Portland gazette and Maine advertiser. (Portland, Me.) 1805-1818, 1807-03-16

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" e will confider hrlt, the efficiency
Of the fyHem.
The ufual mode Of efimating the
relative importance Of artillery. is to
compare the weight Of lhot which
can be thrown in a given time. A
/ heavy gun cannot be loaded and diff
charged with the fame celebrity as a
I light one, and. therefore, the ratio of
! power does not correlPond with the
lize of the caIbre. / will, however,
| conGder The fifty tbirty,two FOUNDERS
on which we are 70 rely for 4afety,
| as capable Of difcha, ging in an hour
as great weight Of balls, as the
eighty guns which are borne 6y what
is ufua.ly called leventy-four gun
fhip and this viii be conGdered by
every artilicriit as large correction
j he e0sntiai damage which can
be d ne to vehtis If war, IS in a
great degree confined to the water
line and near it. Ships have fought
uniI + ur port holes have been bea
ten into one and vet have not been
taken or funk, but have returned In
to port Shot between wind and
water, as it is uluatly called, or ON
the wafer line, are more dangerous
The seventy four gun fhip, in the
extreme length Of her broadhde, ex
poles a water line LET'S than two hun
dred feet. SupPoGng the fifty gun
boats n action with her, to I've b2u
2q, the Ibertef poliole water line, ex-
?. fed BY each, IS eighteen feet, a
mounting in the whole 70 nine hun
bred feet, and whenever they pre-
fent their broadGdes, as they iome-
times mutt their water i've amounts
TO two ,houiand five hundred feet.
4 tie 1iiproportion in the relative
Rrcng'h Of The TWO machines, is OBJ
yiouiy muCh greater than that Of the
Ezc Of their guns. a twelve pound
ihot VIII more eaGlT penetrate a IN
boat, thin thirty Pounc tho;
viii flip Of the line
In aha, allow, that IN boats,
prh iI"g the power, in lone mea
iure of ChooGng their pr ion by
means Of oars, VIII have tie advau-
i.ge Of heavy lhip in deep water
this advantage might tUmetnes prove
irre!i.t@DI- but in har5or, where
tx lhiP would anchor with fpriug8 on
hcr cables, il would be urhing.
In breeze, the feyeuty-fou gun
2.p will outlail the gun-boats, and,
url7fs they take thelter in fhlllow
water. will nave no more difficulty in
running down iquadron of them,
than nip OF three hundred tons
would have in running down feet
Of Birch Cauo-S.
L rclu.ts then, that IL point Of eff
cheney, the fifty gun boats in calm,
may be conGdered as equal to one
IMP Q feventy-four guns but in
rough water, or a frcih breeze, ut
terly inferior.
! ought, however, to fate one
further confederation which gives to
the fhip in every circumltlnce, an
I lmmenie advantage il i, thar her
force Is compact. her crew diiciplin-
ed--and under the cys md abloIute
command Of ose man: wher as the
fifty gun boats NUT have fifty com
manders anuub -r of which can never
/ be eXrec ted TO act in concert, even
if there eziAed the bea dilcipline on
board each boat.
Let u. next couGder the economy
~ th- Gun boat fyftem, with refpea
to human life, confederation which
Dug I not 70 have elcaped the friends
1 Jtfr lc2yh.
a e en;Y 55ur caa hin, in the
br,iL i1rvice, is lorG tered as fully
manned wiki fix huad,e, men.
he fifty 2un-boats with which
we are to oPP1le her, qure tlyo
tb2gldHd fVe hWldred
he fix hundred men on board the
feventy four are fhcItersd il a great
meafure from the enemy fire.
The two thoufa d five hundred
men Oh board the fifty gun boats,
mutt all be upon deck in action, and
completely exPofed the wait of
tie boat not being either high
enough. or nrOng enonrh m fhelter