PART II.

CHAPTER I.

One of the most interesting schools in England is the Greenwich Hospital School, which dates its origin from the time of William and Mary, by whom it was founded as a receptacle for the children of seamen who had fallen or been wounded in the wars of that period. It did not get into practical operation until 1712, between which time and 1870 it passed through many changes, being for more than a century almost completely diverted from its original purposes, and becoming, to a large extent, a training school for the sons of officers who were to enter the Navy as midshipmen. It was not until 1870 that a thorough reorganization took place and the school took on its present character. When this was done Captain Burney, the author of the well-known Seamanship Manual, was appointed to the superintendency. He is, besides the paymaster and chaplain, the only commissioned officer connected with the school, the assistants being wholly taken from the subordinate ranks of the service, or, as in the case of the masters, from civil life.

The school buildings consist of a large central edifice, occupied chiefly as quarters by the superintendent (but in which there are, also, a small museum, a library for pupil teachers and masters, and some offices), and of thirteen other large buildings, of which the chief are the dormitories, the mess-hall, gymnasium, chapel, hospital, and swimming bath. They stand in grounds covering 18 acres, and are separated from Greenwich College (late Greenwich Hospital) only by a street, so that to the casual observer they seem to form part of the same establishment. The greater number of the buildings were erected in 1805, some few, long before, and several of the most important within a few years only. The whole is on the most complete scale, and, so far as I can judge, there is nothing wanting. In the central part of the grounds there is built a complete vessel from the water-line up, fully equipped as to spars and all interior fittings. This is used for instruction in seamanship. She represents a vessel of about 1,200 tons displacement.

The school is on what is termed the half-time system, in which the day is divided between study and manual labor. This system is now receiving very extensive application in England, especially to what is termed "industrial schools" (a class of schools similar to our reformatory schools), and of which Feltham (to be hereafter mentioned) is a striking example. Half the day is given to study, the other half to work at a trade to which the boy has been assigned. The success of this plan, wherever tried in England, has been very great. The boy

enters life, if from one of the civil establishments, with a definite object, and with hands and mind both trained. It is the old apprentice system pursued upon a gigantic scale, with the addition of a sound English education, which the apprentice of former times did not get, nor which he of to-day gets unless he has the energy to attend a night-school.

The present regulations for admission to Greenwich School are of date November 30, 1878. Those of previous date allowed a boy to choose whether he should go to sea in the Navy or not. It was found, however, that very few entered the service, so that the government was in no wise directly benefited. Service in the Navy is now, however, obligatory if the boy reaches the naval standard; if not, he is apprenticed in the merchant service.

REGULATIONS FOR THE ADMISSION OF BOYS TO GREENWICH HOSPITAL SCHOOL.

I. The school will consist of one thousand boys, the sons of petty officers and seamen, and of non-commissioned officers and privates of marines, who have served or are now serving in the Royal Navy or Coastguard, and of other seafaring persons.

II. All claims for admission to the school will be judged by a committee of selection appointed by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, in the following order of precedence, special consideration being given to length of service at sea:

(1.) Orphans; both parents dead.

(2.) Sons of fathers killed, drowned, deceased, wounded, or seriously maimed in Her Majesty's service, or while employed by Her Majesty on board a merchant ship or in action with an enemy, pirate, or rebel.

(3.) Those whose fathers, having served in the Royal Navy or Marines, are dead. (4.) Those whose fathers are serving and whose mothers are dead.

(5.) Sons of naval and marine pensioners. Sons of seamen and marines now serving; both parents living.

(6.) Sons of seamen or marines entitled to the benefits of Greenwich Hospital not included in the foregoing classes. Also the sons of those in the Naval Reserve.

(7.) Sons of other seafaring persons.

The sons of commissioned and other officers are not absolutely excluded, provided that the peculiar circumstances of their case render them eligible for this charity.

III. Applications for admission are to be made to the secretary of the Admiralty (Greenwich Hospital branch), London, when the necessary forms will be sent, which, when properly filled up, must be returned as directed, with the following documents: (a.) Certificate of marriage of the parents, or, if not obtainable, satisfactory proof thereof.

(b.) A certificate of registry of the boy's birth.

(c.) A certificate from the clergyman of the parish to which the boy belongs, or from the minister of his denomination, or from the master of the school at which the boy has been educated, as to his character and moral conduct.

(d.) An agreement, signed by the boy and his parents or guardians, that he shall serve in the Royal Navy for a period of ten years' continuous and general service, from the age of eighteen, in addition to whatever period may be necessary, until he shall have attained that age, if found physically fit and up to the prescribed standard on his discharge from the school; otherwise, that he shall be bound apprentice in the merchant service for four years and enrolled in the Royal Naval Reserve.

IV. The services of the father, upon which the claim is founded, will be ascertained at the Admiralty, and due notice will be given, without further application, should the boy be selected for admission into the school.

V. Boys are eligible for admission between ten and a half and thirteen years of age. They must be physically fit for sea service according to the prescribed standard; must be able to read an easy sentence; and must have a knowledge of the four simple rules of arithmetic.

VI. Applications will not be received until the candidates are ten and a half years of age.

VII. After admission to the school, boys will be examined monthly by the medical officer, and especially at thirteen years of age, as to their physical condition, and if at any time found to be unfit for further retention in the school they will be discharged at once; otherwise they will be kept in the school until they reach the age of fifteen and a half years, when they will be entered for continuous service in the Royal Navy if found physically fit, and up to the prescribed standard. If found unfit for entry into the Royal Navy, they will be bound apprentices in the merchant service for four years, * and enrolled in the Royal Naval Reserve.

VIII. Vacancies occasioned by discharge of boys found physically unfit at thirteen years of age will, as far as possible, be filled by selection from the sons of seamen and marines, who must be thirteen years of age, fit and willing for service in the Royal Navy, and able to pass a sufficient examination in reading, writing, and arithmetic. IX. Applications for the admission of boys at thirteen years of age must be made one month previously, in the same manner as directed in clause III.

X. The nautical division is not to exceed one hundred and twenty boys, who will be selected from the general school, by competitive examination as a rule, at thirteen years of age. They will be educated to fill the positions of pupil teachers, writers, and ship's steward's boys in the Royal Navy. No boy will be eligible to be transferred to this division of the school after fourteen and a half years of age. Boys failing to come up to the prescribed standard at fourteen and a half years of age will be bound apprentices in the merchant service.

XI. The education of the boys in the general division will comprise the usual elements of a sound English education, alternating with practical seamanship and other industrial occupation designed to prepare them for a seafaring life.

XII. In the nautical division, elementary mathematics, and mechanics, nautical astronomy, and French will be taught.

XIII. A thorough knowledge of the art of swimming being one of the requirements for entry into the Royal Navy, all boys in the school will be taught to swim, and will be periodically examined as to their proficiency.

XIV. Children of Roman Catholics, or of Protestants not members of the Church of England, will not be required to learn the church catechism, and will be allowed to attend convenient places of public worship in accordance with the religious persuasions of their fathers, provided that application be made to that effect by the father, if living; if he be dead at the time of the boy's admission, then the marriage certifi cate of the parents, or baptismal register of such child, according to the usage of any established religious community, of a date previous to the father's death, will be received as evidence of the religious tenets of the father.

The money appropriated to the school is from the Greenwich Hospital fund, so that there is no direct grant from the state. The estimates, however, must be submitted to Parliament, and are voted upon in the same manner as those of the Navy. The total, yearly required, is £20,000. The sum is gradually reducing year by year as the trades of the school become more thoroughly organized and efficient.

CHAPTER 11.

ORGANIZATION.

The regulations in paragraphs XI and XII of the articles governing admission roughly outline the education given. The school is kept to its maximum as closely as possible, the number rarely falling below 990. At the date of writing there are 998. Of this number there are 120 in the nautical division, the remainder being in the general school.

The officers are as follows:

Superintendent (Captain Burney, R. N.)

One aide, who looks after the general discipline.
One clergyman (naval).

One medical officer.

One storekeeper and cashier (a naval paymaster).

One head-master.

Four schoolmasters.

One music-master.

One clerk.

Two school sergeants (acting as drill-masters).

Six school corporals, each of whom has charge of a company, and in addition has other defined duties, as follows:

No. 1 teaches sailmaking.

No. 2 teaches matmaking.

No. 3 has charge of mess-hall.

No. 4 teaches swimming.

No. 5 has charge of seamanship instruction.

No. 6 instructs in house painting.

Two seamanship instructors.

Two junior seamanship instructors.

The trade staff is given in another part of the paper.

The general school is divided into two watches; each watch is divided into two sections, A and B, of 220 boys each, each of which sections is under a master with a staff of four, sometimes five, pupil teachers. The section is subdivided into six classes, termed upper and lower first, upper and lower second, upper and lower third.

There are thus about thirty-six boys in each class, who in school are taught together. The term "class" in this case corresponds with the use of our word "section" at the Naval Academy.

As but one watch is at school at a time, there are but twelve classes at study. They are taught according to the standards laid down in the regulations of the new school code (1879). There are by these regulations six standards of proficiency, beginning with No. 1, which is of the most elementary character, requiring but the slightest knowledge

of reading and writing, notation and numeration, and rising in standard VI to a considerable proficiency in reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography, and history. The three classes of the general school at Greenwich take as their standards III, IV, and V; the second part of the nautical school rises to the sixth, and the first part to the sixth with a greater general proficiency.

I give these standards in full. They are those which apply to all the elementary schools of England under the board of education, schools such as we know under the name of public schools; this name applying in England only to schools of the Eton and Rugby class.