Page:The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century.djvu/32

 to this there had been no systematic gunnery in the navy, and proficiency in this respect much depended on individual captains. Not long after the 'Excellent' was established at Portsmouth, the 'Edinburgh,' a 58-gun ship, was stationed at Plymouth for the same purpose, and placed under the 'Excellent'. It is now better known as the 'Cambridge,' where equally good work is carried out, and efficiency is ensured by the healthy rivalry maintained between the two depots.

At the time under review there is no doubt that the great defect of our naval system was in the manning of the ships, and the difficulty of procuring seamen without great delay. Ships sometimes had to wait months before the crew was complete. Officers had to visit all the well-known haunts of seamen, and use every sort of persuasion to get men to enter their ships. According to the custom then, men only joined a ship for a commission, and on paying off—if no other ship was being brought forward for commission—a number of men were thus thrown on their own resources. The result was that hundreds of splendid men were lost to the navy, many going over to America, or taking up other avocations. The time required for manning a ship depended much on the captain's reputation in the service. Placards in the seaport of fitting out such as the following were resorted to:—'Wanted active seamen for the "Powerful"—Captain Napier. The "Powerful" is a fine ship, and in the event of a war will be able to take her own part' 'Wanted seamen for the "Superb." A superb ship, a superb captain, and a superb crew.'