Chapter XVII: Part II: (One only to be taken.)

6. Latin (easy passages for translation from Latin into English,
and from English into Latin, and simple grammatical questions).

7. A second modern language (of which, if not French or German,
notice must be previously given), or an advanced examination in
the language selected under Part I.

8. Experimental science (easy questions with the object of
testing practical knowledge and powers of observation).

On passing this examination candidates will be sent to the training establishments for four years.

Instruction will comprise an extension of the present _Britannia_ course, and a thorough elementary instruction in physics, marine engineering, etc., including the use of tools and machines. Instruction will also be carried out in small vessels attached to the establishment.

Examinations will be held during the second and fourth year of training. Cadets who fail to pass will be withdrawn. Parents or guardians are required to sign a declaration on the admission of a cadet to the training establishment to the effect that he shall be immediately withdrawn on the receipt of an official intimation of his being considered unfit for the Navy.

After leaving the training establishment cadets will go to sea, and will then be instructed in seamanship, navigation, pilotage, gunnery, mechanics, and engineering by the specialised officers of the ship.

After three years, each midshipman who has passed the qualifying examinations will become an acting sub-lieutenant.

Acting sub-lieutenants go to Greenwich Royal Naval College and to Portsmouth for final instruction in the subjects they studied while midshipmen at sea.

On conclusion of their examination in these subjects, having reached the age of 19 or 20, sub-lieutenants will be distributed between the executive and engineer branches of the Navy and the Royal Marines. No sub-lieutenant will be required to join any branch for which he did not enter as a boy when applying for a nomination.

Such are, briefly, the regulations under which--simultaneously with those who, between 14-1/2 and 15-1/2 years of age, are going in for the last of the old system--cadets are now being entered.

The training establishments alluded to consist of the colleges at Dartmouth and Osborne, with such steam vessels as may be necessary for instruction afloat.

The Dartmouth College is, however, very far from being completed, but our illustration gives a truthful picture of its future appearance.

It is reproduced from an original drawing, kindly lent by Mr. Aston Webb, R.A., the architect.

The Dartmouth College has some pretensions, as has been seen, to artistic merit in appearance, and will, in fact, be a very handsome and effective building on its commanding site.

Those who look for anything of this nature at Osborne will, however, be grievously disappointed. The College in the Isle of Wight is utilitarian to the last degree; so much so as to render any criticism of the buildings from an artistic point of view quite out of the question.

There is a reason for this, however; and the reason is that it had to be prepared for the reception of the first batch of cadets under the new scheme in July, 1903; and at the beginning of that year it had literally no existence.

Having decided upon the adoption of this scheme, and deeming it imperative that it should be brought into operation as speedily as possible, the Admiralty had no option but to "rush" the College into existence; and the King having sanctioned its erection at Osborne, it was rushed accordingly. Sir John Fisher, who had this arrangement in hand, and very much at heart, is perhaps better qualified for getting the maximum amount of work done in the minimum time than any officer in the Service.

The stables at Osborne House formed the nucleus of the new building; and in close proximity to these--which were promptly adopted for various purposes--there were run up a series of bungalow erections--dormitories, officers' quarters, and so on--constructed of timber and a kind of hard plaster known as "uralite."

The illustrations give a correct idea of their general appearance; and though, as has been observed, they are utilitarian rather than ornamental, they are very well fitted in every way, and quite up to date. There are twenty-five beds in a dormitory, and room for a few more if necessary; each cadet's chest stands at the foot of his bed, and a wash-stand beside it; there is a plunge bath, with three ordinary ones, at the end of the dormitory, and a capital lavatory besides, for use in the daytime.

The officers' quarters are very comfortable and well furnished, and the cabins are of sufficiently liberal dimensions to be dignified by the name of rooms.

The whole establishment is lit by electric light, the current being brought from Newport at a high voltage, and transformed at East Cowes, so as to be delivered at 240 volts.

The playing fields are very large in extent--much larger than those at Dartmouth--and though they are now somewhat in the rough, they will in time be excellent, the subsoil being gravel and the drainage consequently very good.

The officers of the Osborne College are to be found in the "Navy List" under our old friend the _Racer_, formerly attached as a rigged cruising vessel to the _Britannia_, but now denuded of her yards and sails, and used as an instructional ship for the College.

Captain R. E. Wemyss is in command at Osborne, and his staff comprises a commander, four lieutenants, two engineer lieutenants, and an engineer sub-lieutenant, a captain Royal Marine Artillery, chaplain, staff surgeon, surgeon, staff paymaster, and assistant paymaster, besides some warrant officers and petty officers for instructional and disciplinary purposes.

There are also eight masters for studies, who do not, however, at present reside in the College, but have a comfortable sitting-room appropriated to them.

More dormitories, etc., are in course of construction, in anticipation of a considerable increase of numbers in the near future.

This does not, however, include the whole establishment, for down by the river-side, about three-quarters of a mile distant, there is an excellent workshop, with all necessary machines of the latest description, run by electric motors. This was also run up in record time, but is built of brick, and in every respect most workmanlike and suitable for its purpose.

There are--in October, 1903--about eighty cadets, whose course is in full swing, and who appear to be thoroughly happy and comfortable, and keen about work and play alike.

The workshop appears to possess a tremendous attraction for them; and, judging by the eagerness with which they race for their places and tackle the tools, practical mechanics is not going to be a difficulty in the new scheme.

A substantial pier is being constructed on the river, and various improvements are being rapidly carried out.

How the course is to be apportioned between the two Colleges is not precisely settled at present; but it is almost certain that the cadets will commence at one--probably Osborne--and, after two years or so, be transferred to the other to complete their course.

Such is briefly the educational arrangement for our future naval officers; the scheme excited a good deal of adverse comment when it was announced, and only experience, of course, can demonstrate its merits and defects. It has been inaugurated with a great deal of energy, and certainly appears to promise well, at any rate in the probationary stage. With later developments, which some people predict will bring a certain degree of failure, we are not concerned just now. It is obvious, however, that some radical change was necessary, and half measures are seldom successful; so it is as well, perhaps, that the authorities have "taken the bull by the horns," and had the courage of their convictions.