HL Deb 06 July 1874 vol 220 cc1065-73
LORD CHELMSFORD

rose to call attention to the Returns which had been laid upon the Table of the regulations in force on board Her Majesty's ship Britannia in respect to the summer and winter routine and the course of study prescribed for naval cadets;" also of "the examination papers issued for the examination of candidates for naval cadetships, and of naval cadets at the end of their first, second, third, and last term for the year 1873, and to move a Resolution thereon. The noble and learned Lord said, he thought he should be able to show their Lordships that the subject to which he wished to direct their Lordships' attention was one of great, and he might add, of national interest—for such the training of officers in our Naval Service must unquestionably be considered. Should their Lordships agree to the Motion for the production of the Returns, he thought he should be able to show that upon their due consideration, an inquiry ought to be instituted as to the course of study prescribed for Naval Cadets, and as to the character of the post-terminal examinations, with the view of ascertaining whether the system had been found by experience to work satisfactorily in training up young officers to fit them in every respect for our Naval Service. He believed that if an inquiry were instituted, it would be found that the severity of the studies enforced at the training schools overtaxed the mental powers of the cadets, and consequently was injurious to their health. The candidates for cadetships had to present themselves at from 12 to 13 years of age. The examination for admission—which took place half yearly—was a competitive one, and as the candidates were usually about double the number of the vacancies, a great many boys were disappointed. It was not with this entrance examination he had to deal. The system of competitive examination for all services was now believed to be established; but it had been so indiscriminately applied, and it had been pushed to such an absurd and such a ridiculous length, that eventually it must provoke a re-action. As, however, the object of this entrance examination for cadets was to get the best boys, perhaps it was right that it should be somewhat beyond the powers of average youths. What he wanted to particularly bring under the notice of their Lordships was the course of the successful candidates, in order that their Lordships might ascertain the ordeal through which these boys had to go, and the number of barriers through which they must make their way before they were admitted to active service. The training was conducted on board the Britannia at Dartmouth, and took two years. Each of these years was divided into two terms. At the end of each term there was an examination—so that there were four examinations to be gone through in the course of the training, and failure in any one of these would be defeat to the boy's attempt to enter the naval profession. He had moved for a Return of the examinations during the four terms which preceded the end of the year 1873. He would call their Lordships' attention to a few questions put to the cadets at each term examination. At the first term the cadets were to be of an age not under 12½ years, and not over 14, and the subjects of examination were arithmetic, algebra, Euclid, plane trigonometry, geography, history, grammar, and literature, religious knowledge, and French. With respect to algebra, he might mention that a person fully competent to judge of the fact had stated that the questions were far beyond the calibre of boys of that early age. Ten questions were put in arithmetic, which they had two hours and a half to answer; and here was one of them:— The value of the paper required for papering a room, supposing it ¾-yard wide, and worth 4½d. a yard, is £2 3s. 1½d.; what would he the cost if were 2ft. wide, and worth 4d. a yard? He thought he might venture to say that there were some Members of their Lordships' House who would find themselves very severely taxed to answer that question in three hours, even if it stood alone. For the questions in geography they were allowed three hours, and in that time the boy was required to— draw a map of the Spanish, peninsula, showing the provinces, chief towns, and mountain chains," and to "describe the position of the following places, and state for what any of them are remarkable:—Bilston, Wigan, Witney, Galashiels, Carron, Newry, Breslau, Astracan, Magdeburg, Rotterdam, Liege, and Bordeaux. The boy was also required to— show, by means of a diagram, the moan elevation of the Continents. Write a descriptive account of the principal lowland plains of the Old World. The time allowed for history was one hour and a half, and in that very limited time the boys were to state as follows:— 1. What nations have successively gained a footing in this country? State how long the rule of each continued. 2. Explain fully the relations in which Edmund Ironside and Canute stood to each other and to the country. 3. What claim had Edward the Confessor to the throne? Describe his character and the principal events of his reign. 4. Show by a description of events which occurred during the reign of William I. that the English people did not receive him submissively. 5. What were the leading features in the characters of Harold, William I., William II., Henry I., and Stephen? Substantiate what you say by examples. 6. Describe—(a) trial by ordeal, (b) Danegeld, (c) curfew bell, (b) tournaments. Could their Lordships imagine the state of mind a poor boy of such tender years would be in, who had to prepare for such an ordeal? But on the second term's examination the subjects were of progressive difficulty, and spherical trigonometry and navigation were added to the subjects. In arithmetic there were again ten questions, of which he would take two as specimens:— If 12 oxen and 35 sheep eat 12 tons 12 cwt. of hay in eight days, how much will it cost per month of 28 days to feed nine oxen and 72 sheep, the price of hay being £4 4s. a ton, and three oxen being supposed to oat as much as seven sheep. The next was— £1 English being 25.4 francs, 3.75 francs being equal to 105 kreutzers, 60 kreutzers being equal to one florin, find in English money the value of 1,143 florins. Then, in geography, they were required to— draw a map of Persia, showing its divisions and chief towns. Describe its boundaries and government. Enumerate the States of India, starting from the mouths of the Hooghly and proceeding round by the south to the north, and then down the centre. Give as full an account as you can of the distribution of minerals over the earth. Write a full account of coral formations. For answering the following six questions in history they were allowed an hour and a half:— 1. Name the Kings from Henry II. to Richard IL, and give the time that each reigned, with chief events of his reign. 2. Who were the Plantagenets? What events led to the accession of the first of the line? 3. Explain the causes of Wat Tyler's rebellion. How were the demands of the rebels met? 4. Describe, as fully as you can, the relations of England with Prance in the reign of Henry V. 5. Write what you know of the history of Margaret of Anjou. 6. Describe the condition of Franco in the reign of Henry VI.; give an account of the Maid of Orleans. Then, in grammar and literature, besides analyzing sentences and paraphrasing fourteen lines of poetry, "turning it into simple prose," they were to give a short account of the war and events celebrated in the ballad of "Horatius." For the third term, the examination was more difficult still. One of ten questions in arithmetic was:— Of a certain dynasty 1–3rd of the kings are of the same name, ¼ of another, ⅛ of a third, and 1–12th of a fourth, and there are five besides, how many are there of each name? Two hours was the time allowed for history, the examination paper being as follows.— 1. Describe the relations which existed between England and Scotland during the reigns of the first three Tudor Sovereigns. 2. Write a history of Mary Queen of Scots. 3. Show, by a genealogical table, the claim of James I. to the Throne of England. 4. Explain the following, and where possible give dates:—(a) The Statute of Six Articles; (b) Babington's Conspiracy; (c) The Spanish Match; (d) The Self-denying Ordinance; (e) The Exclusion Bill. 5. Give an account of the principal events of the reign of Charles IL, and state for what that reign was particularly noted. 6. Describe the events which immediately led to the Great Revolution. He now came to the final examination, at the time of which the boys were not to be younger than 14 or older than 15½ years. Nobody could doubt that this last examination ought to be of an essentially practical character, and so directed that the boys might become proficient in these particular subjects which they could bring into active use in the service of the Navy. Some very perplexing questions in physics were put, in addition to some very useless questions in geology, of which the following was a sample:— Describe fully the different igneous and aqueous rocks and give a section of the earth's crust, with proper explanations. Again, under the head of history were the following questions:— 1. Give the dates of the following events, and mention the reign in which each happened. Bombardment of Algiers, Battle of Trafalgar, Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, death of Sir E. Peel, the Battle of Sheriffmuir, and the opening of the first railway. 2. Give the principal events in the history of our Indian Empire with which the names of Warren Hastings, Lord Cornwallis, and Lord Gough are connected; state fully what you know of the following—the Septennial Act, the Corn Laws, and the Reform Bill; write an account of the Battle of Aboukir, with a short history of the reign of William IV.; and write a short account of the American War of Independence. And all this was to be done in the space of two hours. Let their Lordships fancy the feelings of a young cadet qualified in every other respect for the naval service, vigorous in mind and in body, ardently longing to enter the profession, who, after long study, found his hopes blighted and the future of his life overclouded because he could not give a satisfactory account of the Septennial Act, the Corn Laws, and the Reform Bill. What possible use was such knowledge to a naval cadet, and how much of the time which he ought to devote to thoroughly learning his profession was wasted in acquiring it. Probably their Lordships would be of opinion that under the present system the mental and physical powers of these young boys were being too highly taxed. Their Lordships would not be surprised at hearing that there was a general complaint among the cadets that the hours of study were too long and the hours of relaxation too few, and that there was too great a strain on their physical and mental powers, that their brains were worried and their nerves shattered. He had called their Lordships' attention to this subject in the hope that they might agree to the Resolution which he had given Notice to move. Moved to resolve, That upon the consideration of the Returns which have been laid upon the Table of this House of "the regulations in force on board Her Majesty's ship Britannia in respect to the summer and winter routine and the course of study prescribed for naval cadets," also of "the examination papers issued for the examination of candidates for naval cadetships, and of naval cadets at the end of their first, second, third, and last term for the year 1873," it is the opinion of the House that an inquiry ought to be instituted as to the course of study prescribed for naval cadets, and as to the character of the post-terminal examinations, with the view of ascertaining whether the system has been found by experience to work satisfactorily in training up young officers to fit them in every respect for our naval service.—(The Lord Chelmsford.)

THE EARL OF MALMESBURY

said, he was not at all surprised that the noble and learned Lord should have taken up this subject, considering that he had commenced his distinguished career in the naval service, of which, had he continued in it, he would doubtless have reached the top and attained the same eminence he had done in the profession which he subsequently adopted. He could not but agree in the opinion that the noble and learned Lord had expressed, that the training of cadets for the Navy was at present very much overdone, and that it was in itself injudicious. Their Lordships, however, must recollect that the whole country had been for some time so determined on having a high standard of education, and to push it to the utmost, that some allowance must be made for want of reflection and mistakes in details. Their Lordships were aware that a boy entering the naval profession should possess high courage, a healthy constitution, and good temper; and it was impossible that he should possess these necessary requisites if his health were undermined and his physical and mental powers injured by over-study. That however must follow if these young lads were overtasked in training. It was the task of the Government to see that the training of these cadets was conducted with discretion and judgment. So much was this the feeling of Her Majesty's Government that his right hon. Friend at the head of the Admiralty, being to a certain degree of opinion, from facts which had come to his knowledge, that the education of these cadets was being very much overstrained, and that their health was deteriorating in consequence of their being over-worked, had ap- pointed a Committee consisting of two gentlemen versed in University education, two naval officers of distinction, and two medical men, who were to judge of the effects of the mental strain under the system pursued on the health of the boys and to report accordingly. That Committee was now sitting, and therefore it would be improper for him to say more on the subject at present; but he might add that the Government were obliged to the noble and learned Lord for having brought the subject under their Lordships' notice.

THE DUKE OF SOMERSET

also thanked the noble and learned Lord for bringing the subject before the House. He had for a long time considered that these examinations were becoming more and more a system of "cramming" and failed in securing the main object—that was, giving these boys a good, sound, and practical education. It should be remembered that after they left the Britannia the boys had to be examined for the sea service and in gunnery, and consequently they had to go through other severe courses of study. He would repeat that it was very important that these boys should receive a good, sound education.

THE EARL OF CAMPERDOWN

said, that as regarded the first entry of cadets into the Navy, the inference might be drawn from the statement of the noble and learned Lord that the admission was by open competition, but the system was really one of limited, not of open competition—twice as many boys were nominated as there were vacancies—and although he would admit that the examination was rather severe, yet it was found that no very large percentage failed owing to the severity of the examination. He should state that the training school of the naval cadets on board the Britannia was quite distinct from the Naval College. At one time there had been a difficulty about the examination of naval officers; but under the system now in force, the office of Director General of Naval Education had been abolished, and the officers connected with the Naval College had charge of the examination; so that the whole of the officers' education was conducted on a system which had not hitherto prevailed, and the question of what the subjects for examination should be might therefore well be considered. He certainly did not object to the appointment of a Committee. There were several questions which would arise—as, whether Dartmouth, a place on the South Coast, and with a relaxing air was the best place in point of health; next, was it desirable that the education of cadets should be conducted on board ship and not in a college on shore? Different opinions were entertained by many officers whose opinions were entitled to consideration on this point; but, although the desirability of making a change in this respect had been fully established, the chief difficulty heretofore had been in finding a place suitable for the purpose. He would therefore express the hope that the Committee, while considering the general question, would also direct their attention to this point.

LORD HAMPTON

said, no doubt their Lordships would feel that the reply of the noble Lord on the part of the Government to his noble and learned Friend (Lord Chelmsford) was most satisfactory; but there was one point of the greatest importance which had been presented by the noble Earl (The Earl of Camperdown) in a new aspect—it was one of the greatest interest if they wished to bring up these boys in full mental and physical vigour. If these young men were to be brought up in a training ship it was most essential to decide where that training ship ought to be. Now, he would not hesitate to say that of all the places to be found along our coasts the very worst situation for a training ship was the port of Dartmouth, for, although it was one of the most beautiful as regarded its scenery, it was, at the same time, one of the most relaxing as regarded climate. In saying these few words he entirely concurred in what had fallen from the noble Earl opposite, and would express the hope that the Committee which had been so properly appointed by the Admiralty would consider not only the subject of the instruction of naval cadets, but the locality in which it was to be conducted.

EARL FORTESCUE

said, he was of opinion that Dartmouth was not so relaxing as had been described, for there was a perpetual current up and down the harbour, and the facilities for boating there were also very great. How-over, he perhaps had a county prejudice on the subject. He fully admitted the disadvantageous results from overtaxing the brain at an early age. Masters of schools deprecated their pupils entering for valuable scholarships at a period of life when their mental powers would be deteriorated by over-study; and in the case of the Navy nothing could be more undesirable than that there should be what the noble and learned Lord (Lord Chelmsford) had well described as a shattering of the nerves of the cadets arising from exertions pursued under the very strongest and most laudable motives. He congratulated their Lordships and the country on the wise and judicious course which had been adopted by Her Majesty's Government on this subject.

Motion agreed to.