k service. The patronage appertaining to the First Lord of the Admiralty is enormous. There are about nine thousand naval officers, and two thousand civil officers, who are dependent upon him for promotion.' He appoints admirals, captains, commanders, and lieutenants, to separate commands. The step from post-captain to admiral is by seniority; but promotion to the rank of captain, and generally all promotions, except masters and warrant officers, rest with the First Lord. The First Naval Lord has usually the selection, with the First Lord's approval, of lieutenants and midshipmen, masters, pursers, and warrant officers. But none of these promotions are influenced, in the least degree, by political considerations, which are not allowed to interfere in the selection of officers for promotion, either in the naval or civil departments of the service, or for particular commands." Great pains are usually taken to select the best men, whether for appointments or promotion. k Rep. Bd. of Admiralty, p. 636. 1 Ibid. p. 113. The ancient division of the flag list into three squadrons of red, white, and blue, was abolished in 1864. Flag officers are now only rearadmirals, vice-admirals, and admirals. The white flag is now the ensign of her majesty's fleet; the blue, that of ships of the Royal Naval Reserve; and the red, the ensign of the merchant service. Hans. Deb. vol. clxxvi. p. 258. See the Report of a Committee of the House of Commons in 1853, on dockyard appointments. This committee was specially charged to investigate certain alleged acts of corrupt interference with the rules in regard to appointments and promotions for the purpose of favouring the interests of the party in power. (Commons Papers, 1852-3, vol. xxv. 3. And see ante, vol. i. p. 414.) În 1858, when Sir J. Pakington was at the head of the Admiralty, he took effectual measures to prevent promotion in the dockyards being influenced by political favouritism. (Hans. Deb. vol. clxxxvi. p. 1372.) In 1860, when the Duke of Somerset was First Lord, a board minute was passed, based upon an Order in Council of March 11, 1853, expressly discountenancing the use of political influence in applications for appointments to office in the naval service; and another minute, to the same effect, but still more stringently worded, in regard to dockyard promotions. (Rep. on Board of Admiralty, pp. 36, 39, 95-98.) See Lord Grey's observations on the vast improvement which has taken place of late in regard to the principle which governs the exercise of patronage, in the navy and army. (Parl. Govt. new ed. p. 285.) In proof of the impartiality of the Palmerston administration towards employés in the dockyards, and of the independence of the employés themselves, it may be mentioned, that in February 1863, Mr. Ferrand (a Conservative) was elected as member of Parliament for the borough of Devonport, a place minations and pro The system of promotion and retirement in the Royal Naval noNavy is now regulated, for the most part, by Orders in Council. The nomination of cadets is principally vested motions. in the Board of Admiralty; the First Lord having usually some sixty or seventy in a year, and each junior lord about five or six; but a flag officer, on being appointed to a command, nominates two, and a captain ordinarily, on commissioning a ship, nominates one. Certain nominations are likewise placed by the Admiralty at the disposal of colonial governments, and some are given for competition to certain schools. The age of entry is from twelve to fourteen. The cadets then commence their professional education and career. The system of naval promotion may be described generally as one of selection, from the rank of sub-lieutenant to that of captain, and of advancement by seniority from the rank of captain to that of flag officer; certain qualifications, however, being required of every candidate for promotion. The crown retains, of course, the right, by its prerogative, to advance a captain out of his turn; but in practice this power is rarely exercised. In time of war, eminent services may call for an extraordinary promotion; and even in time of peace, the government has the power, by Order in Council, to have recourse to promotion by selection, whenever a necessity may arise for the exercise of this prerogative." Some few promotions are made by the board; some for special services, others according to custom, as on an admiral hauling down his flag; but for these the First which contains large public establishments in connection with the Admiralty, against Sir F. W. Grey, a junior lord of the Admiralty, who, if the dockyard people had abstained from voting, would have been returned; but who had a majority of 150 dockyard votes recorded against him. (Hans. Deb. vol. clxix. p. 784. Ibid. vol. clxxiii. p. 910. Dod's Parl. Companion, 1864, pp. 109, 195.) For testimony as to the honourable conduct of Admiral Grey, in refusing Report of Commons' Committee Lord, as head of the department, must also be considered responsible. All the higher appointments, whether naval or civil, appertaining to the Admiralty, the dockyards, &c., are in the gift of the First Lord, who in fact has the whole patronage of the navy, with the exception of the Vice-Admiral and Rear-Admiral of England, the Commissioners, Governor, and Lieutenant-Governor of Greenwich Hospital, which are in the hands of the Prime Minister. But the First Lord would make no appointment to commandsin-chief, on foreign stations, of any importance, without previous communication with the Prime Minister. Promotions from rank to rank in the royal dockyardswherein some 16,000 labourers, of various kinds, are employed-are made upon the recommendation of the superintendents, agreeably to seniority and merit combined." It must be observed, however, that in the exercise of his patronage, the First Lord has not, like the Secretary for War, any exclusive authority; he can only act in conjunction with the board. All naval officers' commissions are from the Lords of the Admiralty, not from the queen; and like all their other acts, are not valid in the name of the First Lord alone, but require the formal signature of a second lord, and to be countersigned by the secretary. The commissions of officers of the marines are signed by a Secretary of State.t PBoard promotions are promotions made for distinguished service. Instead of being made by the First Lord alone, they are made by the board, and they are therefore looked upon as a greater compliment.' Rep. on Navy Promotion, 1863, p. x. By the Act 28 and 29 Vict. c. 89, the offices of Commissioners and Governors of Greenwich Hospital are abolished, and the government of Greenwich Hospital and of the schools thereof, as well as the lands and property belonging to the same, are vested exclusively in the Board of Admiralty; who are empowered to appoint such officers, &c. as they think fit. The expenses of the institution, and of everything connected therewith, to be annually voted by Parliament. Hans. Deb. vol. clxxvii. p. 1136. Rep. on Off. Salaries, 1850, Evid. 2684-2694. Rep. on Bd. of Admiralty, 1861, p. 159. Murray's Handbook, p. 265. The government patronage in the dockyards is now very small, as promotions are mostly under fixed rules. Hans. Deb. vol. clxxi. p. 670. t Murray's Handbook, p. 266. Act 25 Vict. c. 4. The appointment of naval cadets formerly rested entirely with the First Lord, subject to the candidate passing a standard examination. But according to present practice, the First Lord claims only one-half of such appointments, and the other moiety is divided between the junior lords and the first secretary. Every captain is allowed one nomination, and an admiral two." The salary of the First Lord of the Admiralty is 4,500l. Salary. per annum, together with an official residence. Beyond this he has no emoluments or advantages of lords, how any kind." We have next to consider the appointment and duties Junior of the junior members of the Admiralty Board. They are five in number, and are all fully occupied in transacting the business of the department. When a new administration is formed, the person selected by the Prime Minister to be First Lord of the Admiralty communicates with him upon the choice of the other members of the board, and when they have agreed together upon certain naval officers and civilians as likely to constitute a good board, they submit the names to her majesty for approval." Of the five junior lords, four are always naval lords, two of whom are generally admirals. appointed. ties. Before the appointment of Sir James Graham, in 1830, Their duto preside over the Admiralty, the junior lords had no special and distinct duties assigned to them, and the business was conducted by a very cumbrous and inefficient machinery. The control and the responsibility were alike divided, and there were endless delays in the transaction of business. But this able administrator succeeded in effecting some valuable reforms in the departmental organisation. He introduced the system of concentrated responsibility, which-together with the best advice obtainable, to assist the judgment of the head-he declared x to be indispensable to good administration. He divided the whole business of the department into five separate heads, and appointed one lord to attend exclusively to each class of matters. He maintained that no one man could conduct a great department like the Admiralty unless he made good choice of his instruments. This is unquestionable; his own eye cannot see, nor his own hand perform everything he must see through the eyes, and work through the instrumentality of others. Much depends on the choice of the junior members of the board, who are the eyes and hands of the First Lord. If they do their duty diligently, and act faithfully by him, he is, or ought to be, through them, cognisant of everything, and must be supreme over all the five juniors, who are each subordinate, and co-ordinate under him. It was upon these principles that the reorganisation of the Admiralty was effected by Sir James Graham, and the scheme he introduced has stood the test of thirty years' experience, and met with the approval of successive chiefs of this great department of State." The arrangement of duties among the junior lords is as follows: It is the province of the First Sea Lord to attend to the composition, distribution, and discipline of the British fleet, the preparation of orders to ships in commission, the steam navy, the advanced ships, the protection of trade and fisheries, dockyards, the appointment of commanders, coastguard and volunteers, pensioners, seamen riggers, naval rendezvous. Another sea lord has the appointment of officers under the rank of commander, punishments, courts-martial and courts of enquiry, prize and admiralty courts, marines and marine artillery, dockyard battalions, pirates, salvage, collisions at sea, and the Royal Naval College. Another sea lord superintends the victualling and store departments, transport, convict, and dence, ibid. p. 342. y Rep. on Off. Salaries, 1850, Evid. 2703, 2860. See Rep. on Bd. of Admiralty, 1861, pp. 121, 127, 134, 142. See also Sir C. Wood's evi in See the distribution of business, Rep. on Bd. of Admiralty, 1861, Appx. No. 1, p. 639. |