684 



NATURE 



[February 20, 191; 



NAVIGATION AT THE ROYAL TECHNICAL 



COLLEGE, GLASGOW. 

 npHE steady diminution in the supply of officers for 

 -'- the mercantile marine, which has been going 

 on for the past few years, is becoming a serious 

 problem to shipowners. The average number of 

 certificates as second mate granted annually bv the 

 Board of Trade has fallen from 1132 to 746, or 34 per 

 cent., during the last fifteen years, and as a consider- 

 able wastage, in the number of candidates takes place 

 during the compulsory period of qualifying sea ser- 

 vice between the granting of this initial certificate and 

 that of master, it follows that there is a correspond- 

 ing reduction in the number of officers qualified to 

 fill the higher ratings on board ship. 



The governors of the Royal Technical College, 

 Glasgow, being impressed with the desirability of 

 providing improved facilities for instruction in 

 nautical subjects, established in igio, with the finan- 

 cial assistance of the City Educational Endowments 

 Board, a School of Navigation. 



The instruction offered has been eagerly taken ad- 

 vantage of during the two years' existence of the 

 school, but mostly by students out of their apprentice- 

 ship stage. It has, however, been felt all along that 

 a development on the lines of practical as well as 

 theoretical training was necessary. At present parents 

 who send their sons into the mercantile marine de- 

 prive them of opportunities of higher education that 

 in universities and technical colleges are olTered to 

 youths who enter other professions. 



This state of affairs has been brought about by the 

 disappearance of the sailing ship and by the reluct- 

 ance of shipowners to carry apprentices in steamers. 

 It is partly due also to the fact that the requirements 

 for the essential certificates of competency have within 

 recent years been made more e.xacting, and the 

 subjects increased, so that candidates who would 

 have been capable of passing the old tests find the 

 higher standard now demanded a serious obstacle. 

 Further, the great increase in shipping tonnage has 

 created a large demand tor qualified officers, there 

 being only some 30,000 to man our mercantile marine 

 fleet of some 9000 vessels, figures which go to show 

 that the navigator's profession is by no means an 

 overcrowded one. 



NO. 2260, VOL. 90] 



In order, therefore, to coordinate theory and prac- 

 tice, the governors have arranged to provide a two 

 years' course of training as marine cadets for lads 

 who have just left school and have reached the stage 

 of the .Scotch intermediate leaving certificate. 



The winter session will be devoted by the cadets to 

 the more theoretical side of their subjects, whilst 

 attending the classes in the college. The summer 

 will be spent afloat on board the seagoing training 

 steamer Vivid, a vessel of 550 tons, which has now 

 been acquired from the Adrnirally. The ship will be 

 commissioned in April each year, and, having bunker 

 capacity for a steaming radius of 3000 miles, she will 

 be capable of making extended voyages. Dormitory, 

 dressing and bathroom accommodation is being pro- 



