INNOVATIONS IN THE NAVY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12817, 17 July 1912, Page 5

INNOVATIONS IN THE NAVY.

People of all parties m England are beginning to agree, says the Sydney Morning Herald's London correspondent,. t that Mr Winston 1 Churchill, 'wha&ver 'his political view* and actions* *is • oertainly filling, m a manner beyond expectation hia post as First Lord of the Admifftljty. Viewed at first' by some naval .authorities as likely to prove an unnecessary nuisance, lie soon showed, that he understood the Navy's needs, and that/ hsl.tss resolved to satisfy .those, needs, ajHi.'Jje, is rapidly converting people to areoognltion of his, high abilities m this department. When Mr Churchill resolvea'Tfo do a tiling, "lie does ...ndt^ 1 let the mere consideration tihat .that 'thing is unusual or unprecendehted ! istdp^&im half wajy. Take, for' instance, his promotion quite lately of (&mm&nder Samsputy! 'who distinguished himself by 'biisv aeroplbne flights at Wey'mouth, and -Mb sert^^i of the Second' Lord of the. A&niraltaNAft take part-in certain fleet exeEois»BW'ftß#OTthese^actions were contrary to established precedent, yet Mr Churchill performed them withonV^-tKbxigikt to conventional prejudice. '? A*far more important^ innovation is his Abolition of the custom", of _ entirely changing .the, ccews of war.-^ ships every.;\iwo -years. Hitherto, "-nomatter to;licwt*Mgli,"a .standard of ".^fj^'ii! ciency the officers of a 'ship might havev brought, their men, at the end of the*, two years out they went, leaving their" ship m the same position as any other uncommissioned vvieasel. Splendid, work., hadtoften been effected in v the' two iyears^-r. The Herald's correspondent cites the ■- case: of ai battleship which m, 1904, when:'.'*; a particular captain joined her, was la§i: m. the fleet m,. -nearly all manoeuvres, ; and was notorious the- Navy for. the numbers of her men punished for broken ' leave. At the .end of the term she . hed beaten all others m the matter of evolutions, and there were no absentees. Even m a case of this kind, « officeiw; and. men were not perrintted to go on .with ; their work on the ship, Sand attain still higher efficiency. . They w<ere tspjit tip and .divided among fifty different ships, where tlie same work of drilling and organising was started anew. Mr .Churchill, .with . insightj. saw -rthafev thir did not make for efficiency, and promptly put a stop to it. Now, ships will have p continuous crew, not a permanent crew, for that would lead to stagnation, •but -one ponstahtJsg»r.eu«\vingt>st^lf ':ahd passing- men in^ahUoi*t, as- in' a'" it'egi- ' mental,- depot. new arrangement means that a ship's' fame will not pass with the passing of her commission! but will grow and endure. "