THE NEED OF THEMOMENT.—MANNING THE NAVY.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 215, 11 November 1859, Page 2

THE NEED OF THEMOMENT.—MANNING THE NAVY.

.' '' {From the Economist of July 9.) The real difficulty iiv connection with our coast defences' and the increase of our naval power -lies, not in our ability to build ships,-but to man them, with our vast and admirably-appointed dock-yards and steamyavds belonging to the Crown,—-with 1 our shipbuilding establishments in the Thames, the Clyde, the Tyne, the Wear, at Liverpool, Bristol, almost every seaport on our shores, — with our" first-class engineering establishments which have started into existence in almost every part of the United Kingdom^with a supply of iron and all the necessary materials for constructing and equipping men-of-war unlimited, —with all these advantages' it is certain that, if such a race has to be runy England could turn out in a given time'at least three line-of-battle ships, in the event of urgent necessity, for one1 that could be floated on the sea by any other country whatever. On that point there heed be no appehen-' sion, if only the country, wills, that it shall be done,- and' is prepared to pay the cost.1' The real pinch does not rest there. Ships you may* convert and build in abundance. But the ques.tion which is yet to be answered is, How are" they to be manned? Incomparably beyond, all other points, that is the point the most important and the most urgent at the present moment. Upon this subject it has been very common for Englishmen to console themselves by an argument which we fear will not be found to be worth much when pressed to a practical test. It has been said that England, being by far the greatest commercial country in the world,' possessing by far the largest commercial marine, will always \ have at,l\er command the readiest and most abundant supply of 'seamen ' available -for the Royal JTavy. But' a .little consideration will show as indeed practice has proved, that there are two sides to this argument. In every community \here are only certain portions which may^ be said to be available for certain callings. ' This is peculiarly the case in relation to a seafaring life. No doubt the portion addicted to'the sea will vary in some degree in different countries, in proportion to the extent of the sea-shore, and the habits of a people. And it is certain that, ,all other things being the- same, the absorption *of that available portion of a population must, in a great degree depend upon the commercial character of the country, and the extent of its mercantile marine. It is also'plain that it.will be just in proportion as the trade of a'country is stationary, progressing or decaying,, that'this source-of demand will be felt to press upon the means of supplying men to the-navy. If decaying, there may always be an increasing surplus lor the navy; if stationary^ the natural increase of supply of men may still furnish some surplus; but; if rapidly increasing then every new man is eagerly absorbed,: and; scarcity of hands bepomes the normal candition'of the country; and this must be doubly the case if all other descriptions of employment which; compete for men'are also rapidly increasing atthesanie, time. "'■ " ::-• ' ■ ■•'." ■• • •■"•■-■-, •;:•' What, then; is the condition of England.in relation to the conditions we'have premised? For a/ supply, ofVseamfea it is evidently •in the worgt conceivable cohaition'j—n6t, as prophesied by the ■Protectionists', in.consequence of a decay of our trade, and the destruction of our shipping; interest {but .from the. opposite effects j—the rapid increase :',of our trade, and.our .mercantile shipping. What are the facts bearing upon.this matter ? If we. go vback to 1840, just.before .Sir Robert? Peel began his commercial reforms, we find ■ that .the' entire registered shipping belonging ,to the •Britiah Empire amounted to 3,311,000 tons,, employing '201,840 mpn:—when: the Navigation Laws were repealed, in; 184$, ijijf tonnage had ■hicteaited- to 4,144,000 'tons', employing Wffll men; and in 1857, the last year for'which-we have the returns, thei tonnage had. increased to 5,531,000; tons,, employing 287,353 men. In seventeen years, therefore the number of seamen requw&4 ft> man the British commercial navy had increased 1 by 'about $6,000 men, and .in the "eight laßt years'of this piQiifio#ib^bout|9,QOQ men and taking the mcii " "required tfUhin the United Kingdom only,: and", independent.: of. our, feigii possessions, for manning British ships, the number has* increased since the repeal of the Navigation Laws in 1849 "from 152,611 to 177v832-in 1858. Bu'ir again; with regard to other employments, all 'of which*'lesg df more pome into competition with labor appropriated to' Sea life, the fepfid for'meii has enormously .'increased during the fcanie period. To-say nothing of the numerous new, SQ^rppg pf demand connected with railways, mining, and n»prQ^e4 agrjgujiure, a single tact will givel;heb,est^d.ea.Qfth,eex,tent of $hat jnpj?eased demand—vi^., I that our?,export§ hayg . increase fvm a value of £63,000,000; in 48.49, to. qne of JUO,GGQ.,Q.Q9 W ?§§§• ;Pl!§ ?<*?* Kite the whole tale. . ; .■ ;. What, then, is the position of the Royal Navy with regard to manning ? It is ;simply one ot SByere competition and rivalry with a rapidly in-: creasing mercantile 'marine —a supply limited by the more adyantagepus demand. for other more attrautiye and more jfuprativeemploymepj;. lipw is this "difficulty; tQ"be* mefcif' The osev a high bounty/but th^y'stifl do not'get the men. The only effect is tQ raise the rate of wages paid by shipowners, A bounty is a temporary temptation j -~bjgh wages under good masters: offer a more lasting and steadier, benefit, What is the number of men got by the bounty? And, what is still more important,' what isthe quality of the men so obtained ? Up to this tiitie the bounty has- miserably failed in both respects; that is, both in respect to the number and to the quality of the men obtained. And it must be borhein mind also that the experiment has bipen tried at a moment when tne';Shipping* trade .has? hezn offering under a severe depi'essiok'' Jp'ttie same'ti'me, it.js impossible to say' tliat tlVe'system of bounty is h<Jt ba^ed upoi} a go.upd pripcipje.tp a certain extend It is,' Of ppftt' pffeift pfle'fprm pay jrig the m^r r ket price for an q,ftic|e niuc^ in 4emand r But for the moment it does not increase the supply j thp> only immediate effect-which it can produce is to raise the wages in the merchant service;; and so. far itmwy tend;»the ftttijre to!increase the supply- •: ." ■■ ', ;'" :"''"■.'" .' ■ I--' ■.'/.".. ■■ • - ' : No doubt it may be said that the bounty of the GovernmeDt,"and the increased wages.of,the merchant 'igsnipg r '$$$&■ tend/prSt to'dcaw British; jailors I(l*6'the former service,' and ibiisign gailors ;inWt^la^r"ieryifeeT'|"^alt Mvki, agaiiv we are met; by the gsame difficulty arising '.from si-rspi^, inpr,epe hi jtlje demand' fgv foreign' s^flors in thejiv b^'h trade', ft} the fr^e of the; United" Kingdom algpe, .4eincre.^e .^nps 18J.^ of forejgn entered and pjeargd has peep fpm 4,W4 } Qss tpng to 9,484,000 in j 857, -go"; "thai, t^n wIWP W will, we find an increased demand for seamen sUogether out of proportion to any increase of supply. No doubt,, tiiis ,cohseqi|ence is .mainly to be referred to the free-trade policy of this country, which has rapidly developed a trade which a restrictive eyctem kept in a depressed condition. But it was always O9ntended'by: the advocates of \that policy thatjits ■applicatiqii Would giyp to Jabqr a new and increased vKlife. Tflfere 'af of. tlie soundness of tlie doctHneV.: T\\a,t tlie twdgeayf seaijjep 'haye long' bepii bel!o vv those" of. .otW'r; classes of fjkij'f,e4- lsarss ■■ y\)\ jjflt fyj 'lojib. ted, -and it has? only Wn S matter p|s^nj:}^ fhj^he }w remained as good as it'hasjnpr can :\pi\p >y.QRI4?? w at, when we are told that of late theve has been an inerPߧ)iig indisposition to adopt the hazardous pro:fei3ioß.of tlieesa, when s<^nmny betier moaes of :on%r"ortisnC' '''"] ' t ,; . ■". l ; So 4"ar;as-' regards' the mercantile ■ marine,| it^ is gipfn thaf tlie only remedy for the exisdng'scarcity btliaMs!--aQd it; i§ OpeV>fhich themselves* ftidst'-enforcei—is' a, vas of j)gy:m,f j'M prapDvtionfT.tr WWt 6|)Min# in' ofhef tfeMffrd 'ftlppe will M^m^ehahdi> 'Wttlv>ega Jr4 it J /s now plainl'ifjatit; witl no longer bp sufficicril; to, i hust'tQ a"pr|cftrfous fijain'tne surplus; of "1 g 9 ffie bptt.erand morp r,ej|a]>]eflysfem; irfltffflfvw \ must.b«i;«a4fi^ M Wffv^M $ tvsVi ? J^' '§ most of all'it will he ripedfiil tb&t » supply fpr Jhe 1 Royal Navy must be raised; by an enlarged sybjfena c of entering and training youths, and by keeping r under some well-regulated system a permanent re- s

serve of men. In short/ Pur Navy must become' more a service, and less" a precarious and accidental source of employment. We rear, and train and keep, a standing army-: under modifications, but, based upon the same principle, we must' train and keep, a standing reserve for our navy. Nor will such a. system be so expensive as at first sight it may appear. If we take into account the enorimous losses caused by .the sudden breaking up,of establishments, and the still more enormous cost of again forming establishments when emergencies arise, we* shall probably- find that a good and welltained reserve, brought up in the service and attached to it, would in the long-run cost,less than the hand to mouth, accidental, and ever«varying system which now "prevails. At all events, ono thing is clear, that under the one system we should always have what we want,' and what is requisite for the safety and security of the country,, while . under the other, as we have found to our cost, yie lavishly expend large sums in bounties and every species of temptation, we' do not get what ye require, but we only call into existence an active and intense rivalry with-the mercantile shipping, and, what is still worse, do much at the" moment to demoralise the entire body of our seamen. l In short, nothing can be worse for all parties than the existing system: and if our navy is to be put> permanently upon a satisfactory footing, it must beimmediately and radically changed. It is of littleuse voting increased means of building ships, if effectual means are not taken to man them. That is the point which now demands themdst urgent attention of the Government and of Parliament.. We command everything but men.;' v ' —' ♦♦ ' '