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Stars and Stripes received their prelin- almost absolutely upon the Navy for its inary training as British tars.

The First Line of Defense

For a proper appreciation of the importance that attaches to the training of the British bluejacket, it is necessary to bear in mind that for Great Britainwith her world-wide possessions, and

food supply. The densely populated islands never have in reserve more than six weeks' food supply; and thus, after all, it is primarily as a safeguard against famine that John Bull maintains at enormous expense a fleet of about half a thousand warships, manned by more than 110,000 officers and men, and in

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The vessel moored in the foreground is the old line-of-battle ship Marlborough. Her amidships and forward decks are housed over for permanent shelter.

dependent, as she is, upon foreign commerce-the Royal Navy constitutes a "first line of defense." For this maritime nation, the sea is not merely a water highway from one country to another, but is in addition a dominion to be policed, patrolled, and guarded. The integrity of Britannia's widely scattered colonial empire, the security of the commerce which is the backbone of her prosperity, and, finally, the safety of the three exposed islands comprising the United Kingdom, all depend upon the mastery of the sea.

The matter is brought home to every British citizen, moreover, by the fact that the country depends, in the last resort,

volving an annual expense of fully $115,000,000 for maintenance and for the new construction necessary to preserve preeminence in naval equipment.

Notwithstanding the immense force of enlisted men necessary to keep in commission a fleet of this size, there has never been a lack of seafaring men to meet the requirements of the Navy. Perhaps this is due in part to the fact that the emoluments, while not comparable with those of the American Navy, are nevertheless quite liberal in comparison with the general British wage scale. The young man entering the British Navy has almost as much chance of promotion as the lad in the American service.

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"leading seaman." Hard work will win promotion to the rank of "petty officer, second class." The rank of "petty officer, first class" is the next step in his advance; and after that, the young man, if he has the requisite energy, ambition, and ability, will successively occupy the positions of "warrant officer," "chief boatswain," and "chief gunner."

TARGET PRACTICE. Scene on Board H. M. S. Talbot.-A 12-Pounder in Action. Trained from Boyhood Beginning his naval career on board one of the training ships stationed at Portsmouth, Portland, Devonport, Falmouth, or Queensferry, the young Britisher qualifies as a "first-class boy;" and is subsequently drafted, after a six weeks' cruise on a training brig and a six months' course on depot ship, to a coveted place on a sea-going training ship. Here begins his real career in the Navy. If he progresses advantageously, the young man goes in succession through the different grades of "ordinary seaman," "trained seaman," and

The British naval policy requires that new recruits shall enter the service earlier in life than is obligatory in the United States Navy. No boy, no matter how promising physically or intellectually, is received into the British

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Navy after he has passed his sixteenth year; and each lad binds himself to continue in the service for twelve years a much longer term of enlistment than prevails in the American service. The juvenile British tar, as has been explained, is likewise more poorly paid than his American cousin. Indeed, his wages for a considerable time after he goes aboard the old wooden man-of-war which serves as a training ship, amount to only a few cents per day, in addition, of course, to board and clothing. In the British Navy, and particularly

on the naval training ships, no end of attention is devoted to making the lads physically fit. Boxing and other athletics are encouraged in every possible manner. In the British, as in the American Navy, the theory obtains that the training of the old-time sailor is the best in the world for giving to his twentiethcentury successor a quickness and accuracy of hand and eye, and steadiness of nerve and foot. Accordingly, the young men on the ships flying the Union Jack are taught all manner of work with rope and canvas; learn to make sail and to

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take hand-lead and deep-sea soundings; master the knack of steering into and before the wind; accustom themselves to manning, lowering, and pulling boats; and, in short, acquire the all-round knowledge that constituted the stock-intrade of the all-round seaman on the fighting craft of the old days.

When a young man in the British Navy has advanced to the rank of "firstclass boy," he receives twenty cents per day in addition to board, lodging, clothing, and medical attendance. The amount seems small in comparison with the sum

to a colonial or foreign station, and set
up a sailors' lodging house or some other
business enterprise.

British officers are wont to claim that
seamen who have passed through the
regulation course of training in His
Majesty's Navy are the superiors of any
other men .of their class in actual sea-
manship; but this is by no means con-
ceded by other nationalities, particularly
the Americans. It must be admitted,
however, that the British tars take more
kindly than do the Yankees to the dirty,
unpleasant, and exhausting work of feed-

MEN OF THE ROYAL NAVAL DEPOT SHIPS AT PORTSMOUTH.

Five Thousand Men in Line.-A typical scene in the event of a sudden crisis, such as the recent tension with Russia over the North Sea incident, showing England's naval preparedness.

paid for corresponding service in the American Navy; but nevertheless a young Englishman who is apt and alert can work his way up to a very profitable position in the service of his country, such, for instance, as the post of chief gunnery instructor on a battleship, where the pay is nearly $70 per month-the equivalent of $70 net profit, since the seaman has no expenses save those for amusements. Marriage for the men who are working their way up in the British Navy, is not discouraged to the extent that it is in the American military and naval service. There are few petty officers, even of the second class, who have not wives at the home station; while not a few helpmates follow their husbands

ing fuel to the furnaces in the hold of
a naval vessel, and of coaling warships.
To be sure, they do not do this kind of
work with as good grace as the Germans
and Scandinavians; but withal they will
carry the work through with only a mod-
erate amount of grumbling-a tribute,
perhaps, to the stricter discipline prevail-
ing in the British Navy.

One feature in which the British
methods of naval training are con-
spicuously deficient in comparison with
the American, is found in the instruction
in gunnery. As is well known, this is
made a specialty in the Navy of the
United States. On the other hand, some
of the British ships yet carry the old 10-
inch muzzle-loading guns; and on all the

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CLASS OF TORPEDO AND SUBMARINE MINE MEN, WITH ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. Part of crew of H. M. S. Vernon.

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GUN DRILL ON BRITISH BATTLESHIP ANDROMEDA.
A 6-inch gun in action.-Wounded gunner being removed to ship's hospital on stretcher,

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