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I visited the " "Warspite," belonging to the Marine Society, which body has been in existence since the year 1756, and was the first society to establish training ships. It has fitted out and sent to sea up to the 31st December, 1874, no less than 57,884 boys. The " "Warspite "is an old 50-gun frigate, and has accommodation for 200 boys. She is moored off Woolwich. At the time of my visit to her, the age of the oldest boy on board was a little over 16, and of the youngest a little over 14 ; none under 14 are admitted, and they are all kept until sent to sea. Boys are shipped as apprentices usually for four years, their wages for that term being £40. I was told that shipowners exhibited great reluctance in taking apprentices. The Society does not permit boys to be apprenticed to the coasting trade, as it was found that inducements of various kinds were offered to them by unprincipled persons which caused them to desert almost as soon as shipped. The staff of the " Warspite " consists of a Superintendent who is a Commander in the Eoyal Navy, a chief officer, four seamen instructors, two schoolmasters, two carpenters, and one cook. The chief seaman instructor has relative duties to those of chief boatswain's mate on board a man-of-war. A good plain education is given to the boys, and they are instructed in the art of seamanship. The routine duties of the ship are conducted as nearly as possible the same as on board a man-of-war. The boys are divided into classes. I saw a class of 50 boys working away at knotting, splicing, stropping blocks, and making sinnet. The chief schoolmaster instructs the upper boys in navigation. I observed a sextant hanging up between decks, with the following notice under it: —" Presented by Henry Hughes, optician, 59, Fenchurch Street, to the first boy who passes his examination for second mate." There is a good library in the school-room ; and bagatelle, dominoes, and other games are supplied. The books are given out to the boys at 5 p.m., and they have to be returned at a quarter to 8 o'clock. The boys who read well read aloud to the rest during the winter evenings. A fife-and-drum band of twelve performers is on board, who practice every morning from a quarter past 8 o'clock till 9 o'clock. There is a model of a ship about 9 feet long, brig-rigged, fitted with sails, running-gear, and everything complete, by which the boys are taught the names and leads of ropes, names of spars, and the various parts of a ship. Near this model, between decks, there is a large drawing of a ship, with names of the rigging, ropes, spars, &c.; and a frame fitted against a bulkhead on which specimens of knots and splices of all kinds are exhibited for the boys to work by. The boys are divided into twelve messes, with sixteen in each. Four are appointed to assist the cook one being taken on each week, so that in this way every boy on board has to serve four weeks in the galley. The boys wash their own clothes. Provisions are contracted for. Fresh bread and fresh meat are sent on board daily, and other supplies as applied for. Soft bread is served out for breakfast, and biscuit twice a day; potatoes and meat for dinner; preserved meat twice a week. Clothing is also supplied by contract; an entire outfit, including hammock and bedding, costs about £6. Each boy has a bag, with his number on it, which holds his kit of clothes; these are stowed in closed lockers, fitted round the sides of the ship on the lower deck. Clothes are inspected every Saturday. Hammocks are on the lower deck, and are swung athwartship so as to economize space. In summer, one watch is placed on the main and one on the lower deck. As the ship lies quite close to the shore, it has been found necessary, in order to prevent desertion, to secure all ports and apetures with bars and padlocks, which are locked daily at 4.30 p.m., and all boats when hoisted up are chained and locked ; the working boat kept alongside is locked at 8.30 p.m. There is a lavatory, fitted in fore-part of lower deck, to accommodate 100 boys at a time, supplied with water from a two-tun tank on main deck, which is filled every night from water in the hold by the black-list boys. Severe punishment is not resorted to; every effort is made to induce good behaviour by appealing to the boys' better feelings. Only desertion and insubordination are punished by the infliction of the birch, which is administered by the Chief Seaman Instructor under the immediate directions of the Superintendent. The vessel is inspected once a month by two of the Committee and the Secretary of the Marine Society. The scale of pay to the officers and men on board the " Warspite " is as under:— Superintendent, who is a Commander in the Eoyal Navy £250 salary Chief Officer ... ... ... ... ... £82 per annum. Chief Seaman Instructor ... ... ... ... £3 15s. per month. 4 Seaman Instructors, each ... ... ... ... £3 10s. per month. 2 Schoolmasters ... ... 1 at £145, and 1 at £70 per annum. ■ 2 Carpenters ... ... ... lat £4 10s., and lat £3 10s. per month. 1 Cook ... ... ... ... ... ... at£4 per month. In addition to the above-named pay, the officers and men are each allowed Is. Bd. per diem for ration money, and the Superintendent is allowed the same sum for rations for one servant. In the course of conversation with Mr. S. Whitchurch Sadler, the Secretary of the Marine Society, he said the want of a sailing tender in connection with the " Warspite," in which the boys could be sent to sea for short trips to get lessons in seamanship by actual experience, was felt to be a great drawback ; and he highly commended the plan proposed in New Zealand, of having two large vessels stationed at some two of the principal ports, and employing the "Southern Cross," or some other vessel of about her size, rigged as a brig, to take the boys to sea in from the large vessels. With reference to this proposed plan, and to the application which I understand has been made to the Home Government for two of the old wooden vessels of war of a type not now commissioned for service, I may remark that, when I was on board the " Warspite," 1 saw the " Liverpool " lying quite near, in course of being broken up ; she was a 60-gun frigate, about fourteen years old, and I was told had only been once in commission for about two years. A little higher up the river another frigate, the " Melpomene," was also being broken up. I was given to understand that there are plenty of good wooden ships of this class lying unused in the Medway, and at Portsmouth and Plymouth, many of which would be quite suitable for training ships for the colonies. These vessels, although dismantled, have their baste, spars, and rigging stored in the dockyards, and they could therefore be easily fitted for sea The best kind of training ship to be stationed in harbour would be a 60-gun frigate, similar to the " Liverpool." #*#•#•##