as it would seem, unknown, had been manifested and developed. It possessed a nice shelving beach, pleasureboats, and bathing-machines; a "monster" swimming-bath -the largest in the kingdom, available at all seasons of the year and at all times of the tide-had been constructed; an esplanade was in course of formation; a new town, to which the name of Sheerness-on-Sea had been given, united Chaney Rock with Banks Town, Mile Town, and Blue Town; Public Rooms, with the Victoria Hall, had been erected; a Literary Institution and Library, clubs, societies, etc., had been established or improved; a love of music had been diffused by the Sol-Fa system; trees, shrubs, and flowers had been planted; and it only remained for some great capitalist or enterprising company to follow up what had been so well begun, to lay out the ground near the beach, to build the long-contemplated pier, and by other means which might be suggested to make it as a summer residence a yet more attractive place for the London toiler and the health and pleasure seeking visitor. And besides all this, there were (as of old) the rural walks, the picturesque cliffs with their unequalled sea-view, the antiquities of Minster and Queenborough, and the scientific treasures of the Island. For these we may refer to Chapter IV. Yet we may add that the geologic wealth of Sheppey had been brought more than ever into light during the last few years by Mr. W. H. Shrubsole, whom we have already mentioned, and to whom we shall have occasion again to allude. * When the Local Board made the shaft for their new well, Mr. Shrubsole carefully watched the clay discharged, and observed in many places "patches as of burnished gold." This phenomenon he carefully scrutinized microscopically, and eventually read a paper before the Geological Society on the result, in which he ascribed the reason to the existence of diatoms, which had become so strongly impregnated with pyrites as to assume the appearance indicated. The fossil diatoms were the subject of some discussion, an almost unanimous verdict being passed against Mr. Shrubsole's views, which, however, were eventually accepted. It is remarkable that these were the only discoveries of the kind ever made. Shortly afterwards he demonstrated the existence of a zone throughout the basin of the London Clay in which these were to be found. Mr. Shrubsole has made many other discoveries. It is to be remem bered, to his honour, that all his researches, as well as his exertions for the improvement of Sheerness, were carried on simultaneously with the conduct of a large business. Other interesting resources (as we have already indicated) were afforded by the Island to the scientifically disposed. But, after all, the great attractions of Sheppey to most people were its excellent sea-bathing, and the HEALTH which it offered to all who repaired to it, and who were not too far gone to be revived by its strong breezes; such health being itself a recompense for anything in which Sheerness might be wanting. It should not, however, be forgotten that the SEA-WALLS of Sheppey required very considerable attention.* During the fourteen years of my residence in the Island, large portions of the cliffs had fallen into the sea, and if this went on unchecked, the whole must in the course of time be swept away. The day of my departure came. Having handed over my official duties at Sheerness Yard, and the local Auxiliary Bible Society and the Ragged School to the care of others, and having bidden farewell to all my Sheerness friends, taken a last glance at the memorials in Dockyard Chapel and Cemetery of the dear dust I had left to mingle with its soil, and made my parting bow to Captain Foley,† I embarked with my family and belongings on board a vessel proceeding up the Medway, with my best wishes for the ISLE OF SHEPPEY. * The re-forestation of Sheppey is also worthy the consideration of the Government. † We were specially interested in Captain Foley, as a member of the family ennobled by Charles II., whose founder introduced the modern plan of nail-making into England. The story is so well told by Dr. Smiles, in his world-famed book "Self-Help," and is so interesting, that we regret that we have not space for it. CHAPTER XXXII. CHATHAM DOCKYARD AND ITS SURROUNDINGS IN 1875. -LAUNCH OF H.M.S. "ALEXANDRA" BY THE PRINCESS OF WALES. NCE more I reached Chatham, and took up my duties in the building in which from 1856 to 1860 I had served as Chief Clerk, and to which I now returned as Principal; entering into possession of the very room occupied of old by Mr. John Dickens, father of Charles Dickens, as an agent of the Navy Pay-Office. An official residence was assigned me on the Terrace, and in a short time I had once more settled down. The Principal Officers had nearly all changed; but many of the old hands among the workmen recognised me, and congratulated me on my return; old friends at Brompton, Rochester, and Chatham welcomed me once more amongst them; and I was again associated with old Societies and scenes. It was amazing to observe how the great national establishment to which I was once more attached had expanded during my absence. The Estimates for Chatham Yard for 1875-76 provided £102,719 for wages to 1,330 Established, and £118,295 for 2,170 Hired, Men; £1,574 for Teams; £2,518 for Yard * See "The Childhood and Youth of Charles Dickens" (1883), in which, at p. 44, a view is given of the Pay-Office at Chatham Dockyard. The total number of men actually borne on the books of the Yard on or about the 1st April, irrespective of Yard-craftsmen and Police, was 3,611. It will be seen that this is a larger number than is shown in the Estimates, which only represent the numbers arrived at by dividing the money submitted to Parliament, as required under Vote 8 (for wages), by a certain rate per man, and do not include men employed under other Votes; nor do they include men employed in contingent services, nor absentees. The officers are permitted a certain latitude in the number of hired men, provided the money allowed is not exceeded; and every time they discharge mechanics and enter labourers, they increase the number of men without increasing the expenditure. This goes on nearly every year, but more largely in some years, when construction is rapid. craft, with £1,089 for victualling the same; and £7,395 for 82 Police. The difference between Chatham and Sheerness Yards will be obvious.* In my occasional visits from Sheerness to Chatham I had seen little of the Extension Works, which might be said to form a new Yard, but I had now the opportunity of examining them at leisure. I have observed that the Estimate, which in 1856-7 was but £160,000, was raised in 1861-2 to £943,876, was increased in 1865 (in consequence of the necessity of employing contract work more largely than had been contemplated) to £1,250,000, and again increased in 1869 to £1,700,000. Had the cost of materials and labour remained unaltered, and no modification been found necessary in the plans, the Extension would have been completed, we are told, at the last-mentioned cost. For several years, however, the value of materials of all kinds, especially of coal and iron, had considerably increased, simultaneously with a great advance in the rates of labour; and these circumstances would alone have necessitated an additional outlay on the works. But there had also been since the Extension commenced a considerable change in the construction of our war-ships, necessitating wider entrances to our docks and basins, far more costly caissons, and other modifications of the original design. It had also been decided to add to the scheme a much-needed camber, or tidal basin, for boats, which would serve also as a channel of communication between the basins and the river for lighters and vessels of * It may be well to give here the rates of daily wages of the principal workmen in 1875: Shipwrights Smiths ... o to 5 4 Established. Hired. s. d. S. d. Sawyers... Joiners ... Boilermakers ... ... 08966OOON 20339 62 ... 2 and 4 6 6 ... ... ... 6 14433 89000 o """ 444334 5 4 7 6 4 2 2 4 ... Ordinary 2 ... light draught, so as to avoid the expense and risk of lifting the great entrance caisson more frequently than necessary; and, moreover, a tidal dock for the discharge of steamcolliers. The estimate was, as a consequence, now raised to £1,950,000. The true secret of the order and regularity which prevail in each of Her Majesty's Dockyards may be said to be the knowledge that as surely as the day and hour of payment of salary or wages come round, the amount due to each individual will be paid, every question affecting its accuracy answered, and every detail of calculation, if necessary, explained; and also that, while the records will show every period of absence from duty, they will also show the whole service of every person from the date of his entry on the books, and every step he has taken in advance bearing on the great questions of higher promotion and final superannuation. To maintain a system which effects this in perfect order, and to work it out in all its details, is the responsible duty of the Cashier. It may be added that the increase in the number of men at Chatham since I had left it in 1860, and the occasional additions of large numbers for temporary services, entailed immense additional labour on my department, and it became obvious that, if the numbers were much more augmented, a new and much larger PayOffice would be necessary. During my absence from Chatham a new Surgery had been erected, and the old Surgery turned into an Officers' * "In June, 1667, there were some 800 men, both Dockyard men and seamen, nominally in Government pay at Chatham; and the Duke of Albemarle stated that on his arrival he found only about twelve persons available in the Dockyard. The reason for this, in addition to the panic that existed, was the shameful maladministration that caused the men to desert their posts, or to perform their duties in a half-hearted and perfunctory way only. There were then five quarters' pay due. The pay of the men had been for some time previously fraudulently made by tickets, which were not honoured either in money or goods. They clamoured so long and so loudly for redress that their discontent at length brought about an Act of Parliament (19 Charles II., c. 7), passed 1667, to relieve the Navy Board from their importunities."-The Taking of Sheerness by the Dutch, by John Copland (1895). It may be observed that ships arriving from foreign service to be put out of commission were always paid off without that delay which would seem to have been in olden time of frequent occurrence. 1 See p. 165. |