The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-13 00:00:00

THE BALTIC FLEET.

PORTSMOUTH, MARCH 11.
The first division of the Baltic fleet has departed on its
warlike mission, amid the cheers of thousands of spec-
tators, in the presence of the Queen and the Royal
family, and attended by the best wishes of the whole
nation. Of the naval force which for the last few weeks
has been mustering at Spithead only three vessels re-
main. The Neptune, the Prince Regent, and the Bos-
cawen stay behind to form the nucleus of the second
division, which is immediately to assemble there, and,
under the flag of Admiral Corry, to follow Sir Charles
Napier to the Baltic. We shall then have equipped and
despatched from our shores an armament such as the
world has never seen equalled, and not unworthy of
that supremacy which we claim to hold upon the ocean.
Sir Charles Napier will have under his command a fleet
of 44 ships, manned by upwards of 22,000 men,
mounting about 2,200 guns, and propelled by a steam
power of more than 16,000 horses. Of the ships, only
six will be unaided by that new force which is manifestly
destined to effect the same revolution in warlike ope-
rations as it has already accomplished in those of
peace. These are the Neptune, 120, the St. George,
120, the Prince Regent, 90, the Boseawen, 70, the
Monarch, 84, and the Cumberland, 70, noble vessels of
the old school, though modern invention teaches us to
rely less upon them than we used to do. Of
the crews it would, perhaps„ be premature to speak
until we have got them all, but the division which
put to sea to-day was manned by 8,820 men collected
without any recourse to the pressgang, at a moment
when the immense demands of the mercantile marine
have almost denuded our ports of sailors. The speed
with which this force has been raised, .the volunteer
character of the service being preserved, is a sufficient
guarantee that no insurmountable difficulties will pre-
sent themselves in supplying seamen for the ships about
to be sent to Spithead. With reference to the steam-
power of the fleet, we have as yet no data for showing
how the enormous aggregate of 16,000 horses is to be
made up ; but as Sir Charles Napier took out to-day a
propelling power of 5,350 horses by screw, and of 2,020
horses by paddle, or a total of 7,370 horses, it follows
that, enormous as the force thus despatched is, it, in
fact, forms the weaker half of what his command in the
Baltic will ultimately include. As to guns, also, a
similar remark may be made, for, while the fleet, when
fully constituted, will be able to declare the will of Eng-
land to the Czar through 2,200 portholes, and by can-
non to which those of the last war were mere toys, the
first division carries out to-day an armament of not more
than 887 guns. This, however, will be augmented to
1,019 guns in the Downs, where the Cressy, of 80, and
the Euryalus, of 50, will join the rest of the ex-
pedition—thus increasing the number of men ac-
tually despatched to the north to 10,160, and the
horse-power to 8,170. It must not be sup-
posed that the fleet which we are thus sending from
our shores exhausts all our naval strength, for the
reserves ships have not been touched, 30 additional first
class men-of-war could almost at once be put into
commission, and our dockyards and private establish.
ments could enable us to show to the world results
at least twice as great as those which the last few
months have yielded. It is this extraordinary pro-
ductive energy of the country, " husbanded and ma-
tured to the highest pitch during 40 years of peace,
with which our enemies will have to reckon. That
this energy will be exerted to the utmost, if neces-
sary, cannot now be doubted, for, though we are not
a military nation, we have, when the occasion justi-
fies it, as warlike a spirit as any people on the face
of the earth.

The best expression which probably can be given to the
thoughts of all who saw Sir Charles Napier depart to-
day from Spithead will probably be found in the bald
.but- telling statistics of the mighty fleet which he has
been chosen to command, and of the division with
which he has put to sea. Of the fleet itself what we
have already stated may help to give some idea. Its
aggregates, however, can only at present be set forth
in general terms, the details being left for the next
few weeks to work out. Of the division which set
out for the Baltic to-day we can speak more de-
finitely. It comprises, as will be seen from the follow-
ing list, eight screw line-of-battle ships, four screw, and
four paddle-wheel Ships of inferior rank, making a total
of 16 war-steamers ; of which two —the Duke of Wel-
lington and the Royal George—are three-deckers, while
three carry Admirals' flags—Sir Charles Napier's in the
Duke, Admiral Chads' in the Edinburgh, and Admiral
Plumridge's in the Leopard :
SCREW LINE-OF-BATTLESIIIPS.
Guns. Men. Horse-power. Tons.
The Duke of Wellington 131 ... 1,100 ... 780 ... 3,756
The Royal George ..... 121 ... 990 ... 400
The St. Jean d'Acre ... 101 ... 900 ... 650 ...

The Princess Royal 9l ...
The Blenheim
The Hogue
The Ajax
The Edinburgh

850 _. 400 ._ 3,129
660 _. 450._ 1,747
660 _. 450 _. 1,750
630 ._ 450 _. ----
630 _. 450.- 1,772