THE MERCHANT NAVY.

North Otago Times, Volume VII, Issue 157, 23 November 1866, Page 3

THE MERCHANT NAVY.

The merchant na\y of Great Britain is by no means in a satisfactory state, and in the last session of Parliament, Mr Groves moved for a Royal Commission of Inquiry, which, gave riso to a very important debate on tho condition of the British seaman. The Government opposed tho inquiry, but the discussion which arose on the motion was tho means of furnishing the public with much interesting information on tho subject. Tho speech of Mr Stanley, who understands the state of the merchant navy better than any other member in the House, is highly interesting, and we therefore give it to our readers. That gentleman said : — In 1862 one vessel in every 138 voyages came to grief, which showed that the disasters to shipping had been gradually increasing. He held that tho opinions of gentlemen who had examined these matters wore of great value ; but when they were corroborated by such facts as these ho could have no doubt on tho subject. Great improvements had been made in ship building, in cables, and other matters with vessels, all tending to diminish danjjfer rather than increase it, and yet there was the discouraging result he had stated. It was the same with coaches as with ships. When those vehicles turned over it was owing to bad driving nine times out of ton j but when thero were inefficient men under the driver, it was still more likely that disaster would ensue. The system of employing gangs of riggers was detrimental to the interests of the boys ; and the employment of steain tu<>s prevented their being taught an important part of the work of a sailor. When getting in and out of port an opportunity for teaching the boys many things connected with their profession was formerly afforded ■which could not now be obtained without a voyage to India and back. This could not be helped and the best must be made of it. There was another thing to which ho wished to advert. When he was at the Board of Trade some years back it was stated that shipowners did not like the trouble of training boys. Well, if mnoters would not undertake the trouble of teaching, there would be no good servants. No Go-

vernmonfc school could, in his opinion, supply the place of the masters in teaching the boys. The manner in which captains woro appointed, and tho way in which masters and mates were certified by tho Government, and the course affairs generally took rendered it not surprising that the seaman should have deteriorated. It was quite clear from what his honorable friend had stated, that shipowners did not now caro to take boys into their service, though there was nothing to hinder them from taking boys as aforetime, and binding them for seven years. Too much trouble was involved in this training, and much of tho work thoy formerly did was now executed by gangs of riggers. But what was the inducement to the friends of boys to send them to sea ? Having given some consideration to tho subject, he was compelled to say that no honest man aware of the whole circumstances of the case would send a boy to sea. He was sorry to make this statement, but he did so with the firm belief that ifc was true. What was a boy's life at sea P Why, compared with the ordinary life of ft boy on land from fourteen to nineteen years of age, it was a thousand times as hard. Then, when he became a man, as an inferior seaman, his earnings were low in comparison with those of the skilled artisan on land. Tho seaman must undergo great hardship, acquire a certain amount of knowledge and skill, and pass his life amid such danger as was unknown to the bricklayer, carpenter, or blacksmith, for wages much lower than theirs. Then, from the increased size of the ships, the greater scientific education required of the masters and mates, the chances of a working boy being able to attain the position of mate, or master, wore gradually being diminished. Everybody would admit this statement to bo true. He did not say that the masters or mates should not possess this scientific knowledges ; but this circumstance put Beamanship at a discount. A man could not bo examined us to his seamanship ; for a man might pass an examination, and be no more a seaman than he was. A man's scientific knowledge of navigation could not be found out in this way, although ho might have obtained high testimonials. During the inquiries into wrecks which have occurred from time to time, it was found not that scientific knowledge was atfault, but that a large portion of them were owing to tho neglect of ordinai-y duties. And what was the condition of a seaman at the age of 40 or 50? Although they wore out sooner than landsmen they had now scarcely any occupation to turn to when unfit for service at sea. In former times they turned riggers, but now the rigger's son succeeded to his father's business, and there was no room in tho trado for the old sailor. Nor could he now man a Bhore boat with profit ; the work was all done by the steamers. Considering, then, that a seaman had nothing to look forward to in his old age, and that while at work ho did not make more than £39 in a year, besides £18 the value of his food, for working every day for ten months out of tho twelve, his condition was vastly inferior to the condition of the carpenter who only worked six days a week, and was always at homo with his wife and faindy. It followed that the condition of the men must be improved, and that some inducement should bo given them to learn their business. In his opinion, the desired result could bo secured better without connection with tho Government than with it. The remedy was to be found in improving the relationship between master and man. If no such remedy wero resorted to, the French system would grow up amongst us, and we should have as bad seamen as that system now produced. The men who swept the seas fifty and sixty years ago, against as great odds as could ever be set against them now, were not raised in school sliips, nor made perfect by a few summers' traininT, and then, as a gallant admiral had said before the committee he had spoken of, beCiimo disgusted when taken out for a winter's cruise. Liko all who wore sent to «oa early in life, those brave men had been put faco to faco with dilltculty, danger, and death at a very early ago, so that all tho soft ones among their companions got squeezed out and those that wore loft were as hard as nails. Thus tlioy learnt what nothing but hard experience teaches men, that the only way to escape death was boldly to face death, and with God's help to grapplo and overcome every difficulty." Tho " Examiner," in speaking of thi3 debate, has the following remarks : — " The small craft was, and is, the school of tho British seaman. In small craft tho man has to turn his hand to everything, and becomes perfect master of his business. No instruction in a training ship will over equal the practical lessons of a sea-goiug coaster. In the training ship a lad learns the business of stations, tho separate details of tho working of the vessel, but he does not put them together as the seaman in tho coaster is obliged to do. But excellent as is the school of small craft, it is becoming more and more circumscribed by steam. The colliers were tho sixth form of tho school, and many of the colliers are driven by steam power. The fibbing smacks, too, afforded excellent employment to seamen, but steam now does a great part of tho work that used to be performed by tho sail. Thero is this material difference between fishing vessels and coasters, that the fishing vessels gave employment to ready made seamen, while the coaster made tho seamen it employed. Tho smacks were well manned aB to numbers, the coasters very scantily manned, and tho deficiency was to be supplied by the activity, skill and resource of the individual. But steam has encroached upon both, and much of the coasting trade, and also of the fishing, is carried on now by stoam. The consequence is, that we-have not the same seamen we used to have formerly, for steamers never make seamen. But not only is there a deterioration of seamanship, but the number of British seamen employed does not keep pacowith the increase of tonnage, aud foreigners come in to fill tho gap."