The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1857-02-16

| ihS LONDON TINES AND THE AMERICAN
NAVY DEPARTMENT In the course of an article
10 'ne London Times of the 22d of January upon
'ne British executive, and the my stery 10 carefully
preserved In England with regard to ministerial
AFFAIRS that journal takes occasion to contrast the
brief explanations by ministers In Pariament with
the full aud complete reports emanatinr annually
| from each of the executive departments of the
American government aud refers to the last rspor,
from our Navy Department as an example of what
q report should be, and especially of what should
emauate from the British Admiralty The article
Ia long one. and we therefore extract from Il such
portions only as peculiarly interest the American
| reader:
In the United States It is otherwise. and citi-
zen there alt down and in the space of an hour
or two ,hroushly ter the state of each departs
ment all that 1t has done during the past year and
| all that 1t proposes TO do for the future Thus we
have before US in the annual report of the Secrs.
| tary of the Navy q compendious statement, such
as we could defy the most dilligent and pracsiced
compiler TO extrac from all the speeches and re.
| ports Of the whole British Admiralty, even aided
| by the Navy List and the intelligence from the
| ports Here we have an account of all the squad.
| rons their force; where they have been;what moro
are wanted, and where; what new ships have been
built with what guns, of what calibre; with a dis
| cussion on TO comparative advantages OF shot aud
| shell. Then we have the CONDITION. of the crews;
| proposed cnADEfs, new OIuCeTs-iu u WUTu, tuo
| whole naval history of the year, and the mnste
rial projects for the session. all stated fully and
| plainly. AS far as we are concerned we have the
| opportunity OF knowing that the Americans are by
| no means negecting their navy. They are omit
| ting nothing that may bring it not only to an
equality but even to superiority, over the fleets
OF Europe They are resolved not to be beaten
and they not afraid to tell us so. The value of
this document is that it exhsusts the subject. IL
Processes to tell everything as far certain rea
limit allow The reader ATS down
with the conviction that, if the report has not been
| actually cooked it leaves him in possession of
every tsct of Importance"
But the report on the American Navy Is more
particularly suggestive of upon ours. At
present there is no such mystery, no lore 80 re
| condte, no knowledge unattsinable, as the
state of The British Navy. Certain Admiralty re.
turns tell us all the ships In and out of commis.
sion, and where they are or ought to be. But, as
they say the children of this age are the men of
the future, the vessels now the stocks are the
future fleet of Englsnd So. what ships are build
ing. How many ieviathans of the deep, those
pompous thr deckers, ignarum pecus, made for
the sole purpose apparently of consuming men,
coal aud money! How many frigates tit to show
beside the Merrimac, whether in peace war;
How many of those sloops of war, and those Puu
boats, upon which the American report before us
dwels ith such f)ndHeSs and complacencyl But
such report we describe, and rs, indeed, we
have in the American example before us, throws
the burden On the Admiralty, which may be called
to account for every omission. From this depart
ment then, at least, we hope to hear, ct an early
date, what we are doing to meet these ma gnif-
cent frigstes and their tremendous armaments,
those l35 FOUNDER. Are we only providing huge
targets, to be rent and raked and sent to shivers
by their nimbltr and more powerful sssailants, o.
are we preparing the British sailor to fight upon
more equal termsi What craft have we got for
the rext war in shoals and creeks: What are we
preparingl What further suggestions has the
First Lord of the Admiralty to oferi This is just
what we have in the American report, and bu.
for the narrow, contentious, parliamentary prac.
tice, we should look for the same from the mouth
of the pen of Sir Charles Wood"