§ THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGHsaid, that a statement appeared in the public 1061 papers to the effect that the Admiralty had given notice at Sheerness and other places, that they were willing to engage able seamen for the naval service for the limited term of one year. He wished to know from the noble Earl opposite (the Earl of Aberdeen) whether that statement was true; and, if it were true, what was the rate of wages proposed to be paid to men thus entering the service?
§ THE EARL OF ABERDEENsaid, the Admiralty had given notice of their willingness to engage able seamen for one year. The arrangement usually entered into was for five years; but, though the new arrangement was for a shorter period, it was proposed that the seamen engaged for one year should be placed upon the same footing as regarded wages as the able seamen generally in Her Majesty's service.
§ THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGHsaid, it appeared to him that the new arrangement was objectionable for several reasons. In the first place, the services of the men engaged for one year would expire precisely at the moment when their continuance would be of the utmost importance. The consequence would be that the men whose term of service was about to expire, would be enabled to make their own conditions as to entering afresh at a time when the Government were most in need of them, and after they had received provisions and pay for four months of inaction in port. If the Government threw over the exercise of Her Majesty's power of impressment, and determined to obtain seamen as merchants obtained them, they should act as merchants would act; and no sensible merchant would think of engaging men till March for a voyage which would end in November. Further than that, if Her Majesty's Government determined on holding out to persons so engaged for a year, the same advantages they offered to able seamen who would engage for five years, he was afraid the system would operate very injuriously, for no person would be willing to engage himself for the more lengthened period. It appeared to him that seamen considered it an advantage to serve in the Queen's service; and he believed that so far from its being necessary to offer higher wages to men to engage with the chance of being shot, that in fact the excitement of service on board Her Majesty's ships—the expectation of being shot at—induced men rather to engage than to refrain from 1062 engaging in that service. At the same time, when merchants gave 3l. or 4l. a month, it seemed contrary to all reason that the Government should obtain the services of able seamen for the very much smaller amount of 2l. 9s. 1d. In the emergency in which they were placed, it was quite right in the Government to abandon the principle of endeavouring to engage men for a longer period than was absolutely necessary; but to abandon it in the way they had done seemed to him contrary to all reason, and even if it succeeded, he believed it would be injurious to the service. He felt impelled to call the attention of Her Majesty's Government to another circumstance with respect to the manning of the fleet, which was very inconvenient. He did not object to engaging under present circumstances coast-guardmen and pensioners, but at the same time it certainly would be accompanied with great practical inconvenience. The coast-guardmen were not able seamen under all circumstances; he believed the great majority were only ordinary seamen, and would do only ordinary duty; but they received excessive pay as coast-guardmen, and when employed on board ship they received the same pay. They, therefore, doing the duty of ordinary seamen, received 3s. a day; that was, they received in the course of a month of thirty-one days 4l. 13s., whilst the chief petty officer only received 3l. 9s. 9d. The coast-guardmen would therefore receive higher pay by 1l. 3s. 3d., for acting as ordinary seamen, than chief petty officers; and higher pay by 2l. 3s. 11d. than able seamen; and higher pay by 2l. 14s. 3d. than ordinary seamen, whose duty they were performing. He thought that would lead to very serious inconvenience, and was calculated to create very great dissatisfaction. In fact, it placed a man in this position—that if he were desirous of serving Her Majesty on board the Baltic fleet or any other fleet, and, at the same time, had a due regard for his own interest, his object was not to engage at once as seaman. Quite the contrary; if he went into the Coast Guard, he obtained double what he would receive as seaman; from the Coast Guard he would be transferred to the service of the Navy, and would receive more than double as much as if he had entered into the fleet in the first instance. That would lead to great practical inconvenience; and he thought it should receive the consideration of Her Majesty's Government. He was 1063 quite sure, looking forward as he did to the continuance of war for no inconsiderable period, it became them to look forward also, and to take measures beforehand which should lead to the manning of Her Majesty's fleet with proper seamen, able seamen, and ordinary seamen—with good crews, as in former times. They should send back the Coast Guard to take care of the revenue, which in the meantime seemed to be thrown overboard, being placed in the hands of pensioners, and in many instances, perhaps, in the hands of those who had been under the particular surveillance of the Coast Guard. He wished to impress upon her Majesty's Government how necessary it was to take long forethought, a long view into futurity—to look not only to the circumstances of the moment, but to look forward to the probable state of things in the future—to make that preparation now which should have been begun long ago, for a war which could not be calculated to terminate in one year, but which they might expect to have pressing on them for many years.
§ THE EARL OF ABERDEENThis experiment, and an experiment it is, is undoubtedly a novelty; but as it has only been announced about eight and forty hours, it seems a little premature of my noble Friend to judge whether it will succeed or not. But it has been found that, notwithstanding the attraction of being shot at, men may be disposed to engage for one year rather than for five years; and that when they are fairly engaged in duty of this sort, it is not at all improbable that they will continue it beyond the term of their original engagement. It therefore is, as I say, a novelty, but one worth attempting, and I hope it will succeed better than my noble Friend anticipates.
§ THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGHI most earnestly hope it will succeed, but I think it extremely doubtful.