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CHAPTER XI.

ORGANIZATION OF THE PERSONNEL.

I.-LINE OFFICERS (officiers de vaisseau).

The corps of line officers in the Navy is recruited from four different sources: (1) Aspirants or naval cadets, graduated from the Naval School at Brest; (2) aspirants chosen from among the graduates of the Polytechnic School at Paris; (3) first masters (premiers-maîtres), nominated for the grade of ensign after undergoing an examination; (4) auxiliary ensigns who have received the certificate of sea-captain (capitaine au long cours) in the merchant service, and who are admitted to the titular grade of ensign.

The grades in the corps of line officers are as follows:

Admiral.

Vice-admiral.
Rear-admiral.

Captain.

Commander (capitaine de frégate).
Lieutenant, first and second class.
Ensign.

Midshipman (aspirant, lière classe).

Cadet (aspirant, 2ième classe).

The vice-admirals and rear-admirals form the roll (cadre) of the general staff of the Navy. This roll is divided into two sections: the first comprising those in active service and those waiting orders (en disponibilité); the second comprising the reserve. Vice-admirals at the age of sixty-five and rear-admirals at sixty-two pass from the first to the second section, with certain exceptions. In time of peace employment is only given to officers of flag-rank of the first section; but during war officers of the reserve can be appointed to commands.

If at any time during war the full number of officers is inadequate to the needs of the service, the want is supplied by auxiliary officers chosen among the merchant-captains. These merchant-captains, whose grade in the Navy is that of ensign, correspond to the English Naval Reserve. Promotions are made partly by selection and partly by seniority, from the lowest grade up to and including that of commander. Above this point they are wholly by seniority. In every case, however, a certain term of service must be passed in each grade before promotion to the next higher. In the case of midshipmen, ensigns, and lieutenants, the minimum period is fixed at two years of sea service, with two additional years of shore duty in the latter grade. Commanders must pass three years at sea, one of them in actual command; or four years in the grade, two of them at sea and two in command. Captains must have passed

three years at sea in that grade, or two years at sea in command of a naval division. Rear-admirals must pass two years in that grade at sea in a squadron. The highest rank in the Navy, that of admiral, is an exceptional honor, conferred only upon a vice-admiral who has distinguished himself in the chief command of a naval force in time of war. . At the present time there are no officers of this rank in the French Navy. Officers are divided in equal numbers among the five naval arrondissements-Cherbourg, Brest, Lorient, Rochefort, and Toulon. Each officer is attached to the chief port of the district; and, if below the grade of commander, he is required to reside there. A roster of officers is kept at each port, upon which is based the detail for sea duty.

II.-ENGINEER MECHANICIANS (mécaniciens-en-chef et mécaniciens prin

cipaux).

The officers of this corps have supervision of the engines and machinery on board all the ships of the division to which they are attached. Their sea duties, therefore, correspond to those of fleet engineers in the United States Navy. They also serve to some extent as engineers (not fleet officers) on board a few of the largest ships. On shore their special duty is in connection with the instruction of machinists (mécaniciens) and firemen. They are chosen from the master-machinists, and may therefore be considered, to a great extent, as occupying higher grades in the corps of machinists. They hold relative rank as commissioned officers, but they rank only with the lower grades of the line. The name engineer (ingénieur) is not applied to them, but is given only to the constructors and the hydrographers. The grades and numbers of the corps are as follows:

Mechanicians-in-chief, with relative rank of captain of corvette (lieutenant-commander) ....

Principal mechanicians, first class (rank of lieutenant).
Principal mechanicians, second class (rank of ensign)..

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III.—MISCELLANEOUS STAFF CORPS (corps entretenus et agents divers).

1. Engineer corps (génie maritime).

This is really the construction corps of the French Navy, and it includes the most accomplished men of science in the service. Their duties are the designing of ships and engines, the supervision of their construction and repair, either in dockyards or at private works, and the care of timber required for ship-building. The corps is composed of— Inspector-general, taking rank with rear-admiral......

1

Directors of naval construction, after rear-admiral and before captain
Engineers, first class, with captain....

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20

Engineers, second class, with commander..

20

Assistant engineers (sous-ingénieurs) of the first and second classes, with lieutenant. 52 Assistant engineers, third class, with ensign......

14

Engineer pupils (élèves du génie maritime), with midshipman

7

Officers of the engineer corps are selected from the graduates of the Polytechnic School at Paris. After admission to the corps, they pass

through the school of application for the engineer corps at Cherbourg. At the close of the cruise they are examined for promotion to the grade of assistant engineer of the third class. Promotion to the grade of assistant engineer of the second class only follows after two years of service, but in all subsequent promotions three years of service in the lower grade are required as a qualification. Promotion to the three highest grades is by selection; to engineer of the second class and assistant engineer of the first class, half by selection and half by seniority; and to the lower grades, strictly by seniority.

One-sixth of the vacancies in the grade of assistant engineer of the third class are reserved for masters (maîtres entretenus), of the corps of naval construction, who have performed a year of service in this grade and passed the required examination.

2. Engineer hydrographers (ingénieurs-hydrographes).

The duties of engineer hydrographers consist in the preparation of charts and sailing directions; the summarizing of nautical and scientific documents collected by the Dépôt des Cartes; observations of tides; magnetic and meteorological observations; care of nautical instruments used on shipboard; and preparation for the press of scientific treatises undertaken by the Navy Department.

The hydrographic officers have the same relative rank in their respective grades as the officers of the corps du génie, the hydrographer-inchief ranking with the director of naval construction. The grades and numbers are as follows:

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Pupils of the corps are taken from the graduates of the Polytechnic School, and have two years of sea service before their first promotion. 3. Medical corps (corps de santé).*

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*The organization and methods of the French medical schools have been fully described and discussed in the report of Medical Inspector Dean, U. S. N.

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4. Examiners and professors of hydrography.

Examiners, with relative rank of captain ...

Professors, first class, with relative rank of commander
Professors, second class, with relative rank of lieutenant..
Professors, third class, with relative rank of ensign

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16

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3

10

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The professors of this corps are employed in the schools of hydrography, of which the examiners have the general direction, in matters relating to instruction. The latter have also charge of the examination of persons in the merchant service who are seeking a license as sea-captain (capitaine au long cours) or master of coasting vessel (maître au cabotage). Professors of the third class are appointed by the President, after a competitive examination, from naval officers and sea-captains who apply, who are at least thirty years of age, and have seen two years' sea service. Promotions in the corps are made by the Minister of Marine, on recommendation of the hydrographic examiners. The examiners themselves are promoted by selection from professors of the first class. 5. Professors at the Naval School.

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Professors at the Naval School are selected by the Minister from university graduates, and they have the same relative rank as professors of hydrograpay.

6. Pay corps (officiers du commissariat).

The administrative duties of this corps are of an exceedingly complex and extensive character, embracing not only matters relating to pay, provisions, clothing, purchases, and stores, but also to equipment, recruiting (inscription maritime), administration of hospitals and prisons, wrecks, sale of prizes, and other miscellaneous subjects.

The corps is composed of the following officers: Commissaries-general, taking rank after rear-admirals..

Commissaries, with captains.....

Commissaries' adjoints, with captain of corvette

Sub-commissaries, with lieutenants

Assistant commissaries (aides commissaires), with ensigns..
Commissary pupils (élèves)

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26

50

180

150

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Commissary pupils are appointed by the Minister of Marine. Candidates must have taken the degree of licentiate in law, or that of bachelier-ès-lettres. In the latter case, they must pass a competitive exami nation. Those who receive appointments are sent to one of the naval ports to pursue a course in naval administration under the direction of a superior officer of the corps. The extreme thoroughness of these courses may be seen in the able lectures of M. Fournier, on the laws of maritime police, delivered at the commissary school at Brest, and re

cently published. They are characterized, in the highest degree, by that Systematic arrangement and lucidity of exposition which distinguish French administrative papers. The courses are two years for licentiates and three years for the others. At their close, the commissary pupils pass an examination for promotion. Eight vacancies for the grade of aile commissaire are reserved annually: two for ensigns, selected by the Minister, on their own application; two for graduates of the Polytechnic School; and four for commissary's clerks, between twenty-five and thirty-five years of age, bachelors of arts or of science, who pass successfully a competitive examination.

7. Commissariat clerks (commis du commissariat).

These are recruited from warrant and petty officers, seamen, and marines, and from non-commissioned officers of the Army who have completed their term of service.

S. Civil engineers of the Ministry of Public Works (ingénieurs des ponts et chaussées).

The Ministry of Marine obtains from the Ministry of Public Works a number of engineers to take charge of hydraulic works in the forts, and to superintend the construction and repair of public buildings belonging to naval arsenals and dockyards. They continue to form part of the corps of engineers of roads and bridges, but they are under the authority of the Navy Department, and they have relative rank with naval constructing engineers.

9. Inspectors of administrative service.

This corps is composed of thirty officers of high relative rank, the highest taking rank between rear-admirals and captains, and the lowest with lieutenant-commanders. Their duties consist in the supervision of the administration service at the principal naval stations. They are selected by competition among lieutenants, captains of Marine Artillery, assistant constructing engineers, and assistant commissaries.

10. Accounting officers and storekeepers (agents comptables des matières).

11. Victualing clerks (commis aux virres).

12. Keepers of ships' stores (magasiniers entretenus de la flotte).

13. Overseers of public works (personnel administratif des directions des travaux).

14. Overseers of subsistence (service des manutentions).

15. Overseers of hydraulic works (conducteurs des travaux hydraulquex).

16. Chaplains.

17. Hospital attendants.

IV. MARINE AND COLONIAL TROOPS.

1. Dockyard gendarmerie.

2. Colonial gendarmerie.

3. Marine Artillery (Artillerie de la Marine et des Colonies).

S. Ex. 51——————-7

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