Before an officer could become commander of one of the Company’s ships it was necessary that he should be twenty-five years old and have performed a voyage to and from India or China in the Company’s regular service as chief or second mate, or else have commanded a ship in the extra service. A chief mate had to be twenty-three years old, have voyaged to India or China in the Company’s service as second or third mate. A second mate had to be twenty-two years old and have made a similar voyage as third mate. To become a third mate he had to be aged twenty-one and been two voyages in the Company’s service to and from India or China. A fourth mate had to be twenty years old and been one voyage of not less than twenty months to India or China and back in the Company’s service, and one year in actual service in any other employ, and of the latter he had to produce satisfactory certificates.
In the case of the extra ships the commander had to be twenty-three years old at least, have made three voyages to India or China and back in the Company’s service, one of which must have been as chief or second mate in a regular ship, or as chief mate in an extra ship. The chief mate must be at least twenty-two, and have made two of these voyages as officer in the Company’s regular service. The second mate had to be at least twenty-one and have performed two voyages as officer in the Company’s service to India or China and back. The third mate must be twenty years and been one voyage in the Company’s service, or two voyages as midshipman in the extra service.
It would not be untrue to say that officers of the early part of the nineteenth century in this service were excellent seamen and fair navigators, but many of them would not be sufficiently expert in navigation nowadays to have entrusted to them the work and responsibilities commensurate with those with which they were charged. It was in the year 1804 that the Company issued the following regulation:—
“That such of the officers as have not been already instructed in the method of finding the longitude of a ship at sea, by lunar observations, do immediately perfect themselves under Mr Lawrence Gwynne, at Christ’s Hospital, previous to their attending the Committee to be examined for their respective stations; and that they do produce to the Committee a certificate from that gentleman of their being qualified in the method.”