POOP OF THE “BRITANNIA.” CADETS AT PRAYERS.
Photo: W. M. Crockett, Plymouth.
Well, the result of all this inquiry and suggestion appears to be, so far as the Britannia is concerned, almost nil.
Admiralty nomination continues to be the necessary initial step for entry: there are no Oxford and Cambridge Local certificates required, the Wave is retained, no brigs are attached, nor is a ship-rigged corvette moored alongside with a bridge across; finally, the Britannia remains at Dartmouth.
A “recommendation”—apart from “suggestions”—is that nominations should be given at any age after 11 (this with the view of previous preparation); and yet one of the defects said to exist in the present system is special preparation before coming to the Britannia!
It is a fact that recommendations of specially appointed committees are very rarely acted upon to any great extent; they are frequently very unpractical, or they involve extra expenditure, to which the Admiralty demur.