OUR TRAINING SHIP.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 5598, 26 May 1905, Page 6

OUR TRAINING SHIP.

(To the Editor "N.Z. Times.") Sir,—lt is amusing to read in the evening paper the efforts of someone, with a “little" of the dangerous knowledge often quoted, trying to air his authority on matters “naval nautical." In the first place, re “private training vessels," the “authority" has probably, never heard of the Marine Society's training ship Warspite, the inmates of which have to be of respectable parents, and undefiled with the courthouse. The boys trained in this ship in most cases adopt the sea as a profession, and remain there, some in the navy, but most in the mercantile marine.

Now. for H.M. training service. The “authority" has mentioned about onehalf of those in use as training 'ships. There are several others, and the reason, that they are (and in some cases were) "three-deckers’* is because those were the ships in vogue when the system was initiated. As a matter of fact, there are ironclad training ships,for the simple reason that Dantzic oak won't last for ever. These large, roomy vessels are the home of the boys, and the brig and the gunboat are the training ships. The Britannia has another Sparrow, like our “poor little thing/’ Now as to room, if -we had a “three-decker" could we half fill her with boys? I doubt it. In my opinion, the Sparrow is quite large enough for our requirements at present, and is fit in every respect for training “the young idea’* in both seamanship and gunnery. It is not necessary to have entire square-rigged vessels to make seamen. Steering, knotting, splicing, heaving the lead, boat-pulling, sail-making, mending and ‘pending," navigation, and all the essentials of a seaman are to be obtained equally as well in the schooner, brigantine, barque or fullrigged ship. So much for the seamanship which is all that is required for the mercantile candidate. The aspirants for entry into the liavy, in addition to the above, have to be taught. Fleet gunnery, musketry, cutlass, pistol and rifle exercises, magazine and shell work, etc. All of these ; have been taught and practised in the much-abused Sparrow. Why not again ? As for there not being enough room to swing the proverbial cat in, what about the Euryalus, Challenger, etc. ? They don't play many cricket matches 'tween decks there. • Now we come to the "manning" question. A “superintendent" is more suited for charge of a lunatic asylum, or inebriates' home; but for a training ship like the Sparrow we want One lieuten-ant-commander, one sub-lieutenant, one .engineer, and one assistant-engineer. These could bo R.N.R, officers to come afloat and take charge on “h : gh days and holidays/' etc. For the permanent staff wo require a chief gunner in charge (a naval man, similar in rank to Master-i Gunner -Richardson), two ©x-naval pet-ty-officers, one engine-room artificer, one chief'steward, on© cook, ono shipwright carpenter, six able seamen, and four stokers, a total of seventeen, plus reserve officers (four), making twenty-one in all. This would leave, ample room in th‘s “mite.of a Sparrow" for sixty boys, making a training ship quite as largo in comparison as New Zealand's contribut;on to tho expense of the Royal Navy.—l am, etc.. FOnjß/POINT-SEVEN. May 24th.