Petty Officers

Petty Officers in the Navy hold a similar rank and position to the non-commissioned officers in the army. They are the backbone of the service, as the efficiency, smartness, and morale of a ship's company depend in no small measure upon the zeal and discretion of the petty officers. They are now a most highly trained and valuable body of men, and all the warrant officers are drawn from their ranks. They are divided into four classes—viz. chief petty officers, 1st- and 2d-class petty officers, and leading seamen—and into two branches, the seamen and the so-called non-combatant, which latter includes the artificers, writers, &c. A chief petty officer can only be disgraced with the sanction of the commander-in-chief, and in the case of a chief engine-room artificer his disgracing must be specially reported to the Admiralty, and he can only be restored to his rank by Admiralty order. All other petty officers can be appointed or disgraced by the captain of the ship, except in the case of gunnery or torpedo instructors, who are rated as such for their special qualifications in the gunnery and torpedo schools. The pay of the chief of police (master-at-arms) ranges from 4s. to 6s. a day; that of chief engine-room artificer from 6s. 9d. to 7s. 6d. a day, with an extra penny for each good-conduct badge; a chief gunner or torpedo instructor receives 4s. 2d. a day, with an additional penny for each badge, of which he can have three. A 1st-class petty officer, if a gunner or torpedo instructor, obtains 3s. 8d. a day, with an extra penny for each badge; if not an instructor, but a trained gunner and torpedo man, 3s. a day; a 2d-class petty officer, if a trained gunner and torpedo man, 2s. 8d. a day, with pay for badges; while a leading seaman receives 2s. 4d. if a trained man, with pay also for badges. A leading stoker receives 2s. 5d. a day, and if a trained mechanic, 2s. 8d.; a carpenter's mate, 4s. 6d.; and a 1st-class writer, 5s. See WARRANT-OFFICERS.