LIKING THE NAVY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 22, 27 January 1928, Page 8

LIKING THE NAVY.

YOUNG NEW' ZEALANDERS.

EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES.!

EDUCATION IN THE SHIPS,

A proportion of the seamen in the ships of the New Zealand division of the Royal Navy are New ZealanJer-s. Their number is increasing, and the object of the Navy Department is to have New Zealanders form one-half of the complements of the ships stationed in these waters. Inquiries are often heard regarding the progress and welfare of the lads who have already joined the Navy, and as the result of inquiries, facilitated in every way by Commodore G. T. C. P. Swabey and the officers of the various (ships, an answer can now be given.

The foremost impression gained by t the "Star" representatives in talks with s the officers and petty officers associated with the New Zealanders is that they have excellent opportunities of advanc- g ing and succeeding in the life they have b chosen. Nothing is left undone that r might be done to help and to encourage " them. In addition, they are paid at a higher rate than Imperial ratings, and. s their homes being in New Zealand, they * are granted more shore leave than their ! mates from England. ' i Training and Pay. 1 Twenty-eight boys are under training - on the Diomcde, and their case may be regarded as typical. They entered the training ship Philomel at about the age of 16, underwent nine months' training there, and then joined the cruiser. At the age of 17 they became "ordinary seamen, second class"; at 18, "ordinary seamen." While in training they received 5/ a week for pocket money, -while the rest of their pay was withheld, or "deferred," and paid over to them when they became 18. Some drew £20 or £30. If they joined the ship while still under 17 they drew pay at the rate of £1 a fortnight; between 17 and 18, £1 10/ a fortnight. Having reached 18, they ceas'ed to be officially known as "boys," and started their 12 years' term of engagement. As ordinary seamen they are now paid £8 10/ or £9 a month, while an additonal amount is deferred and will become payable to them at the end of their engagement. They are supplied with a kit, and their food also is free.

In the Diomede the boys continue their professional and educational training. Seamanship, gunnery and torpedo work comes as part of the day's work, but they must also attend classes under the_ ship's schoolmaster. They are exat intervals, and gome have passed .the examination known as

nfniiiMiiiHitNiiiiiHnißiuiiuuuiMiiitiiuiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiuiinminiiiiiiiiiitniiiiiiimiitiiiiiiiniiiHiii "educational test, part one," and so acquired the educational standard required of a petty officer. Their progress then depends on themselves. Their pass is recorded on their service certificates, and if they also reach the professional skill of a petty officer they are eligible for promotion.

The ambitious boys among the New Zealanders are now studying for the examination known as '"higher educational test, part two." This work is voluntary, but several boys show gratifying keenness, and considerable promise. When they pass the examination they will have reached the educational standard required of a commissioned officer. They must then secure promotion professionally to the rank of petty officer before being allowed to pass professionally for commissioned rank. The fairly prevalent notion that in the Navy no man can rise from the ranks and become an officer is erroneous. There are officers in the New Zealand Squadron who have risen from the ranks by sheer merit. They are exceptional, it is true, but it must not be forgotten that on any ship the officers are few and the men are many. No New Zealand rccruits have become officers, but the "opportunity is there for them, and some mean to grasp it.

However, in spite of the appealing ' advertisements of systems of memory training, all privates cannot become J generals, nor would the Navy's efficiency be maintained if all seamen became ad- * mirals. There are many other avenues 1 open to the young New Zealanders in f the Navy. They may, for example, 1 specialise in gunnery, torpedo work, or J signalling, or they may, free of charge, learn a trade which they can pursue, if they decide to leave the Navy at the end. of their engagement. They will then be 30 years of age, and they will have at least £300 of capital ("deferred Pay"), in addition to any amount which they may have saved voluntarily. When one thinks of the number of young men who, on leaving school, drift from one "blind alley" occupation into another, and at the age of 30 have learned no tiade and have nothing saved, one must conclude that the young New Zcalandei s in the Navy are a privileged class. ° Discipline. There is, of course, discipline, and to 1 many young New Zealanders the word : has an unpleasant sound. The notion gains popularity that discipline may be : necessary in wartime, but that there is ' no necessity to Btart learning it until ! war begins. That notion gets no enr couragement in the Navy. The officer ) in charge of a warship is responsible for 3 hundreds of lives, and for material ) which costs millions of pounds. Those . lives and that ship might be lost very r easily by negligence or omission, in peace time as in war. Such a disaster can be averted, and is averted, only by insisting that each officer and each mar does his share of the ship's work con sistently and thoroughly. But who, having seen the men of tin Navy ashore, would say that theii I minds%are tormented by the thought o: i a monstercalled' Discipline J 1