The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-17 00:00:00

A Flapper for the Admiralty.

Under this title " Caveto" has tho following. good and
well-timed article in the Examiner of to-day :

Sir, —Always doing, seldom done, and when done badly
done at an enormous cost, is the motto of our Board of Ad-
miralty. The Times occasionally thunders at them, but it
is generally distant thunder, the Daily Telegraph speaks out,
the Army and Haag Gazette sometimes groans with a per-
turbed spirit, and sometimes is satirical. All in vain, the
great proprietor of the borough of Totnes, the ducal bearer
of Britannia's trident, assures the House of Lords that he
rules the waves, and Rear• Admiral Lord Clarence Paget,
as Mr Disraeli assures us, hitches up his trowsers, and in
a manly, British, mariner-like manner reports " how many
bells it is," when his grace replies, " Make it so," and the
Houses of Lords and Commons are satisfied with that briet
account of their affairs in true man of war fashion. The

time may come, however, when disaster must cause the
country to overhaul the Admiralty logs in a sharper spirit,
for I feel convinced that disaster alone can achieve that good
end. Is it not disgraceful that, instead of arming our ships
after the manner and power of other nations, we lag behind
them all ? Every foreign man-of•war which takes to the
sea is armed with the most effective guns, while our
boasted armour-clads sail up and down the channel, their
officers feed and are fed by mayors and corporations, and
while the people rejoice in their noble appearance, old sea-
men shako their heads, and exclaim, looking at their de-
ficient armaments, "Lucky we are not at war."
I find the following passage in the last number of the
Army and Navy Gazette.
"Defence, armour-plated iron screw steamship, Captain
Augustus Phillimore, 3,720 tons, 600 horse-power, arrived
at Bristol on Wednesday, and Captain Phillimore immedi-
ately addressed a letter to the mayor of the city, announe•
ing that her Majesty's ship was lying in the roads."
Of course to be admired ; no doubt her construction as a
man-of-war is admirable, but then her armament ought to
be equally worthy of admiration. Now what is that arma-
ment? Why it consists of ten of the old Brown Bess
family of smooth-bored 68-pounders, and eight of Arm-
strong's useless breech-loading whisker-singeing 100-
pounder rifled guns. " What a falling off was there I"
Well, but we have seen how the Awe! ican sloop of war
Kearsage was armed, let us now look at a passage in the
last report of the Federal American Navy, from the United
Service Gazctte.

"The iron-clad frigate New Ironsides, now repairing a,
Philadelphia, has been ordered to be prepared for sea with
all possible despatch, She has been thoroughly overhauled,
and it is ascertained that she rec-ived but little damage
while in Charleston harbour. She will have an entirely
new battery of 11-inch Dahlgren guns and two new 150-
pounder Parrott rfl,s, The work on the new screw frigates
at the Philadelphia navy yard is progressing finely, and
the vessels are expected to be as good as any which will be
turned out at any of the yards,"
Be it understood that the 150-pounder Parrott rifled guns
carrying heavy charges of powder, can pierce any plates as
yet invented. Verily the Americans are wide awake, the
head of their navy bereau sloepeth not, but as for our Board
of Admiralty," the throstle cock's head is under his wing,"
1 have now, sir, called your readers' attention to the
West. Let me direct their observation to the North. What
are the Russians about ? They are employing our best
engineers to make their guns; as for their ships, take the
following fro.n the Observer
fleonrgsteha, and
" The Russian fleet has just been strengthened by the
addition of a magnificent iron-clad frigate, called the Sevas-
topol, which was launched in the Cronstadt docks on the
24th ult. It is stated to be one of the largest and most for-
ble coating of teak
midable of armed vessels yet constructed in Ecuhraoinpes..
Her She
nearly equals the Black Prince and Warrior in her dimen-
sions, and far exceeds those of the Gloiro and Normandie,
she
fastened
dd
to2.4af td
Gaut
hAter her
greatestline o fbflreoatdatthioni s ssh2ert3 measures
h3eono free:tdiyn
from 6in. to Gin, thick. Her engines will have a nominal
force of 800 horse power, and she will be armed with steel
guns of the greatest calibra."
duck
Well, here is a nice )luscovy
.for our waters! In
plates edsraarwe 42i6irnt .atthtihcke ,Pf7sPte
the time of the old Franco-Russian war, the French used to
say of the Russian soldiers that they were e very bravo fel-
lows, but so utterly stupid (1/64e), that when you had killed
them it was necessary to knock them. down to convince them
they were dead. This I dare sayisapplicable enough to the
Russian serf soldiery, not so to their officers, who are gene-
rally as polished ae they are brave, and as well informed as
those of any service in Europe. In the last war the Rus-
sians had to sink their own ships ; take care, in the event
of another war, that they don't sink yours.
Had we not better set the Flappers to arouse the Lords
of the Sleepy Islands? we have lost our beet chance of
putting an end to the brutal slaughter and demoralisation
of the Americans of the die-United States. Neither side
thank us nor like us ; tho Northerners hate us consumedly.
Had we taken the part of the Southerners, away would have
gone the great Monroe doctrine, awaywould have skedaddled
the spirit of filibustering, away would have vanished all
ideas of annexing the Canada& The South would have been
closely connected with England. A nation of growers would
have naturally sought a nation of importers. We should
have commanded peace and secured its blessings, Let the
Yankees and S,cessioners make peace, and how long will
you enjoy it ? If they unite, look out for an attempt to clip
the Britishers' wings. Ido not mean to say that we have
taken a wrong course. Perhaps we have adopted the soundest
of the two, because most consistent with political morality,
if there be such a thing ; but I am not at all convinced that
it is either the safest course, or one most comlucivo to the
immediate interests of the country. At all events, with the
note of preparation all around us, it is no time for our Ad-
miralty to indulge in their unwholecome slumbers.

CIIURCII RATES AT STAPLEUURST.—At the in-
ranging. from 3d to 20s. On the day of in-
stauco of Mr Henry Hoare, churchwarden of Staplehurst,
2fosracrumreohnrsaetse,have lately been Rerv ed the inhabitants
hearing at Cranbrook Petty Sessions, none of the parties
summoned were in attendance. The bench adjudicated 17
cases, and in 14 made orders for payment forthwith with
CoAS.