Navies of the world

by Edward W. Very

The control of naval affairs forms one of the sections of the Ministry of War, the central administration being at Pekin, whilst the general administration is divided amongst three coast districts, at each of which is a dock-yard for construction and repair. To these districts correspond three distinct fleet divisions; 1st, Canton squadron; 2d, Foo Chow squadron; 3d, Shanghai squadron. At Foo Chow are the principal machine-shops and building-yard; at Shanghai the powder factory and arsenal; at Canton the naval school-ships. The fleet is manned by a coast conscription, the length of service being indefinite; cadre unknown.

England.

The government of the navy is vested in a board known as the Board of Admiralty. This board consists of five members, namely: the First Lord, who is always chosen from civil life and is a member of the Cabinet; the Senior Naval Lord (naval officer); the Third Lord (naval officer); the Junior Naval Lord (naval officer), and the Civil Lord (civilian). Under the board is a Parliamentary Secretary, changing, like the five lords, with the government in power. The fixed administration, independent of political parties, consists of one permanent Secretary (naval), a Controller of the Navy (Vice-Admiral), Accountant General (naval), Director-General of the Medical Department (naval), Director of Engineering and Architectural Works (army), Director of Transports (naval), Director of Contracts (naval), Director of Naval Construction (naval), Director of Naval Ordnance (naval), and a Superintendent of Victualling and Stores. The First Lord has supreme authority and all questions are settled by his decision. The Senior Naval Lord directs the movements of the fleet and is responsible for its discipline. The Third Lord has the management of the dock-yards and superintendence of ship-building. The Junior Naval Lord deals with the victualling of the fleet and with the transport department. The Civil Lord has control of the accounts, and the Financial Secretary has charge of the purchase of all stores. The immediate chiefs under the board are the heads of bureaus or departments. In addition to those above named there are others not directly connected with the Admiralty Administration: the Chief of the Hydrographic Bureau, the Adjutant-General of Marines, the Astronomer Royal, and the President of the Naval College.

In the central administration the financial secretary assisted by the Civil Lord exercises a rigorous control over all the expenses, guarding against extravagance by means of a system of inspection. For this duty there are two bureaus, the agents of which carry on a rigorous and personal inspection of all coming within their provinces in the different dock-yards. The inspectors of the first bureau are: 1 inspector of machinery, 1 inspector of works in progress, 1 inspector of timber, 2 examiners of completed works, 2 examiners of store accounts. In the second bureau are: 1 inspector of coal, 3 inspectors of dock-yard accounts, 1 examiner of shop accounts, and 1 inspector of buildings and coast-guard posts.

For the general administration there are four naval establishments of the first class, Portsmouth, Devonport, Chatham, and Sheerness, and four of the second class, Deptford, Woolwich, Pembroke, and Haulbowline. In addition to these there are 15 colonial depots: Gibraltar, Malta, Halifax, Bermuda, Antigua, Jamaica, Ascension, Sierra Leone, Cape of Good Hope, Trincomalee, Singapore, Hong Kong, Esquimalt, Sydney, and Queenstown.

The four first-class home stations are each under the immediate command of a commander-in-chief of the station. The Admiral exercises a military command over all the personnel of the reserve, the depots, school-ships, and vessels in commission. The discipline, instruction, and inspection are under his immediate direction. He has charge also of the police of the coasts and harbors of his district in time of peace and their defence and protection in time of war. With regard to the administration of the dock-yard he is only charged with a general surveillance, and under ordinary circumstances he never interferes with its affairs. He has the power to interfere in cases of necessity, but is obliged under such circumstances to render an immediate account of his actions to the Admiralty.

The immediate command of the dock-yard is entrusted to a Rear Admiral superintendent, whose assistants are the heads of the different departments of works.

The navy is manned entirely by voluntary enlistment. There are two main cadres of personnel, the active force and the reserve. The latter force is kept up by voluntary enlistment for periods of five years, with obligation to serve twenty-eight days in each year. This service carries with it certain marine privileges, pay, and after twenty years of service a life pension. Its advantages correspond quite closely to those of a life insurance. The apprentice system is also a permanent source of supply to the active personnel.

The period of enlistment in the active service is for five years, with increase of pay and allowances for continuous service.

GRADES AND RELATIVE RANK
IN THE BRITISH NAVY.