§ Mr. BELLAIRSasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will state the age of recruiting for the chief different classes of men on the lower deck in the German navy; and whether he can state the number fixed for the German naval personnel for the years 1910 to 1914?
§ Mr. McKENNAThe non-commissioned ranks in the German Navy are obtained from:—(1) Conscripts; (2) One-year Volunteers; (3) Volunteers for three years or longer; (4) Boys. Conscripts have to report themselves for conscription on 1st January of the year in which they will complete 20 years, and must continue to do so each year until they are taken or rejected. One-year Volunteers can enter after the age of 18. Three-year Volunteers are permitted to enter before 20 years of age after completing their 17th year. Boys are entered between 15 and 18 years of age. In the 1906 Amendment to the Fleet Bill the total increase in officers, seamen, engine-room complement, medical and accountant branches required by the German Navy by 1920 is given as 37,292, but it is not stated what proportion is to be taken yearly. The yearly increase has up to the present been more than the average of this number, and is probably calculated annually according to the requirements of the German Navy. The rate of increase for the last three years has been 3,433 for all branches of the personnel, and the total personnel for 1909–10 was 53,951. From these figures an approximation can be arrived at of the personnel for the years mentioned in the question.