SEA TRAINING FOR POOR BOYS.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—Referring to the Conference of County Councillors-froin different parts of England, shipowners, and others interested in this subject held in the London County Hall on the 21st inst., may I call attention to certain points of special moment P
The objects are to offer to the poor honest boy a sea life as a permanent and sufficient livelihood, thus saving him from becoming a wastrel; to supply our merchant service with well-trained British seamen; and to furnish like recruits to. the Navy. It has been conclusively proved by the training- homes which I represent that there is no lack of applicants. for admission; that boys trained there readily obtain employ- ment from shipowners ; that they continue to follow the sea,. and do not drift back again to uselessness and poverty ; and that boys who reach the high physical standard rightly- required in the Navy can be placed in that service.
The course Pf sea schooling and discipline adopted at the institution-tunas out lads at fifteen to sixteen of the type an standard useful to shipowners, who consequently maintain a. constant demand for them, and no well-behaved boy is dis- appointed, because the Committee undertake to place him. The essential point of continuance at sea is ensured by meeting each boy on return from his voyages, rehousing Mill- et the-institution, getting him to save his wages, repairing the sea kit given on first shipment, and reshipping bins. He.
is thus protected from the land-sharks who desire his pay, his sea kit, and his soul. After two or three years he becomes old enough to look after himself. We began with eight boys in 1903, we have long had as many as we can with our present resources pay for (one hundred and thirty at a time), and some two hundred and fifty of our old boys are now at sea. All we need is sufficient funds for maintenance and development. We have long asked and, hoped for Government aid. But, although the Boy Sailor Departmental Committee of the Board of Trade of four years ago reported in favour of an allowance to training institutions based on results, nothing whatever has been done. We must therefore continue to ask the public to help to carry on this most valuable work.
Public attention has been called to the great defects in the education of the poor, how book-learning has alone been regarded, and the building up of character and instruction bow to earn a living neglected, and we all see the results. Both these defects are met in a remarkable manner by sea training, which unites strict discipline to technical training. Although we do not in general admit boys under fourteen, and continue sehool instruction by a certified teacher for a portion of the day, our main attention is given to all-round nautical instruction, and, in addition, swimming, Swedish exercises, rifle exercise and practice, field-gun drill, and .wireless telegraphy. Above all, we endeavour to put into our buys the splendid spirit which animates the British Navy. With the help of our excellent superintendent, Captain Garnons-Williams, R N., and the naval instructors under him, a marked success has attended this effort.
• If a boy commits a criminal offence, or is committed by a Magistrate under the Industrial Schools Act, he can be sent to a reformatory sea-training institution at the public expense. But if he remains honest, though poor, only charitable gifts, assisted by small allowances from Poor Law Guardians and County Councils, can provide for him.
• The Conference was designed to interest the County Councils in sea training. Some have already given help. For instance, Surrey now supports twenty-five Surrey boys at .our homes. I trust that other County Councils will take up this matter in earnest. I very gratefully acknowledge the valuable aid already given by the Herts Navy League, and the still more important assistance which they have in con- (remplation. But I beg help from those who are prepared to give to a charity which does great good without one single drawback. Our Committee consists chiefly of practical men, shipowners, retired shipmasters, and others connected with maritime matters, who exercise a rigid economy and make every shilling go as far as twelve pennies will carry it. Nothing has been spent on fine buildings ; sufficiency alone is considered. But our income falls short of our normal expen- diture, and our funds do not permit of that extension of this national work which is so desirable. Boys of all creeds are received, and their religious wants attended to by ministers of their several denominations. Both the Anglican and the Roman Catholic Bishops of Liverpool are members of the Committee. We have no religious difficulty.
Information may be obtained from and cheques sent to the secretary, Captain Alan Field, Tower Buildings, Water Street, Liverpool, whose article in the current Naval Annual or the Giornhill Magazine on the subject I would commend to interested readers. The superintendent of the homes, situate at Liscard on the Cheshire side of the Mersey, is pleased to show any one interested over the place. The ferry-boat from the Liverpool landing-stage to Sea.combe (for Liscard) runs every few minutes, and a tramcar passes near the homes.—
Chairman Lancashire (Navy League) and National Sea Training Homes for Poor Boys.
Water Street, Liverpool.
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