The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-08 00:00:00

b" t
known as the three decker. The ship after all is
.IA,
the road, as it were, but " not the power
C 111
nerves you to travel thereon." That lies as
wand al
-
the men as in the material—perhaps more' fitting
though we are by no =arra advocates forpnsides,
pit.ldes,
the British bull dog against stonewalls or jinn° den
we still hold that the drill and discipline of a 'Ol,lOO
three decker is the best that can be had. la to
days, too, when fine seamanship is giving SV 6
ue7_ .10
pure gunnery, and it may be of less consequl out
n%
that a fore or maintopman knows how to
the weather easing or tie a reef knot, than the rulec
duties of each number at a gun, yet the same o
holds good in gunnery as in work aloft,and the ste,da),,,
three decker of to-day possesses facilities for raP, j'f
drilling, disciplining, and training a large bell Bei
men which are possessed by no other class of vessel.pQ
in the service. Can a ship of any class, denrive"
her guns, be expected to turn out good gun 'e cres_.-1,
We are not arguing in favour of wooden shiP3, ba
against ironclads for purposes of war. That Istbe
question of war which has nothing to do wit class
point at issue. The question now is simply what can
of vessel during the reconstruction of our fl iii
most conveniently, and, at the least expense, dr.v.
and discipline a large body of men ? The nece°l4
of a reserve force of trained men on the spot is 11"1
denied to the Mediterranean fleet, but the methe",,,
of training them is objected to, and the moth°
t°
it
01.:
training tnem is objected to, and, by way of io3Phe
ing their efficiency, it is proposed to abolish tof
means of training by depriving the reserve shiP•s„
her guns, or, that more ironclads should be coloo3l
sioned. But more ironclads are not wanted in c°11:1:0
mission ; and, moreover, the ironclads 85 Yet 9v;
notoriously defective in ventilation ; half the ereo
of the Royal Oak is now in hospital at Malta fr°b6
this cause, yet this is the class of ship which is t°
commissioned as a reserve ship, or, if a healthy, atrbe
roomy three-decker is commissioned, she is °but
turned into a receiving-hulk to hold the men,
not to drill them. Certainly, to argue that beta
a ship like the Victoria absorbs the crews of a called
of unnecessary ironclads, she should be disalan.citie„
and Zurned into a hulk, and her crew kept in 1
,iot
ness, or commissioned into ironclads which are -ur
wanted on active service, is arguing either ill facrt°,a
of inefficiency or of expense. The cost of WO°T,r.
ship is a comparative trifle compared with the
pare
mous cost of these ironclads. We are quite s.bo
that a man may learn his gun drill on boardLoa
Excellent at Portsmouth with as much facilitY pro,
tboard the Victoria in the Mediterranca., anti' ee
ided he can be taken on board, at less cost to to
country ; but. allowing that room could be found be
board the Excellent for the whole present crew fed,o
Victoria, which is taking a vast deal fur grano.
that would not dispense with the necessity for
serve ship of some sort in the Mediterranean, saalos
reserve ship at all, why not a thoroughly of
kith
one But there is another point conuected 0.411
home service which mast not be lost sight of. 4roo
experience teaches, and recent experience 0013,„10
the fact, that there is something in continued
service not quite agreeable to strict discipliaetwo
something or other which it is found a ce„%liiii
period of service in blue water only and effect
removes. But apart from all these points, it is bet
wants of the country in the management °cy
naval affairs which have to be considered bY c; the
Government, and not this or that opinion. Wgee
country wants, and what is necessary, the G°7feof
meat have done and are doing, We want P,frats
preparation, not extravagant display. A 01°-r
squadron of ironclads afloat, and a powerful iron
fleet in reserve and building, with sufficient seg4-,,r0•
afloat and in reserve, is what Government has :0011
vided, and to blame the Admiralty for the 113 fire
which they utilise in time of peace, because tl4°,,Jd
not exactly the means which would be adoPt°
me of war, is puerile and absurd.