in which pre-eminence was assigned to England; and that it was the subject of remark that she had shown little inventiveness, and had made little progress in the peaceful arts of industry, since the Exhibition of 1862; which was attributed to the entire absence of good systems of industrial education for the masters and managers of factories and workshops, which were possessed, as it would seem, by France, Prussia, Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland; and to the want of cordiality between the employers of labour and their workmen, engendered by the numerous strikes and the action of Trades Unions.

I must not omit to mention the great efforts made by our Religious Societies to distribute the Holy Scriptures and other publications among the multitudes resorting to the Exhibition, in their several languages. A group of buildings had been erected, in which the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Church of England Society for the Jews, and the Religious Tract Society, carried on their work, circulating books and tracts by thousands. A Salle Evangelique (which had been opened by the Earl of Shaftesbury in the presence of M. Guizot and other chief men of the French Protestant Communion) offered the opportunity for conferences and other meetings of Christians of different countries, and on Sundays was occupied by preachers who proclaimed their message in various languages; while a Missionary Museum exhibited a great collection of trophies won from heathenism to Christianity by various evangelical missionary societies.

The Eclipse, screw corvette, was launched at Sheerness in 1867; and the Myrmidon and Blanche, composite sloops, t

**Early in 1868 a conference on technical education was held by the London Society of Arts, and soon after (on the 24th March) a Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the provisions for giving instruction in theoretical and applied science to the industrial classes. In February, 1870, a conference on national education was held by the Society of Arts, and these conferences and inquiries did much to promote Mr. Forster's Education Bill of 1870.

"In this mode of construction, the framework inside the skin, including frames, beams, keelsons, stringers, waterways, transoms, bulkheads, etc., are of iron, and arranged nearly as they would be in an ordinary iron-built ship, the frames and beams being of the same kind and dimensions, and spaced the same distances apart, with bulkheads of the usual number and construction. The keel, stern, outside planking, and decks are of wood."-King.

and the Severn, wooden gunboat, of four guns each, at Chatham.* The number of vessels repaired and fitted out at Sheerness during the financial year. was ten, exclusive of ships of the Steam Reserve, and the maintenance of hulks, troopships, etc. Two ships were broken up, and four sold out of the service.

It was said that 150 wooden ships of all classes had been sold out of the service between 1859 and 1867. As it would appear that they were practically useless, it would seem that nothing better could be done with them, unless, indeed, as some thought, to have broken them up in the Dockyards.

Sheerness was progressing in the love and enjoyment of music. A grand evening concert was given this year at the Co-operative Hall, in which Mdlle. Liebhart, of the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden, took a leading part, and found, it may be supposed, an appreciative audience.

* The Blanche was launched by Miss Dickens, the daughter of Charles Dickens.

WE

CHAPTER XXIV.

SHEERNESS IN ALARM.

E had reached 1868. Great improvements had by this time been made in Sheerness. A local writer observed: "There is now a thriving town, good dwellings, well-paved and clean streets and roads, a healthy and increasing population, and good social order. Most of the hardships, diseases, noxious vapours, and ague of old times have fled. A report of ague seldom now reaches the ear. The climate of Sheerness is not so fickle and relaxing as that on the southern coasts of Devon and Cornwall. The gentle breeze and the rough storm pass over these low lands without obstruction, sweeping away noxious effluvia, and leaving a pure air behind. Sheerness has a population of 16,000, occupying four neat towns, Blue Town, Mile Town, Banks Town, and Marine Town." It may be added that a Stipendiary Magistrate had been appointed for Sheerness. Offenders against the law had formerly been carried "over the water," to Sittingbourne, to be dealt with. Many a hardy sailor had more dread of being taken there than of crossing the Atlantic, or perhaps of rounding Cape Horn. A humorous scribe relates that the husbands of Sheppey had long carried on a regular plan of being summoned on the Grand Jury for the sole purpose of having a day over the water. "They are never wanted," says he, "on the Grand Jury; for as soon as the names are called over, they, the Sheppey boys, are free to spend the day at Canterbury, and they not only spend the day, but no end of money as well, while their poor wives have to be stuffed indoors all day to attend to the shop. A few years ago people also went 'over

the water' to vote at elections. Besides the attraction of bands, and ribbons, and shaking hands with M.P.'s, there was a comfortable lunch under the Rose at Sittingbourne, or a steak at the Bull, for which the landlord wouldn't accept any payment, at least from the free and independent electors, to say nothing about a wind-up with oysters at the Ferry on returning. That was all very well, and it was before that absurd Bill was passed that interfered with freedom of election by forbidding refreshments, and actually rendering the payment of an elector's travelling expenses illegal! How the British Constitution can ever be carried on if this paltry Act be observed we cannot imagine."

The Estimates for 1868-69 for Wages to Established men of Sheerness Yard (1,072) amounted to £70,586; for Hired men (97) to £3,490; for men in the Steam Factory (502) to £36,277; for Teams to £955; for Police (47) to £3,558; and for men of the Yard-craft to £2,697.

It was interesting to note the state of the Medway Steam Reserve about this time. In the FIRST DIVISION Wwere the Clio, a fine screw corvette of 1,472 tons, with engines of 400 horse-power; two smaller ships, the Columbine and Fawn; the old store-ship Supply, which had knocked about nearly all over the world; and a smaller class of vessels, the Torch, Curlew, Rocket, and Thistle (transferred from Woolwich); all these appeared ready for sea. Here, moreover, were the old Locust, Sheerness, and Otter, now turned into tugs for harbour service, and soon, it was thought, likely to be broken up. In the SECOND DIVISION were some fine old line-of-battle ships, such as the Goliath and the Hood (which would, perhaps, ere long be applied to charitable purposes); the Newcastle (steam frigate); Spanker, Serpent, and Thrasher, gunboats. The THIRD DIVISION contained the Hero, Conqueror, Atlas, and Anson, line-of-battle ships; the Undaunted, Phaeton, Severn, and Emerald, steam frigates (the three latter well known in their day); the corvettes Wolverine, Scout, and Niger; the sloops Racer, Shearwater, Falcon, and Hydra; and the paddle-wheel steamer Recruit. (The Racer and Shearwater were to be brought forward again, but the days of the Falcon and Hydra were numbered.) In the Third Division were also the Dromedary, store-ship, which had seen a little

1

service on the West Coast of Africa, and was to be sold, as well as the Landrail and Ranger, gun-vessels; and the Linnet, Magnet, and Earnest, gunboats, recently put out of commission, and requiring to be surveyed and reported on. In the FOURTH (or last) DIVISION of the Steam Reserve were the Arethusa, frigate; the sloops Mutiny, Basilisk, and Salamander, and the paddle-steamer Oberon; the Thunderbolt battery, the factory Chasseur, and lastly among the steamvessels the gunboat Surly (which was to be sold out of the service). The floating battery was used as a water-police ship; the Miranda was in charge of some old warrantofficer; and at the end of the jetty, on the south side of the entrance to the great basin, was the old Cornwallis, with her engines taken out. Among the old sailing-ships were the Formidable, Belleisle, Latona, Vanguard, Eurydice, Resolute, Unicorn, Diana, Clyde, Nymphe, and Leonidas, with the Fortitude, Columbine, Dido, Ocean, and Benbow, the last five being used as coal hulks, and the Rhin as a Customs hulk.

My holiday was this year spent in London, and where could a man living at Sheerness have spent it more happily? Roaming about its crowded and its fashionable streets; visiting its most famous public buildings; attending the opening by the Queen and Prince and Princess of Wales of St. Thomas's Hospital, and the Missionary meetings at Exeter Hall; ascending to the top of St. Paul's; diving into the cellars of the Bank of England; walking in the parks; running down to Richmond and Kew; going to the Triennial Handel Festival,* the Festival of the Sons of the Clergy, and other Musical gatherings; and on Sundays hearing great preachers-such, with intervals of quiet social intercourse, were the occupations of my holiday in 1868. And they were well calculated to prepare me to return to the duties which awaited me in the little isle at the gates of the Thames and Medway; where I might once more breathe the briny air, look out on the broad waters and the countless ships, roam (when I had time) on the wild and

*The third Triennial Festival took place on Monday, 15th, Wednesday, 17th, and Friday, 19th June. The band on this occasion remained at its former numbers, the chorus was increased to 3,065, and the number of visitors was 82,465.

VOL. II.

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