THE ROYAL INDIAN MARINE

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1523, 28 February 1901, Page 25

THE ROYAL INDIAN MARINE

<- •, A UNIQUE SERVICE. WORK OF THE R.I.M. DALHOUSIE. Of the many great institutions which the famous East India Company gave birth to in the Indian possessions of the Empire there is none perhaps possessing a more honourable history or offering more coveted positions than the Royal Indian Marine, to which service belongs the Dalhousie, troopship of the Indian Contingent.' The Royal Indian Marine sprang from the purely military institution, the Indian navy, which latter service was converted, at the termination of the Indian mufijiy,. into the combined military and commercial service of the Rbyal Indian Marine. !>, The, Indian navy was under the, direct management of the India Company; hut was controlled,to a certain .festent by. the Horne authorities. TEb w tßhyal;‘ Indian "Marine,’ however, is entirely/controlled by the Indian Gfoverniheht, though the sanction of the :r British 1 -Adrriiralty is required in regard to certain de-

tails. The ' principal work - of the R 1.M.: (the only royal service in India) is in trooping around the Indian coast, moving, troops .over to Burmah and other ’districts, and lately trooping wherever the Indian troops are orderedLike the Bengal pilot service, the R.I.M. is recruited from the training ships Conway and Worcester,. but .yith this difference—that the applicant must be under twenty-two years of age, must have serve’d three years in a sailing vessel, and must hold a seCond-ihate’s certificate. But eve,n with these advantages the aspirant to the service must command another all-important con-sideration-interest; iiot so much the prevailing influence of great people and friends of the Secretary of State- in London (with whom the appointments rest), hut tile fact of haying had relations in the different public services of India. The plums' are given to men who can claim the longest string of relatives who have served India. When the last vacancy occurred in the service there were nearly three, hundred applicants for the position. And small wonder when it is understood that it is one of the best sea services in the wbrld' both' for pay, pension and leave. The leave granted is on

a most liberal scale—two months in every year, six months every three years, and a year at the end of five years. There are sixty river boats in the service, four defence boats (armed), eight torpedo boats and seven troopers. These latter are all armed, but do not carry their guns, which, however, are mounted periodically, in order to be tested and for practice purposes. They are all cf the quick-firing order. One boat is stationed at Aden (for political purposes), another up the Persian Gulf, another at Burmah (serving the lighthouses, conveying relief crews, pro visions, etc.), and a number of small river boats work up and down the iriuada river, Brahma, steaming 8000 or 4000 miles up the river. Ail transport work for the Indian Government is in charge of the Royal Indian Marine, even where vessels are chartered. In this connection it will be rememberer! that, the service was highly complimented •by the Rome authorities on the remarkable expedition with which it landed the troops from India at the Cape at the beginning of the South African trouble. From the time it received orders to take 10,000 men to. the Cape it was exactly seven days to the time the transports sailed for Capetown. The arrangements in regard to the transport work are so finely arranged that an officer is always waiting at the port of destination when the .men arrive, and has every thing, ready for disembarkation and for the immediate' return cf the transport. At the present moment there is an officer at each principal port in China in readiness for transports sailing under the orders of the R.I.M. Tire Royal Indian Marine is directed by a captain of the Royal Navy on the Active List, for whose services the Indian Government applies to the Home authorities. This officer is called the Director of the Royal Indian Marine, and holds the post for five years. Captain W. S. Goodridge, R.N., A.D.C., is the present director, and he also acts as naval adviser to the Indian Government. The post of assistant director is held by an officer of the service holding a captain’s rank, and there is also a deputy director in Calcutta, who is also a captain of the R.T.M. One of the lieutenants is always with the East India squadron for a training in gunnery and torpedo work. The port officers of India (similar to our harbourmasters in New Zealand) are all Indian Marine commanders. The Lascars for the crews of the R.I.M. vessels are recruited from the Ratuagari district, south of Bombay, the natives of which district are supposed to be descendants cf the old Indian pirates. They have been found to be fine sailors, extremely willing, and give practically no trouble. A. small boy (from twelve years) entering the service receives eight rupees a month and his rations. There are four different grades, and the pay rises up to thirty-five rupees. If tiie officers cf the Dalhousie are a fair sample of the men engaged in the R.1.M.,* then the Indian Government may well he proud—as it undoubtedly is—of the officers of its marine service.