The Sun.
London, England, 1849-10-24 00:00:00

ebinting attlits

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1849,

Nothing could more conspicuously illustrate the
folly of those financial innovators who, beginning at
the wrong end in their reforms, would diminish our
military and maritime power, than the discrepancy
existing between the French and English squadrons in
the Mediterranean. While the British line-of-battle
ship in that sea number merely seven, the French
have fourteen, exactly double. To one English
frigate the French have four. None of our corvettes
or sneveyirg vessels have penetrated beyond the
Straits of Gibraltar; white our neighbours have, on
the contrary, an efficient representative of each class.
Both forces comprise, it is true, a couple of receiving
ships or transports ; but whereas the English have
two the French have three sloops. The difference in
the steam power placed at the disposal of France and
of England in the Mediterranean at this time is still
more remarkable, as showing the superiority of
the former over curselves, both in tonnage
and numerically. Undoubtedly our solitary screw
frigate may be taken as a sufficient tally to
theirs ; and the same may be said of the
screw schooners of which each possesses an excellent
representative. Unquestionably, moreover, we may
claim the advantage, both in regal to screw cor-
vettes and to paddle steam gun vessels, the French
having neither the one nor the other, whereas we
have one of the former and seven of the latter. Yet
that petty superiority is infinitely more than counter-
balanced by the circumstance that to our two-paddle
steam frigates the French have twelve, that to our
three-paddle steam sloops the French have six, and
that to our three-paddle steam packets the French.
have no less than the large total of twenty-five
Alvgether the British maritime force now in the
Mediterranean is estimated at just 13 sailing ships
and 18 steamers, or a sum total of 31 vessels of all
classes; while the French maritime forces in the Medi-
terranean consist of more than double that amount,
namely, of 24 sailing ships and 45 steamers, or a sum
total of 69 vessels of all classes. Assuredly,
this simple, but striking, calculation is
eminently deserving of attention. It is
morei4ish trhttonf:6enough, . to .
rinodficoautre
sutlhdeiers. correctness of
:14;til
;o those
cinatic.or
isclg
su
„eimiyeartilit,srtpiiivv:_thenilch have received the sanction of,
such a sea-captain as Admiral Sir CHARLES NAPIER
and of such a land-captain as Field-Marshal the
Duke of Wennuscer
ON.Remembering that they have
written so energetically against the rash reduction of
our two warlike professions ; remembering that one
has insisted upon the proper maintenance of the army,
and that the other has required a more efficient orga•
nization of the navy, we have no fearolfestth)atatewnodfeoald-
vouring to illustrate the necessity
we may be accused of aspiring
forethought/
notoriety of Alarmists. Such, indeed,
" should
imagine, could never be considered of ourselves,
seeing seeing that long before the appearance of the cele-
brated communication of his Grace the Commander-
in-Chief, and before the Conqueror of St. Jean
d'Acre had commenced his recent series of epistles, we
had enlarged again and again upon the absolute and
urgent demand existing for the due support of
both nrAes,` as well as the rashness, not to say the
insaAty,_2talitc.. • ale diminution in the number
ii o
but
u tw
overshadowed
are overshadowed,
w with the
w e
' -lie of a war beten Russia and Turkey, a Nwar
c‘tui
la would inat*ly eventuate in the siding of