THE NAVAL AGREEMENT

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1679, 4 May 1904, Page 59

THE NAVAL AGREEMENT

TERMS OF ENROLMENT. Imperial reoruitinjg officers in connection with the enrolment of crews for the thfea drill ships in Australasia (two in Australia and one in New Zealand) arc expected to arrive in the colony towards the end of this month. The new naval agreement also provides for the raising of an Australasian branch of the Royal Naval Reserve, which it is hoped to commence by the Ist June. The conditions for this branch of the service are shortly as follows:- —Candidates must bo bona-fide seafaring men, of good physique and character. They will bo required to drill for twentyeight days in each year, at least fourteen days of which must be done on consecutive days, and the rest in periods of not less than seven days. They will receive pay while drilling of 3s 3d per diem and an allowance, if not victualled aind lodged on board, of Is 8d a day in addition, and they will also receive an annual retaining fee of £5 per annum. In connection with the drill-ships, the rules for enrolment provide that all candidates for entry must be British subjects of European extraction, of good character, able to read and write the English language, and must have resided for at least three years in Australia or New Zealand immediately prior to entry. They must pass a medical examination as to* their physical fitness to serve, and must be of the required standard. Until further notice the standard will be as follows:—Boys from fifteen to sixteen years of age, sft 2in in height, 32in chest measurement ; boys from sixteen to seventeen years of age, sft 3in. 32£in; men of all classes, except domestics, sft 4in, 34in; domestics, sft 2in. 32in. Boys may be entered between the ages of fifteen and seventeen, men between the ages of eighteen and 1 thirtyfive (domesticß may be entered up to the age of forty-five if otherwise fit). Men may be entered from any existing local naval force up to the'age of fork '- five, if in every way physically fit. Ail'l candidates on joining will be required to slign an engagement to serve ■ or five yeans (form supplied). Boys will be required to sign an engagement to «e re

for five years from the age of eighteen. Re-engagements for further periods oi . five years wild be allowed in the' case of specially desirable men. but no man will ' be ail lowed to re-engage after he has at- - ’ tained fifty years or age, and no man “ will be allowed to continue" .serving after \ he has attained the age’ of- fifty-five. . Ad 1 men on first joining the force will bo entered in the lowest rating of their particular branch unit ess they are already holding higher ratings in any existing permanent local naval force, or have left such lore?, or the Royal Navy, within two years, holding higher ratings, in which case they may be*entered to fill a vacancy in any higher rating for which they may be found qualified after examination by the officers of. one of his Majesty's ships. No man who has been discharged from any naval or military force on account of misconduct will be permitted to join. SERVICE. All men joining this force will be liable to be transferred to any one of the four ships manned by Australians and New Zealanders, and every man will be required to serve part of his time in the locally-manned sea-going cruiser. . In time of war or emergency these men may be transferred to any ship of the Australian squadron by order of the Comuian-der-in-Chief or senior naval officer. All men in this force wiiil be under the • same regulations as regards hospital treatment and pensions for wounds and injuries received whilst on service as other men serving in the Imperial navy, except that they may be invalided cait of the service by a naval medical „ board compos' d of three medical officers of hi.s Majesty's ships, • instead of being sent to England for final survey. Pensioners from the navy or army will not bo allowed to join tins force, nor men belonging to the Royal Fleet Reserve. No man who has left the Royal . Navy after the 31st Decembea* 1903, wifi be allowed to enter this force until three years have elapsed from the date of his discharge, and the entry of such men is not recommended, except under special' circumstances. ~ • DISCIPLINE. All persons cm joining this force will become subject to the Naval Discipline Act in force in the Imperial Navy, and-* also to the King’s regulations and Admiralty instructions for the navy, except as modified by these rules. PAY AND ALLOWANCES. , In view of the fact that the men joining the Royal Navy under these regulations will be short-service men, and will, therefore, not be entitled to any long service pensions, they will he given the”following special allowances, in addition to the ordinary Imperial fates of pay (C.S.) and the Imperial allowances for badges, gunnery and torpedo qualifications, etc.: — Boys and all persons under 18 years of age, Is per diem; ordinary seamim and domestics of all classes, 2s per diem; all other ratings, including all petty office re, 3s per diem. This allowance will not he paid to the men on board their ships, but will bo placed to their credit, by the Governments of Australia and New Zealand in such State Savings Banks as the men themselves select when enrolled. Eacli man on joining will receive a free kit up to value of £5. The principal Imperial rates of pay

Subsidences of the electrical tramway in Queen street, Auckland, have excited considerable interest in Wellington consequent o'n the approachmg completion of tbe electrical traction system in this city. Opinions concerning tlie cause of the depressions in tlie permanent way at Auckland are divided, but aln excerpt from a report by Mr James Stewart, C.E., to the managing director of the Electric Tramway Company, and presented in due course to the Auckland City Council last week, points to a probable x’eason: Mr Stewart says: —“Thei chief reason, m my opinion, of the extensive sinking of the track is the imprisonment under the asphalt of the water draining downwards from the high ground on tlie eastward. This, under the vibration of the traffic, works the earth and clay into slush. During the progress of the works, each length of the trenches, as opened, was inspected by me personally, and no dangerous bottom was observed; Had the slush and potholes, which have . been found during repairs,, existed 'during construction, the concrete could not have been rammed into* shape; it would have all gone into the mud.” The City Engineer, in a memorandum attached to Mr Stewart’s report, stated that if proper provision had been made for draining the track the subsidences would not have occurred. . A message received in Sydney from Melbourne on the 25th ult. stated that very great improvement was reported In the condition of the lion C. C. Kingston 'A . ;-,i-iv....... . redAk; cre .re'

are as follows: — s d s d Boys ... 0 6 Oflinary -seamen ... X 3 Able seamen ... 1 7 0 Petty officers from ... 2 >0 to 3 Stokers ... 1 8 to 2 0 Leading and chief stoker's 2 3 to 3 0