The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-07-23 00:00:00

THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CONTEST.

When the memory of Jena is invoked so loudly at Paris,
we (Dal. y New), We tempted to observe that it the armies
of France are no longer commanded by generals like Soult,
Davoust, Ney, and the great Napoleon, neither ere those of
Prussi mow left to each captains as the Duke of Brunswick
and Prince liohenlolte. The home. of Mexico and China,
with the illustrious Duke of Magenta, are doubtless com-
manders of rare skill and merit; hut the Pripsian comman-
ders and the strategia, who directed the Bohemian campaign
four years ago are thought to have exhibited greet military
aptitude . . We shall see numerous demonstrations,
both real and feigned, made along a very extended line;
then a rapid concentration of troops by railway, as at
Magenta, on the very eva of an attack; then a bottle. inn this
gum., however, ell the advantage will not be with the In-
rate, s. The Prussians will know all their movements as ant
as they are made. Their Intelligence service was exerllent
irs li,ibernia, and every Important fact will reach their head
quarters by the telegraph wires. The French would be the
hitt to deny that, invade Prussia wherevcr they may, they
ill find a brat° army sopp,rted by a patriotic nation We
may treat. Idle slid mown id the talk of short and brilliant
ctropelvis. Many things which co one suspects will happen
as the war pr,eeds ;—bur if this we may lie asnred, that
we are about to witness a contest the like of which has not
been seen since the nitre of the first French Empire was
quenched in blood.

THE FRENCH FLEET.

The French authorities always profess to make a swat
mystery about their ironclads their rimulov. Lammas, au.,
thicktiesi of erinourplating, &a. Both is only outsiders who
are mystified. Everything which the French are row and
have done is as well known not only at Whitehall, hut also at
Vienna, Berlin, and St Petersburg, as it is at Bred or L'Orient,
Cherbourg, or Coulon_ The French have hose on their list
of ironclade fifty-one resists; fori y. five of these are finished
anti at tea, or could he at sea within a month, sin are build-
ing and not likely to be finished within the neat two years.
id these vessels no fewer than thirty-stc are wooden vessels
rai,eil and pitted with armour ; only eleven are hull;
entliely 011 Th,, only one. the Marengo is composite, With a
franie of iron and sides of wood i coated with armour. The
roost costly French-built vessel is the Courronne, which cost
for hull and fittings 0101,000. T. most co•ily to the whole
fleet is the Ifochambeau (late the Donderberg), which the
French bhught from the United Stiles lh 1867, paying
£480,000 for her, of which amount £440 000 Is to thia day im
gretted in French nautical circles. With the Donderberg
came also the Onondaga, which was cheap at £BO.OO. The
three most formidable vessels which the French have ever
planned are the Colbert, Trident, and Richelieu, which were
DeWitt hat Decent her at Toulon. 'I h., first too are aide,
ships of 8,314 tons, 320 feet long, coated wb.ti 8 inch armour,
and intended at prment to carry thirty ponderous guns
The Ric/3.41m is be of the satute length and Anatole, but of
7,180 tons. Them vessels will be larger then any I, mimed a
ever yet pre,j,cterl. The V ec,oriem e. another great ironclad
of more than 4 000 tons, figure t in the French hilt this
has only been oroered, and not ye, begun. La lial4,,soror re,
too, Is very backward In its progress, and will take more than
another year to finish.

Of the !Tench fleet, eleven are under 1,200 tons, foUrteen
onder 3,000, and fourteen over 3,000, but under 0,000.
Taking the menu average of the speed of all on trial trim, it
gives scarcely 10 knots, the hichess, the Marengo, giving
only 145, and some as low as 7 knots The average
armour plating of the French vessels is t/- inches, ranging
from 4 inches to 81 inches. The thickest ameour. however,
11 mere hell rpm., an,, below the water I,llr, .101 tants, of
the French vessels have the powerful armoured bulkhead
across the stem and stern to save them from a raking tire,
nod, r which they would fall easy victims to au native
enemy. The greatest weight of armour which the largest
chess of French vessels carry is 1,800 loon, and the smallest
279 fors, and their greatest number of guns in 11

THE. PRCHNIAN AND FRENCH MEN-OF-WAR.

The Prossusu squadron of four itoncissts, imunding the
in!, William (originally built for the Turas at the Thames
Iron Works, but subsequently purchased by tile Prussians),
under the command of Princo AdaLart, bolead of proceed-
ing to Madeira from Plymouth, returned to teat port, and
{aft on Wednesday for tin. e..sstward. .

The sq.a,droo arrived off Dover on Thursday, to last werk,
and hovo to for Vots, and, having taken Messrs, Foreman,
Finale, and Fuller en naard, the chips proceoled to the
Downs, where they auchoied f.,y the night. The next morii•
lug a nies"enger arrived at Dover from Loudon, and proceeded
in a carriage to Deal, and thence on load the Admiral's
ship, alter which the squadron nionoored end
proceeded with all epee.' to Kiel The Dover Trinity pilot
left the Prusdan kquadron off Orforthiesa,
The Prussian Ships had evidently been watched by a French
nim-awar, and tracked up Channel, for the Imperial screw
French despatch vessel laiirondelle Caine into Dover-bay on
Friday morning, and during the day the Commander made
himself acquainted with tan movements of the Prussian
pt oirou, and semis despatch's totes Government latirors-
,lrtle remained in Deer-hag um .Miirbay at noon, taCer
'acing received some communicattai from a boat fr in
she got up isd prootsclud. uolluvrius up tho
Promtaattiasok