PART VIII. MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN GREAT BRITAIN. (continued 5)

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

(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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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, 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 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 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 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.

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.

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 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 “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.

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

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 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; 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 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 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 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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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