Marks.
Military drawing and surveying, 350   “   350   “
Reconnaissance, 350   “
Military art, history, and geography, 600   “ 300   “
Military administration and legislation, 500   “ 300   “
French, German, or Hindustani, 400   “ 200   “

Every candidate will be required to obtain for qualification an aggregate of 1,800 marks on the above five subjects.

Of the following subjects, the student may select any two, and the credits gained will count for position in the order of merit:

Maximum. Minimum.
Mathematics, lower course, 400 Marks 240 Marks.
Mathematics, higher course, 500   “ 300   “
French, 400   “ 240   “
German, 400   “ 240   “
Hindustani, 400   “ 240   “
Any other modern language, 400   “ 240   “
Natural sciences. 400   “ 240   “
Experimental sciences, 400   “ 240   “

In addition to any two of the above-mentioned subjects, the following may be taken up by any student who did not take it up at the first year’s examination, or did not then obtain three-fourth marks in it:

Maximum. Minimum.
Spherical trigonometry and practical astronomy, 200 Marks 120 Marks.

In the examination in modern languages, great stress will be laid on original composition.

623

All officers recommended for staff appointments, who have not proved their fitness in the field, must pass examinations before a board of officers and by the Council.

a.—Aide-de-Camp.

Regimental Duty.—The candidate must be prepared in all the subjects required in the examination for promotion to a troop or company.

Tactics and Field Movements.—He will be expected to show a competent knowledge of the tactics and field movements of that branch of the Service to which he is destined to be attached as a staff officer, and a general knowledge of those of the other two arms; the examination will include the movements of a brigade, and will be based on the regulation books.

On being reported by the Adjutant-General to possess the necessary professional qualifications, the candidate will be examined by the Council in

English Composition.—The candidate’s proficiency in this respect will be tested by his answers to the examination papers.

Foreign Languages.—He will be examined vivâ voce by the examiner appointed under the Council of Military Education in whatever language he may select and he will also write a short letter on a given subject in that language.

Military Sketching.—He will be required to sketch at least two square miles of ground selected by the Council. The sketch need not be elaborately finished, but it must clearly and intelligibly represent the features of ground, which must be determined by means of the pocket sextant or prismatic compass.

Field Fortification.—He must show a knowledge of the principles and construction of field works, and must explain the objects to which they are respectively applicable, as well as the modes of attacking and defending them.

b.—Brigade Major.

A certificate will be required from the commanding officer of the regiment to which the candidate belongs, or has belonged, that he possesses all the qualifications of a good adjutant. The examination for brigade major will be especially directed to the points more immediately connected with the duties attached to the appointment, as Military Law, the “Queen’s Regulations and Orders of the Army,” the Royal Warrant for Pay, Promotion,” etc., and, in tactics, all that relates to alignments, points of formation, distances, etc. The subjects of examination are the same as in that for the appointment of aide-de-camp, but the examination will be, throughout, of a higher order.

c.—Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General, Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General.

Military Drawing and Sketching, Judgment of Ground, and its Occupation by all Arms.—The candidate will be required to make a rapid sketch on horseback, with report, of about six square miles of country; and to select a position which might be occupied by a given force of the three arms, for some stated object, and to show how he would dispose the troops for that purpose. He will afterward be required to make a correct and more finished plan of the position selected, with the disposition of the troops shown upon it.

Practical Geometry and Trigonometry.—The examination in these subjects will be limited to determining heights and distances by ground problems, and the ordinary trigonometrical calculations with the aid of logarithms.

Castrametation.—The candidate will be expected to know the mode of encampment for each arm of the Service.

Permanent Fortification.—The theory and construction of permanent works, as exemplified in Vauban’s or any other system the candidate may select, as well as the modes of attack and defence applicable to them.

Military History and Geography.—The candidate will be expected to give proof that he has carefully studied at least four of the most memorable modern campaigns, of which the details are best known, such as those of Marlborough, Frederick the Great, Napoleon, and Wellington, and in these he must be able to explain the apparent objects of the various movements and the reasons which he supposes led to their adoption, and, further, to describe the military geography of the seat of war.

Foreign Languages and Professional Subjects.—In languages before the Council of Military Education, as well as in professional subjects before the Board of Officers, the examination will be of a higher order than those in (a) and (b).

The examination for Assistant Adjutant-General and Assistant Quartermaster-General will, throughout, be of a higher order.

624

MUSKETRY, AND OTHER ARMY SCHOOLS.

SCHOOL OF MUSKETRY AT HYTHE.

The first School of Musketry was established in June, 1853, and was composed of detachments from regiments in the neighborhood, viz.: a sergeant, a corporal, and eight rank and file, from the first, second, and third battalion of the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Fusileer Guards, Rifle Brigade, etc., to the number of eleven sergeants, eleven corporals, and eighty-eight rank and file. In 1855, a permanent corps of instructors of musketry was organized, and in 1861 a second school was instituted at Fleetwood, which was discontinued in 1867, as one establishment was found sufficient for training an adequate number of officers of the regular army, and a due proportion of officers and sergeants of militia and the Rifle Volunteer Corps.

In connection with the establishment at Hythe, district inspectors are appointed to superintend the general system of musketry instruction throughout the army, viz., three in Great Britain, two in Ireland, five in the colonies, and ten in India.

The instruction embraces not only the practical use of fire-arms, but the details of construction, both of the weapon and ammunition, the theory of projectiles, and the comparative value of different arms for different services.

The staff of the School of Musketry at Hythe consists of 1 Commandant and Inspector-General of Musketry Instruction; 1 Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General; 1 Chief Instructor; 2 Captain Instructors; 1 Paymaster; 1 Quartermaster and Acting Adjutant; 1 Surgeon.

In addition to the preparatory and professional schools for officers of the British Army, already described, there are other public institutions of a military character and for the military service, which will be briefly noticed.

ARMY SURGEONS.

In addition to the competitive examination of candidates for the post of Assistant Surgeon, for which a medical degree is preliminary, the successful candidates must spend four months at Netley, where the Army Medical School is now located (since 1863), in connection with the Royal Victoria Hospital (capable of receiving one thousand patients), where large numbers of invalid patients of the army are treated. Here, with every facility of study, observation, and practice, instruction is given by four professors, each with an experienced assistant, in military surgery, medicine, pathology, and hygiene, and all the specialities of the military hospital and field practice, peculiarities of climate, etc. After spending at least four months in the hospital, laboratory, museum, and lecture-rooms, the candidate is then examined for his commission as Assistant Surgeon.

VETERINARY SURGEON.

Although not exclusively for military service, all veterinary surgeons in the army must hold the diploma of the Royal Veterinary College in St. Pancras, London, or of the Veterinary School in Edinburgh.

625
ARMY SCHOOLS FOR SOLDIERS AND SOLDIERS’ CHILDREN.

In 1811, on the recommendation of the Duke of York, then Commander-in-Chief, a royal warrant was issued, authorizing the appointment of a sergeant-schoolmaster to each batallion for young recruits and the children of soldiers, with provision for room, fuel, and light in each regimental barrack, and allowance for necessary books and stationery. In 1846, to give greater efficiency and uniformity to the schools established under the warrant of 1811, a new warrant was issued, requiring that the sergeant-schoolmaster should obtain a certificate of fitness from the military training college at Chelsea, and ordering the appointment of an inspector of army schools. In 1854, the following classification of masters was introduced: First Class, at 7s. a day and certain allowances; Second Class, at 5s. 6d. per day; Third Class, at 4s. per day; and Assistants at 2s. The first-class schoolmaster was a warrant officer, and ranked next to those holding a commission; the second and third class ranked next to sergeant-major, and the assistants ranked as sergeants. At this time the privileges of the regimental schools were extended to the children of discharged soldiers, pensioners, and various persons employed about the barracks. A schoolmistress was also employed for the infant division of pupils, and for teaching needle-work to the girls. In 1863, the office of superintending schoolmaster, with a relative rank of ensign, was created, and four (since increased to twelve) from among the most experienced first-class masters, were appointed to inspect and examine all army schools in their several military districts, and candidates for pupil-teachers and schoolmistresses.

According to the report of the Council of Military Education, for March, 1870, there were two hundred and fifty-nine masters employed by the army schools, and four hundred and eighty-five mistresses and assistants in the children’s schools. In Great Britain there were three hundred and eighteen schools, and thirty-five thousand three hundred and seven non-commissioned officers and men on the books, nine thousand three hundred and fifty-nine boys and girls, besides 11,414 children in the infant schools.

ASYLUM FOR SOLDIERS’ ORPHANS.

Prior to the establishment of the Army Schools in 1811, two large institutions for orphan children of soldiers who had fallen in battle or serving at foreign stations, had been founded and maintained at the public expense.

The Royal Hibernian Institution at Dublin, Ireland, was commenced on a sum appropriated by the Irish Parliament in 1765, and chartered in 1769. It has large buildings, with thirty-four acres of land, and provides for four hundred and ten children on an annual parliamentary grant of twelve thousand pounds for its maintenance, besides the income from a small endowment.

The Royal Military Asylum in Chelsea was begun by the Duke of York in 1801, and can now accommodate five hundred children on a public grant of twelve thousand pounds, besides a further grant of three thousand pounds for furniture and clothing from the Board of Works and the general vote of the army.

NORMAL SCHOOL FOR TEACHERS IN ARMY SCHOOLS.

In the Military Asylum at Chelsea, since 1846, there has existed a Normal School, where teachers of army schools may review their studies, or candidates for vacancies, or pupil teachers, may qualify themselves by study, observation, and practice, for appointment as schoolmasters, and when found qualified they receive certificates of the first, second, and third class, and are paid accordingly.

626
MILITARY SCHOOL OF MUSIC AT KNELLER HALL.

In the British Army the cost of maintaining the regimental bands falls upon the officers. In the infantry a sergeant, a corporal and nineteen privates are taken from the effective strength of each regiment to form a band. These receive their ordinary regimental pay,—the rest of the pay, and the entire salary of the band-master, if a civilian, together with the cost of the music and musical instruments, are provided out of the Band Fund, which is raised by “stoppages” from the officers on first appointment, and promotion, and by subscription. This fund is managed by a committee of officers. Owing to difficulties in retaining the men, and of finding band-masters with all the requisite qualifications, the Commander-in-Chief (Duke of Cambridge) established a Military School of Music in 1856, in concert with the Secretary of War, which was opened in Kneller Hall for the reception of pupils in March, 1857. The institution must be viewed (1) as a barrack, and (2) as a school of music. (1). As a barrack it is under the direction of the Secretary of War, and is managed as any other barrack. (2). As a school it is under the immediate direction of a military officer (who is appointed by the Commander-in-Chief), and a musical staff composed of nine permanent professors, four occasional professors, and a varying number of special assistants who are selected from the first-class students. There is also a schoolmaster who gives instruction one hour a day in general knowledge to each class, and a military chaplain. The instruments taught in Soprano (8); Alto (3); Tenor (3); Bass (6). The students are divided into four classes, each of which is divided into sections according to the instruments to be learned. Seven hours a day are devoted to obligatory study—but more are given, and a restriction prohibits all practice after 6.45 in the evening.

This course of study occupies two years, and there is a higher which comprises, beside practical instruction in playing and teaching the instruments composing the band, some general acquirements under the theory of harmony. There is also practical training in the duties of a conductor. In addition to ordinary military music, classical concert pieces, or chamber music, specially arranged for wind instruments, are performed. Cheap admissions to the operas and principal concerts of the metropolis are obtained (900 in one year), to such of the advanced students as are recommended for diligence by the professors.

Pupils are selected from the various regiments, and often selected for this special purpose. Boys specially trained for the bands are obtained from the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea, the Hibernian Military School, Dublin, and the Metropolitan Poor-law School. Each candidate must be examined by the surgeon of the regiment, and certified to as in good health and with no tendencies to disease liable to be aggravated by playing on a band instrument.

A military band-master is now sanctioned by the Government for any regiment and battalion throughout the service, who receive regimental pay of first-class staff sergeant, and 100l. from the Regimental Band Fund.

The expenses of Kneller Hall as a barrack are borne by the government; as a school of music, by the regimental officers—including an original assessment of 5l. for supply of instruments, and the salaries to about 1,100l. annually.

The average number of students annually admitted is 74; the average number in attendance, 148. The total number admitted since 1857 is 592, of whom 163 were practiced musicians, 63 band-masters, 271 band-men.

627

III. NAVAL AND NAVIGATION SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND.

Preliminary Remarks.

Before describing a class of schools in England, which is now receiving special attention and aid from the Science and Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education, viz. Navigation Schools, we will glance at the condition of Nautical Education generally in this great maritime and commercial country.

The old system of training officers for the Royal Navy, under which mere children with the smallest possible amount of elementary knowledge, made the ship their school, even after a Naval Academy was established, had its peculiar advantages as well as its drawbacks. The captain, having the nomination of an almost indefinite number of “youngsters,” stood towards them in loco parentis. He was their governor, guardian, and instructor, and did not “spare the rod” when he thought its application necessary. The captain was then looked up to with a feeling bordering on awe. Without assigning a reason he could disrate or discharge a midshipman; and he could also do much towards pushing him on in the service. The youngster felt that he was entirely in the power of his captain, and, unless of a reckless cast, used his best endeavors to gain his favor. The captain, on the other hand, talked of his youngsters with pride. He, (if he belonged to the better class of naval captains,) took care that every facility should be afforded them for learning their duty, often made them his companions on shore, and superintended their education afloat, sometimes taking a leading part in their teaching. He felt responsible for their bringing up, for some were sons of personal friends or relatives whom he had promised to watch over the youthful aspirants, and all were more or less objects of interest to him. But all this was swept away in 1844, and the captain’s patronage limited to one nomination on commissioning a ship, the Admiralty taking the rest of the patronage into their own keeping. And what was the result? No sooner had the Admiralty absorbed the naval patronage—for the captain was frequently shorn of his one nomination before leaving Whitehall with his commission—than old officers and private gentlemen in middling circumstances found themselves unsuccessful applicants, while the influential country gentleman totally unconnected with the service, but able perhaps to turn the scale of an election, was not under the painful necessity of asking twice for a naval cadetship for his son, or the son of his friend. But what cared the captain for these Admiralty nominees? Too many of them were incapable of profiting by 628 their opportunities, and others neglected to avail themselves of the instructions of the professors of mathematics, and became the victims of dissipation.

I. Naval Officers.

Royal Naval Academy.

The first attempt to educate lads for the naval service of England was in 1729, when the Royal Naval Academy was instituted in Portsmouth Dockyard. The course of instruction included the elements of a general education, as well as mathematics, navigation, drawing, fortification, gunnery, and small arm exercises, together with the French language, the principles of ship-building and practical seamanship in all its branches, for which latter a small vessel was set apart. The number was limited to forty cadets, the sons of the nobility and gentry, and attendance was voluntary. Small as the corps was, it was never full, probably because there was an easier way of gaining admission to the service through official favoritism, by appointment direct to some ship, on board of which during a six years’ midshipman’s berth, he acquired a small stock of navigation and a larger knowledge of seamanship and gunnery practice. In these ships where the captains were educated men, and took a special interest in the midshipmen, and competent instructors were provided and sustained in their authority and rank, this system of ship instruction and training worked well, as under the same conditions it did with us. In 1773 a new stimulus was given to the Academy by extending a gratuitous education to fifteen boys out of the forty, who were sons of commissioned officers. In 1806, under the increased demand for well educated officers, the whole number of cadets was increased to seventy, of whom forty were the sons of officers and were educated at the expense of the government. From this date to 1837 the institution was designated the Royal Naval College, but without any essential extension of its studies. In 1816 a Central School of Mathematics and Naval Architecture was added to the establishment, and in 1828 the free list was discontinued, and the sons of military officers were allowed to share the privileges of the school with the sons of naval officers, at a reduced rate in proportion to their rank. To keep up the number of students who would go through the four years course, it became necessary to extend special privileges, such as made promotion certain and rapid over those who entered the navy direct. This produced inconveniences and jealousies, and in 1837 the Naval College was discontinued.

Training Ship and Naval College.

In 1857 the Admiralty adopted the plan of a Training Ship for naval cadets. The candidate was to be from thirteen to fifteen years of age, and to pass an examination in Latin or French, Geography, Arithmetic, including Proportion and Fractions, Algebra, to Simple Equations, the First Book of Euclid, and the Elements of Plane Trigonometry. At the end of twelve or six months, according to age, spent in study and practice on the Training Ship, the cadet was examined in the studies before enumerated 629 with the addition of Involution and Evolution, Simple Equations, the Elements of Geometry, and of Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, the simple rules of Navigation, the use of Nautical Instruments, Surveying, Constructing Charts, and the French language, besides an elaborate course of Seamanship, and attendance on lectures on Chemistry, Physics, Hydrostatics, &c. If this examination was satisfactory, the cadet was appointed to a sea-going ship, and at the expiration of fifteen months’ service he was eligible for the rating of midshipman upon passing a further examination. The course in the Training Ship (first the “Illustrious,” and subsequently changed to the “Britannia,” first in Portsmouth harbor and more recently at Dartmouth,) proved too extensive for mastery in one year; and in 1861 the conditions for admission were lowered, the examinations in the school were made quarterly, and competitive, and if passed creditably at the end of a year, according to a fixed standard, (3,000 being the number of marks attainable, and 2,100 giving a first class certificate,) the cadet is rated at once as midshipman, and credited a year’s sea-time. If he receives a second class certificate (1,500 marks,) he must serve six months at sea, and pass another examination before he can be rated midshipman. The cadet with a third-rate certificate (1,200 marks,) must serve twelve months at sea, and pass another examination for his midshipman’s rating. Prizes and badges are also given, and the stimulus of competitive examination is applied as shown in the grading of certificates.

Gunnery Instruction.

In 1832 a uniform and comprehensive system of gunnery instruction was provided on the “Excellent,” under command of Captain (now Sir Thomas) Hastings. To give such officers who were found deficient in the scientific knowledge requisite for a full understanding of the theory of gunnery, the Naval College was re-opened in 1839, under the general superintendence of the Captain of the Excellent, with Professors of Mathematics, Navigation and Nautical Astronomy, Steam Machinery, Chemistry and Marine Artillery. Accommodations were provided for twenty-five half-pay officers, (captains, commanders, and lieutenants,) and a certain number of mates on full pay, for whom a special course of study was instituted. The time allowed at the College was a clear year’s study, exclusive of vacations, and those who have completed the course rank among the most distinguished officers of the profession.

Instruction in Steam and the Steam-Engine.

When steam vessels came into use in the Navy, to qualify officers for special service in them they were encouraged to resort to Woolwich Dockyard, and afterward to the Portsmouth yard, where an instructor was appointed and facilities for observation, study, and experiments were provided. Many officers repaired to private factories, and worked at the lathe, in stoke-hole and the engine-room, and thus acquired a practical knowledge of this department of their profession. When the Naval College was established 630 on its present footing, a small steamer, the “Bee,” was built and attached under the charge of the instructor in steam-machinery. And now the greater part of the captains and commanders on the active list have obtained certificates of having passed the course in Steam and the Steam-engine.

Admiralty Order respecting Naval Cadets and Midshipmen, dated April 1, 1860.

Cadets.

“I. No person will be nominated to a Cadetship in the Royal Navy who shall be under 12, or above 14 years of age, at the time of his first examination.

“II. Every candidate, on obtaining a nomination, will be required to pass an examination at the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth, within three months of nomination.3 In the special cases of nomination granted to the sons of natives of the colonies a candidate will be allowed to pass a preliminary examination on board the flag or senior Officer’s ship on the Station. But such an examination must be passed in strict accordance with these regulations, and should the candidate be found qualified, it will still be necessary that he should be sent to England, to be entered on board a training ship, where he will be subject to the same regulations as other Cadets.

“III. The candidate must produce a certificate of birth, or a declaration thereof made before a magistrate.

“IV. Must be in good health and fit for the Service—that is free from impediment of speech, defect of speech, rupture, or other physical inefficiency.

“Candidates will be required—1. To write English correctly from dictation, and in a legible hand. 2. To read, translate, and parse an easy passage from Latin, or from some foreign living language—the aid of a dictionary will be allowed for these translations.

“And to have a satisfactory knowledge of—3. The leading facts of Scripture and English history. 4. Modern geography, in so far as relates to a knowledge of the principal countries, capitals, mountains and rivers. To be able to point out the position of a place on a map, when its latitude and longitude are given. 5. Arithmetic, including proportion, and a fair knowledge of vulgar and decimal fractions. 6. A knowledge of the definitions and axioms of the First Book of Euclid.

“As drawing will prove a most useful qualification for Naval Officers, it is recommended that candidates for the Service should be instructed therein.

“V. Candidates will be allowed a second trial at the next quarterly examination. Should he not pass this second examination he will be finally rejected.

“VI. If the candidate succeeds in passing the required examination he will be at once appointed to a training ship, for the purpose of instruction in the subjects contained in Sheet No. 1,4 as well as in the rigging of ships, seamanship, the use of nautical instruments, &c.

“VII. Quarterly examinations will be held on board the training ship, when any candidate may be examined in the subjects contained in Sheet No. 1, and also, in the course of instruction, in the rigging of ships, seamanship, &c.

“VIII. If a candidate be found at the quarterly examinations, not to have made sufficient progress, or if, by indifferent conduct or idle habits on board the training ship, he shall show his unfitness for the Service; it will be the duty of the Captain to make a special report thereof to the Admiralty, in order that the Cadet may be at once removed from the Navy.

“IX. When the candidate shall have completed twelve months’ instruction, exclusive of vacations, in the harbor training ship, he will be examined, and 631 should he obtain a certificate of proficiency, he will be discharged into the sea-going training ship. A first-class certificate will entitle him to count twelve months’ sea time; a second-class, will entitle him to count six months’ sea time; a third-class, will entitle him to count six months’ sea time. But should he not obtain a certificate, he will be discharged as unfit for the Service.

“X. On leaving the harbor training ship, it is intended that the Cadet shall pass three months in a sea-going training ship, for practical instruction in seamanship and navigation, which period will count for sea time, and at the end of this period, if his conduct has been satisfactory, he will be appointed to a ship with the rating of a Midshipman.

Midshipmen.

“To qualify a Midshipman for a Lieutenant’s Commission he must have attained the full age of 19 years, and have completed 5½ years’ actual service in Her Majesty’s Navy, including the time awarded to him on leaving the training ship.

“XI. All Midshipmen, until they have passed their examinations for Lieutenants, are to keep a book in which the ship’s reckoning is to be worked out and noted; at sea, this book is to be sent in every day to the Captain, instead of the slip of paper containing a day’s work. It is also to be produced at their examinations; and during the last six months of their service as Midshipmen, it must contain the working of the observations.

“XII. A Midshipman when he shall have served two years and a half in that rank will be required to pass the following examination:—1. In practical navigation, showing that he understands the principle of navigating a ship from one distant port to another, by dead reckoning and by his own observations; and that he can explain the principles of the same; and that he can also take and work a double altitude and azimuth. 2. A sufficient knowledge of a chart to enable him to place thereon the position of the ship by observation as well as by cross bearings; and to lay off the true and compass courses. 3. Such knowledge of nautical surveying as may enable him to measure a base line and determine positions by angles, and the manner of ascertaining heights and distances. 4. If he has served in a steam vessel, an acquaintance with the different parts and working of the steam engine. 5. A proficiency in French to be attained if he has had an opportunity. 6. He must be a good practical observer, and his sextant must be produced in good order. 7. He must produce log-books kept by himself from the time of his entering into a sea-going ship, and certificates of good conduct.

“8. He will likewise be examined as to his progress in the knowledge of rigging masts, bowsprits, &c. He must also know the great gun and small arm exercise, the use of tangent sights, the charges for the guns of the ship, and be able to exercise the men at his quarters. A report of the progress he has made in each of the above subjects is to be made to the Secretary of the Admiralty in the half-yearly return.

“This examination is to be conducted by the Officer in command, not below the rank of Commander, and the next senior Officer in the ship, and the examinations in navigation in the presence of a Captain or Commander, by two Naval Instructors, when it may be practicable, or by a Naval Instructor and a Master, or, where there is no Naval Instructor, by two Masters; that in gunnery, by a gunner, or other competent Officer; and the candidate is to be made to take and work out his own observations for latitude, longitude, variation, &c., as the case may be. First or second class certificates are to be given according to the merit of the candidate, in the form A, page 8, or he is to be rejected if found incompetent.

“XIII. A Midshipman, having completed his term of service, and being 19 years of age, may be provisionally examined by the Captain or Commander of such ship or vessel with the aid of other competent Officers, Lieutenant, Master, or second Master, when no other ships are present; and if they find him to be duly qualified they are to give him a certificate to that effect, dated on the day of such examination, and the Captain may forthwith give him an acting order as Mate; but he must be re-examined, on the first opportunity that shall afterwards offer, by three Captains or Commanders, and if he passes successfully he 632 will receive from the Commander-in-Chief, or senior Officer, an acting order as Mate, to take rank according to the first certificate.

“The examining Officers are to be most strict in their investigation of the qualifications of Officers, and they are to see that everything required by these Regulations has been complied with by the candidates, and that he produces certificates of good conduct from Captains he has served under from the time of his discharge from the training ship.

“XIV. All Acting Mates and Midshipmen will be required to undergo the following final examinations,—1. In Seamanship—On board the training ship at Portsmouth. 2. In Gunnery—On board the Excellent. 3. In Navigation and the Steam Engine—At the Royal Naval College.

“Acting Mates, who have already passed abroad, are to present themselves for examination, on board the training ship at Portsmouth, at the first examination day after their arrival in England, or after being paid off, and having passed in gunnery they are then at liberty to select either the first, second, or third examination day at the Royal Naval College.

“XV. Any Officer rejected on his first examination at the College will incur the forfeiture of three months’ seniority in his rank as Mate. He may present himself on the next examination day, but a second rejection will incur the forfeiture of three months’ more seniority; he may again present himself on the next examination day, but a third rejection will cause his name to be removed from the list of the Navy.

“XVI. Officers, when they have passed their final examination at the Royal Naval College, as provided for in these Regulations, will be confirmed from the date of their first certificate. The non-appearance of an Officer for examination at the Royal Naval College at the times required by these Regulations will be considered as an acknowledgment of his not being qualified, and he will be dealt with in the same manner as if he had been actually rejected, on each day on which he may have omitted to appear, unless under certified ill-health, to be duly reported at the time.

“XVII. Naval Instructors are to keep a school journal, or register, which is to be produced when required by the Captain of the ship or the examining Officers, and the Captain is to allow them reasonable access to the charts and chronometers, for the purpose of instructing the Officers in their use.

“XVIII. The Captains of Her Majesty’s ships are to take care that a convenient place is set apart and proper hours are fixed for instruction by the Naval Instructor; and all Acting Mates and Acting Second Masters, as well as all executive Officers under that rank, are to attend; and care is also to be taken that they are regularly instructed in practical seamanship, rigging, and the steam-engine, and a monthly examination day is to be established.

The subject of Education for Officers has been recently under discussion in Parliament, and some modifications of the existing system is now under the consideration of the Admiralty, looking to greater maturity of age and preparation for admission, a more extended and thorough course of scientific training in cadets, and continued opportunities of study with accompanying examinations for officers up to the grade of commanders.

II. The Royal Marine Artillery.

In 1804 an artillery company was attached to each of the three divisions of the Royal Marine Corps, to supply the service of the bomb-vessels, and in time of peace, to drill the whole of the marines in gunnery. But they were soon made available for other purposes, and on the outbreak of the American war in 1812, a large body of the Marine Artillery, with a field battery and rocket equipment, accompanied the battalions of marines then formed for service in America. In 1817 this force was augmented to eight companies, and Sir Howard Douglass, while advocating the establishment 633 of “Naval Depots of Instruction,” for the purpose of converting officers and men of the Royal Navy into efficient gunners, complimented the Marine Artillery as being “either a corps of good infantry, of scientific bombardiers, or expert field artillery men, well constituted, thoroughly instructed, and ably commanded.” It was not until June, 1830, that an Admiralty order directed that a school of gunnery should be established at Portsmouth, on board the “Excellent,” and with the intention of making this school the one means of instruction in this department, it was farther ordered, in December, 1831, that the Marine Artillery, as a distinct and separate corps, should be broken up, retaining two companies as a nucleus of a larger force, should such become necessary. And the necessity appeared; for the experience of a few years proved that it would be impossible for the school to effect, to any important extent, the results which were desired. In 1841, therefore, a third company of the artillery was ordered; in 1845, two more; and by subsequent additions, its strength was raised in 1859, to sixteen companies, with a total of 3,000 officers and men, who were formed into a separate division with its head quarters at Fort Cumberland.

The officers of the Marine Artillery were at first appointed from the marine corps, without any particular qualifications being required, but afterwards their appointments were made probationary and conditional upon the satisfactory completion of a prescribed mathematical course. In 1839 it was decided that a certain number of second lieutenants should be allowed to prepare themselves for examination on board the Excellent, and upon the re-opening of the Royal Naval College as an educational establishment for mates, it was arranged that the students for the artillery should be transferred to it, and that their success or failure, after a years’ further study, should decide upon their appointment to the artillery. Another and final modification took place upon the introduction of preliminary examinations for the marines, and the subsequent formation of a cadet establishment on board the Excellent. In case of vacancies in the artillery, those who had passed the best examinations upon first entering the corps, were selected for the College, and no officers were allowed to become candidates on any other terms, their final success depending as before, upon the progress they might make as students at the College.

The cadets have their periods of study limited to two years; it may be less, but can not be more. They have to acquire a competent knowledge in Arithmetic, Algebra, Euclid, including the first four books and part of the sixth, Plane Trigonometry, the use of the Sextant, Fortification, English History, and French. To this may be added a practical course of Naval Gunnery. Their studies are carried on under the direction of a mathematical instructor, and an instructor of fortification. A French master attends twice a week. If on obtaining his commission, the young marine officer is selected to qualify for the artillery at College, he must be prepared at the end of a year to pass an examination in Analytical Trigonometry, Differential and Integral Calculus, Conic Sections, Statics and Dynamics, 634 Hydrostatics, and “Steam,” besides being required to have an increased knowledge of Arithmetic, Algebra, and Fortification. In a year little more than a superficial knowledge of these studies can possibly be attained, yet insufficient as this period clearly is, it has sometimes been the case that, when a large number of subalterns were required for the artillery, young officers have been appointed who have completed only half their term at College. Having thus gained his appointment to the artillery, his remaining in it depends upon there being a vacancy or not at the time when his seniority on the general list of the corps advances him to each successive grade of rank.

The men are volunteers from the light infantry divisions, possessing certain specified qualifications as to age, height, intelligence and character.

The course of training, which is with a few exceptions, common to both officers and men, is very comprehensive; it includes—

1. The usual infantry drills and musketry instruction.

2. The exercise of field guns and rockets, with such field battery movements as are of real practical importance.

3. The service of heavy ordnance, including guns, howitzers, and sea and land service mortars.

4. The naval great gun exercise.

5. Mounting and dismounting ordnance, with or without machines.

6. The various methods of slinging and transporting ordnance.

7. Knotting, splicing, and fitting gun gear, use of pulleys, &c.

8. A laboratory course, including:—use and preparation of tubes, rockets, and fuzes; making up cartridges; manufacture of port fires, Valenciennes stars, signal rockets, blue lights, &c., with instruction in the manufacture and effects of gunpowder and other explosive compounds.

9. A course of practical gunnery, comprising—instruction in the nature and uses of the various kinds of guns, howitzers, and mortars; in the natures, employment, and effects of the various projectiles; disparting and sighting ordnance; heating and firing red-hot shot; and such matters connected with the theory of projectiles as may have a practical application.

10. Practice from different natures of ordnance, with every description of projectile.

The system of instruction is so arranged that every officer and noncommissioned officer is qualified, as far as practicable, as an instructor, a registry being kept of each man’s progress and capabilities. A spirit of emulation has been created, attended with the happiest results, and the whole course is now gone through in less than twelve months, without the men being wearied or overworked.

III. Schools for Warrant Officers, Seamen, and Boys.

1. Seamen’s Schoolmasters.

Schoolmasters for seamen are allowed on all ships having a complement of not less than three hundred men, and an allowance of £5 per annum is 635 granted, in addition to the pay of any rating he may hold, to a qualified person doing this duty of the captain’s orders, in ships not having a seamen’s schoolmaster. An allowance is made for books, slates, &c. to all ships having schools. The success of the school to the boys and the men depends mainly on the interest shown in it by the captain and second officer in command, and especially on the character of the schoolmaster employed. The situation is too often filled by an old quartermaster, or sergeant of marines, who obtains the berth as a kind of retirement, or by some person who has a fancy for sea life, but who is fit for nothing on shore, much less for teaching under the difficulties of a ship at sea. It is found that when the schoolmaster is qualified for this special service, and is entered for continuous service, and being placed in regard to pay, pension, and good conduct badges on an equality with other chief petty officers, and when a log or register of attendance is kept, and frequent reports are made to superior authority, the result is highly conducive to discipline, and to the elevation of the seamen’s habits and character. One of the Commissioners recently appointed to examine into the state of popular education among every class of British subjects, speaking of the effect of this class of schools upon the men on board the ships, says: “After visiting the “Cambridge,” at Plymouth, as I walked with the captain through the lower deck, I found many, both boys and men, reading books with the greatest attention. In the evening of the same day, on the lower deck of the “Agincourt,” I found the same scene, while others were engaged in draughts, chess, or writing letters to their friends.” With the present scale of punishment on board of men of war, the school is an indispensable element of discipline. The Commissioners referred to, in their report to the Queen, recommend that schoolmasters of higher qualification be appointed, with an increase of pay, and promotion by merit, when their schools are reported favorably upon by any authorized inspectors, and with the same retiring pension as master-at-arms, and that in addition to an elementary general education, a knowledge of navigation, physical geography, and natural history be required of candidates.

2. Schools on board of Ships in Harbor.

A second class of naval schools consists of Harbor Ships, into which boys entered for admission to the Navy, are received until they are drafted into the various sea-going ships. Four of these ships, the “Victory” and “Excellent,” at Portsmouth, the “Impregnable” and “Cambridge,” at Plymouth, are specially devoted to instruction. Boys remain in these ships for one year. The first part of this period is generally spent on board the ship, the latter part in the practising brig, in which during the summer months they are out at sea for five days during the week. There is a school under a seamen’s schoolmaster on board of each of these ships. The Commissioners report that the school time is necessarily subject to great interruptions, but that much valuable instruction might be given with better organization and methods. They recommend that an educational 636 test for admission to these training ships be introduced, which would at once have a good effect upon the general education of the people resident in the seaport towns, and elevate the intelligence, morality and manners of the seamen.

3. Royal Marine Schools.

There are four schools attached to the divisions of marines quartered in barracks respectively at Woolwich, Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth, and another to the division of marine artillery quartered at Portsmouth. These five schools are attended by the marines and their children. The attendance of the men is for the most part voluntary, with the exception of the non-commissioned officers, who are obliged to attend the school until they have passed a prescribed examination. In the marine artillery every man is required to read and write, and if deficient in these respects, he is obliged to attend the school until his requirements are reported to be satisfactory. The Commissioners recommend that a better class of schoolmasters be specially trained and employed, and that they receive better rank and pay, and more efficient assistance in the discharge of their duties, and that trained mistresses be employed as assistants in the boys’ schools, and have the exclusive charge of the girls’ schools, in all of which sewing should be taught and practised daily.

4. Dock-yard Schools.

There are seven dock-yard schools, held in the respective dock-yards of Deptford, Woolwich, Chatham, Sheerness, Portsmouth, Devenport, and Pembroke. They were founded in 1840, and are designed for the instruction of the apprentices employed in these establishments. The masters of them were originally foremen of the yard, men of good attainments, who had for the most part received their education in the School of Naval Architecture; but in 1847 a special class of schoolmasters was established, ranking as foremen of the yard. The object of these schools is to advance the education of the young men, since none are admitted as apprentices to become shipwrights until they have passed an examination.

Examinations for admission as apprentices to the dock-yards are held half-yearly, and about one-half are given to the lads who pass the best examinations, and the other half to nominees of the superintendent. These latter, however, are required to come up to a prescribed intellectual standard. The examinations are held under the Civil Service Commissioners, in the following subjects:—1. Dictation exercises to test Hand-writing and Orthography. 2. Reading. 3. Arithmetic. 4. Grammar. 5. English Composition. 6. Geography. 7. Mathematics, (Euclid, first three books, Algebra including Quadratic Equations, Arithmetical and Geometrical Progression.) The master shipwright and the schoolmaster are of opinion that the boys entered by competition are the best, and among the working shipwrights themselves the opinion is unanimous that the system of entering at least one-half by competition ought not to be done away. 637 The effect in inducing parents to keep their children at school in order to fit their sons for examination is very manifest, and the justice of promotion by personal merit is felt and acknowledged by all.

For the first three years all the apprentices are compelled to attend, while those in the fourth year may volunteer to attend with others if they show an aptitude for study, and a disposition to profit by the opportunities afforded them. The fifth-year apprentices may attend after the hours of labor. So long as admission to the Central School of Mathematics and Naval Construction at Portsmouth, and an immediate appointment and regular advancement to the higher offices in the yard, after leaving the latter establishment, stimulated young men to the acquisition of knowledge, the attendance for the fourth year was numerous and regular. But the abolition of the School of Mathematics, and with it the consequent promotion of its graduates, operated very unfavorably both on attendance and habits of private study.

In 1859 the Admiralty adopted a supplementary course of study for such apprentices as have been diligent in their work, exemplary in conduct, and made satisfactory progress in acquiring a knowledge of their trade. This course, extending over two years for three hours a day, embraces Descriptive Geometry, Elementary Mechanics, and Hydrostatics, Logarithms, Calculations of displacement, Stability of ships, &c., Plane Trigonometry, Differential Calculus, with Analytical Geometry, Advanced Mechanics, Hydrostatics, and Dynamics. This class of apprentices perform the duty ordinarily devolved on mould loft apprentices, under the superintendence of the draughtsmen in the mould loft. Scholarships of twenty pounds per annum are granted to such members of the class as show superior ability, attainments, and good conduct.

In the year 1859 there were 1,060 pupils in the five Dock-yard Schools, viz.: 461 apprentices, and 599 factory boys, the latter attending mainly in the evening.

The Commissioners pronounce these schools valuable institutions, both to the state and to the individuals, and they have demonstrated, according to the testimony of one of the master shipwrights, that the educated boy makes the superior workman, and the most moral and temperate man. They recommend that a better class of teachers be employed, and that their pay should be increased by half the amount of the scholarship accorded to the most proficient pupils of the advanced class, and that the intellectual part of the examinations for promotion should be conducted by the Civil Service Commissioners. To make this class of schools what they should be, much must be done to improve the education of the laboring classes, outside of the dock-yards.

5. Greenwich Hospital Schools.

The Greenwich Hospital School for 200 pupils, the orphans and sons of disabled seamen, and known as the Upper School, was founded in 1715. In 1805 the Royal Naval Asylum (founded in 1798,) consisting of 600 boys 638 and 200 girls, was removed to Greenwich, and in 1821, was united to the former, and was designated the Lower School, making in that year (1821) a total of 1,000 children. In 1828, the number of boys in the Lower School was reduced to 400, and the Upper to 600, one-third of the latter being the sons of commissioned and ward-room officers. In 1841, the girls’ school was abolished, leaving 400 in the Upper, and 400 in the Lower School.

The schools are supported partly by the income of a special endowment (£136,000,) and partly by the general funds of the Hospital. The total expenditure for the two schools in 1859 was £20,234, for an average attendance of 774 boys.

Boys are admitted to the Lower School solely upon the claims of their fathers’ services. Until quite recently admissions to the Upper School were by patronage, but by recent regulations all exclusive privileges of nomination have been discontinued, and all claims for admission into the school (the distinction of Upper and Lower School having been done away,) are decided by a Committee of Selection, according to a scale laid down. The 110 boys found to be best in the last examination of 1860, were constituted the Nautical School, admission to which is now gained by competitive examination among the other boys of the school. The instruction of this school (for a Nautical School had always existed, composed of the two first classes of the Upper School,) is confined to Mathematics and Navigation, and qualifies its recipients to rise in their profession as masters’ assistants in the Royal Navy, and as midshipmen and apprentices in the merchant service. A system of pupil teachers, selected on account of aptitude for teaching, and a willingness to adopt the profession of schoolmaster as their career in life, has been recently introduced.

The Commissioners referred to, recommend that a Normal School for the Navy be established at Greenwich, similar to that for the Army at Chelsea, that the present pupil-teachers who are above the age of eighteen form the nucleus of this school, and that others to the number of ten at first, be admitted after examination; that the course of their education be adapted to their future calling, and that at the close of their career they be examined, and receive a certificate of qualification. These teachers thus educated and trained, would be fitted to take charge of the Navigation Schools, under the Board of Trade; would enter the Dock-yard Schools, as assistants at first, and they would be appointed to masterships on board the Training Ships, both in the royal and commercial ports.

They also recommend that boys from the second class in the Ship Schools be selected to serve as pupil-teachers under the schoolmasters, and that a small allowance be made them, in addition to their pay, if they pass a satisfactory examination at the end of the year, and their conduct is reported to be satisfactory, and at the end of three years they be admitted, if found competent, to the Normal School at Greenwich, or that they be entered for continuous service as assistant schoolmasters, with rank and pay and pension of first class petty officers. At the end of two years 639 this last class of assistants, if found competent, will be admitted to the practising school at Greenwich, for six months at the least, during which residence they will devote their time to the art of teaching, and to the study of Navigation, Physical Geography, and Natural History. On the completion of their training they will go out as Royal Navy Schoolmasters, and will be divided into three classes, viz.: 3d class, who shall have the rank and pay of chief petty officers, (continuous service,) and shall be entitled to the same pension. 2d class, who shall rank above master-at-arms, and shall receive the same pay and pension. 1st class, shall rank with third class warrant officers, with same pay and pension, and after long and approved service, masters of this class shall be eligible for further promotion to rank and pay of second and first class warrant officers. Schoolmasters in each of these classes shall be entitled to £10 per annum in addition to their pay, if they are recommended by the captain and chaplain, and their schools are certified to be in an efficient state when examined.

NAVIGATION SCHOOLS.

In 1853 the English Government constituted the Department of Science and Art, to extend a system of encouragement to local institutions of Practical Science, similar to that commenced a few years before in the Department of Practical Art, the two Departments being united in the course of the same year, and the united Department being administered at first by the Board of Trade, and in 1856, by the Education Department. To this Department of Science and Art, was assigned in 1853 the general management of a class of schools which had been instituted or aided by the Mercantile Marine Department of the Board of Trade, for the benefit of the navigation interests of the country. Instruction in navigation was given in the seaports by private teachers, without system, and to a very small number of those who should be well grounded in the principles of the art before being entrusted with the responsibilities of command, involving the lives and property of others. To introduce system, to give permanent employment to a larger number of well-qualified teachers of navigation, to elevate and improve the attainments and character of British masters, mates and seamen, and indirectly but largely increase the supply for the Royal Navy in time of war, the Government had determined to encourage local effort in establishing Nautical Schools. With this view the Marine Department of the Board of Trade had established two schools prior to 1853, one in London, and the other in Liverpool; and an arrangement had been made with the Admiralty, by which it was believed five or six pupil-teachers, who had completed their term of instruction at the Royal Naval School at Greenwich, would be able to attend the scientific courses in the Metropolitan Schools of Science and Art, and be instructed in those sciences which would better fit them to become masters of schools of navigation in the 640 seaport towns. In 1854, the Trinity House5 of Hull reorganized its old school of navigation, after the plan of the Royal Naval School at Greenwich, with two divisions, the lower for a class of boys who need elementary instruction, and the upper, for boys in the technical studies of a seafaring life. With the latter was opened an evening school for adult seamen. Similar schools, with a junior or lower division to revise and complete the general and preparatory studies, and a senior or upper school for special scientific and practical instruction in navigation and seamanship, were established at Yarmouth, Leith, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Belfast, Dublin, Waterford, and other ports, fifteen in all up to 1862, giving instruction to over 3,000 persons, and all of them enlisting local co-operation and individual payment with governmental aid. As an example of this class of schools we cite a brief description of one of the earliest established, from a Report of the Inspector, Edward Hughes, one of the masters of the Greenwich Hospital Schools.

London Navigation School.

The London Navigation School is held on the upper floor of the Sailors’ Home Institution, situated in Well Street, London Dock, and consists of two separate apartments, occupied by the Upper and Lower sections.

The upper section is for the instruction of masters and mates of the merchant service in the following subjects, viz.:

Sextant Observing. Chart Drawing. Geometry. Algebra. Trigonometry. The Sailings. Use of the Nautical Almanac and Mathematical Tables. Principle and Construction of Chronometers. Methods of determining the Latitude and Longitude. Nautical Surveying. Compasses and Magnetism of Ships. Theory of Winds, Tides, and Currents. Methods of taking and recording Meteorological Observations. Principle and Construction of the Steam Engine as applied to the Paddle Wheel and Screw Propeller.

The Lower section is for the education of seamen and apprentices. The course embraces the following subjects:—

Reading. Writing. Dictation and Letter Writing. Arithmetic. Geography. The Sailings. Sextant Observing. Method of Keeping Ships’ Books.

The hours of attendance are from 9 to 12 a.m., 2 to 4 p.m., and 6 to 9 p.m. on the first five days of the working week, and from 9 to 12 a.m. on Saturdays.

The fees are six shillings per week for masters and mates, sixpence for seamen, and apprentices are admitted free.

The instruction of both sections is conducted by teachers who have been educated and trained in the Greenwich Hospital Schools, and who hold certificates of competency for teaching Navigation and Nautical Astronomy, from Mr. Riddle, the Head Master of the Nautical School.

As regards the students who at present attend the school, it is manifest that the masters and mates taught in the senior section come for the express purpose of learning to solve certain problems in Navigation and Nautical Astronomy, required for passing the examination of the Local Marine Board, and they are unwilling to devote any portion of their time to the other subjects that enter into the course of instruction. These, though essential to the education of every master mariner, are unfortunately not at present required of a candidate to pass an examination which proclaims him competent to take command of a vessel.

The lower section is composed of seamen and apprentices, who are for the most part employed during the day at their ships in the docks, and have acquired 641 the rudiments of an English education before entering the school. They attend during their short stay in port from 6 to 9 in the evenings, and their chief object seems to be to acquire a knowledge of the sailings and the methods of keeping the books of a ship.

Both sections are taught the use of nautical instruments, and for this important purpose the Board of Trade has granted a liberal supply of requisites to carry out an efficient system of instruction, as will be seen by the list appended to this Report.

Those students who are sufficiently educated are accustomed to work out their own observations. None of them have been allowed to leave the school without receiving as great an amount as was possible of general information, in addition to the special instruction in the subjects for which they attended. Lectures have been delivered in the evenings upon the Steam Engine, Electricity, and Magnetism, with other branches of Natural Philosophy; and the Physical Geography of the Ocean has received particular attention.

The following statistics are given in the Report of Capt. Ryder, of the Royal Navy, in 1858.

The officers of the committee of management are:—

Chairman, Admiral Sir H. Hope.

Secretary, Captain George Pierce, R.N.

Head-Master, John Bowing, 1 certificate.

The total number receiving instruction in navigation in or through the agency of the school during 1858 has been 149, showing a total increase of 25 since last year. The total fees have been 46l. 15s. 6d.

The entire number of adults and boys who have at any time paid fees during the year are, masters, 3; chief mates, 17; only mates, 2; second mates, 37; seamen, 62; apprentices, 28; total number of students, 149.

The following is the rate of fees paid by adults and boys per week:—In the day classes—Masters studying for extra certificates, 6s.; chief mates studying for master, 6s.; only mates studying for chief mates, 6s.; second mates studying for chief mates, 6s.; seamen studying for only mates, 6s.; for second mates, 6s.; apprentices studying navigation, 6s.; those not studying navigation, 1s.; seamen not studying navigation, 1s.; boys learning navigation, 6d.; boys not learning navigation, 6d. In the evening classes—Adults learning navigation, 3s.; not learning navigation, 1s.; boys learning navigation, 3s.; not learning navigation, 6d.

The average attendance at the classes has been:—

Day classes, morning, 7; afternoon, 6.
Evening classes, 6.

Grand total of fees, 46l. 15s. 6d.

The amount of aid afforded to the school by the Department has been 43l. 16s. 4d., which sum includes the payments for the master’s certificate and other allowances, the payments to pupil-teacher, the cost of medals, &c.

School Ships.

There is another class of nautical schools for destitute and endangered boys, which are aided by the government through the Ragged School Society, and are kept on board of ships, the practical seamanship of which might advantageously be incorporated into the navigation schools. The expense of these ships per day is thus given by Capt. Ryder, in his Report on Navigation Schools in 1858.

I have collected some statistics showing the expense of school ships. The Akbar, a frigate at Liverpool, is a reformatory, and has about a 100 boys. The Venus, also a frigate, is in charge of the Marine Society, and anchored near Woolwich; she is a school ship for destitute lads, and has about 140 boys. In the Akbar, supported, partly by local contributions and partly by the Government grant of one shilling a day for each boy, the expense of the establishment is probably reduced to as low a scale as possible. The Marine Society is a 642 corporation which can afford to be more liberal in its arrangements. The Akbar was fitted out at an expense of 1,800l. but about 1,000l. is considered to be sufficient for a fit out, if the hull is in good repair. The Marine Society’s ships are always fitted out by the Admiralty without charge. The Akbar costs about 250l. a year for repairs, &c.

Estimate of Annual Expense per Boy, deduced from Report.

Akbar. Venus.
   
£ s. £ s.
Food, £10 0 £13 10
Clothes, 4 0 6 0
Management, &c. 10 0 10 10
24 0 30 0

Outline of Aims and Management of Navigation Schools.

In 1858, Captain Alfred P. Ryder, of the Royal Navy, was appointed to inspect the Navigation Schools connected with the Department of Science and Art, and report on their condition and future management. The statements and suggestions of this report harmonize so fully with the conclusions which we have reached respecting the need and mode of establishing and managing this class of schools in our own country, that we can not better express our own views than by making liberal extracts.

The Government is very anxious to raise the tone of the Commercial Marine for the following reasons:—

(a.) Because the Commercial Marine supplies even in time of peace a considerable number of men to the Royal Navy, and because in time of war we should have to rely upon it almost entirely to enable us to man our ships when our reserves were exhausted, which would soon be the case in a naval war.

(b.) Because on the efficiency of our commercial marine depends to a great extent our position as a commercial country, and on our position as the greatest commercial country rests our supremacy among European nations.

(c.) Because to the commercial marine is entrusted every year an immense amount of valuable property. Want of skill, intelligence, and readiness of resource largely increases the yearly loss of this property.

(d.) Because to the commercial marine every year are entrusted the lives of a large and increasing number of Her Majesty’s subjects. Want of skill, intelligence, and readiness of resource largely increase the yearly loss of life at sea.

(e.) Because the commercial marine consists of more than 200,000 persons, and is, therefore, an important portion of the nation, considering it numerically.

(f.) Because the commercial marine represents England, its religion, laws, customs, and habits, in every foreign country, and it is desirable that our representatives should cease to exhibit (as is now frequently the case,) the worst side of the national character. Large numbers of the sailors in our commercial marine are at present neither good men nor good sailors, but are disorderly, addicted to drink, inefficient at sea and all but useless in harbor. Many of them who reach the rank of mate and master compare disadvantageously in general knowledge with the mates and masters of foreign vessels. There are of course numerous brilliant exceptions. They are to be found chiefly in the service of the large ship-owners. In knowledge of seamanship English masters and mates need not fear a comparison with those of any other nation.

The Government, anxious to raise the tone of the Commercial Marine, has endeavored to purify the stream at its source, by the creation or support of Navigation Schools, in order that as soon as possible, by the introduction of well educated lads, its character may be elevated and improved. The Navigation Schools referred to are supported by fees, by local subscriptions, and by aid from the Department of Science and Art. Their object is to offer instruction in 643 the scientific branches of an Education specially adapted to the Nautical Profession.

In commencing an investigation into the present position and prospects of the Navigation schools, it is evidently advisable to ascertain the number of vacancies that occur annually in the commercial marine; these vacancies are occasioned by death, desertion, and change of profession. It is much to be desired that these vacancies should all be filled by well educated English, Scotch, and Irish lads, for in time of war we could only recruit from the Commercial Marine those sailors who are British subjects.6

Capt. Ryder estimates the number of lads required to supply the annual vacancies by death in the British Commercial Marine at over 5,000, and by desertion and change of profession, by at least 1,000 more, or a total of over 6,000; and that schools for seamen and officers should be sufficient to give an annual supply of at least that number, and so accommodate 18,000 students. According to the Report of the Registrar General of Seamen, there were bound and registered at the several ports of the United Kingdom, in the year 1856, 7,410 apprentices. The 176,387 men (not including masters,) employed in the Home and Foreign Trade, were classified as follows: 21,204 mates, 13,232 petty officers, 83,682 seamen, 23,974 apprentices and boys, 12,640 other persons, 1,612 engineers, 4,896 firemen. Of this number 14,375 were foreigners, and 7,712 lascars. During the year 1856, examinations were passed for extra masters, 22; for ordinary masters, 1,223; for first mates, 689; for only mates, 12,223; for second mates, 940—a total of 4,097. Capt. Ryder calculates that the total number required every year to fill up the vacancies and meet the demands of an expanding commerce as follows:

Of those who leave the service, 6,690
Of those who are drowned, 1,300
Of those who die of disease, 2,660
The average annual increase by expansion of commerce, 3,365
Total supply required, 14,015

Capt. Ryder remarks that the system of nautical education should be broad enough and attractive enough to bring in all the boys of all classes who wish to go to sea, or may be required to meet the demands of the national and commercial marine. The education given should make athletic, intelligent, handy seamen, and impart such an amount of scientific knowledge of navigation and seamanship as will qualify a due proportion for a lower grade of officers.

The first point to be aimed at would apparently be the establishment of an adequate number of schools, so as to offer scientific instruction on the lowest terms to a sufficient number of boys, to supply the demand for educated young men to fill the vacancies in the ranks of masters and mates. Their knowledge of seamanship must of course be gained before the mast.

A commercial navy, fed by a supply of lads that had for three years attended 644 the classes at a Navigation school would challenge comparison for general knowledge and information with any profession in England, and would soon cease to be the last resort of those idle, troublesome fellows, expelled from the agricultural class and the various trades, who are too old, too ignorant, or too profligate ever to make even indifferent sailors.

Having stated what appears to me to be the ground that may be beneficially covered by a network of navigation schools, I will proceed to state what, in my opinion, are the means by which a Navigation School may be rendered most attractive and efficient.

I. A Navigation School assisted by the Government should offer sound Instruction especially adapted to the Nautical Profession.

Although at first sight the number of subjects named hereafter may appear large, and the education of too high an order, these objections will vanish when it is remembered that lads are not acceptable on board merchant ships until they are 15-16, because they are of little use, and give trouble; and yet, as has been already stated, if not attracted to the Navigation schools at the age of 12-13, and induced to remain in attendance on the classes until they are 15-16, they will be drawn into some other profession.

The course of instruction which is adopted must necessarily therefore be sufficiently comprehensive to extend over three years, and at the same time continue to the last to be specialty adapted to conduce towards the boy’s success in his profession.

The subjects which appear to be suitable for boys destined for the nautical profession and retained under instruction from 12-13 to 15-16 are as follows:—

  * (1.) Reading and writing from dictation.

  * (2.) First four rules of arithmetic.

  * (3.) Grammar.

    (4.) A complete course of arithmetic.

    (5.) Algebra to quadratics, with application.

    (6.) Geometry, Books of Euclid, I. II. III., and a few propositions in Book IV.

    (7.) Trigonometry, plane and spherical.

    (8.) Navigation.

    (9.) Nautical astronomy, including lunar double alt. and Sumner’s method.

  (10.) Practical use of the instruments used at sea.

  (11.) Geography, descriptive,
  (12.) Geography, physical,
especially as regards products, climates, &c.

  (13.) Chart drawing; surveying.

  (14.) Free-hand drawing.

* (15.) History, particularly Scripture History and English History.

* (16.) Letter writing; book-keeping.

  (17.) Mechanics and steam-engine.

  (18.) Magnetism and electricity in relation to ships.

  (19.) Laws of storms and tides.

  (20.) Knowledge of the code of signals.

  (21.) Mercantile laws and usages, as far as is necessary for the master of a merchant ship.

  (22.) Gymnastics.

* The boys are expected to be proficient in these subjects before entry, and they need only be taken up in the way of review.

The above subjects are taught in the Navigation School at Hull.

II. A Navigation School should provide a good supply of apparatus, viz., instruments, books, maps, slates, &c. without any charge to the pupils.

In Ireland, where a class of Navigation Schools has been established as part of the system of National Education, a very liberal supply of sextants, books, maps, &c., is given to each school by the Board of Education.

III. A Navigation School aided by Government should offer valuable prizes in the shape of exhibitions, instruments, books, &c.

The great difficulty we have to contend with is the reluctance on the part of some parents, the inability on the part of others, to maintain their children during the three years’ course.

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Exhibitions and prize-schemes should therefore be established on the most liberal footing.

Prizes had been awarded by the Department in only two or three instances before my tour of visits.

(a.) I beg to suggest that prizes be awarded, when deserved, at all the schools every half year.

The prizes to consist of sextants, watches, instruments, books, &c. The future prizes to be placed at the commencement of the half-year under the charge of the local committee, to be exposed in the schoolroom in a case with a glass lid or cover. (The half-yearly value of the prizes to be about 15l.); the prizes to be fairly and openly competed for.

A very limited number of sextants should be given away, not more than one each half-year among all the schools. The prizes not to be awarded except on the most satisfactory proof of the lad’s sufficient proficiency.

(b.) I beg to suggest that exhibitions be established on the following scale, viz., at the rate of twelve for a school giving instruction to 100 boys, or one to every eight boys, and be awarded at all the schools every half-year.

The boys after the examination to be divided in the following manner:—

The First Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the Classes for a period under 6 months.

The Second Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the Classes for 6, and under 12 months.

The Third Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the Classes for 12, and under 18 months.

The Fourth Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the Classes for 18, and under 24 months.

The Fifth Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the Classes for 24, and under 30 months.

The Sixth Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the Classes for 30, and under 36 months.

Exhibitions at the rate of one in eight boys to be given to the most successful boys in each group.

The exhibitions for the 1st and 2nd Divisions to consist of remission of fee and a donation of 6d. a week for ensuing half-year.

The exhibitions for the 3rd and 4th Divisions to consist of remission of fee, and a donation of 1s. a week for ensuing half-year.

The exhibitions for the 5th and 6th Divisions to consist of remission of fee, and a donation of 2s. a week for ensuing half-year.

This part of my proposal is elastic, the value of the exhibitions can be increased if the principle is approved of, and the number may be extended even to offering an exhibition to every boy attaining a certain degree of proficiency in the studies of the school.

The chief merits of this plan are (1.) that as all the exhibitions are thrown open for competition every half-year, the spirit of emulation is constantly kept alive; it is notorious that the attainment of an exhibition or scholarship which will be held throughout a student’s career is often the prelude to idleness. (2.) That exhibitions are placed within the reach of the youngest boys.

The examination to decide on the exhibitions and prizes should take place at the end of the half-year. The questions to be sent from the Department, and the answers to be sealed up in the presence of the boys, and sent to the Department on the evening of the examination day. The prizes and exhibitions should be awarded at the commencement of the next half-year. As the examination should not, if possible, extend over more than one day, the Department might make a selection from among the subjects taught. As the inspector can not be present, one or more of the local committee should remain in the school during each examination.

The result of each examination should be allowed to be published in the local papers; competition will then be created among the various schools at the seaport, who will view with great interest the position of their boys on the examination list.

Capt. Ryder suggests (1.) that each boy who holds an exhibition or 646 gains prizes, have the fact engrossed on a vellum certificate, and receive a medal or badge. (2.) That all graduates of the school who bring a good character from their captain or shipowner, for one year after leaving the school, receive one pound from the funds of the school. (3.) That shipowners and the Admiralty be induced to look first to the Navigation schools for their apprentices, and that they open to competition among the prize boys of the schools, any choice places in their gift. (4.) That officers and masters of ships, and public men interested in nautical matters be invited to visit the schools.

IV. A Navigation School should provide an ample Educational Staff, whose income should be sufficient, and a certain portion of it fixed, and whose energies should be mainly directed to the Education of the Boys.

The educational staff, as a general rule, is very insufficient, owing to a school for adults having been generally established in connexion with the school for boys.7 This course was adopted chiefly for economical reasons, it being intended that the large fees from the adult class should pay the greater proportion of the expense of the school; but it has resulted in the boys’ school being most seriously injured, as follows, without any compensating advantages.

The boys who pay fees, from 6d. to 1s. a week, are constantly and unavoidably neglected by the head master, whose interest it is to attend to the adults who pay from 5s. to 7s. a week; and even if superior to that motive, the head master can not leave the adults for more than a few minutes at a time, because, and not unnaturally, they insist on his remaining with them.

A peculiarity in the mode of paying masters of Navigation Schools is in increasing his compensation from all other sources by the payment by the Department of an amount represented by the certificate he may hold of his success in passing examination in certain group of subjects. The scheme is as follows:

Group I. Mathematics necessary to the study of navigation, £5
Group II. General navigation and nautical astronomy, 15
Group III. Adjustment and skillful handling of instruments, 5
Group IV. Physical geography, 10
Group V. Physics, mechanics, marine steam engine, 10
Group VI. Chemistry, 5
Group VII. Natural history, 5
Group VIII. Chart, freehand, and mechanical drawing, 5
£50

This group payment is a well devised scheme to induce masters to improve themselves, and is applicable to teachers of every grade, and if rightly applied, will operate as a constant stimulus to professional improvement. But in the case of this class of schools, where there are pupils on a varying scale of direct payment to the teacher, the teacher will be tempted to give his particular attention to the pupils who pay best. This can be counteracted by making the masters’ payment depend on the proficiency of the scholars.

To obtain and keep the services of the zealous, intelligent, and very superior men who alone are fit to take charge of navigation schools, I believe a superannuation allowance would be at the same time the greatest and most economical inducement.

I beg to suggest that at 60 years of age a navigation master be allowed to 647 retire with his group money as an allowance. This would be a great inducement to remain in connection with the Department, and to pass in as many groups as possible.

The direct inducement which I propose to give to the educational staff to bring their schools up to the highest state of efficiency is a payment in money, and I have been induced to propose this from the sense of the paramount advantage derived in any undertaking from making it the direct pecuniary interest of agents to act up to their instructions.

I propose that every head master, every assistant master and every pupil-teacher employed in teaching the boys shall receive a sum of money in addition to his fixed salary and his group money to depend on and vary with the success of the school at the half-yearly examinations. The mode by which I propose to estimate the amount of this payment will be detailed further on, when I speak of inspections.

It consists of a sliding scale of payment, so contrived that it is the direct pecuniary interest of the head master to bring all his boys up to the highest state of proficiency, and also the direct pecuniary interest of all the educational staff to refrain from forcing on the clever boys, if by so doing they neglect the duller boys, and also to refrain from drawing the boys into the upper and more showy subjects to the neglect of the lower, more elementary, but more important subjects, errors commonly and but too justly ascribed to schoolmasters in their endeavors to give to their schools the appearance of high efficiency.

I am aware that the sliding scale of payment which I propose has the demerit of novelty.

The Committee of Council, fully alive to the advantage of a sliding scale, have provided that, in the primary schools, the master’s pay shall depend on and vary with the school pence and the capitation grant (a grant which is made to depend upon the attendance of the children,) in the art schools it is made to depend on and vary with the number of prizes won by the students.

The disadvantage of the former plan is that the sliding scale, being made to depend upon mere numerical attendance, both particular proficiency and general proficiency are ignored.

The disadvantage of the latter is that it is made the master’s direct pecuniary interest to force on the clever boys to the neglect of the dull boys, while general proficiency and numerical attendance are ignored.

There are doubtless good reasons why these very different plans should have been adopted in primary and art schools.

In the scheme of varying payment which I propose for navigation schools, both the general proficiency of the school and the numerical attendance of the scholars are made the measures of the masters’ emoluments, while the proficiency of individual boys is fostered by prizes and exhibitions.

V. The Masters of Navigation Schools should display great intelligence and aptitude for teaching, should be intimately acquainted with the best methods of instruction, and be zealous in the performance of their duties.

As a general rule I have found the masters intelligent and apt to teach. The majority of them have enjoyed the privilege of an education at Greenwich under Mr. Riddle.

It is important that the masters should be drawn from some normal school; Greenwich school appears admirably adapted for such purpose. To draw a large supply of masters from that school, and retain their services, the position of the masters in a pecuniary point of view must in my opinion be improved. But if this is done an engagement should be entered into to remain as a navigation schoolmaster for a certain time, and after that, not to leave without at least two months’ warning.

The position of assistants should be open to all persons whose credentials previously received, as to good character, proficiency in all the subjects taught in this class of schools, and required for the place, are satisfactory. The examination should be public, and the results published. The vacancies among the head masters should be open to competition among the assistant masters.

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VII. The Navigation Schools should be judiciously situated, have large airy rooms, a good playground, gymnastic poles, and a lending library.

Exercise at gymnastics is most beneficial to the boys’ health, and confirms them in their choice of the naval profession. The lads when they go to sea are much more useful aloft if they have acquired the agility and daring which can alone be gained by gymnastic exercises.

One of the causes of the rapid deterioration in the physique of our sailors is the diminution of work aloft consequent on the introduction of steam.

VIII. The Fees in a Navigation School should be carefully adjusted.

A carefully adjusted scheme of fees from 1d. to 1s. per week will not exclude by their amount any poor boys whom we might wish to admit, or to repel by their insignificance those parents who would attach no value to that which cost them little.

The larger portion of the fees, after deducting a certain fixed sum, or a certain definite proportion of them for local expenses, will stand in the school accounts to the credit of the local committee, and will be expended from time to time, with the consent of the Department, in paying the masters’ salaries, the boys’ exhibition money, &c.

In some seaports, where there is a pertinacious disinclination on the part of the parents of the boys to their going to sea, I have suggested to the committee the undertaking to return all or a portion of the school fees of any boy who has passed above a certain mark, on proof being received that the boy has sailed. This would in many cases act both on parent and child as a great inducement to the boy to go to sea.

IX. Navigation Schools should be periodically inspected and reported on.

Inspection to be really valuable should be thorough. Now the subjects in which it is proposed that the boys shall be taught at the Navigation School are very numerous, and none of them should, if possible, be allowed to escape the notice of the inspector and the test of examination.

I propose that there shall be two examinations every half-year, (1) the general examination, to measure the progress and proficiency of the navigation classes, and the payment to be made to the educational staff; (2) the special competitive examination for prizes and exhibitions. The first will be held in the course of the half-year, in the presence of the inspector and master, the answers, however, to be looked over and valued in London. The second will be held at the close of the half-year, in the presence of the master and of one or more of the local committee. It will be entirely a written examination, the questions to be sent from the Department. To prevent any suspicion of unfair treatment, the examination books should, after each examination, be sealed up at the close of the day, in the presence of the boys, and sent to London. The prizes and prize studentships will be awarded when the school meets again, at the commencement of the next half-year. The answers will be valued in London, by a person appointed for that special purpose. The practice I have adopted is to give full numbers for an accurate answer, half numbers for an answer which, though inaccurate, shows intelligence.

The inspector who conducts the general examination should have with him various papers of questions of equal value on each subject, so as to diminish the possibility of information as to the questions set at the examination being communicated from one school to the other. The masters have a direct pecuniary interest in preventing any information being sent to the other schools.

I suggest that the general examination, to ascertain the amount of examination money, be conducted in the following manner:

The school to be arranged previous to the arrival of the inspector, in five classes, each class separated from the other as far as the arrangements of the school will admit, and the five classes to be so composed as to be about equal, both in average and collective intelligence. No difficulty is experienced by the masters in doing this.

The number won by the boys in a class in a particular subject will be added together and divided by the number of boys in the class; the result will be the mean number for that subject for that class, and the classes being equal, that number will be a measure of the proficiency of the school in that subject. The 649 number of boys in the school multiplied by the sum of the mean numbers will be the number which will determine the sum of money to be apportioned to that school, and divided among the educational staff.

I propose that a sum of money, at the discretion of the Department, be divided8 once a year among the schools, in the ratio of the numbers obtained as above, and that notice be given to them to that effect at the commencement of each year, naming the total sum. I propose that the sum won by the school should be divided among the educational staff in the following proportions:—

Head Master 5 shares, but total not to exceed £30
Assistant Masters, each 2 shares, but total not to exceed 12
Pupil-Teachers, each 1 share, but total not to exceed 6

As every progressive step made by the dullest boy who attends the classes tells on the gross number, and through it on the pecuniary gain of the whole staff, the staff will have no temptation to neglect, but on the contrary, every inducement to push on the dull boys, and as proficiency in the lower subjects counts as much as proficiency in the highest the common fault of neglecting the low subjects would evidently diminish very much the profits of the staff, and will therefore be prevented.

I consider this sliding scale would be preferable to paying the master a certain sum for every prize won in the school, which is a direct temptation and inducement to him to select from time to time the most promising boys, and put them under pressure to make prize boys of them, neglecting the dull boys of the same standing who can not on that system of reward be productive of any benefit. The collateral advantages of this system.

(1.) It becomes the direct personal interest of the staff to retain the boys as long as possible, in order that at each examination, there shall be as many boys as possible well advanced in all the subjects.

(2.) That it becomes their direct personal interest, to select from among the boys presenting them selves for entry, those that are most advanced in the elementary subjects, so that their backwardness may diminish the mean numbers as little as possible.

(3.) That it becomes their direct personal interest to work the school with as few masters as possible, as thereby their individual gains are larger.

(4.) Competition is created among the Navigation schools and their educational staffs. The result of each examination should be allowed to be published in the local papers, and the results of the examinations at all the Navigation schools should be made known at each school.

(5.) The inspector and the Department can see at a glance whether any Navigation school has neglected any subject. The masters could not evade the rigor of this test by any artifice.

(6.) The boys will be induced generally to enter into the spirit of the competition, which will have the best effect. A few only can win the prizes and exhibitions, but all can contribute by their exertions to the comparative success of their school.

(7.) The local committee and the neighborhood would enter into the spirit of the struggle.

X. A distinctive Dress or Badge is calculated to have a very good effect on the Navigation Schools.

The Trinity Board at Hull gives to 80 boys in the Navigation school a neat uniform (blue jacket, blue and white trousers, and blue cap.) This has a capital effect on the boys, gives them an esprit d’ecole, and acts as a restraint on their conduct outside the schools.

XI. In Navigation Schools great pains should be taken to ensure punctual attendance on the part of the boys.

I beg to suggest that the best form of registers be provided, and that it be made imperative that the register be strictly kept in all the schools, and that the following practice be universal instead of partial, viz., that any boy arriving late is expected to produce a written authority from the master of his school or his parents for his absence. Prizes for good attendance have been found very useful in primary schools. I beg to suggest one prize of 10s., three of 5s., and five of 1s. every half-year, or 3l. a year in a school of 100 boys.

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Capt. Ryder recommends that the daily record of attendance, proficiency, and conduct, be posted up on the walls of the school every week, month, half-year, and year, as well as the names of all prize boys.

Capt. Ryder goes into detail of the estimates of receipts and payments, and makes the education of each boy cost the Department about £2 10s. per boy per annum. The whole expense of teaching and clothing at the Hull School averages a little more than £6 per boy per annum.

Obstacles to the success of Navigation Schools.

The principal obstacles in the way of success, in addition to the inefficiency of the schools, the absence of prizes, &c., are three in number.

It is my firm belief that if the Department assist liberally the establishment of navigation schools, placing them on a proper footing, and stating that they are schools established for the sole purpose of giving special instruction in scientific subjects to boys intended for the Royal Navy and the Commercial Marine, these three obstacles will gradually vanish. They are,—

(I.) A disinclination on the part of shipowners to enter boys.

In reply to my inquiries the owners of steamers stated, “We don’t want boys, who eat as much as men, are of very little use, and give a great deal of trouble; we want men.”

Steam having superseded the use of sails to a great extent, boys, who in sailing vessels are invaluable for light work aloft, are not valued in steamers.

Many of the sailors, so-called, that we find in steamers differ very little from landsmen, except that they are not sea-sick, they can take the wheel and pull an oar. To all the valuable qualities of a true sailor, which were developed by and almost entirely due to his work aloft, viz., agility, readiness of resource, indifference to all danger that may be escaped by bodily activity, as distinct from that solid courage which all Englishmen possess, the steam sailor can lay slight claim.

In the Royal Navy we want the superior class of sailors, and if possible those alone. The partial substitution of steam for sails, while it has injured our own sailors has, in the same way and for the same reason, injured those in the commercial marine, on whose aid and support we may at any time be thrown for a supply of seamen.

It is most important, therefore, that every impulse should be given to keep up in the commercial navy both the quantity and quality of the seamen; it is much to be regretted, therefore, that the same disinclination to take boys, although fortunately in a less degree, exists among the shipowners of sailing vessels.

Lads enter on board merchant ships, some as apprentices, some as boys.

In the employment of the larger shipowners apprenticeships are highly valued.9 The proportion of apprentices to tonnage at present is about 1 to 200 tons. Before the repeal of the navigation laws, it was by Act of Parliament 1 to every 100 tons.

The disinclination to enter boys will, I believe, gradually vanish when the attention of the shipowners, as a body, is attracted to the valuable class of boys who will attend the Navigation schools, for they will be induced to reflect, that although at first sight it may appear to be more economical to enter no boys or 651 apprentices, or a very few only, and those at very low wages,10 yet that by so doing they are contributing indirectly, but yet surely and certainly, to the deterioration of the whole class of seamen, and to the ultimate injury of the ship-owning interest.

(II.) A disinclination on the part of parents to send their boys to sea.

While sailors are, what they frequently are at present, not the most moral or respectable members of society, it is probable and natural that many parents would regret their sons’ choice of the sea as a profession.

But as sailors and masters improve by the aid of navigation schools, where they will be instructed in their youth, and are received in sailors’ homes at every port where their vessels touch, this class of objections will gradually become obsolete; and the profession of the sailor will take its proper place by that of the high skilled mechanic as one of the noblest professions a working man’s son can adopt, being also one of the highest paid; 3l. and 4l. a month besides victuals and medical attendance being the not uncommon emoluments of a merchant seaman. Moreover, the profession of a sailor, if he is a steady man, may be rendered both healthy, improving, and entertaining, and acts most beneficially on the character and temper. Steam and science are rapidly diminishing the longest voyages, and long periods of absence, one of the not unnatural objections of a parent, are becoming the exception instead of the rule.

The wish to go to sea is implanted by Providence, doubtless for the wisest purposes, in large numbers of the boys of these islands, frequently in those who have never seen the sea. Those parents, ministers, or schoolmasters who take upon themselves to thwart this natural and laudable wish, going the length, as they frequently do, of treating the boy’s desire, as an evidence of a vagabond and depraved taste, may be fairly charged with the responsibility of the boy’s immoral and depraved life, if such unfortunately is the result of his going to sea, for his naval career is probably commenced by running away from home, and he thus severs all those domestic ties which conduce so much to the preservation of purity of life and manners.

This conduct on the part of parents should be deprecated by every one who has the best interests of his country at heart.

Every respectable and well conducted boy who desires to go to sea should be aided and assisted to do so, and this course should be systematically adopted throughout the country. The Government, by the support of navigation schools, show their opinion on this subject. It only remains for the schools to be put on a proper and liberal footing, worthy of the Government and of the object which they are intended to serve. When this is done, the profession of the sailor will be rescued in the minds of the lower classes from all the odium which at present surrounds it.

(III.) A disinclination on the part of boys to go to sea.

This disinclination exists in some ports and not in others; it will decrease wherever it exists when Navigation schools, established on a liberal footing, offering the inducements I have suggested, are placed near the docks in every seaport town of any size or importance. It is advisable that the schools should be so placed that the boys can when out of the school play about among the shipping, witness and long to imitate the evolutions of the sailors aloft, &c.

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An attractive evening class will have to be established for the instruction of boys who have to work for their livelihood during the day, and for apprentices. I have proposed that half the fees be given to the educational staff, to insure their taking a direct pecuniary interest in the evening class.

In concluding this report, I wish to state, that I am fully impressed with the great benefit that the establishment of good Navigation schools would confer directly on the Royal Navy, the Commercial Marine, and the country; and that I see every reason for believing, that if the schools are placed on a proper footing, the classes will be largely attended, and the schools will answer every purpose for which they are established. The limited number of thirty Navigation schools, which I have suggested, should be forthwith established, although only professing to assist in providing a sufficient supply of educated young men to fill up the vacancies among the masters and mates, yet can not fail to tell with the best effect on the commercial marine generally. For these well-educated lads, who, after leaving the Navigation schools, have to struggle through that large body, the seamen of the commercial marine, before they can win the prizes of their profession, must raise the tone of the class through which they pass.

If the thirty schools are established, and after two or three years are evidently working well, it will be worth considering whether more schools of a simpler and less expensive character should not be established to educate a sufficient number of lads fully to supply the vacancies in the seamen class.

The alterations I have proposed in the mode of payment of the educational staff are those upon which I desire to lay the most stress; they have had but one object in view, the making it the personal pecuniary interest of each member of the staff to devote himself zealously to those duties, and to no other, which the Department wishes him to perform. In individual cases, we might appeal to higher motives than these, but in dealing with a body of men, however upright and conscientious, I am firmly convinced that there is no safer course than the appealing to the lower motive in aid of the higher.

The plan of payment of the teachers of navigation schools generally, presented by Capt. Ryder, was substantially adopted by the Department having charge of this, class of schools, in 1860, but was changed to the following Minute in April, 1863, on the recommendation of Capt. Donnelly, for the purpose of restricting the efforts of the teacher, and the industry of the scholars, to the subject of Mathematics, Navigation, Nautical Astronomy, and the Use of Instruments, leaving general elementary studies to be mastered in other schools.

Aid to Navigation Schools and Classes.

I. Payments will be made by the Department only on the results of instruction in the following subjects:

1. Mathematics, including such portions of Algebra, Geometry, Mensuration, Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, Logarithms, as far as necessary for understanding Navigation and Nautical Astronomy.

2. General Navigation.

3. Nautical Astronomy.

4. Physical Geography.

5. Steam and the Steam Engine.

II. The payments will be made to those teachers only who have taken certificates as qualified to teach the above studies.

III. Examination for teachers will be held annually in November, in South 653 Kingston, Dublin and Edinburgh. The traveling expenses of candidates if successful will be paid.

IV. Examination for students will be held

(1.) The adults, seamen and others, at the seaport towns where local Marine Boards are formed and are prepared to undertake them from year to year.

(2.) The youths, in inland towns once a year, the examination forming part of the general May Science examination will be held simultaneously all over the kingdom where local committees are formed to conduct them, the examination papers being supplied by the Science and Art Department.

V. The successful candidate will be classed as passed with honorable mention, third, second, and first grade certificates. In the three last, a certificate will be given to that effect. The grades of success may be improved at any future examination.

VI. The teacher will receive one, two, three, four or five pounds, according to the class of success of his pupils, on the condition that the pupil, if a boy, shall have received forty lessons, at least, from the teacher, and then goes to sea, and if an adult at sea, then he shall have received twenty lessons, at least.

VII. Should the pupil have been previously examined and payment made on his account, the twenty or forty lessons, as the case may be, must have been given since that examination, and the payment to the teacher will be the difference between that sum previously paid and the amount found due on the grade then taken.

VIII. A local committee must in all cases be formed, and from them the teacher will receive the necessary vouchers.

IX. The sum above fixed can only be considered experimental, and may be altered from year to year.

COLLEGE OF NAVAL ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING.

The course of instruction at the Royal College of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at South Kensington was originally in subjects the same as at Portsmouth, but after careful observation of what could be accomplished in connection with practical instruction and observation in the dock-yards, the subjects have been redistributed, and the number of sessions increased.

The first year embraces mathematics, practical ship-building (laying off work), chemistry and metals, machinery, steam and its management, physics, drawing, and French.

The second year embraces the same subjects, with the addition of heat, and strength of materials.

The third year includes the same subjects still further pursued.

A fourth year was added to the course in 1868, and the whole scheme in its details has not yet been fully tested.

A portion of each year is spent in the dock-yards in practical work, under the superintendence of officers in charge of different departments of the local service.

At the close of each session of theoretical study, a rigid examination is instituted, and promotion from class to class, and final graduation with the diploma of Associate or Fellow is awarded on the results.

In 1869 there were 30 students (15 engineers and 15 shipwrights) sent by the Admiralty, and receiving their instruction free; and 10 outside or ordinary students (6 engineers and 8 in naval construction), a total of 40 students.

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Schools and Practical Training for Naval Engineers.

In addition to the higher theoretical instruction in Naval Construction, Steam, and Marine Engineering, and kindred branches, at South Kensington, and to the candidates for assistant engineers, furnished by the numerous marine engine factories, and ocean steamers, to which young men resort to acquire a practical knowledge of their duties, the Admiralty have established in the dockyard schools at Portsmouth, Devonport, and Sheerness, courses of study and practical training, and a system of test examinations, for the express purpose of securing a body of educated and skillful engineers, to meet the demands of this department of the service.

Boys between the ages of 15 and 16, can enter their names as applicants with the Superintendent of the dockyards, and if they can pass the medical examination and give evidence of good character, they are examined twice a year by the Civil Service Commissioners in Arithmetic, including fractions, square and cube roots; Algebra, including quadratic equations; Euclid (six books), spelling, writing, and correct oral use of the English language, translations from the French or Spanish language, and geography. A certain number, according to the vacancies, who stand highest in the competitive examination, are received for six years.

A portion of time is spent, by the boys, on their admission, in the factories and drawing office, the foundries, the smitheries, and other shops to acquire a general knowledge of the work done in them. They are instructed in the parts, construction and working of marine engines and boilers, and the practical use of the various instruments in the engine room, including the indicator. They attend regularly for a portion of the day the dockyard schools, and are examined twice a year by the Director of Naval Education; and in the final examination they must gain 2,000 marks out of the 2,650 (the aggregate of the marks assigned to each study), of which more than three-fourths must be in the properties of steam, mechanics, hydrostatics, plain trigonometry, and good conduct and industry, to obtain a first-class certificate of qualification. If his knowledge of steam-machinery, and his good conduct and skill as a workman, is certified to by the Chief Engineer, a first-class candidate is fully qualified for the appointment of assistant engineer. The most intelligent of this class are eligible for a four years’ additional course in the Royal School in South Kensington, where they study seven months in the year, the other five being spent in practical application of principles in the drawing rooms and workshops of the dockyards. Thirty-two students entered this school from the Dockyard Schools in 1870-71.

The Royal School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering issue two grades of diplomas. To gain the lowest, that of Associate, the candidate must obtain a certain minimum of marks in the aggregate of all the subjects, in practical engineering; the proportions and arrangements of engines, boilers, and propellers; strength of material; heat and steam, as well as in arithmetic and mensuration, algebra, plane trigonometry, elementary mechanics and hydrostatics, and engine drawing. To obtain the second (the diploma of a Fellow) the candidate must produce designs and estimates for building simple and compound engines; calculate the power of engines and performance of vessels; strength of material and principles of ship-construction, &c., as well as pass a satisfactory examination in higher mathematics, physics, and natural philosophy.

655

TRAINING SHIPS FOR SEAMEN IN THE ROYAL NAVY.

The entrance to the Royal Navy is now limited to boys between the ages of 15 and 17, who present themselves at certain recruiting stations on board of Receiving ships stationed in the principal ports of Great Britain, and who are found on examination to be in sound health, not below a certain standard of height, weight, and circumference of chest, of good character, and with a rudimentary knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic. After passing satisfactorily the required examination, with the written consent of their parents and guardians they are entered and bound to Her Majesty as sailors until they arrive at the age of twenty-eight, and then sent to one of the five Training Ships at Devonport (Impregnable and Implacable), Portsmouth (St. Vincent), Falmouth (Ganges), and Portland (Boscawen).

In each Training Ship the boys are divided into two classes—the First and Second. The First class is the upper division, into which those pass who have been twelve months on board. Here they receive 7d. per day (instead of 6d. in the Second), and if they have passed a satisfactory examination in seamanship, gunnery, and school work, they wear a badge, and are called Badge Boys, and enjoy the privileges of a Petty Officer,—extra liberty on shore and exemption from dirty work, as well as increased pay.

The work on board of a Training Ship, consists of (1.) School duties, and (2.) Instruction and training in the practical work of a sea-going vessel.

(1.) The school work is conducted by the Head-master and his assistants, under the general control of the Chaplain and Naval Instructor. The boys are put into four divisions, irrespective of the classification of First and Second, which has reference to the time they have been on board. Having a knowledge of reading and writing when they enter, they are taught arithmetic and geography, and become quite expert in elementary studies. Each division is subjected to a searching examination four times a year, by the Captain, and twice a year by the Inspector of Navy Schools, who reports direct to the Admiralty.

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(2.) The Training work, includes all branches of the service required of a sailor, and a familiarity with every part of the vessel and her rigging; the names and uses of the masts and yards; knotting and splicing; the use of the helm and needle; the compass; all the various niceties of rigging; the way to reef and furl; to make, shorten, and shift sails; and the meaning of the various words of command. To go through with quickness and precision all these various subjects, the boys are divided into sections, each under a regular teacher. The lessons are short, but frequent, and the repetition is continued till the right way becomes a habit. A portion of the boys are taught flags, and the various systems of signaling. All are taught swimming, and how to rescue a man overboard, before they go to sea. To perfect the boys in rowing, sailing, and managing boats, a number of different descriptions is attached to each Training Ship. A Brig is also provided which is placed under the command of a lieutenant, to cruise daily with a party of boys, who perform all the work, under an experienced sailor. Those who have been at school for six months are sent off for two or three weeks at a time to get accustomed to real sea work. After an experience of two months in a Brig, the boys return to the Training Ship for further drill as a preparation for sea service on board of naval vessels.

Boys who show an aptitude for the use of tools are formed into a special class to be trained for ship-carpentering. And to give the practical knowledge, a small ship (the Circe) is fitted up as a workshop, and is attached to the Impregnable, at Devonport.

The training of the British sailor is not limited to seamanship, but each boy is now conducted with great attention through a complete course of gunnery instruction. This course is divided into four sections.

1. The Handspike drill, and manning boats’ sides.

2. Pointing, sponging and loading. Rifle drill.

3. Pointing, dismounting and mounting. Sword Exercise.

4. Independent firing; quick and broadside firing; shifting, breechings, trucks, and trigger lines, bow and quarter firing; and securing a lower deck gun.

On leaving a Training Ship about half the boys go through a course of Practical Gunnery, to enable them to aim and accustom them to firing shot and shell, on board of a ship specially fitted up for their use.

In few schools of any grade is the occupation of the pupils more incessant, but the routine is so diversified, that the lads are in high health and spirits during their entire training.

657

SCHOOL SHIPS FOR DESTITUTE CHILDREN IN SEAPORTS

In 1856 the frigate Akbar was handed over by the Admiralty to a Board of Managers in Liverpool, and in 1858, the frigate Venus, to the Marine Society in London, to be fitted up and occupied by a class of boys, who were found hanging about the docks, and were fit candidates for police and reformatory treatment. In these ships successive classes of lads—in the former an average of 70, and in the latter, of 140, each year have received the ordinary elementary school instruction, and in addition, have been trained to the ordinary routine of a seaman’s life. In due time a majority of them, rescued from bad influences, and lifted on to a higher plane of intelligence, have been put on board of merchant vessels, to work their way up into positions of good pay and responsibility.

In 1870 the Admiralty turned over to a Board of Management (charged by the Poor Law with providing schooling for destitute and pauper children) in the Forest Gate District, composed of three of the eastern parishes of London, a fine wooden man-of-war, the Goliath, of 84 guns, rendered powerless for the service, by the progress of modern naval construction. The ship was fitted up as a nautical and industrial school, at a cost trifling compared with that of a new building, site, and equipment for the same number, and, with its complement of 400 lads born to poverty and almost predestined to vice and crime, anchored off Gravesend. Fortunate in its superintendent, Captain Bourchier, of the Royal Navy, and his staff of industrial and book instruction, these lads (increased during the year to 450) have been subjected to a daily nautical drill and school course, which give great satisfaction.

From an official statement published in the London Times (Oct. 11, 1871), it appears that out of 449 boys received on board since the Goliath took up her station, 16 have gone into the Royal Navy, and in a few weeks 40 others will be in readiness; 13 have gone to sea in merchant ships, and more berths are promised shortly; 25 have found desirable situations on shore or been discharged to their friends. Besides the regular elementary school studies in which all engage for four hours, and seamanship which 658 is taught to all, 115 are under instruction in the bands, of which there are four on board, in addition to a drum and fife band. There are 160 treble and second singers; and concerts, vocal and instrumental, are given by the young performers. For young musicians there is a demand in the army, and a list of 30 adepts have been sent to the Horse Guards. There is a swimming bath attached, and 185 have been taught to swim. Out of a fund raised by subscription, prizes are given, the first distribution of which is thus described:

The prizes, of which about 100 were given away—and Captain Bourchier said he wished heartily that he had a prize for every boy, for “there was not one black sheep among them”—were awarded according to a system calculated to stimulate the better feelings as well as the intelligence of the boys. Thus, while there were prizes for seamanship, for smartness aloft, for the best sail-makers, best coxswains of boats, best tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, painters, buglers, &c., there were also prizes for the best swimmers, the best captain of messes, for the boys who kept their clothes or band instruments in the best order, one for the boy who had attended most carefully to the sick, and two for the most popular boys in the ship. The latter prizes had been awarded according to a species of informal and unconscious plébiscite on the part of the boys themselves. There were five “popular boys” nominated; for one of these—a small, dark, round-faced urchin—every boy in the ship voted; the next on the list had a little over 50 per cent. of the crew in his favor; and if names be any guide to nationality both these boys ought to hail from the sister island. To five of the boys silver medals were given for special good conduct, and these enjoyed the distinction of standing in the front row and having their honors fastened on by Miss Bourchier, daughter of the Captain Superintendent, the general distribution of books being made by Mr. Brushfield, chairman of the Board of Managers. As the little fellows came up to the table it was impossible not to remark what a difference existed between recent arrivals in the school and those who had been a few months or even a few weeks on board the Goliath. The school records show that, though commonly feeble and stunted in growth when they embark, numbers of them have since grown two and three inches in height, and as much as two inches round the chest. At Gravesend mariners know that the salt water mingles with the fresh; the process is silent, but not the less real. And in the Goliath, as in the tide itself, a change may be traced, working quietly but just as surely, in the physique and characters of the boys on board. The constraint, depression, and helplessness lurking in all pauper boys lifts and melts away by little and little. In its place come the frankness, courage, and love of adventure natural to English boys who live near the sea. Every thing on board encourages a cheerful, self-reliant tone: the music, good food, good air, alternate hours of work and play, care, and strict discipline—these are the elements in the midst of which they live. The boys make every thing for themselves. Even the neat Hussar uniform in which band No. 1 plays on the quarter-deck has been cut out and made on board. The form of punishment held in most awe is to be forbidden to row in the boats. Moreover, they one and all feel that they have a future. Taking into account the advantages, physical and educational, which the boys receive, it would not be placing too high a value upon the training in the Goliath to estimate it in the case of each boy at 50l. a year. Yet the actual charge made to other unions is 6s. 6d. a week.

The editorial notice of this enterprise concludes as follows:

Thus, beside the regular supply of trained sailor boys who may be expected to take to the navy—we are told the punishment most dreaded on board the Goliath is being forbidden to row in the boats—there will be a considerable residue brought up to steady work on shore, to skilled labor and occupations which ought to secure them in after life a decent subsistence, and a position far above the slough of hopeless and helpless poverty in which they were born.

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SPECIAL SCHOOLS, AND INSTRUCTION
FOR THE MERCANTILE AND MILITARY MARINE.

INTRODUCTION.

The necessities of the maritime service in France, public and private, military and commercial, have created a system, or at least a series of special schools for children whose parents are occupied on the sea, or youths preparing for the exigencies of naval affairs, several of which we will proceed to describe, with the aid of official documents,11 without reference to the chronological order in which they have been instituted. The system includes

  1. Nautical School for the Orphans of Sailors.

  2. The Inflexible and other School-ships.

  3. Naval Apprentice Schools at the government naval stations.

  4. School for Boatswains and Shipmasters.

  5. School for Naval Engineers and Stokers.

  6. Naval Drawing School.

  7. Schools of Navigation and Hydrography.

  8. Naval School at Brest.

  9. School of Naval Architecture at Paris.

10. School of Marine Artillery.

11. School of Hydrography.

12. Naval School of Medicine and Pharmacy.

In addition to the schools above enumerated, several of which will be described in detail, the French government has now under consideration the establishment at Paris of a Central School of Commerce and Navigation. The instruction, while it will be special, will not be technical, and will be designed for young persons who propose to enter either the military or mercantile marine, leaving the practical details of the particular branch of the service to be acquired elsewhere.

A system of maritime conscription for recruiting the navy, and strict regulations requiring special instruction in masters and mates of all mercantile vessels, are in force in France.

660

NAUTICAL SCHOOL FOR ORPHANS OF SAILORS.

Formerly, when the children of sailors were obliged at the age of seven to leave the asylums (salles d’asile,) which are open to them with such liberality, they had to stay for six years in the primary schools before, they were admitted to the “school for young sailors” (école des mousses,) where their professional education commenced. This state of things, entirely satisfactory when the child belongs to a family, is different when it is an orphan. Then there is a void to be filled.

An imperial decree, published Nov. 15th, 1862, at the suggestion of the Marquis of Chasseloup Laubat, provides for this want by furnishing at Brest an institution for the orphans of the navy, and placing it under the especial protection of Her Majesty, the Empress. Vice-Admiral, Count de Gueydon, gave all his care to the organization of this especial school, which was intended to gather the orphans of seamen, to place them under the protection of the navy, to educate and instruct them that they might follow in the steps of their fathers. They were placed under the supervision of lieutenant Picard of the navy. Their general instruction was confided to the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and the “Daughters of Wisdom” (filles de la sagesse) were intrusted with all the cares which such young children require.

We have nothing to say in this place of the excellent primary instruction given in this school, and will only notice briefly the special or professional instruction, which is imparted in a military style by divisions, subdivisions, companies, sections, squads commanded by masters, second masters, quarter-masters, and naval instructors. There are three sizes (the low, middle, and high,) each of which is commanded by a pupil.

The lessons which they receive consist of instruction in the management of sails, sailor’s practice, (école de matelotage,)the whistle, fife and drum, rowing, swimming, military practice, gun-practice, bayonet-practice, bats, eillon-drill, principles of music, gymnastics, and boxing. There is likewise given to them a physical and military education, which developes their strength and gives them the ability to study more closely.

On the 1st of January, 1867, there were in the school 415 pupils. Most of them are sent to the Seamen’s School (école des mousses,) when they have attained the thirteenth year of their age; those who are not considered fit to serve in the navy are struck off the lists and returned to their families.

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Name of School. 3d Degree. 2d Degree. 1st Degree.
School of maneuvering on the naval gymnasium. 40 learn to mount to the mast-head and to hold themselves on the sail-yards. 185 are just learning to take in the sails and the reefs, and to make knots and splices. 190 take in the reefs and make knots and splices.
School of whistling. 20 learn to whistle. 10 give almost all the blasts of the whistle. 20 give all the blasts of the whistle.
School of rowing. 30 learn to row. 90 are just learning to row. 90 row.
Infantry school. 255 are drilled without arms. 20 are not fit yet to join the battalion. 140 are drilled in the gun-practice, bayonet-practice, and form a battalion.
School of the fife and drum. 8 commence. 10 do pretty well. 7 do well.
School of gymnastics. 50 commence the elementary movements. 10 do pretty well. 30 do well.
School of music. 125 commence. 140 do pretty well. 150 do well.

The following table shows the number of pupils that had entered and left the school, up to Dec. 31, 1866:

1863. 1864. 1865. 1866.
Number of pupils on the 1st January, 224 256 420
Entered during the year, 247 102 235 157
Total, 247 326 491 577
Left during the year. Sent to the school ship, 15 23 53 70 42 71 93 162
Sent back to their families,   6 15 26 67
Died in the hospital,   2   2   4   2
Present on the 31st of December, 224 256 420 415

THE INFLEXIBLE AND OTHER SCHOOL-SHIPS, AT BREST.

For a long time the children of sailors were placed on board the vessels of the fleet, where they lived in a state of servitude, and frequently arrived at a mature age without being able to read or write, while the gasket of the sailor formed characters which would not yield to any moral suasion. It is only since 1822 that they received, before being placed on board the vessels, an elementary and professional instruction, and since that time the school-ship has 662 become the principal seminary for naval officers. The children must be at least twelve years old and their parents pledge themselves not to take them away from the school till they have reached the age of eighteen.

The school-ship, first established at Brest in 1823, was transferred to a corvette in 1836, to a frigate in 1851, and finally, in 1861, to the man-of-war, “l’Inflexible,” where it numbers at present 900 pupils from the age of 13 to 15. They remain here at least one and not more than two years, and receive a primary and professional instruction. After leaving the school they are placed on vessels of the fleet, where they continue to be under the special superintendence of the naval department. Even here they go through a regular course of instruction, given by one of the officers, and have thus an opportunity to continue the studies commenced on board the school-ship.

It would lead us too far here to enumerate in detail all the exercises performed on board the Inflexible. It will suffice to say that besides school instruction, the pupils are progressively accustomed to the practice of their profession, and learn everything which a sailor can be taught on board a vessel; the washing and cleaning of the vessel and of their linen, the rigging of the mast, the maneuvering of sail-boats and row-boats, which occupations fill the morning hours. After dinner, which takes place at 11 o’clock, they go on board two brigs, where they study and execute alone all that constitutes the practical art of the sailor.

It is not to be wondered at that these young sailors on board the Inflexible get a liking for their occupation. Always in the open air, with good clothes, varied bodily exercises and abundant food, they acquire robust health and a thorough knowledge of their profession. Whilst two companies tack, two others go through military, exercises with rifles or guns, taking them to pieces, lashing the pieces, and in various ways maneuvering with the mountain howitzer, bayonet-fencing, &c. Some go to the sail-maker’s room and make hammocks. In 1857 there were selected 16 sail-makers and 20 steersmen from those in each company who showed most aptitude and taste for these specialties. This classification of the young sailors according to their professional ability, has produced very excellent results.

More recently still (by an imperial edict of Aug. 11, 1868,) a special section of sailor apprentices has been formed on board the “Inflexible” for children, who have not the required size and strength, (taille;) they are received into the school as apprentice sail-makers, 663 carpenters and calkers. Pupils, after having reached the age of sixteen, are transferred to the school-ship La Bretagne.

The following table will give the statistics of this school to 1866.

NA Number Admitted.

CoT Chief of the Topmast.

T Topmen, (gabiers.)

FT Flying Topmen, (gabiers volants.)

S Supplementary.

L Left the Navy, or died.

Date of Admission NA Left
CoT T FT S L Total
Present April 1, 1861 493 . . . . . . . . . . . .
Admitted in 1861 275 10 32 32 12 10 96
Admitted in 1862 712 30 202 66 157 54 509
Admitted in 1863 579 30 183 115 205 38 571
Admitted in 1864 580 31 173 152 212 28 596
Admitted in 1865 545 33 191 115 186 64 589
Admitted in 1866 540 39 190 110 158 72 569
Total 3,724 173 971 590 930 266 2,930

The chambers of maritime commerce at Bordeaux, Cette, Marseilles, Ajaccio, Havre, &c., have established similar nautical schools and placed them under the supervision of the government.

NAVAL APPRENTICE SCHOOLS.

There have been since 1824, in every one of the five naval stations of France, elementary schools, intended to give to the apprentices in the various workshops a degree of elementary knowledge, on the system of monitorial or mutual instruction. After some years of prosperity they were abandoned, in consequence of the great aversion then generally manifested against this method. The only one that remained was the school at Rochefort, which was under the superintendence of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. But in 1828 and 1829, under the ministry of Martignac, the Baronet Hyde de Neuville ordered their reëstablishment. Every one of these schools organized itself in its own way, and it was only in 1851 that a decree of April 7th prescribes uniform regulations.

We have nothing to say here on these apprentice-schools, which are simply primary schools for adults, to which are added special schools for rowing. Their professional instruction is given in the various workshops of the port, to which they have been assigned; the apprentice school has had during the year 1866, 954 pupils.

SCHOOLS OF BOATSWAINS.

The navy maintains schools called “école de maistrance” (maistrance corps of under-officers of a ship,) where a certain number 664 of workmen from the arsenals, chosen by open competition, receive the special theoretical instruction required for the boatswain and foremen of the various workshops.

The origin of these establishments goes back as far as 1819. A circular from the Secretary of the Navy, the Baronet Portal, of Aug. 17th, decreed the establishment, at the ports of Brest, Rochefort and Toulon, of special schools, in which a certain number of young workmen, destined for the “board of shipmasters” (maistrance) and chosen from among the most intelligent ones, should go through a theoretical and practical course of ship-building. The same circular contained a provisional regulation, giving the rules to be observed in these schools. The number of pupils in each was limited to 12, of which 8 should be carpenters, 1 pulley-maker, 1 blacksmith, 1 locksmith, 1 cooper, &c. These pupils should be chosen from among the most intelligent and best-behaved apprentices and young workingmen. They must know reading and writing, have served two years in one of the ports, and be at least eighteen and not more than twenty years old. The supervision of these schools was confided to a naval engineer.

We have just given an outline of the programme of admission required in 1819, because it is an official indication of the state of primary instruction at this period; but the same regulation proves that it was too high yet, for the minister allowed, for the first two years, the limit of age to be extended to 25 years.

The course of instruction which was to be given, comprised the first elements of mathematics, elementary geometry, the first elements of rectilinear trigonometry and the first elements of statics, &c. This course of studies was to last two years, and a system of examination and prizes was organized.

It was generally supposed that such an organization would obtain great success, and that the advantages which it presented would attract many pupils. But such was not the case. The working classes at that time were very much neglected, and there were very few who could read or write. Moreover the working men did not receive any pay whilst attending the school, and thirdly, there was no opportunity for these young men to perfect themselves in the practical exercises of their profession during the two years they studied the theory. The necessity of making some modification became clearer every day, and this was done by a royal decree of Feb. 9th, 1833.

Instead of choosing the pupils, competition was substituted, and as the primary instruction had advanced, candidates were required 665 to be able to read fluently, to write neatly and correctly, and to be acquainted with the rudiments of arithmetic; they must be workingmen of the first or second class, must be 21 years old and have served for three years in some port; finally, they must furnish a certificate of their professional capacity, given by the foreman of their workshop, and countersigned by the director.

The course of instruction was to last two years, but the theoretical studies were confined to the first year; the second year was exclusively devoted to the practical application of the various professions of the pupils, the number of whom was increased, the recruits coming to a great extent from the naval ports. Brest was to receive 24, Rochefort 14, and Toulon 14; 52 in all, instead of 36.

In spite of the abolition of the limit of higher age, which gave a larger number of pupils access to the school, the recruiting of pupils still presented great difficulties. These were partly obviated by admitting assistant boatswains, and even boatswains, who were paid by the day. This measure was productive of very happy results; the number of pupils was soon increased and the studies were pursued with greater vigor.

The republican government, likewise, devoted its attention to these schools. A decree ordering a reörganization, was published April 23, 1856, and is to the present day in force. The conditions of admission were retained and extended to workingmen of the third class; the number of pupils assigned to each post was somewhat changed; the course of instruction was to last two years; during the first, the pupils spent the whole morning at the school, and during the second, only three mornings per week. Finally, it was agreed that the pupils were to be paid for the time which they devoted to the school, just as if they had worked in the dockyard.

PROGRAMME OF INSTRUCTION.

In order to make the scientific instruction of more practical use, the following programme was fixed for each year.

First year.—Arithmetic, logarithms, square cube roots; 2, geometry; 3, elements of descriptive geometry; 4, elements of algebra up to equations of the second degree; 5, linear drawing; the course of arithmetic and algebra lasted a month and a half, from 10 o’clock till noon, instruction in drawing from 8 till 10. The two last months of the year were employed in reviewing all that had been taught during the year, and in preparing for the examination.

Second year.—1, Common mechanics; 2, workshop accounts; 3, drawing. The course of mechanics and workshop accounts lasts 666 two months. The half-day spent at the school is divided into three parts; the first is occupied in drawing, and lasts two hours; the second (either mechanics or workshop accounts) also two hours; the remainder of the time is devoted to optional studies. When the course of mechanics and workshop accounts is finished, the pupils are divided into two sections; the first comprises the carpenters, and workmen of similar rank; the second the mechanicians and workers in metal. During two months and a half the professor of mathematics teaches the section that works in wood the application of geometry to the drawing of working plans, explains to them all the details of the drawing of the frame, the stern, the bow and pieces, &c. He teaches them to calculate the deplacements from the centre of the keel, or metre-centre. Finally, the pupils are taken to the molding-loft, in order to trace there a vessel in its true dimensions under the directions of a drawing-master. The metal-workers receive instructions from the professors of mathematics, on the property and application of steam; the functions of the various parts of a steam-engine; the applications of descriptive geometry to the drawing of the different parts of the steam-engine, &c.

The instruction in drawing receives in these schools all the attention which the development of naval construction demands. During the first year the pupils learn successively shading strokes of different thickness, simple and dotted; the construction and use of ladders. After this preparation, which applies to all, they execute professional drawings; the carpenters, plans of vessels after a copy; the mechanicians, plans of steam-engines and steam-boilers, &c. The time devoted to drawing during the second year is employed by the carpenters in drawing a fair copy of the complete furnishing material of a vessel, the details of the masting, the capstan, the helm, &c.; by the metal-workers in drawing a fair copy of the various machines. All these courses of instruction have been attended with satisfactory results; most of the pupils who have not been able to draw a straight line before entering the school, on leaving can draw in a creditable manner the working-plan of a vessel as well as of the most complicated machines.

From its foundation in 1819 till the end of 1862, the Echo de maistrance at Brest has been attended by 429 pupils, viz.:

275 pupils actually in the service, viz.: 34 pupils; 60 workingmen; 57 assistant boatswains; 100 boatswains; 24 paid boatswains.

59 pupils died in the service, viz.: 5 pupils, 15 workingmen, 7 assistant boatswains, 22 boatswains; 7 paid boatswains; 1 naval storehouse-keeper.

95 pupils left or were discharged.

667

To get an idea of the manner in which the pupils pass the examination on leaving, it will be seen from the following table, which shows the results in the school at Brest during the last five years, that the instruction given has not been lost. The same is the case at Rochefort and Toulon.

Years. Number of pupils who have attended the school. Total number of pupils.
With great success. Successfully. With good results Without result.
1862 6 5 13 3 27
1863 3 4 20 27
1864 5 5 15 4 29
1865 3 6 14 1 24
1866 6 9 14 29
         
Total, 23 29 76 8 136

SCHOOL FOR NAVAL ENGINEERS, STOKERS, etc.

Since the introduction of steam into navigation, it is indispensable to have well-trained stokers and mechanicians, men who enjoy robust health, great presence of mind, prudence and an inventive genius when facing difficulties, skill in working metals, a knowledge of elementary mathematics and its application to their labor. In order to prepare such men, two special schools have been established by an imperial edict of Sept. 24, 1860, one at Brest, on board the Urania, and another at Toulon, on board the Jena. To be admitted to these schools, the conditions must be fulfilled which are required for the various grades in the personnel of a steam vessel.

In order to recruit these schools, all the blacksmiths, braziers and weighers, (ajusteurs) who belong to the annual contingent of the army, may be sent officially, or at their own request, to the ports of Toulon and Brest, to be incorporated in the companies of mechanics of the navy. Civilians are admitted by contracting a voluntary engagement as stokers. All, however, must undergo an examination in manual labor, to show their physical capacity.

The course of instruction for stokers who are candidates for the grade of quartermaster, comprises, 1, arithmetic up to and including the rule of three, and square roots; 2, common geometry up to and including spherical bodies; 3, a concise knowledge of mechanics, and physics; 4, description and classification of steam-engines for vessels; the adjusting of their various parts, a concise knowledge of the property of metals and their use; 5, the practical management of machines and steam-boilers; 6, the repairing of machines.

668

It is evident that this instruction attracts to the service of the navy many intelligent and industrious young mechanics who would not enter it, because, not possessing the special knowledge required, they would not run the chance of remaining for a long time in the lowest grade, viz.: that of working stoker, the only one to which their attainments would allow them to aspire. In following this instruction, however, attentively and passing their examination successfully, they obtain the rank of pupil mechanicians, and even of quartermasters. In continuing their studies, they can rise still higher; their schools furnish them with the means, if they wish to become second boatswains. To the knowledge already acquired are added: 1, arithmetical progression; 2, the whole of planimetry; 3, theoretical mechanics and physics; 4, theory, description, regulation, and construction of steam-engines and steam-boilers; 5, the working and repairing of machines. By further pursuing their studies and working diligently, they can rise from second to first boatswain, and may ultimately obtain the position of principal mechanician, with the rank of lieutenant on men-of-war, and even of captain on corvettes, if they became chief mechanicians. The following table, giving the statistics of the school at Toulon, will show the success with which these schools have been attended.

G Designation of the different grades.

NA Number of pupils who have attended the school during the half-year.

NE Number of pupils prepared at the school, who underwent an examination.

NS Number of pupils who were successful at the examinations.

M4 May 1864

N4 Nov 1864

M5 May 1865

N5 Nov 1865

M6 May 1866

N6 Nov 1866

G NA NE NS
COMPETITION OF COMPETITION OF COMPETITION OF
M4 N4 M5 N5 M6 N6 M4 N4 M5 N5 M6 N6 M4 N4 M5 N5 M6 N6
For 1st Boatswain, 38 34 35 23 19 13 29 24 26 10 14 13 15 10 12 8 8 10
2d Boatswain, (theoretical,) 49 41 44 31 13 22 31 37 31 22 11 22 18 22 16 9 7 19
2d Boatswain, (practical,) 25 29 12 4 3 3 23 15 7 4 3 3 16 10 7 4 3 3
Pupil Mechanic 6 5 23 3 1 4 5 14 2 1 1 2 2 2 1
Quartermaster, (theoretical,) 129 124 67 36 32 19 115 108 35 34 12 99 97 27 26 11
Quartermaster, (practical,) 4 2 3 2 2 2
Total 251 235 181 97 67 58 205 191 113 72 28 51 151 149 64 49 18 44

Note.—Since the 1st January, 1865, the number of candidates being too great, the number of pupils has been reduced, but may again be increased, when occasion demands it.

NAVAL DRAWING SCHOOL.

An edict issued by Napoleon I, Sept. 27th, 1810, established at Brest and Toulon, on board the Duquesne and the Tourville, drawing-schools for those who wished to enter the naval service, where theoretical and practical instruction was given. At the foundation 669 of the naval school at Augoulême in 1816, these drawing-schools were transferred to the shore, became less exclusive, and admitted to their gratuitous course all young men from these two great naval stations who wished to adopt the naval profession. They have always been very largely attended.

SCHOOLS OF NAVIGATION AND HYDROGRAPHY.

Long before the navy had acquired any importance, maritime commerce had been immensely developed. The coasting and ocean trade required experienced and well-informed sailors. There were therefore in the principal seaports, gratuitous schools of navigation, whose aim was to disseminate theoretical knowledge. These schools were well conducted from the year 1584, when Henry III issued the first ordinance on the subject, by which boatswains and captains of merchant vessels had to undergo an examination of qualifications; but opportunities of instruction were wanting at that time, and it was reserved for Louis XIII to fill this void.

During the memorable siege of La Rochelle, Cardinal Richelieu became convinced that the knowledge of a captain, to whom the State intrusts a merchant-vessel, ought not to be confined to the most simple rules of the art of navigation. He consequently, in January, 1629, published a decree, ordering the establishment of schools of hydrography, open to all who intended to study navigation theoretically. The king himself engaged to maintain, at his own expense, a certain number of such schools, and encouragements were held out to all cities which would found such schools. The professors of hydrography were detained to assist at the examinations of captains, boatswains and coxswains.

Such was the origin of the first professional instruction in navigation. Here, as in all institutions of learning, the instruction of manhood succeeded that of youth. If the orders of Louis XIII were not as generally executed as they deserved, they were instrumental in producing a certain number of learned hydrographers, some of whom became the authors of the first treatises on navigation ever published in the French language.

A decree of Louis XIV, (August, 1681,) another by Louis XV, (September 14, 1764,) and third by Louis XVI, (January 1, 1786,) show that the ancient monarchy did not lose sight of this branch of instruction. In the last mentioned decree, the Marquis of Castries, Secretary of the Navy, united under one common law all these establishments, whose organization was far from uniform. The professors were in future chosen by competition. Two chairs of 670 “hydrographic examiners” were created, charged with the superintendance of the instruction, to assist at the examinations.

A decree of the National Assembly, which became a law, August 16th, 1791, decided that gratuitous schools of hydrography should be established at the expense of the State, in thirty-four different places. This decree was supplanted by others published a few years later, further regulating the course of instruction.

During the wars of the first Empire, Napoleon I never forgot to extend the benefits of French institutions wherever his armies were victorious. To this circumstance several foreign seaports owe their excellent schools of navigation.

The hydrographic instruction was completely reorganized by a royal edict of August 7, 1825, under the ministry of Count de Chabrol. This is still in force with but few modifications. One professor is charged with giving instruction in each of the 42 schools of the Empire; two examiners have charge of the general supervision of these schools, and hold the annual examinations.

Instruction is gratuitous, and sailors can enter from the age of 13 upwards, but they rarely attend them before they are 22 or 23 years old. The professors, on five days of the week, impart instruction for four hours a day. There are two different courses; one superior and the other elementary; the first theoretical and practical, the other essentially practical. Wherever there is an observatory, the pupils are practiced in observations.

The programme of the theoretical instruction comprises: for ocean voyages, elements of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, elements of astronomy, navigation, use of instruments and nautical tables, elementary knowledge of steam-engines, as applied to navigation, French composition; for the coasting-trade, elements of practical arithmetic, geometry, practical navigation, elementary knowledge of steam-engines, nautical calculations. The examinations are annual, and no one is admitted to the practical examination, unless he has reached the age of 24, and has served five years on a French vessel. It comprises rigging, management of sails, a knowledge of coasts, currents, tides, and gunnery. After the practical examination has been successfully passed, the pupil must undergo the theoretical one.

For the results produced by these establishments, the average attendance of the schools of navigation, and the number of sailors, who have become captains or boatswains, we refer to the following tables.

671

Number of sailors who have attended the schools of hydrography from 1849 to 1866; of candidates who have obtained the rank of “captain” for sea voyages, or “boatswain” for the coasting trade.

AC (of the sea voyage.) Captains.

AB (of the coasting trade.) Boatswains.

Scholastic Year. NUMBER OF SAILORS.
Pupils
of the
Schools.
ADMITTED AS
AC AB Total.
1849-50 1,307 163 331 494
1850-51 1,347 187 369 556
1851-52 1,344 156 325 481
1852-53 1,324 168 317 485
1853-54 1,255 208 292 500
1854-55 999 151 178 329
1855-56 1,116 148 182 330
1856-57 1,804 253 493 746
1857-58 1,907 252 426 678
1858-59 1,568 258 354 612
1859-60 1,525 234 278 512
1860-61 1,424 253 263 516
1861-62 1,422 213 244 457
1862-63 1,424 229 252 481
1863-64 1,571 279 276 555
1864-65 1,410 309 260 569
1865-66 1,205 270 278 548
—— —— —— ——
Total, 23,952 3,731 5,118 8,849
Ann. average, 1,409 219 301 520

Ports where schools of hydrography are established, with the average number of pupils who annually attend every school, collected from official documents since the year 1849.

Ports. Number
of pupils.
Dunkerque, 58
Calais, 8
Boulogne, 7
Saint-Valerie-sur-Somme, 21
Dieppe, 11
Fécamp, 24
Le Havre, 39
Rouen, 5
Honfleur, 11
Caen, 19
Cherbourg, 70
Granville, 37
Saint-Main, 116
Saint-Brieuc, 30
Paimpol, 28
Morlaix, 19
Brest, 74
Douarnenez, 9
L’Orient, 94
Vannes, 34
Le Croisic, 27
Saint-Nazaìre, 24
Nantes, 77
Les Sables-d’Olonne, 37
La Rochelle, 11
Rochefort, 86
Blage, 27
Bordeaux, 50
Bayonne, 17
Saint-Jean-de-Luz, 16
Narbonne, 29
Ogde, 42
Cette, 24
Arles, 16
Martigues, 13
Marseille, 50
La Ciotat, 8
Toulon, 72
Saint-Tropez, 20
Antibes, 16
Nice, 9
Bastia, 30
672

THE NAVAL SCHOOL AT BREST.

Napoleon, in 1810-11, established the first naval school-ships in France, the Tourville being chosen for that purpose at Brest, and the Duquesne at Toulon. These schools were placed under the orders of the maritime prefects of the two ports. In 1816, these two schools were abolished by decree, and a royal marine college was established at Angoulême. Several other changes took place, and in 1830 the college was replaced by a naval school on board the Orion, an old 74; this vessel was succeeded by several others, all of which have received the name of the second school-ship, the Borda, named after Captain Borda, a naval officer of great scientific and practical ability. The present ship is a noble three-decker, pierced for 120 guns, was launched in 1847, and took part in the Crimean war.

The Borda is stationed at Brest, and its rigging has been reduced to that of a frigate. The forepart of the second gun-deck of the vessel still retains something of its old character, and is provided with six guns on each side for practice. The other parts of the vessel have been completely altered; the decks have been cut away, so as to form two large lecture-rooms and two school-rooms. Not only the pupils but also their professors and most of the officers are lodged on board the vessel. On deck are specimens of various kinds of guns in use in the French navy, and a gymnasium. The quarter-deck, which is continued to the mainmast, is divided, the forepart being appropriated to the pupils, and the aft to officers.

Candidates are admitted to this school after a public examination, which occurs annually. For admission to the examination the applicant must prove his French birth—his being at least fourteen years of age and not over seventeen years, and his having no infirmity that disables him for marine duty.

The requirements for admission are a knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, plane trigonometry, applied mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry, geography, the English language, drawing. The candidates must prepare a composition in French, a translation from Latin, an exercise in English, a numeral calculation in trigonometry, a geometrical drawing, and an off-hand sketch of a head. There are two oral examinations on the above studies, the second of which is not attempted if the first, which is elementary, is unsatisfactory.

The commander of the Borda is a full captain, and the instruction, which is practical as well as theoretical, is confided to eleven 673 professors, of whom five belong to the hydrographic department, eight are full lieutenants, and one a principal engineer. The duties of the five hydrographic professors are thus divided:—Two teach astronomy and navigation, two analytical and mechanical science, and the last natural philosophy and chemistry. The duties of the other professors are thus arranged:—Two for literature, history and geography; two for the English language; and two for drawing. The lieutenants direct four courses of instruction, namely, naval architecture, the theory and practice of managing a ship, gunnery and small arms, with practice, and nautical calculations. The engineer professor teaches the theory and management of steam-engines and mechanics. The other officers are a captain of a frigate, (second in command,) a chaplain, a financial and an administrative officer, and two medical men. Besides these, there is a captain of gunnery and several under-officers of the marine and artillery.

The school sessions commence on the first of October, and on that day promotions of the pupils are made in the various classes. Those who have passed two years of study in the ship are called grand ancients, rank with naval aspirants of the second class, and are eligible to make a voyage of circumnavigation in another vessel appropriated to that purpose; pupils who have been one full year in the Borda are called ancients, and the rest new boys, or in French naval language, fistots. The boys have each a number, and in all the ordinary routine of the school-ship, this takes the place of a name.

The elder pupils are employed as monitors over the younger, and each of the former has one or more allotted to him, not as a fag, but as a scholar, whom it is his duty to teach all he himself knows. It is said that the system succeeds admirably, and that for the first few months the instruction of the new comer is left almost entirely to his ancient; the new pupil thus escapes without difficulty many errors of discipline into which he would otherwise inevitably fall.

The discipline of the school is severe; the boys rise every morning, all the year round, at five o’clock, stow away the hammocks in which they sleep, attend prayers, and then commence their morning’s work.

They are well fed, having coffee or chocolate in the morning, dinner (old style) at 12 o’clock, a lunch of bread (goûter) at 4.30, and supper at 7.45, with bread à discrétion, and about four-tenths of a pint of wine at each of the two principal meals.

The morning studies are devoted to science; those of noon to practice with guns, or practical study, marine machinery, or drawing; 674 and the evening to literature, the English language, or naval architecture. All the studies are pursued on board, with the exception of natural philosophy and chemistry, the professor of which has at his command in the town the collection of instruments and chemicals, as well as the lecture-room and laboratory of the central pharmaceutical establishment. At times, also, the pupils are taken to visit the vessels in process of construction, and the workshops in the arsenal, and to practice with small arms on shore.

There are eight boats attached to the Borda, and the pupils are practiced almost every day, and in all weathers, in rowing and sailing, under the eye of an officer, who watches the exercises from on board a small steam-gunboat attached to the school. The ordinary studies of the school end between six and seven in the evening, and the pupils turn in at nine o’clock for their eight hours’ rest.

Thursday and Sunday, as usual in France, are exceptional days, when, after nautical calculations, (which are never omitted,) the elder pupils or ancients practice with small arms on shore, and the juniors are drilled in the use of the sword, musket, and bayonet. After this they have six hours’ hard work in maneuvering two small corvettes, provided for the purpose, that belonging to the ancients being a screw-steamer.

The boys, as a rule, are at liberty on alternate Sundays, and the most advanced every Sunday afternoon. This is a recent innovation; the pupils used to be free scarcely more than once a month; but this gave rise to much discontent and some disturbance, and the rule has, therefore, been made less severe. In addition to this liberty, however, all the lads are allowed to see their friends for a short period during the exercises on shore on Sunday and Thursday mornings, and those who are not free on Sunday are taken on shore for a change in the afternoon. During the summer months the boys bathe in the sea.

A peculiar custom exists in the school—the boys are allowed to smoke during the hour of recreation after dinner, and at certain other times; and for this reason, that as it was found utterly impossible to stop the practice entirely, it was deemed better to recognize it in moderation, and thus stop its secret indulgence and the attendant danger of fire.

The punishments inflicted in the school are extra drill and confinement, either in a small cell or in a dark hole, with a regimen of bread and water; for very grave offences, boys are dismissed or expelled. On the other hand, the marks for good conduct are numerous; there are several examinations in the various classes during 675 the nine months of the school year, and those pupils who gain the greatest number of marks are called élèves d’élite, and wear a gold anchor on their collars, or, in the case of the first twelve, two anchors; the pupil who has gained the largest number of marks bears the high but merely nominal rank of first brigadier, and he who enters the school with the greatest success at the examination is called major. A general examination takes place at the end of the year, when the ancients who pass become aspirants in the navy, and the juniors are raised to the upper class in the school; those who fail in the examination are either sent back to their class, or rejected as unfit for the naval career. The first and second prizemen, on quitting the school, receive each a quadrant in the name of the Emperor, and the third a telescope.

The elder pupils have nearly three months’ holiday, but the junior pass a month on board another vessel, the Bougainville, for what is called the summer campaign. This vessel, which was constructed specially for the school, is a screw dispatch-boat with engines of 120 horse power; the summer voyage is settled by the Minister of Marine, and includes a visit and examination of the ports of L’Orient and Cherbourg, touching at some remarkable points of the French coast, sometimes casting anchor off the English coast, and sometimes running as far as Ferrol in Galicia.

The grand ancients, when their holidays are over, that is to say on the first of October, join the Jean Bart, which makes an annual voyage of several months’ duration. This boat was built in 1852 and made its first voyage of this kind in 1864-5. She is an 80-gun ship, of the mixed class, having engines of 450 nominal horse-power. In August of the present year she will have completed her fourth and last voyage of circumnavigation, another vessel, the Donawert, now being prepared to succeed her. The upper gun-deck of the Jean Bart is disarmed, and converted for the use of a part of the officers and the pupils, who number about a hundred, and occupy eight cabins, each with two portholes; here the young men eat, and drink, and sleep, as well as pursue their studies.

The officers of the Jean Bart consist of a full captain in command, a second captain, a chaplain, ten lieutenants, one having charge of each pupil’s cabin, or poste, as it is called, and two giving instruction in sailing and gunnery; a surgeon-major, who gives instructions respecting the means of keeping a crew in health; two assistant-surgeons, an engineer, a drawing-master, and some others.

The Minister, as in the case of the summer cruise of junior pupils, settles the course to be taken by the Jean Bart. Generally 676 the West India islands are visited in the months of March and April, when the pupils are principally exercised in hydrographical works off St. Pierre and Fort de France; in gunnery on board, and small-arms on shore; in the daily management of boats for embarkation and disembarkation; and in the management of sails in the intricate channels of the archipelago. They are shown, moreover, how to perform difficult operations, such as the unshipping of the rudder and bringing it on deck for examination, lifting a mast, &c. The pupils are required to keep written records of all such operations, and to illustrate the narrative when necessary with drawings. When they visit foreign yards and arsenals, they are expected to give minute accounts of what they have seen there, and besides a daily journal, to write critical notices of all the different machines, methods of rigging, and maneuvers, which they have witnessed.

The difficult channel of the Isle St. Sebastian, off the coast of Brazil, that of the Bermudas, the river Hudson, and the coast of Newfoundland, are among the places selected to initiate the pupils in the difficulties of navigation. At Annapolis, in the Chesapeake, a visit is paid to the National Naval School of the United States at the season when the general examinations take place in that establishment. The voyage usually terminates with a visit to Cape Breton and some points of Newfoundland; the fisheries and drying-houses of St. Pierre and Miquelon are generally visited, and the Jean Bart returns to Brest between the 1st and 5th of August, having been absent ten months. A sailing brig named the Obligado has lately been attached to the Jean Bart as a supplementary vessel.

SCHOOL OF NAVAL ARCHITECTURE AT PARIS.

The construction of ships and engines in the French naval service is intrusted to the Corps of Marine Engineering, (Corps du Génie Maritime,) consisting of 121 officers, viz., 1 inspector-general, 10 directors of naval construction, 40 marine engineers, and 70 assistant engineers.

This corps is recruited from the graduates of the Polytechnic, and having passed satisfactorily the required examination for the public service, are sent to the School of Application of Naval Engineering at Paris, and to the dockyards, to learn their special business. The usual number in attendance is 30, and the annual cost of the school is about 100,000 francs.

The course occupies two years and a-half—three winters in Paris 677 and two summers in the dockyards. The pupils having a good general education and a complete special knowledge of mathematics and geometrical drawing, the courses are from the start eminently practical.

The instruction in Paris during the first session consists of: 1, a course on construction; 2, on displacement and stability; 3, on strength of materials; 4, English; 5, free-hand drawing; 6, plan-drawing of vessels. During the second session it consists of: 1, a practical course on steam-engines; 2, a theoretical course on steam; 3, applied mechanics, machines in general; 4, English; 5, accounts; 6, plan-drawing, ships and engines; 7, pictorial drawing. During the third session: 1, course on stability, (2d part;) 2, on naval architecture; 3, naval artillery; 4, technology of workshops, special to the navy; 5, accounts; 6, English; 7, plan-drawing, projects for ships; 8, free-hand drawing.

In the first year ship-building is taken up; in the second, the steam-engine, and in the third the two are combined and completed. When in the dockyards, the pupils are placed under the order of the engineer in charge of works in execution, who sees that they are attentive to their duty, and have proper instruction. He also examines and certifies the journals which the pupils have to keep. The director of the school gives each pupil detailed instruction to guide him in the choice of the practical work he shall attend to. The first summer is devoted to the construction of ships, the second to that of engines. The pupils select the ports to which they will go, according to their standing in their class.

At the end of two years and a half, the pupils are examined by a board, and if found qualified, they are appointed assistant engineers of the third class. If they fail to pass, they may be allowed another year—but failing in that, they are definitely rejected.

The private pupils, natives or foreigners, who to the number of eight are allowed to attend the course in Paris, may obtain permission to go through the whole practical course in one of the imperial dockyards, but are not subjected to the same discipline as the regular pupils. On leaving, they receive from the director a certificate of the course gone through, their talent and diligence.

The school is under the immediate orders of a Director of Naval Construction, who is also one of the professors, and is assisted in the several branches taught by other professors, who are marine engineers, and a special teacher of drawing, and another of the English language.

678

MARITIME CONSCRIPTION.

The French naval service is supplied by a system of conscription analogous to that for the army. All persons, who reside on the coast, whose labor is on the sea, or on navigable rivers reached by the tide, are enrolled on arriving at the age of eighteen, and are liable to be summoned to the naval service until they are fifty, for an aggregate period of seven years.

SCHOOLS OF MARINE ARTILLERY.

There is at Brest, Toulon, and L’Orient, schools of marine artillery, besides floating schools at Brest and Toulon, for practice at firing at a mark at sea.

BOARD OF HYDROGRAPHERS.

The Board of Hydrographers is located at Paris. Pupils who have completed the polytechnic course enter the corps with the rank of élève hydrographe, with the same rank and advantages as naval architects. They are sent to the coast to make surveys, and after two years service in the field, and in office work under special instruction, become assistant hydrographers without further examination.

679

NAVY AND NAVAL EDUCATION IN FRANCE.

I. MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL MARINE.

The progress of the French Navy is represented in the following statistics taken from the Statesman’s Year Book for 1871: In 1780 the war fleet consisted of 60 first-class ships, 24 second class, and 182 smaller vessels,—total 266 ships, with 13,300 guns, and 78,000 sailors. In 1805, the number was reduced by casualties and neglect to 18 men-of-war, with 1,352 guns. In 1844 the whole force amounted to 226 sailing vessels, and 47 steamers, with 8,639 guns and 24,513 sailors. In 1855 the navy was reorganized, by the introduction of every new appliance of naval architecture, construction, and ordnance, with the following results, in 1869-70:

Classes. Number. Horse-Power. Guns.
1. Iron-clads, 62 28,150 672
2. Screw Steamers, 264 55,812 1,547
3. Paddle Steamers, 62 8,665 154
4. Sailing Vessels, 113 . .   672
Total, 401 92,627 3,045

The iron-clads Magenta, Solferino, Couronne, Normandie, Invincible, and the cupola ship Taureau, are plated, with rifle breech-loading guns, and are not surpassed in strength and destructive armament by the ships of any other navy.

Eleven of the smaller iron-clads, besides the ordinary floating batteries, are so constructed that when out of service they can be taken to pieces, packed up and stored away at the arsenal of Toulon.

The navy is manned by a marine conscription, which dates back to 1683. For this purpose the maritime population is divided into five grand divisions, the centres of which are the five great Naval stations, with 12 subdivisions, including all the great seaports. Within these divisions all men and youths from the 18th to 50th year of age, devoted to a sea-going life, are enrolled, to the number of about 170,000. Except in a national emergency the government dispenses with the services of all under 20, and over 40, as well as pilots, captains, fathers of large families, and seamen ready for long voyages in merchant ships.

The navy was officered in 1869 by two admirals, 16 vice admirals 680 in active service, and 10 on the reserve list; 30 rear admirals in active, and 19 on reserve list; 130 captains of first class; 286 captains of frigates; 825 lieutenants; 600 ensigns; and 300 midshipmen, or aspirants;—total, 2,218 officers, and 39,346 sailors, who, together with engineers, dockyard laborers, surgeons, chaplains, brought up the number in actual service in 1869 to 74,403, which did not include 28,623 marines.

The commercial marine of France embraced in 1867, 15,259 vessels, with a tonnage of 1,042,811, ranging from 30 tons to 800 tons each, and employing over 150,000 seamen, including 40,000 officers, whose duties required special professional training. Of these, 607 were steamers, with an aggregate of 129,777 tons and 55,160 horse power. The value of the commerce of France for 1867-8 was 7,500 millions of francs.

II. NAVAL AND NAVIGATION SCHOOLS.

The French government was among the earliest to provide special schools for the officers of its merchant service as well as for its war-vessels. Prior even to the establishment, under an ordinance issued by Cardinal Richelieu, of schools for the study of navigation in 1629, Henry III., in 1584, had instituted examinations for boatswains and captains of merchant vessels, for which preparation had to be made with private teachers. In 1791 free schools of hydrography were authorized in thirty-four sea-ports; out of 24,000 pupils of these schools, from 1850 to 1866, 3,731 qualified themselves as captains of vessels in the foreign trade, and 5,118 for service in the coasting trade. Prior to 1800, in fitness of design and skill in construction, French naval architecture was superior to that of other countries.

The system of education for the mercantile and military marine embraced in 1866 the following schools:

  1. Nautical School for the Orphans of Sailors.

  2. The Inflexible and other School-ships.

  3. Naval Apprentice Schools at the government naval stations.

  4. School for Boatswains and Shipmasters.

  5. School for Naval Engineers and Stokers.

  6. Naval Drawing School.

  7. Schools of Navigation and Hydrography.

  8. Naval School at Brest.

  9. School of Naval Architecture at Paris

10. School of Marine Artillery.

11. School and Board of Hydrography.

12. Naval School of Medicine and Pharmacy.

681

NAVAL AND NAVIGATIONAL SCHOOLS IN GERMANY.

INTRODUCTION.

The organization of the North German Confederation, and more recently of the German Empire, and the necessities of its position, have already led to the rapid development of a military marine, and the unity of the commercial interests of the different States will soon expand its navigation as well as its naval armament.

1. KINGDOM OF PRUSSIA.

Long before Prussia was largely interested in either a military or commercial marine, the government had provided for the systematic training of all concerned in the construction, equipment, and running of ships, whether destined for the defense of the country or to its commercial interests. After enjoying opportunities of studying the theory of their business, as well as the practical application of its principles, they must pass an examination to test their knowledge both of the theory and practice—with a provision that no one shall assume the responsibility of the life and property of others without holding a certificate of proficiency.

NAVIGATION SCHOOLS.

There are six schools, situated at Memul, Dantzic, Pollan, Grabow (near Stettin), and Stralsund, devoted to the education of young men who propose to become mariners and masters of merchant vessels. A single director, residing at Dantzic, has the superintendence of all these schools, which have each two professors, each in charge of a division of the school, and an assistant who devotes himself to drawing in connection with the construction of vessels, and of charts. The principal has charge of the higher division, in which navigation and geography, both of the sea, and of the natural productions and commercial facilities of different countries are taught. The lower division deals with subjects which concern pilots—their professional and legal duties.

Candidates must have mastered the subjects of elementary instruction, and are examined as to their ability to read, write, and compose in their native language, and to go through ordinary arithmetical problems with facility and accuracy. An examination of 682 candidates takes place every year at each school, which is conducted by the head professor, in the presence of the director of this class of schools.

To be admitted to the examination the candidate must bring a certificate of good character, that he is over 14 and under 40 years of age. The school fee is ten thalers per quarter for the highest or navigation class, and six thalers for the lower or pilot’s class. There are 32 lessons per week in both divisions.

The subjects taught in the lowest division are:—arithmetic, plane geometry, carpentry, plane and spherical trigonometry, navigation, territorial and astronomical observations, drawing of sea charts and astronomical maps, and the English language.

In the highest division, in addition to the studies of the lower, in which the pupils are carried further on, rigging and other points of practical seamanship, drawing the different parts of a vessel, the commercial requirements respecting a ship’s papers, and the course of exchange at the principal commercial ports, are taught.

A final examination is held in which diplomas are awarded to those who have completed the whole course, and of proficiency in certain studies, either of which are of practical service in obtaining situations, and without which certain positions can not be obtained.

NAVAL ARCHITECTURE.

In the Trade or Polytechnic School in Berlin, provision is made for instruction in naval construction:

First—In the mathematical foundation of the most important physical laws; in physics, drawing, modeling, and the general principles of construction; in practical hydraulics; the theory of machinery, and the steam-engine.

Second—In the application of these principles to the business of ship-designing and construction, and particularly to designs for vessels, and the different parts of a ship in detail; to the art of ship-building; the general displacement of water and stability; hydrostatic calculations; general principles with regard to the form of vessels, and the theory of sailing and steam-ships; details of construction of wooden and iron vessels; practice; and planning and calculating the cost and capacity of vessels.

There are reviews of the ground gone over at the close of each term, which is obligatory only on those who enjoy free places, and each student receives a certificate at the end of his course, setting forth all his lectures and practical exercises, with an opinion as to his practical judgment.

683
II. AUSTRIA.

Under the new army organization of 1869, the military forces of the whole empire are divided into the Standing Army, under the control of the Imperial Minister of War; the Landwehr, whose duties are limited to the respective divisions from which it is drawn, under the control of the Austrian and Hungarian war ministers; and the Landstrum, or general levy, which is compulsory in the Tyrol and Military Frontier, and voluntary in the rest of the empire. The Emperor is supreme chief of the military and naval forces, and from him must emanate all concentrating movements of troops. In 1871 the Standing Army consisted of 278,470 men on the peace footing, and 838,700 on the war footing.

The naval forces of Austria consisted in 1871, of 46 steamers and 10 sailing vessels, viz.:

Horse-power. Guns. Tonnage.
  2 Iron-clad Line-of-battle Ships, 1,800 22 11,138
  7 Iron-clad Frigates, 4,550 88 25,452
  4 Screw Frigates, 1,500 149 9,407
  3 Screw Corvettes, 860 50 4,703
  7 First class Gunboats, 1,610 30 4,311
  3 Second class Gunboats, 270 9 999
16 Paddle Steamers, 2,381 51 9,442
10 Sailing Ves’ls, viz.: 2 Frigates, . . 35 3,032
2 Corvettes, . . 30 1,416
4 Brigs, . . 40 1,176
2 Transp’ts, . . 4 283

The navy is officered and manned by 2 vice-admirals, 4 rear-admirals, 24 captains of steamers and frigates, 14 captains of corvettes, 106 lieutenants, 343 ensigns and cadets, and 3,803 sailors, besides 875 officers and men in the marine corps. On the war footing the sailors number 3,743, and the marines 1,410. The men are recruited by conscription from the seafaring population, although the voluntary enlistments in the province of Dalmatia renders its enforcement unnecessary.

The total commerce of Austria, comprising imports and exports, exceeded $400,000,000. The commercial marine includes 7,830 vessels, of 324,415 tonnage, and 27,979 seamen. The Austrian Lloyd, a trading society established in Trieste in 1833, owns a fleet of 70 steamers, of 12,500 horse-power.

To provide officials, well instructed and trained in the administration of each department of the public service, military and civil—war by land and sea—both for military and commercial purposes, the government establishes schools, with studies and practical exercises adapted to each branch.

684

SCHOOLS FOR THE MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL MARINE.

1. Military Marine.

There are in Austria several kinds of naval schools, as follows: One each for sailor boys, for marines, for quartermasters, for naval pupils of the first class, for naval pupils of the second class, a theoretical school for naval cadets, and a superior establishment for naval officers.

1. The school for sailor boys is intended to train, as petty officers for the navy, young men from the Slave and German provinces, admitted between 12 and 14 years of age into the naval service. The instruction lasts until the pupil has attained the age for the conscription; he is then entered as a sailor and becomes a petty officer as soon as he gets sufficiently used to the sea. The highest post he can attain is that of upper boatswain (Hochbootsmann.)

2. The schools for marines (Zeugscorps) receive men drawn from different corps of the army. They are trained as petty officers, and a part receive the uniform. Those who are fit to become officers receive their promotion when they leave their corps to enter the school.

3. The school for naval cadets of the first class is kept on board a war vessel selected for the purpose. The object is to prepare for the naval service youths of 16 or 18 years of age, who, on entering the school have already received a complete civil technical education. The teaching here consists, therefore, chiefly of practical seamanship, and also of the application of previously acquired scientific knowledge to navigation and nautical astronomy. The course occupies a year; on leaving, the pupil is received as a naval cadet. After passing two or three years at sea these cadets enter the theoretical school for naval cadets.

4. The school for naval cadets of the second class is intended solely to prepare them to become officers. In this school, beside the pupils placed there at the cost of the State, there are others maintained by endowments, and also others who pay for their instruction. The sons of officers and State functionaries are entitled to enter this school at the public expense, and any Austrian subject who has the necessary qualifications is admitted on payment. Foreigners are also admissible as paying pupils, provided they can obtain authorization from their own government to enter the Austrian service. To be admitted, candidates must be between 12 and 14 years of age, of sound health without bodily defect, and able to pass a previous examination. The instruction is given in accordance with a determined plan, on board a vessel prepared expressly to receive the pupils. After three years’ instruction the pupils leave the school as naval cadets and are sent to sea. At the end of two or three years’ active service the cadets are admitted to the theoretical school. This school receives from 40 to 50 pupils. The chaplain on board is charged with the religious instruction; the other teaching is given by professors from the hydrographic schools. The naval officers of the school-ship give the instruction in practical seamanship.

5. The theoretical school for naval cadets is on shore, and its course occupies a year, after which the pupil undergoes the examination prescribed for his commission as an officer. On leaving this theoretical school the pupils are still naval cadets, but become officers when appointed to a ship.

6. The superior school for naval officers is intended for the further improvement in mathematical and hydrographic studies, of such young men as have shown decided talent and taste for those sciences.

685
III. GERMAN EMPIRE.

The jurisdiction of the German Empire, by treaty concluded at Versailles, and ratified by the Diet of North Germany Dec. 10, 1870, embraces among other national interests, the Army and Navy, and the protection of German navigation.

The war-fleet of the Empire, which embraces all that had been constructed by Prussia since 1848, consisted in June, 1870, of 38 steamers and 7 sailing vessels, with 42,415 tonnage, and 480 guns.

Horse-
power.
Guns. Tonnage.
  5 Iron-clads, 3,700 62 15,846
  9 Steam Frigates and Corvettes, 3,200 200 14,210
  8 Steam First class Gunboats, 640 24 5,858
14 Steam Second   “     “ 840 28 5,858
  1 Steam Yacht, 160 2 445
  2 Paddle-Steamer Corvettes, 600 13 1,750
  3 Frigates (sailing vessels), . . 114 3,736
  4 Brigs,     “ . . 46 1,927

The German navy was officered and manned by 1 admiral, 1 vice-admiral, 1 rear-admiral, 27 captains and 217 lieutenants, and 3,283 seamen and boys, besides 2,760 in the marine corps. The sailors of the fleet and the marine corps are recruited by conscription, from the seafaring population, which numbers 80,000.

The provision for naval expenditure in 1870, was for—

Ministry of Marine, 81,250 thalers.
Administration officers, 65,557
Pay of seamen and marines, 1,086,990
Repairs of ships, 890,000
Marine hospitals, 71,820
War material, 1,221,317
Miscellaneous, 179,796
Total ordinary expenses, 3,596,730
Extraordinary expenditure, 4,403,460
Grand total, 8,000,190

The artificial harbor and dry-docks at Wilhelmshaven, in the Bay of Jade, on the North Sea, which was opened by the King of Prussia in June, 1869, have cost over $10,000,000.

The system of professional training for officers of the Imperial Navy is not yet matured. The Naval School at Kiel is still recognized. Aspirants enter as naval cadets after passing an examination equivalent to the requirements of a gymnasial maturity certificate, which in general education is superior to the requirements of graduation of either our Naval or Military Academy. Before entering on their professional studies, the cadet is first sent on a cruise to test his aptitude for sea-service. He then studies eight months at school and one year at sea, to pass as midshipman; and one year more at school, and three years at sea, to become sub-lieutenant.

686

MARINE ACADEMY AT KIEL.

The German Marine Academy established in 1872, at Kiel, is designed not for the education of cadets, but for the professional training and improvement of officers already in the naval service of the empire—and is of the same character as the Staff School of Berlin for officers of the army. Those only will be received as pupils, whose conduct and talents seem to qualify them for superior scientific attainments, and, hereafter, for the filling of the most important posts. These officer-pupils will be required to give proofs of their diligence and progress by the production, from time to time, of theses and dissertations on scientific subjects given to them by the professors. At the same time, all naval officers will be permitted to attend the courses of instruction when their professional duties do not call them away.

The course of study is to occupy two terms, each of twelve months’ duration, with a vacation of three months for practical exercises.

The subjects for the first term are:—Mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry, the theory of naval war in all its branches, military tactics in as far as disembarkations are concerned, coast surveying, the theory of the formation of coasts, coastal defenses, field fortification, the constitution of military courts, the principles of international, military, and naval law, the system of administration, sanitary science, especially with reference to life aboard ship and in different climates, the elements of logic, ethics, &c.

The following subjects will be included in the second term:—Nautical astronomy, geodesy, theory of maps and charts, the history of war, with especial reference to naval war, artillery, ship-building, the construction of steam-engines (with practical exercises), the position and construction of naval ports, physical geography, the elements of geology, marine botany and zoölogy, and the general history of modern literature and civilization, &c.

Footnotes for Part VIII: Great Britain

1 Two regiments created in the reigns of Richard III, and of Henry VIII, the first styled Gentlemen Pensioners, or Gentlemen at Arms, consisting originally exclusively of noblemen, and the latter, Yeomen of the Guard, still exist. The latter is the only body that has the privilege of traversing London with flags flying, drums beating, and fixed bayonets.

2 The Inspector of Studies at the Academy, now member of the Military Board of Education.

3 These examinations will take place on the first Wednesdays in the months of March, June, September, and December.

4 The examination on leaving the training ship will embrace all the subjects of the former examination, except Latin, and in addition to them it will include, in algebra, simple equations; the elements of geometry, plane trigonometry, and the solution, &c., as in the Circular No 288, dated Feb. 23rd, 1857; and in addition the use of the globes with correct definitions of latitude, longitude, azimuth, amplitude, and other circles of the sphere, and drawing.

5 The Trinity Board of Hull was established in 1537, in imitation of Trinity House, London, incorporated by Henry VIII in 1515, (but existing long before,) for the promotion of commerce and navigation, licensing pilots, erecting beacons and lighthouses, &c. Both were probably in imitation of Charles V who established at Seville, in Spain, at the Casa de Contratacion, lectures on navigation, and an examination of persons to act as pilots and mariners.

6 According to the Registrar General’s Report for 1858, there were 13,200 Foreigners serving in the Mercantile Marine in 1854, natives of the following countries:—Americans, (U.S.,) 3,888; Austrians, 532; Belgians, 198, Danes, 423; Germans, 319; Greeks, 76; Hollanders, 1,(3); Italians, 110; Norwegians, 570; Portuguese, 564; Russians, 44; Prussians, 563; Spaniards, 388; Swedes, 1,512; French, 479; Various, viz., South Americans, Chinese. &c., &c.. 2,499; total, 13,200.

7 The school at Hull is the only navigation school at which no adults are received.

8 I prefer this to any other plan, because the stimulus to exertion will be greater.

9 The value attached to an apprenticeship varies largely with the employs, the port, &c. Mr. Green charges 180l for a four-years’ apprenticeship as a midshipman. Large shipowners at Glasgow and elsewhere pay 35l for a similar term to a common apprentice

10 Owing to the low rate of wages referred to, large numbers of apprentices run away every year, after they have served a portion of their time.

11 Official Report on Paris Industrial Exhibition of 1866, group X. Official programmes of the several schools noticed.

Contents of Part VIII (Great Britain and Naval Schools):
Repeated from General Index

Military System and Education 519-686
Historical Notice 521
Organization and Institutions in 1871 535
I. Council of Military Education 535
1. Historical Notice 535
Organization and Duties in 1869 537
Military Schools and Examinations 539
Army Schools, Regimental Libraries and Reading-rooms 540
2. Examinations for Commissions and Promotions 541
(1.) Examination for Direct Commissions 541
Regulations in 1869 544
(2.) Public School Education as preparatory for Examination 543
(3.) Examinations for Promotions 550
(4.) Results of Examinations 555
(5.) Expenses of the Council 555
(6.) List of Examiners employed 555
3. Military, Orphan, and Soldiers Schools 557
II. Royal Military College at Sandhurst 559
1. Historical Notice 559
Junior and Senior Departments 560
Inquiry and condition in 1855 563
Junior Department changed to a College 566
Queen’s Cadetships—Proposed enlargement in 1860 566
Free Commissions opened to Competition 570
Attendance—Staff—Expense 574
2. Queen’s and Indian Cadetships 575
3. Regulations for Admission, etc. 577
Subjects and Marks—Value of Entrance Examinations 577
Value of University Examinations 578
Preliminary Provisions—Payments 579
Discipline—Termination of Course 580
Compassionate Allowance 581
Subjects and their Marks—Value in Final examination 581
4. Subjects and Course of Instruction 582
5. Results of Competitive Examination 584
III. Royal Military Academy for the Scientific Corps at Woolwich 585
1. Historical Notice 585
2. Regulations for Admission 586
Open Competition to the Artillery and Engineers established 588
Subjects and their Marks—Value in Entrance Examinations 589
Length of Course—Scale of Payments 590
3. Course of Study 591
4. School Preparation for Woolwich Examinations 592
IV. Royal School of Military Engineering at Chatham 595
1. Origin and Object of the Institution 595
2. Organization for Instruction 595
3. Nature and Length of Practical Courses 596
(1.) Survey Course—Astronomical Observations 596
(2.) Course of Construction and Estimating 598
(3.) Field-work Course 600
Modeling in Sand 601
Siege Works 601
Works of Defence 601
Mining 601
Bridging 601
Railways 601
Boring for Water 601
Drawing Projects of Attack, Construction 602
(4.) Miscellaneous Subjects 602
Course of Telegraphy 602
Chemical Laboratory course 602
Photography 603
Lectures on Engineering and Professional Subjects 603
Demolitions—Submarine Mines 603
V. Professional Instruction of Officers 605
Historical Notice 605
1. Survey Class at Aldershot 611
2. Advanced Class of Artillery Officers at Woolwich 613
3. School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness 616
VI. Staff College and Staff Appointments 619
Historical Notice 619
1. Staff College at Sandhurst 620
Admissions—Course of Instruction 620
2. Examinations for Staff Appointments 623
VII. Schools of Musketry and Rifle Corps 625
1. School of Musketry 625
2. Rifle Corps—Volunteer Force and Practice 626
3. Corps Manœuvering 626
VIII. Naval and Navigation Schools 627
1. Naval Schools for Officers 627
(1.) Old System of Training Officers 627
(2.) Royal Naval Academy 628
(3.) Training Ship Britannia 629
(4.) Gunnery Instruction 629
(5.) Steam and Steam Engine 629
(6.) Naval Cadets and Midshipmen 630
2. Marine Artillery 632
3. Schools for Warrant Officers and Seamen 634
(1.) Seamen’s Schoolmasters 634
(2.) Schools on board of Ships in Harbor 635
(3.) Royal Marine Schools 636
(4.) Dockyard Schools 637
(5.) Greenwich Hospital Schools 639
4. Schools for Mercantile Marine 639
(1.) Historical Notice of Navigation Schools 639
(2.) London Navigation School 640
(3.) Number of Seamen required in the British Service 643
(4.) Subjects of Instruction 644
(5.) Teachers and their Assistants 646
(6.) Instruction and Government Aid 647
5. College of Naval Architecture in London 650
6. Present Condition of Naval Education 651
IX. Appendix.—French and German Naval Schools 653
I. French Naval and Navigation Schools 657
1. Nautical School for Orphans of Sailors 659
2. School Ships for Practical Instruction 662
3. Naval Apprentice Schools 662
4. Schools for Boatswains 664
5. School for Naval Engineers 667
6. Naval Drawing Schools 668
7. Schools of Navigation 669
8. Naval School at Brest—The School Ship Borda—Jean Bart 672
9. School of Naval Architecture 676
10. Schools of Marine Artillery 678
II. German Naval and Navigation Schools 679
1. Prussia 681
2. German Empire 683
3. Austria 685

Errata for Part VIII (Great Britain and Naval Schools):

Oxford Blues, the Royal Scots, and the Second Queen’s Royals.1
Royals.”1

[Footnote 1]

The latter is the only body that has the privilege
hyphen in “priv-/ilege” invisible at

“to place themselves under the orders of a director of studies
mismatched open quote in original

feel the effects of the change which has been made in it.”
closing ” missing

practical trial in their work.

appointments and promotion.
both . missing

will be regulated at the following rates, as heretofore:
followig

elsewhere than at Eton
Eaton

The use of meteorological instruments
intruments

and to lay them underground,
undergound

Facing B.L. guns. / Practical examination, etc.
etc,

the Royal Warrant for Pay, Promotion,” etc.,
printed as shown: missing open quote or superfluous close quote?

[Footnote 5]

and an examination of persons to act as pilots and mariners.
final . missing

[Footnote 6]

Hollanders, 1,(3);
printed as shown

and give a great deal of trouble; we want men.”
close quote missing

a physical and military education, which developes their strength
anomalous spelling unchanged

averages a little more than £6 per boy per annum.
final . missing

But such was not the case.
csse

and the studies were pursued with greater vigor.
persued

[The following table, giving the statistics of the school at Toulon]

| 251 | 235 | 181 | 97 | 67 | 58 |
last row of table has 225 for 235

The requirements for admission are a knowledge of arithmetic,
knowlege