The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-06-15

long range guns and bear upon the ortrcsses
Of the enemy Dispatch was the one thing needfu Had
ton, Sir Charles Napier would have got the weapons he
wanted and would not, we predict, have come boot
less home and weather beaten back' from the
campaign OF 1854. If there was such in
superable objection TO iron vessels, why,
frigate with the Prussian government for the gun
boats mix" and ''Saamander," both Of TINS obnoxious
materaR Early in 1855, the Aberdeen Admiralty was
partially forced ont of its disgracetul inactivity by tho
loud calls of the public press for boats and IN order
TO quiet the storm one of its members stated W the
House OF Commons that several had at last been laid
down.
When the first launched in the summer of 1855, II
was found to draw twelve feet water draught which
would render rs incapable of running up the shadows
Of the Baltic camel would be Of going through tho
eye Of needle BY the autumn of the same year. the
Admiralty managed build sixteen gun boats Of more
suitable size, and sixteen old dockyard lighters were it
ted mortar vessels and sent out to Admiral Dundas
light steamers furnished by the French the vast stores
contained in the arsenal Of sweabog together with the
destroyed We have only to learn the performance.
Of this insignificant and haslyfed force to read
the utter con condemnation Of Sir James - Grahams
distance, with 400 fathom Of cable TO veer upon in
the enemy should get their range threw 1909 13
nch shells into the Russian stronghold, each shell falling
with force Of rs tons; whilst the sixteen gnboas at 800
yards distance with perfect IMMUNITY to themselves threw
INTO the arsenal IL 200 shot and she'll Under such
nterDal of ironas and the French vessels
projected, wonder that the whole place the second
day was vast sheet Of fire. If with such limited
force we managed deal so disastrous blow to the
enemy, what might not have done with the feet Of
gunboats collected together in addition to the eighty
odd mortar vessels, mostly constructed, by the bye, 6
iron? We venture TO say that neither Revc Cron-
stadt would have reared their granite fronts above the
water twelve hours after they had been bombarded by
such force We will 90 further, and assert, with little
fear Of contradiction, that il Of these gunboas
had entered in the autumn OF 1854 the Sea Azof the
Russian army would not have been able to have main
tanned itself in the Crmea through the ensuing winter;
and, as consequence, the flower of our army would
have escaped destruction The first great blow aimed at
the power Of the enemy dealt by Capt Lyons and
the most successful of his little feet the gunboat Re-
crut alias the Nix, which the Prussians had built on
the Thames pattern for to 60 by as early
as 1850, and the identical vessel pointed out by
Captain Chxton as an example to be followed in
May, 1854 This admirable iron boat destroyed all the
military stores at Taganrog, at 1,40O yards distance
without the slightest injury to herself Why, ask
this pattern vessel neglected for four years, time
when all the world knew that by such vessels only the
naval warfare were engaged in could be carried onf
Poserity will sterny ask this question: and Sir James
Graham will not be considered TO have answered it by
his miserable tn qHoque arguments against clustering
old Admiral Now IL is too late and the horse is stoen
admirably constructed lock is placed upon the stable
door; that the just war have been waging has
been stranged by diplomacy the Channel is covered
with flying artillery which is paraded before the eyes
of Europe-just in time TO fire salute in boror Of the
proclamation Of peace.