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 7_d._ per day
(instead of 6_d._ 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 50_l._ 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.
[Footnote 11: Official Report on Paris Industrial Exhibition of
1866, group X. Official programmes of the several schools
noticed.]
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} |53} |42} |93}
{Sent back to their families, | 6} 23 |15} 70 |26} 71 |67} 162
{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.
[KEY]
NA Number Admitted.
CoT Chief of the Topmast.
T Topmen, (_gabiers_.)
FT Flying Topmen, (_gabiers volants_.)
S Supplementary.
L Left the Navy or died.
----------------------+--------------------------------------------
| | Left
| +-------+-----------+-----+-----+------
Date of Admission. | NA | CoT | T | FT | S | L |Total
----------------------+-----+-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+------
Present April 1, 1861 | 493| | | | | |
Admitted in 1861 | 275| 10 | 32 | 32 | 12 | 10 | 96
“ “ 1862 | 712| 30 | 202 | 66 | 157 | 54 | 509
“ “ 1863 | 579| 30 | 183 | 115 | 205 | 38 | 571
“ “ 1864 | 580| 31 | 173 | 152 | 212 | 28 | 596
“ “ 1865 | 545| 33 | 191 | 115 | 186 | 64 | 589
“ “ 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.
--------+----------------------------------------------+--------
| Number of pupils who have | Total
Years. | attended the school. | number
+------------+----------+-----------+----------+ of
| With great | Success- | With good | Without | pupils.
| success. | fully. | results. | 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.
[KEY]
G Designation of the different grades.
M4 May 1864
N4 Nov 1864
M5 May 1865
N5 Nov 1865
M6 May 1866
N6 Nov 1866
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.
--+--------------------++--------------------++-------------------
| NA || NE || NS
+--------------------++--------------------++-------------------
| Competition of || Competition of || Competition of
G | 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._
[KEY]
PS Pupils of the Schools.
AC (of the sea voyage.) Captains.
AB (of the coasting trade.) Boatswains.
---------------+--------------------------------
| NUMBER OF SAILORS.
+--------+-----------------------
Scholastic | | Admitted As
Year. | +-------+-------+-------
| PS | 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
3 Screw Corvettes, 860 50 4,703
7 First class Gunboats, 1,610 30 4,311
3 Second class Gunboats, 270 9 999
16 Paddle Steamers, 2,381 51 9,442
10 Sailing Ves’ls, viz.: 2 Frigates, .... 35 3,032
2 Corvettes, .... 30 1,416
4 Brigs, .... 40 1,176
2 Transp’ts, .... 4 283
The navy is officered and manned by 2 vice-admirals, 4 rear-admirals, 24
captains of steamers and frigates, 14 captains of corvettes, 106
lieutenants, 343 ensigns and cadets, and 3,803 sailors, besides 875
officers and men in the marine corps. On the war footing the sailors
number 3,743, and the marines 1,410. The men are recruited by
conscription from the seafaring population, although the voluntary
enlistments in the province of Dalmatia renders its enforcement
unnecessary.
The total commerce of Austria, comprising imports and exports, exceeded
$400,000,000. The commercial marine includes 7,830 vessels, of 324,415
tonnage, and 27,979 seamen. The Austrian Lloyd, a trading society
established in Trieste in 1833, owns a fleet of 70 steamers, of 12,500
horse-power.
To provide officials, well instructed and trained in the administration
of each department of the public service, military and civil--war by
land and sea--both for military and commercial purposes, the government
establishes schools, with studies and practical exercises adapted to
each branch.
SCHOOLS FOR THE MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL MARINE.
1. _Military Marine._
There are in Austria several kinds of naval schools, as follows: One
each for sailor boys, for marines, for quartermasters, for naval pupils
of the first class, for naval pupils of the second class, a theoretical
school for naval cadets, and a superior establishment for naval
officers.
1. The school for sailor boys is intended to train, as petty officers
for the navy, young men from the Slave and German provinces, admitted
between 12 and 14 years of age into the naval service. The instruction
lasts until the pupil has attained the age for the conscription; he is
then entered as a sailor and becomes a petty officer as soon as he gets
sufficiently used to the sea. The highest post he can attain is that of
upper boatswain (_Hochbootsmann_.)
2. The schools for marines (_Zeugscorps_) receive men drawn from
different corps of the army. They are trained as petty officers, and a
part receive the uniform. Those who are fit to become officers receive
their promotion when they leave their corps to enter the school.
3. The school for naval cadets of the first class is kept on board a war
vessel selected for the purpose. The object is to prepare for the naval
service youths of 16 or 18 years of age, who, on entering the school
have already received a complete civil technical education. The teaching
here consists, therefore, chiefly of practical seamanship, and also of
the application of previously acquired scientific knowledge to
navigation and nautical astronomy. The course occupies a year; on
leaving, the pupil is received as a naval cadet. After passing two or
three years at sea these cadets enter the theoretical school for naval
cadets.
4. The school for naval cadets of the second class is intended solely to
prepare them to become officers. In this school, beside the pupils
placed there at the cost of the State, there are others maintained by
endowments, and also others who pay for their instruction. The sons of
officers and State functionaries are entitled to enter this school at
the public expense, and any Austrian subject who has the necessary
qualifications is admitted on payment. Foreigners are also admissible as
paying pupils, provided they can obtain authorization from their own
government to enter the Austrian service. To be admitted, candidates
must be between 12 and 14 years of age, of sound health without bodily
defect, and able to pass a previous examination. The instruction is
given in accordance with a determined plan, on board a vessel prepared
expressly to receive the pupils. After three years’ instruction the
pupils leave the school as naval cadets and are sent to sea. At the end
of two or three years’ active service the cadets are admitted to the
theoretical school. This school receives from 40 to 50 pupils. The
chaplain on board is charged with the religious instruction; the other
teaching is given by professors from the hydrographic schools. The naval
officers of the school-ship give the instruction in practical
seamanship.
5. The theoretical school for naval cadets is on shore, and its course
occupies a year, after which the pupil undergoes the examination
prescribed for his commission as an officer. On leaving this theoretical
school the pupils are still naval cadets, but become officers when
appointed to a ship.
6. The superior school for naval officers is intended for the further
improvement in mathematical and hydrographic studies, of such young men
as have shown decided talent and taste for those sciences.
III. GERMAN EMPIRE.
The jurisdiction of the German Empire, by treaty concluded at
Versailles, and ratified by the Diet of North Germany Dec. 10, 1870,
embraces among other national interests, the Army and Navy, and the
protection of German navigation.
The war-fleet of the Empire, which embraces all that had been
constructed by Prussia since 1848, consisted in June, 1870, of 38
steamers and 7 sailing vessels, with 42,415 tonnage, and 480 guns.
Horse-power. Guns. Tonnage.
5 Iron-clads, 3,700 62 15,846
9 Steam Frigates and Corvettes, 3,200 200 14,210
8 “ First class Gunboats, 640 24 5,858
14 “ Second “ “ 840 28 5,858
1 “ Yacht, 160 2 445
2 Paddle-Steamer Corvettes, 600 13 1,750
3 Frigates (sailing vessels), ... 114 3,736
4 Brigs, “ ... 46 1,927
The German navy was officered and manned by 1 admiral, 1 vice-admiral, 1
rear-admiral, 27 captains and 217 lieutenants, and 3,283 seamen and
boys, besides 2,760 in the marine corps. The sailors of the fleet and
the marine corps are recruited by conscription, from the seafaring
population, which numbers 80,000.
The provision for naval expenditure in 1870, was for--
Ministry of Marine, 81,250 _thalers_.
Administration officers, 65,557 “
Pay of seamen and marines, 1,086,990 “
Repairs of ships, 890,000 “
Marine hospitals, 71,820 “
War material, 1,221,317 “
Miscellaneous, 179,796 “
---------
Total ordinary expenses, 3,596,730 “
Extraordinary expenditure, 4,403,460 “
---------
Grand total, 8,000,190 “
The artificial harbor and dry-docks at Wilhelmshaven, in the Bay of
Jade, on the North Sea, which was opened by the King of Prussia in June,
1869, have cost over $10,000,000.
The system of professional training for officers of the Imperial Navy is
not yet matured. The Naval School at Kiel is still recognized. Aspirants
enter as naval cadets after passing an examination equivalent to the
requirements of a gymnasial maturity certificate, which in general
education is superior to the requirements of graduation of either our
Naval or Military Academy. Before entering on their professional
studies, the cadet is first sent on a cruise to test his aptitude for
sea-service. He then studies eight months at school and one year at sea,
to pass as midshipman; and one year more at school, and three years at
sea, to become sub-lieutenant.
MARINE ACADEMY AT KIEL.
The German Marine Academy established in 1872, at Kiel, is designed not
for the education of cadets, but for the professional training and
improvement of officers already in the naval service of the empire--and
is of the same character as the Staff School of Berlin for officers of
the army. Those only will be received as pupils, whose conduct and
talents seem to qualify them for superior scientific attainments, and,
hereafter, for the filling of the most important posts. These
officer-pupils will be required to give proofs of their diligence and
progress by the production, from time to time, of theses and
dissertations on scientific subjects given to them by the professors. At
the same time, all naval officers will be permitted to attend the
courses of instruction when their professional duties do not call them
away.
The course of study is to occupy two terms, each of twelve months’
duration, with a vacation of three months for practical exercises.
The subjects for the first term are:--Mathematics, natural philosophy,
chemistry, the theory of naval war in all its branches, military tactics
in as far as disembarkations are concerned, coast surveying, the theory
of the formation of coasts, coastal defenses, field fortification, the
constitution of military courts, the principles of international,
military, and naval law, the system of administration, sanitary science,
especially with reference to life aboard ship and in different climates,
the elements of logic, ethics, &c.
The following subjects will be included in the second term:--Nautical
astronomy, geodesy, theory of maps and charts, the history of war, with
especial reference to naval war, artillery, ship-building, the
construction of steam-engines (with practical exercises), the position
and construction of naval ports, physical geography, the elements of
geology, marine botany and zoölogy, and the general history of modern
literature and civilization, &c.
[Errata for Part VIII (England and Naval Schools):
Oxford Blues, the Royal Scots, and the Second Queen’s Royals.[1]
Royals.”[1]
[Footnote 1]
The latter is the only body that has the privilege
_hyphen in “priv-/ilege” invisible at_
“to place themselves under the orders of a director of studies
_mismatched open quote in original_
feel the effects of the change which has been made in it.”
_closing ” missing_
practical trial in their work. ... appointments and promotion.
_both . missing_
will be regulated at the following rates, as heretofore:
followig
elsewhere than at Eton
Eaton
The use of meteorological instruments
intruments
and to lay them underground,
undergound
Facing B.L. guns. / Practical examination, etc.
etc,
the Royal Warrant for Pay, Promotion,” etc.,
_printed as shown: missing open quote or superfluous close quote?_
[Footnote 5]
and an examination of persons to act as pilots and mariners.
_final . missing_
[Footnote 6]
Hollanders, 1,(3);
_printed as shown_
and give a great deal of trouble; we want men.”
_close quote missing_
a physical and military education, which developes their strength
_anomalous spelling unchanged_
averages a little more than £6 per boy per annum.
_final . missing_
But such was not the case.
csse
and the studies were pursued with greater vigor.
persued
[The following table, giving the statistics of the school at Toulon]
|251|235|181|97|67|58|
_last row of table has 225 for 235_
The requirements for admission are a knowledge of arithmetic,
knowlege]
* * * * *
PART IX.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN SWITZERLAND.
* * * * *
MILITARY SYSTEM AND MILITARY INSTRUCTION IN SWITZERLAND.
[Extract from “A Plan for Military Education in Massachusetts.” By E.
Dwight.]
1. OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM.
In the year 1847 seven of the cantons of the Swiss Republic seceded from
the Confederacy. Among them were the three forest cantons, the original
nucleus around which the whole Republic had been formed, the birth-place
of William Tell and Arnold, of Winkelreid. The seceders held the
strongest military position in Europe, but the loyal cantons put on foot
an army of 100,000 men, well armed, drilled, and officered. The city of
Friburg was taken, and in thirty days from the first proclamation of the
commanding general the war was ended and order was restored.
In 1856, a quarrel having arisen with the king of Prussia, Switzerland
placed on foot an army of 200,000 men well provided with artillery. Thus
the military system of Switzerland has proved itself effective; and as
there is no standing army whatever, and the state is a confederacy of
cantons under democratic forms of government, we may find something in
their system applicable to our own case.
Switzerland covers an area of about 15,000 square miles, equal to that
of Vermont and New Hampshire together, of which a large portion is
covered by lakes, forests, mountains, ice and snow, leaving only
thirty-one per cent of the land fit for agricultural purposes, not
including the mountain pastures. Possessing a population of only two
millions and a half of people, it is surrounded by military powers of
the first class, and must needs be strong to be free. France, Austria,
and Prussia are not always as good friends as they are near neighbors,
and the little Republic must ever be ready to ward a blow and return it.
The constitution of Switzerland declares that every citizen is a
soldier. “Tout Suisse est soldat.” Military service is required between
the ages of twenty and forty-four. The substitution of one man for
another is forbidden, but exemption from service is allowed to certain
persons, such as officers of the government and of public institutions,
clergymen, students of theology, members of the police, pilots and
others. In some cases a man is excused from the more active service, but
required to pass through the regular course of military instruction and
to serve in the reserve of the army when called upon. Such are the only
son, or one of the sons, of a widow; or of a widower, provided the
father be over sixty years old, and the son necessary to his support; a
widower, the father of children in their minority, who has no resources
except the work of his own hands; one of two or more sons when they make
common household with their parents, if the family could not be
supported by other brothers not subject to service; married men, or
widowers having at least two children. These exceptions do not apply to
officers.
The Council of State of each canton appoints yearly a “Commission on
Furlough and Discharge,” consisting of ten members, of whom two are
medical men, two officers, one a corporal, one a soldier, and the others
members of the council. The commission acts under oath; grants exemption
for physical defects or want of height; or passes men from the active
service to the reserve. A man who at the age of twenty has not attained
the height of five feet and one inch can be furloughed for two years;
and if, at the end of the third year, he has not reached this height,
discharged from all service. Men who have been convicted of disgraceful
crimes, or have suffered penal sentence, are declared unworthy of
bearing arms; and if once deprived of their civil rights can not hold a
commission.
The militia is divided into the federal contingent and the landwehr. The
federal contingent consists--_First_, of the elite, which includes three
per cent of the whole population, taken from those between the ages of
twenty and thirty-four. The time of service in the elite is eight years.
_Second_, the reserve, being one and a half per cent of the population
and not above the age of forty. The landwehr includes men up to the age
of forty-four. The landsturm, or _levy en masse_, consists of the whole
male population, capable of bearing arms, between the ages of twenty and
fifty, and not included in the classes before described. The male
population of Switzerland is 1,140,000, of which thirty-seven per cent,
or 422,000, are between twenty and forty-four years of age. One-fourth
of these are exempt or found unfit for service, leaving 316,000
perfectly fit. In 1853 the number of men required for the federal
contingent was 104,354,[1] but according to official statements the
number of men in all branches of the service, well armed and instructed,
amounted to 125,126. The excess of men supplied, over those required,
arose from the public spirit and general desire for military instruction
existing among the people. Add to these 125,000 the landwehr, which
numbered 150,000, and we have a total of 275,000 effective men, well
armed, drilled, and officered.
[Footnote 1: Infantry, including Rifles, 89,366; Artillery,
10,366; Cavalry, 2,869; Engineers, 1,530.]
The federal army is composed of the following arms: engineers, including
sappers and pontoniers; artillery, including rocket batteries; cavalry,
riflemen, light infantry, and infantry. There is besides a medical corps
for the service of the ambulances and hospitals. But as uninstructed men
are of little or no value, the federal law upon military organization
provides that the cantons shall see to it that the infantry of their
contingent is completely instructed according to the federal rules, and
though the application of this principle in its details is left to each
canton, yet the following rules are laid down: recruits are not received
into the federal elite until they have gone through a complete course of
instruction which lasts at least twenty-eight days for infantry, and
thirty-five days for light infantry. The confederation charges itself
with the instruction of the engineers, artillery, cavalry, and riflemen.
This course lasts twenty-eight days for riflemen and forty-two days for
the three other arms, but these recruits have previously been drilled in
the school of the soldier by their cantons, and the riflemen have
received preparatory instruction in firing at a mark.
In the larger cantons--that of Zurich for instance--divisions of
recruits in succession are put into barracks and well drilled
practically and theoretically for fifty-six days, either consecutively
or at two periods of the same year, as may best suit the youths. In the
second year after entering the elite, and for each year afterwards, the
infantry is called out for drill during three days, by half battalions
at least, with preparatory drill of three days for the “cadres,”[2] the
commissioned and non-commissioned officers forming skeleton corps. Days
of entry into service are not counted as days of drill, and in case of
interruption the days of drill are increased by two days. The reserve is
called out for drill during two days of each year, with a preparatory
drill of one day for the “cadres.”
[Footnote 2: The officers, non-commissioned officers, and
corporals, constitute what is called the “cadre.”]
In the corps of engineers, artillery, cavalry, and riflemen, the elite
is called out every alternate year for the engineers and artillery, and
every year for the cavalry and rifles. The drill lasts four days for the
“cadre” of engineers and artillery, and immediately after ten days for
the cadres and companies united, or twelve days for both together. For
the cavalry the drill lasts seven days for dragoons and four days for
“guides;” for riflemen, two days for the cadres, and immediately
afterwards four days for cadres and companies united. The reserve is
called out for a drill of half the length of that of the elite.
To complete the instruction of the soldier the cantons in their turn
send their men yearly to the federal camps where the troops to the
number of three or four thousand, are kept under canvas for two weeks.
Larger numbers of men, forming bodies of 5,000 and upwards, are also
mustered and cantoned in the villages, and during several days exercised
in the grand movements and manœuvres of war, chiefly for the instruction
of commanders and officers of the staff.
To keep up the efficiency of every department of the service the whole
is subjected to the yearly inspection of colonels of the federal staff
appointed by the central government. The inspection of infantry is
confided to ten colonels who serve for three years. There is also an
inspector in each of the arms of engineers and artillery, the latter
having under his direction an administrator of materiel charged with the
inspection and surveillance of all the materiel of the confederation.
This administrator directs and superintends the workmen employed in the
factories of the confederation for the manufacture of powder and
percussion caps, as well as arms, gun-carriages, &c. The colonel of
cavalry and the colonel of rifles direct all that relates to their
respective arms, and recommend the necessary improvements. If these
inspectors detect in the contingent of any canton any want of perfection
in drill, they have the power to order such additional drill as may
bring the men up to the proper standard.
Great care is taken in the instruction and selection of officers. The
officers of infantry, up to the grade of major, are appointed by the
cantonal authorities; the higher officers by the federal government. But
no officers can be appointed to the special arms of engineers,
artillery, and cavalry, except such as have gone through a course of
instruction at a military school appropriate to each arm. No one can
become a non-commissioned officer who has not served at least one year
as a soldier, nor a commissioned officer except after two years’
service. Candidates for promotion must pass a public examination, before
a commission, both in theoretical and practical knowledge. Promotion is
given, according to seniority, up to the grade of first lieutenant.
Captains are chosen from among the lieutenants without regard to
seniority. To be appointed major, eight years’ service as an officer is
required, of which, at least, two years as captain. For a
lieutenant-colonel, ten years’ service as officer, of which, at least,
four as major of the special arm. For a colonel, twelve years’ service
as an officer is required, of which, at least, four years as
“commandant,” or in a higher grade. In the Swiss service there is no
higher rank than that of colonel. When a colonel has been appointed
commander-in-chief of the army, he receives for the time being, the
title of general, which he afterwards retains by courtesy.
We are indebted to Professor L. Simonson, of Trinity College, Hartford,
Conn., for the following communication respecting the cadet system in
schools not specially military and the practice of target shooting in
Switzerland, by which a military spirit is fostered throughout the
entire population and the highest skill in the use of the rifle is
attained by a large number of individuals, who are thus prepared for any
sudden call to arms.
2. THE CADET SYSTEM.
The Swiss boy learns target shooting and practices gymnastic and
military exercises at a very early age. He imbibes with his mother’s
milk the thought that his first duty is to become a defender of his
country.
These boy-soldiers are styled _Cadets_, and are a fruit that can spring
up and ripen on democratic soil only. The first armed corps of the kind
we find in Berne near the end of the 16th century. But the general
practice of military exercises among them dates back only about eighty
years, when the HELVETIC MILITARY ASSOCIATION began to advocate the
formation of _Corps de Cadets_ in all parts of Switzerland. From that
time the most efficient and eminent officers devoted themselves
enthusiastically to this cause. The first corps sprang up in Aarau,
Sursen and Olten. Aarau possessed for a long time the best drilled,
largest and finest corps, and in the canton of Argovia generally the
system has struck deeper root than elsewhere; but well drilled corps can
be found in any of the larger places, as in Zofingen, Lenzburg, Brugg,
Baden, and a dozen other places. It was an old custom for the cadets to
parade in the federal cities--Zurich, Berne and Lucerne--in honor of the
assembling of the Swiss Diet, (Tagsatzung.) As far back as 1770 we find
a boy-corps of infantry and artillery in Zurich, yet towards the end of
the last century the organization was partially broken up, until the
political renovation of the canton in 1830 re-organized the corps anew.
Besides in the capital, we find corps in Winterthur, Uster, Wald, Stäfa,
Meilen, Horgen, Wädenswyl, and other towns on the lake shores. Berne,
Biel, Thun, Burgdorf, and many other Bernese villages, for thirty or
forty years have practiced their school-boys in the exercise of arms.
The state takes special care to give the students of the University of
Berne and of the two normal schools a thorough military training. The
cantons of Lucerne, Solothurn, Basle, Schaffhausen, St. Gall, Appenzell,
Glarus, Tessin, Friburg, Neufchâtel, and the countries of Vand and of
the Grisons, possess each of them one or more cadet-corps. Military
drill, as well as gymnastic exercises, forms part of the regular school
routine of all middle and higher schools of the above-named cantons.
Provision is now made to extend this discipline over all schools, making
it obligatory on every pupil who is not disabled by bodily defects.
Military practice commences at the age of eleven and is continued to the
age of eighteen or nineteen. Federal or cantonal officers and
instructors drill the youth two afternoons in the week, the more
advanced only once a week. The youth thus disciplined, learn not only to
obey but also to command. The officers of every corps are promoted from
the rank and file, and in this manner are excellently fitted to become
afterwards officers in the federal army. All cadets when they are
enrolled at a later period into the militia, are by law exempted from
drill. The arms are furnished by the state or community; the uniform,
which the pupil may wear in or out of service, must be procured by
himself.
Most of the cadet-corps consist of infantry, (sharp-shooters and
musketeers;) many have, however, artillery also, as in Zurich, their
guns throwing balls of two and four pounds weight. In Argovia and some
other cantons there are even grenadiers and sappers. Cavalry exist in
theory only. A gun with bayonet and cartridge-box, here and there also a
knapsack and sword form the equipment of the foot-soldier. The uniforms
are various and fanciful. The Zurich Cadets distinguish themselves by
their simple and tasteful appearance; they wear a dark blue coat with
white metal buttons, grey pants, and dark blue cap with the cockade.
Every corps has one or more smaller or larger flags. Many cantons have
excellent bands of music; others, as Zurich, have only drummers and
their indispensable drum-major, and sing martial songs while marching.
It is a universal custom to close the school year in autumn by a
festival, the shining point of which is the military parade and field
manœuvre. The Swiss juvenile festivals have gained quite a reputation at
home and abroad. In the Argovian communities all the school children,
the females as well as males, festively adorned, participate. The corps
of the whole canton and even of several cantons are often united in the
field manœuvre; on such an occasion the enthusiasm and emulation of
youth reach the highest pitch. Thus the Bernese Cadet Corps in 1821 had
a common drill parade in the neighborhood of the capital, and many
others have since come off. In 1816 about 1,000 Argovians went into camp
at Lenzburg, and all of them will joyfully remember this merry festival.
A still greater notoriety was gained by the hot sham fights at
Wettingen, which came off in 1821, and in which the Argovian, Zurich and
Winterthur cadets operated together. Two brigades consisting of 1,560
men, all told, with seven cannon fought there for the positions between
Wettingen and Baden; the most glorious affair of the day was the heroic
defense and final storming of the Wettingen bridge. Yet all other
manœuvres of that sort have been thrown into shadow by the great Swiss
cadet feast in September, 1856. It will not be forgotten by the
thousands, who participated either as actors or spectators, even if
there should be at some future day a re-union of all the corps of
Switzerland. Ten cantons participated in that festival. Argovia
furnished 974 men; Zurich, 805; St. Gall, 472; Schaffhausen, 186; the
Grisons, 166; Ausserrhoden, 155; Lucerne, 148; Thurgovia, 111; Glarus,
60; and Tessin even sent over the St. Gothard a contingent of
eighty-four. Thus 3,161 young heroes, in various but generally tasteful
uniforms, with bands of music, one hundred and twenty-four drums,
numerous banners, and ten cannon, entered the festively-adorned Zurich
from all sides. Divided into two little armies drawn up in battle array
between Oerlicon and Schwamendingen, they fought over the celebrated
battle of June 4th, 1799, in which the French under Massena, were
defeated by the Austrians under Archduke Charles.