The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-21 00:00:00

be fortunate enough to continue in the enjoyment
of profound peace... What might be the results if
that utopian dream, a general disarmament, were
realised it is impossible to say ; but so long as
nations continue to adopt the maxim that the best ,
means of securing peace is to be prepared for war,
so long will it be necessary for even the most pacific
of nations to expend large sums of money, on arma-
ments which, at the same time, it is fervently
hoped may never be employed. France and Eng-
land are by common consent the most powerful
maritime States in Europe, and it would be mere
affectation to pretend that no small portion of
the naval expenditure of each during the past five
years has been occasioned by what, for want of a
better term, we may designate as a spirit of
rivalry. France was the first to recognise the
necessity of converting wooden ships into ironclads,
and England was compelled to follow suit. Both
Powers have kept pace with each other ; and, ac-
cording to returns published last midsummer, it
appeared that the English armour-clad fleet then
consisted of 31 ships (of which 4 were in course of
construction) and 5 floating batteries, whilst that
of France was composed of 33 vessels, including
floating batteries, of which 9 were on the stocks.
It must, however, be said that even if France had
not exhibited any anxiety to create a powerful iron-
clad fleet, the extraordinary growth of the naval
power of the United States during the past few
years would have compelled England to reconstruct
her navy. There is no reason to suppose that the
peace which subsists between America and Europe
will be disturbed, but it is evident that the maritime
Powers on this side of the Atlantic could not be
content to exist on the sufferance of the great Re-
public of the West. It may be a matter for regret
that civilised nations should be compelled to spend
immense sums on engines of war which may never
be turned to account ; but, nevertheless, it is an evil
which under one form or another it will be found
impossible to evade until the advent of that period
when " the lion will lie down with the lamb."
The total amount of the estimates for the forth-
coming year is £10,388,153, whilst that for 1865-6
was £10,392,224, leaving on the present estimates
a net decrease of £4,071. The total expenditure
as thus calculated is, however, invariably dimi-
nished by what are termed extra receipts and re-
payments, and these are calculated to amount in
the ensuing year to £150,000, being about £B,OOO
less than they reached in the past twelve months.
There is, therefore, on the whole but a trifling
difference in the total estimates for the two years.
On looking, however, to the several votes of
which they are composed we observe points of
distinction, for the explanation of some of which
we must wait until the estimates are formally brought
under the notice of the House of Commons by the
Secretary to the Admiralty. We find, for instance,
on the vote of wages to seamen and marines that
there is a decrease of upwards of £82,000, and on
the vote for victualling and clothing them a reduc-
tion of £90,500. The explanation of this is found
in the fact that her Majesty's Government intend
to reduce the number of seamen and marines, but it
does not appear on the face of the votes, for this
reason : in the army estimates the first vote sanc-
tions the number of men to be maintained, the second
for their pay and support. In the navy estimates,
on the other hand, no vote is taken for the number
of men, the first vote being for their maintenance.
Unlike in the army, where the services of the soldiers
are voluntary, the Crown may impress seamen for
the service in the navy ; and although the system of
impressment has been of late years modified by act
of Parliament, the right remains, and may be exer-
cised in cases of emergency. Hence it has arisen
that whilst the number of troops is accurately de-
fined each year in the estimates submitted to Parlia-
ment, that of the seamen and marines serving in the
Royal Navy is not stated. A decrease in the num-
ber of seamen employed will not, however, imply
diminished efficiency. One of the results of the
introduction of armour-plated frigates has been to
reduce the number of seamen and marines necessary
for the efficient management of a powerful fleet.
An ironclad frigate, like the Achilles, for example,
carrying 26 guns, requires a far smaller comple-
ment of men than an old-fashioned 'ship of the
line with an armament of 120 guns, whilst the
former would prove more than a match for a whole
fleet of the latter. We dwell upon this important
distinction between the two classes of ships, because
otherwise persons might be inclined to suppose that
a reduction in -the number of our seamen would
entail a proportionate sacrifice of efficiency in our
fleets. The most important item of decrease is in
the vote for naval stores, for the building, repair,
and outfit of the fleet, which amounts to £1,321,500,
as against £1,700,000 latt year. This gives a re-
duction of about £380,000 ; and, independently of
the decrease being considerable, it is otherwise de-
serving of notice as indicating that at length we
may congratulate ourselves on approaching the ter-
mination of that most costly task, the reconstruc-
tion of our navy. But on turning to the items of
increase, we confess that we observe that we are
about to enter on a much larger expenditure in
some branches of our naval administration which it
does not seem easy to account for, on the supposi-
tion that we are about to rest for a time from the
labours in which we have been so long engaged.
Thus in the vote for dockyards, both at home and
abroad, we notice an augmentation to the extent of
about £65,000 ; whilst the vote for new works,
building, machinery, and repairs, which in last
year's estimates stood at £527,985, appears in those
for the present year as £892,865, showing an in-
crease of nearly £365,000. No doubt, however, the
Secretary of the Admiralty will be in a position to
satisfy the House of Commons that these votes,
large as they are, must be considered indispensable.
As regards dockyards more especially, the construc-
tion of a different class of vessels has necessitated
the provision of extraordinary accommodation on
foreign stations. In a few days the navy estimates
will be submitted to Parliament, and ample justifi-
cation will then be offered for framing the estimates
on their present scale.

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