ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates that the Admiralty contracted with the major shipping companies to provide itself with auxiliary cruisers. The use of merchant ships as auxiliary cruisers had its roots in the practices of the sailing navy. Just as with the White Star ships of 1886, the construction of the vessels took account of their potential as Armed Merchant Cruisers. The Admiralty first inserted provisions regarding the use of such ships as a 'reserve fleet' in the Royal Mail contract of 1840. With Russia and France as potential enemies, by 1875 the Admiralty was concerned about the vulnerability to fast steamers, of the far-flung possessions and coaling stations upon which a steam-powered Navy depended. The Admiralty devoted considerable attention to 'manning issues' in 1891. The manning issues led Hamilton to propose that the whole question of subvention be regarded from a fresh point of view: to pay a fixed amount for the ship.
