The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1853-12-07
BRITISH NATIONAL DErENCEs.
THE SCREW PROPELLER.

BRITISH NATIONAL DEFENCES.
THE SCREW PROPELLER
The October No. of the Edinburgh Review
has an article on the defensive strength of
Great Britain. There are in Great Britain
and Ireland, of cavalry 1000 regular troops,
$4,000 yeomanry and militia of infantry, as
900 regulars, $4,000 yeomanry and militia;
$4,000 enrolled pensioners. Total cavalry,
2l 900; total infantry, 10000. The n,ain re-
lance, however, of England for successful
resistance to invasion is placed upon her
navy. The writer in the Review, intending
merely to show the present condition Of the
British national defences, does not enter into
any detail of the number and force of the
ships OF the British Navy, as a whole, but
merely notes some particulars Of the steam
branch of the service which, in his view, has
become so important, and which, in our opin-
ion, deserve the especial attention Of all who
are Interested in the efficiency of American
naval service.
Itappears that in 1885, the British navy had
only 10 steamers of all denominations In
1916, they had IS steam vessels, Of the gross
nominal power of 1880 horses. In 1858,
there are about no steam vessels of
gross nominal power of 45,50o horses, besides
eight or ten line-of battle ships and frigates
building. The writer remarks that the noml-
nal horsepower is by no means to be taken
as a measure of the actual power; and men
tons, for example, the engines of the Aga
memnon,'' which, nominally of 600, actually
work up to more than 1000 horses. He states
the fact, which we hope win arrest the atten-
tion Of the naval committees in our Congress,
that few weeks would enable Great Britain
to send to sea feet of seventeen sail OF
screw line of- battle ships, a number which
next spring will see largely augmented. One
of these ships, the Duke of Wellington"
carries $50 guns. The writer justly remarks
that the most important step ever taken in
the adaptation of steam to the purposes of
maritime warfare, was the adoption OF the.
screw propeller, with which the whole of the
broadside becomes available for carrying
guns; and the ship, unlike the paddle steam
er, is equal to any other saiingship when not
under steam.
We believe there is not single screw pro-
peller in the American Navy! England and
France have extensively adopted this great
improvement. The French have four screw
line of battle ships, carrying from 90 to 100
guns, of the heaviest calibre, and are said to
be building others. The speed of one of the
French Ships the Napoleon, is estimated at
| thirteen or fourteen knots an hour. The i'm
provelnent can be adapted to ships already
| built, and we hope that measures will be at
| once taken to convert some of our heavy
| line-o battle ships into screw prOpellers.-
They would still retain the properties OF sail
| ing vessels, with the superadded advantage
of steam, to be used when necessity should
require At present, should we become in
| yolved in q war with any of the great naval
forces of Europe, the finest sailing vessels in
our service would inevitably be overcome
by the huge screw propellers Of our enemy.
The paddle steamers, in the opinions of the
best naval judges, can never be efficient in
action, even against sail vessels.
| The war spirit which is occasionally man
| Tested in Congress, would present more solid
and practical claims upon public confidence,
if it would render our naval defences more
efficient by increasing the pay and adopting
the improvements Of modern naval warfare
instead OF combining itself to empty declama-
ton, and utterly refusing to proveits faith by
its works