The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-10-25 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER.

SIR THOMAS BRASSEY ON THE NAVY.

Sir Thomas Brassy, M.P., delivered an address on
naval affairs on Tuesday evening at the Public Hall,
Hastings—Mr. H. B. lace, M.P., presided.
Sir Thomas Brassey, in the course of his address,
said that it was with reference only to the assurance
which he might have conveyed as to the superiority of
our navy in comparison with the navy of France that
his previous statements had been challenged. Pre-
mising that it is chiefly as to our relative position
with that of France that the public anxiety had been
aroused, he would proceed to give the force available
in the two navies in the present year, and according
to the best estimates which could be formed in 1880.
Classification was difficult, but taking as ships of
the first class those with hulls of iron, pro-
tected by a maximum thickness of armour
of not less than nine inches, and with
a displacement exceeding 8500 tons, we had
ready for sea when he delivered his address at
Portsmouth, 10 ships, with an aggregate displacement
of 95,840 tons. In the same class the French had
three ships, with a displacement of 28,990 tons. In
1886 the English ships of the first class would be in-
creased to 140,310 tons by the addition of the Ajax,
Agamemnon, Edinburgh, Colossus, and Collingwood.
The French would be raised to 49,070 tons by the
addition of the Fondroyant and Admiral Bamdin.
Taking for the second class ships with hulls of iron or
of wood, but in the latter case launched within a
period of sixteen years, we had on the English side
sixteen ships, and an aggregate displacement of
79,740 tons. All these ships were iron built. On the
French side, the second class, as already defined,
includes eleven ships with an aggregate displacement
of 79,740 tons. Taking for the third class ships,
with hulls of iron and wood, in sound condition,
and protected with armour from 4iin. to 6in. in
thickness, the British list contained fourteen
ships, with a esplacementr of 55,981 tons. The
advantages we possessed in ships of the third
class was not due to the recent construction
of such ships, but to the falling out from the
French list of a considerable number of their older
wood-built ships. It was the inevitable decay of
these ships, which had been consistently given by the
successive Ministers of Marine as the principal justifi-
cation for the great increase of expenditure on
armoured building which had taken place in France
since the conclusion of the Franco-German war.
Lord Northbrook had consistently adhered to the view
that the necessity for great additions to the estimates
would not arise until it became evident that it was in
the contemplation of the French naval administra-
tion to carry their construction of fighting ships
beyond the standard of strength laid down in their
latest programme of armoured building. It might be
admitted that our superiority in ships of the earlier
types consisted of vessels to which great importance
could not be given, but these ships were not obsolete
in the sense of being useless. With improved
machinery, ships which were of moderate dimensions
could render good service against similar ships of the
same date which were found in other navies. When
they passed from a comparison of completed ships or
ships nearly completed to a comparison which in-
cluded ships in various---and many in very early—
stages of advancement, and in some cases
ships which were merely projected, it was
far more difficult to be exact, and it was quite
possible that a different result might be brought
out. After replying to the article written by Mr.
Burnaby in the Encylopcedia Britannica, quoted
recently by Sir E. Reed, and a comparison of the
tonnage of the ironclads of England and France, Sir
Thomas Brassey said that the result of the com-
parison showed that we had at present and in the
near future a considerable advantage in ironclads
over our most formidable rival, even if combined with
those of Italy. The combination of Germany with
France in a war against England could not be con-
sidered in a serious light, and with a combination of
Russia with France we should perhaps have less to
fear•than in the case of France and Italy combined.
At Portsmouth he urged the importance of pushing
forward the construction of torpedo vessels of various
classes. A considerable number were necessary for
the defence of our dockyards, our naval ports, and
our coaling stations. Torpedo vessels were also re-
quired of a larger type to act in combination with our
seagoing squadrons. It was admitted on all hands
that the present Administration had made a great
advance in the rate of construction. They found the
navy in a 'position of considerable inferiority to the
French in regard to unarmoured vessels, and they
had brought it to a position of superiority. (Cheers.)
Should the construction of vessels of this sort be pro-
ceeded with at the average of the last four years, Eng-
land would gradually acquire a decided advantage.
(Hear, hear.) The mercantile marine was capable of
doing much for its own defence against the improvised
cruisers of foreign Powers. Considerable progress
had been made by the present and former Adminis-
trations in this direction. There was a large fleet on
the Admiralty list of great speed, and with sub-divided
but watertight compartments. Modern armaments
should be provided for a considerable number of
vessels, and this was one of our pressing necessities.
The protection of our coaling stations was another
matt...r of urgency, and the correspondence which had
lately been made public would show that the Govern-
ment were alive to the requirements of the empire,
and had made proper arrangements for the commence-
ment of the work. (Cheers.) The facts of the case
had now been brought before the public by himself
and other far more competent authorities, and it was
for the cabinet, and still more for that public opinion
to which even Cabinets must bow, to determine the
measure of the naval expenditure of the future; and
he could not but observe with satisfaction the revival
of the public concern in the condition of the navy.