SECTION I. SURVEYS ON BOARD BY SHIPS' OFFICERS.

1818. By whom ordered.-All surveys by officers of the fleet when a ship is absent from a port where there is a store depot, are to be ordered by the Commanding Officer. Where possible surveys of permanent stores of all descriptions-naval, victualling, and ordnance-should be made under the conditions laid down in Article 1827 by a representative of the department concerned in conjunction with the ship's officers. Requisitions for surveys are to be made on the proper form by the officer in charge of stores, and approved by the Commanding Officer.

2. Defective Stores.-The report of survey (form S. 330 or 14 I. 176) on defective stores, when signed by the surveying officers, is to be submitted for the approval of the Commanding Officer, who will give such directions on it as he may see fit ; if stores are to be returned, the report, with the Commanding Officer's directions noted on it, is always to accompany the articles returned as the authority to the officers of the civil establishment to receive them.

3. The draft or rough report, duly signed and approved, is to be sent home with the accounts.

1819. Surveying Officers.-The officers to be deputed for carrying out the survey are as follows :

(a) As to quality :-

NOTE.-The officer in charge is always to attend, when practicable, to give information as to the articles under survey.

(b) As to quantity :

NOTE.-On change of accounting officers it is important that the outgoing and incoming officers should take part in the stocktaking, but if either is not available another officer is to be substituted except in the case of Accountant Officer's stores. On other occasions the accounting officer, if available, and two other officers are to be selected.

2. When the officer ordering the survey considers it desirable, he is at liberty to vary these officers ; in important cases, he may substitute officers of a higher rank.

3. Where a specific rank of surveying officer is indicated, should an officer of the rank and class not be available, the next below, or some other fit officer, is to be substituted ; a notation of the reason for such substitution being made upon the order for survey.

4. The surveying officers are never to be less than two in number where it is possible to obtain the services of officers of any rank.

1820. Misrepresentation, Neglect, Fraud, &c.-Any suspicion or appearance of misrepresentation, neglect, collusion or fraud, either on the part of the officers concerned in any requisitions for a survey, or of any other person in connection with the objects or things surveyed or to be surveyed, is to bye stated in the report ; and further, when a suspicion of fraud is raised or actual fraud discovered, a separate report is to be made to the Captain.

1821. Signing False Report.-Any officer wilfully signing a false report, whether as to condition or quantity, or concealing any fraudulent practices in, connection with the survey, or any person knowingly giving a false account so, that thereby the surveying officers may be deceived, is to be at once suspended by his Captain, and his conduct reported. See 593 (Approval of Captain).

1822. Particulars required in Reports.-Reports of survey on naval, victualling, or naval ordnance stores are to be made on the authorised forms, whether separate or forming part of an account, and the particulars required by these forms are invariably to be furnished.

1823. Disposal of unserviceable Articles.-All unserviceable articles not convertible to any use on board are, as a general rule, to be returned into, store ; but in special circumstances the Commanding Officer may order such. articles to be thrown overboard or burnt in the presence of the surveying officers, who are to be required to certify on the report that the order was strictly carried out in their presence.

2. Medicines and Provisions defective.-All medicines found not fit to be administered are, with the approval of the Captain, to be immediately thrown overboard in the presence of the surveying officers, as also are all provisions and. other articles likely from their retention to become prejudicial to health. The surveying officers will state in the report whenever this has been done.

3. Clothing.-Surveying officers are never to recommend articles of clothing to be thrown overboard, unless such course may be deemed necessary for the preservation of the other clothing.

1824. Stores recommended for Sale.-Any old, decayed, or condemned provisions or stores which are recommended by the surveying officers to be sold, are to be returned into store by first opportunity of free freight with a view to their being so disposed of.

1825. Purchases.-The Senior Officer ordering or authorising any purchases: of stores, provisions, or other articles, is to take care that before they pass into the charge of the proper officer they are surveyed as to quantity and quality. The surveying officers will sign the required certificates on the vouchers (form S. 22), carefully noting any material difference from or inferiority to the usual supplies of the article.

1826. Provisions, &c., at Ports without Naval Establishment.-In the case of stores or provisions sent for issue or as a reserve to a port where there is no

628

naval establishment, the Senior Officer, whenever he may deem it necessary, is to cause them to be specially surveyed before they are supplied to ships or otherwise dealt with.

SECTION II. NAVAL AND NAVAL ORDNANCE STORES - AS TO QUALITY.

1827. Surveys Ashore.-When a ship is at a port where there is a store depot, stores (other than explosives) defective in quality which cannot be repaired by the ship's artificers are to be carefully examined on board by a representative of the store department concerned, in conjunction with the ship's officers, and reported on before any action is taken.

2. Stores are only to be removed from the ship's account charge if considered by the officers holding the survey to be absolutely unserviceable and incapable of repair.

3. Stores which cannot be repaired by the ship's artificers, and which, in the opinion 'of the surveying officers, must be landed for repair are not to be taken off the ship's account charge, nor are other articles to be drawn in lieu except in circumstances that render such a course absolutely necessary. Articles landed for repair are to be received back in the ship after repair.

4. Stores approved to be landed for repair or to be returned to store are to be taken direct by the ship's crew to the repair shop or storehouse, &c., as the case may be.

1828. Surveys of Naval Stores Afloat.- When a ship is away from a port, unserviceable naval stores are to be surveyed on board if they are not to be returned direct from the ship or her boats or tenders, but are to be sent by another r vessel. Copies of the reports of survey (form S. 330) are in such cases to be sent direct to the store officer, so as to arrive before the articles are landed. See 1818 (Survey on board).

SECTION III. CHAIN CABLES, STEEL-WIRE HAWSERS, DISMOUNTING CHAINS OF HEAVY GUNS, &C.

1829. Chain Cable, when to be surveyed.-Chain cables are to be surveyed at the following intervals :

1. Ships which lie at their anchors :-Survey is to be held twice a year at such dates as will enable the reports to be completed by 30th June and 31st December. Should the date of commissioning be later than 1st April or 1st October, the survey for the following 30th June or 31st December respectively will only take place when it may be thought necessary for special reasons ; but in no other case is the interval between these surveys to exceed six months.
2. Ships which generally lie at moorings, and Torpedo Boat Destroyers :

Survey is to be held annually.

3. Special Service Ships :-As a general rule, a biennial survey is to be carried out in the case of battleships, and an annual survey in the case of cruisers which are used for trooping. Special cases must, however, be considered on their merits, and arrangements should be made for the cables to be periodically sighted in the chain lockers, in order to ascertain whether they are rusting up in consequence of the lockers being wet through climatic or other conditions, so that, if considered necessary, the cables may be taken out of the lockers and surveyed in accordance with the practice prescribed in sub-clause (a).

629

In addition to the officers specified in Article 1819, the Senior Officer ordering the survey is to direct an experienced blacksmith from the dockyard, or from a ship present if none is available in the dockyard to assist at the survey.

2. Screws for Rigging, &c.-With a view to the better preservation of all rigging screws, and those for securing anchors davit guys, &c., on board ship, they are to be periodically worked and greased, and a report made thereon on the half-yearly return (S. 194), relating to chain cables, hawsers, &c.

3. Duplicate Report.-The report marked " duplicate " is to be forwarded at once by the Commander-in-Chief to the Admiralty (Naval Store Branch) ; should the cables be found defective, the steps taken to make them efficient are to be noted on the report.

4. Report.-The draft report (form S. 194) marked " original," and duly signed and approved, is to be pasted into the guard book for vouchers, for transmission to the Admiralty with the accounts of Boatswains' stores.

5. Cables from England.-If new cables should be required from England, a demand on form S. 134d for the quantity wanted is to accompany the report, together with a letter explaining the reasons for making the demand.

In the absence of the Commander-in-Chief, the Senior Officer is to exercise his discretion as to making such demands direct ; but should he desire to do so, he will not fail to inform the Commander-in-Chief of what he has done.

1830. Directions to Surveying Officers.-Officers surveying chain cables are to observe the following directions :

1. The bolts and pins of the joining shackles are to be examined, care being taken that the points of the pins of the shackles do not project and that the swivels are well cleaned and warm tallow run into the sockets. All the shackles and bolts are to be rubbed over with soft tallow, and the pins with stiff white lead, to prevent corrosion, as well as to cause the cables to part more quickly when required. Whenever the shackle bolts are driven out, the greatest care is to be taken to remove from the sockets, with the chisel supplied for that purpose every particle of the old lead pellets before driving new ones ; any broken or missing studs are to be replaced as soon as discovered.
2. In determining the loss a worn chain cable must have sustained to render it unsuitable for further sea service, whenever any length or part of a chain cable is found to have lost in any one of its links at the smallest part one-eighth of its original diameter, such length or part is to be considered as unfit for sea service and is to be set apart for harbour service, or is to have the worn link or links replaced and the length re-tested and used for its original appropriation as may be most advantageous to the Crown.

1831. Re-testing Chain Cables.-The chain cables of every sea-going ship and of every harbour ship not at permanent moorings, will be re-tested in the proving machine, when practicable, and afterwards subjected to the usual strict and minute examination every three or four years, from the date of their original supply, by dockyard officers. The chain cables of torpedo boat destroyers will be re-tested every four years.

2. On Foreign Stations.-If the ship should be on a foreign station where no testing machine is available, the Captain, as the time approaches, is to inform the Commander-in-Chief, so that, if practicable, arrangements may be made to land the cables at a foreign yard, in order that they may be carefully cleaned and minutely examined and every link measured. If not practicable, the Commander-in-Chief is to report the cause to the Admiralty, and state what measures he proposes to adopt to ensure the cables undergoing the best

630

possible examination. As a general rule, advantage is to be taken of a ship being re-commissioned to carry out these directions, but the examination is not necessary in the case of a ship on the eve of returning home, except in special circumstances.

3. The date of the last re-testing or dockyard examination is to be noted in the half-yearly reports of survey.

1832. When testing considered unnecessary.-If in any particular case, the usage to which a ship's anchors and chain cables have been subjected be considered insufficient to warrant their being landed for testing on the expiration of the period of three or four years laid down by Article 1831, a full report of the circumstances is to be forwarded to the Admiralty, in order that instructions may be given as to whether the test can be postponed.

1833. Steel-wire Hawsers.-All steel-wire hawsers are to undergo periodically a careful examination, and a report of the result and of flee steps taken for their preservation is to be forwarded on the form of survey on chain cables, as provided for by clause 1, Article 1829.

1834. Dismounting Chains.-The dismounting chains of all heavy guns are to be examined and the links sounded at the half-yearly examination of chain cables, and by the same officers, and the result noted in the next report of inspection and preparation for battle.

SECTION IV. NAVAL STORES AND FIXTURES, AND NAVAL ORDNANCE STORES - AS TO QUANTITY.

1835. Stocktaking.-A general stocktaking of naval stores and fixtures and naval ordnance and Whitehead torpedo stores is to be held only on change of accounting officers. On these occasions, the whole of the naval ordnance and Whitehead torpedo stores are to be verified. As regards naval stores and fixtures, the whole of the permanent stores are to be verified if time permits, and also the more important descriptions of consumable stores as detailed in the abstract statements. Should, however, there be reason at any time to suspect the accuracy of the stores in charge of an officer, the Captain is authorised to arrange for the remains to be specially verified. Officers are to be selected for these duties in accordance with the instructions in Article 1819.

2. Verification of Consumable Stores.-Test verifications of the stock of consumable stores are to be made from time to time by the officer in charge of the stores, and the results reported monthly to the Captain. The accounting officer is also to avail himself of every opportunity for verifying the remains of the permanent stores in his charge.

3. Detailed instructions and forms for reporting results of stocktaking and test verifications are included in the abstract statements, inventories, and lists of fixtures.

4. Supersession of Officer.-When an officer gives up charge of stores on supersession, he is to apply in writing to his Captain for a stocktaking to be held, and is not to leave his ship until the stock in his charge has been verified, unless special orders to the contrary are given by the senior officer present. In this event, the fact of his leaving and the reasons for it, are to be immediately reported to the Admiralty. Stock is to be taken, and the stores are to be placed in the temporary charge of an officer appointed by the Captain, to be accounted for by him. In the case of the decease of an officer in charge of stores a similar course as regards stocktaking and charge of stores is to be followed

631

5. Officer dismissed his Ship.-If an officer is dismissed his ship, stock is to be taken of the stores in his charge before he leaves, unless special orders to the contrary should be given by the senior officer present, when a similar course to that prescribed in clause 4 is to be followed.

6. Officer sent to Hospital, or detached.-Should an officer in charge of stores be sent. to hospital or on detached service, the remains of the more valuable articles and those liable to misappropriation are to be at once verified. The Captain is to exercise his discretion as to whether a general stocktaking should be held, but if the officer is likely to be more than 14 days absent, it is to be held at once on all stores in his charge. In any circumstances a general stocktaking is to be held at the end of 14 days, if not done at the time of the officer going to hospital or on detached service. Whenever the stores are placed in the temporary charge of another officer a second stocktaking is to be held when they are permanently re-transferred and the temporary charge ceases. In the event of any discrepancies being found a list of the differences is to be forwarded to the Admiralty accompanied by explanations, a copy of the list being placed with the account.

7. Absence of Officer taking charge.-If from any cause the officer taking charge be not present at the stocktaking, he is to take the first opportunity of satisfying himself whether the quantities on board agree with those charged to him, and to report the result by special letter to the Captain for the information of the Admiralty. In forwarding the report, the Captain is to state whether the accounts opened by the officer who had temporary charge of the stores have been, or will be, closed and sent into office, or will be continued by the officer to whom charge has been permanently transferred.

8. Stores deficient. The responsibility for the stores rests with the officer giving up charge until the stocktaking has been completed, and when stores are found to be deficient, unless a satisfactory explanation be furnished as to the deficiencies, their value will be charged against the responsible officer. See 1373 (Losses by neglect) ; and 1417, clause 4 (Conditions under which Store Allowances are paid).

1836. Measurement of Coal and Patent Fuel.-Whenever surveys are held on the remains of coal ashore or afloat, the following scale of measurement, if the cubic contents can be ascertained, is to be adopted, viz. :

SECTION V. PROVISIONS, CLOTHING, CANDLES, IMPLEMENTS, AND MEDICAL STORES.

1837. When Surveys to take place.-Surveys on provisions, clothing, candles, implements and medicines are to be held as follows :

1. When articles are considered to be unserviceable from any cause;
2. When they are considered to be deficient in quantity or defective in quality ;
3. When the accounts of the officer in charge, or lately in charge, are closed on account of his death, supersession, or for any other reason ;
4. Within seven days before the warranty expires. See 1715 (Supplies under Warranty).

632

1838. Medical Stores.-The report of survey (M. 176) on medical stores is to be forwarded with the account (M. 177).

1839. Verifying remains of Provisions.- Advantage is to be taken of the most favourable opportunities for verifying the remains of the provisions, and a notation of such examinations, with the dates thereof, is to be inserted in the numbers and contents book, but no report of survey need be made out for transmission into office.

2. In torpedo boats and destroyers, the Commanding Officer or an officer deputed by him is to verify the quantities of victualling stores remaining on board, before approving and forwarding the tender's account (S. 462) to the parent ship. The Accountant Officer in charge of victualling stores in the parent ship, who is responsible and accounts for such stores supplied to the tenders (Article 1805), is also to satisfy himself by periodical survey, whenever convenient opportunity offers, that the actual remains on board the tenders correspond with the remains as shown by the accounts.

1840. Articles under Warranty.-Whenever articles under warranty prove defective on survey before the warranty shall have expired, the Accountant Officer is immediately to deliver one of the reports of survey to the Captain for transmission to the Director of Victualling, in a letter stating the circumstances of the case, in order that such steps may be taken as shall be considered necessary.

633

^ back to top ^