The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1859-04-09
THE GREAT GUNS or ENGLAND AND
FRINGE


[Froin sbo London flpcs, FEB. a.
AZ heF Aaests ovee Yesterday the honor OF knight.
hood was conferred upon Mr. Armstrong, the inventor
OF the new rfilegun who is further described "Eng
neer TO the War Department for Red Ordnance" This
appointment is very significant fact Indeed the effect
that viii be produced upon ornaments by the intro
ductlon of the red ordnance nyentee by Sir w. ARM
strong the most important branch OF any question
spectng tho national defenccs II these inventions
turn out 10 be formidable In practice they start
ling IN description, it would though all the old
military and naval arrangements of the world must soon
pass away like the airy dranas persona Of a mornings
dream. What known fabric that floats upon the seas
aye, what existing fortress raised by human hands
could resist storm Of bolts and shells each of eighty
pound or underground weight and cast from distance
OF from hve to seven miles In naval warfare, to be
sure, this game at which two play The defence
Is good the attack assuming parity Of ornaments
Not with regard 60 fortresses How gunners to
hit shifting speck ten miles out but the specks hit
the fortress at their leisurei Under such arrangements
the days of Cronstadt Cherbourg and Gibraltar would
appear to be scaled So of all naval aenas unless they
can DO moved inland up rivers, and beyond reach of
such storm may be poured upon them from vessels
at With regard to ships, however 1t must always
be that they meet upon equal terms for the conditions
under which they act are the same All that would
necessary is, that should never allow another
nation to steal march upon in naval gunnery or the
science of naval defence for, after all the question of
the existence of England nation is which must
be determined at On land might meet with re-
verses but they could not shake the foundations OF Eng
lands power 1t is the ocean which we should watch
with jealous eye.
0ur correspondence from Paris describes far they
known, the wonderful results attained by the newly
invented gun which has been carefully tried at Vim
cennes and hints not wanting that when the French
Emperor has provided himself with sufficiently hume
artillery the model he will step forth from
his dominons and lay Europe under contribution.
We not frightened at the suggestion supposng that
we on our side and the other nations of Europe
binary precaution and foresight in the matter 1t Is
probable enough that in France they arc just now casting
in large numbers 1t Is certain that these will
be constructed with all the latest improvements but that
they viii be far superior to to imply dan
ger to do not believe The only real danger lies
In supneness. We may be caught unawares and we
ought not to forget when due allowance has been
made for the valor of army and navy that the Mimic
rifle in hands, when opposed during the Rus
sian and Indian to enemy less perfectly armed,
counted for much in the decision of those two events
Our government be keeny alive to the danger
than suppose although if they have rapidly and
quietly taken to place the country IN state OF
defence far this be done by the use of the new
improvements in ordnance we shall pronounce them to
be the best which has held Office in these days One
hears every and then little talk of mysteries and
Shoeburyness but when comes to think OF the ira
dtions of Woolwch and tho deficient state of our ord
just before the Russian war; we are not quite SO
sanpune to the wisdom of rulers. Ii is idle in
such matter to talk of The supposed secret of
the Armstrong gun secret, for all persons
who care know anything about the matter than tho
hour the Horse Guards clock to passer Dy IL IL
said the French Emperor secret is well kept.
In the first place is there secret or merely mystic
rious of methods known elsewhcre2 If there be
secret money must have lost its value spies their
adroitness it would not be secret long after fifty or
twenty guns had been cast Let us, however, take
the alternative that there secret and that we cannot
find out still then does it beboove us to do all
we vigorously lies in power to provide our
selves with an equally effective weapon.
Time when the naval powers were building big
ships against each other; then came the Russian
war; the shallow Baltic the shallow Azo sea, and the
day of gun boats Until quite lately the large ships had
appeared to into fashion again. all recent com
parson4 which have been instituted between our own
naval forces and tho of France it is invariably the
to the vulgar phrase-is the leg upon which
supposed to halt But there must be right and a
wrong about all this In the present condition of naval
gunney there must be better and models; may
be that larger smaller ships wanted it may be u
mixture of both. From what see around us we can
scarcely hope that in days shall not be called
upon from time to time, and at distant intervals of
time, to pay large sums to naval ornaments Mod
science will be pepetually overtaking and rendering
useless the best that could be devised for the
of any given period Our consolation must be that
it is better to spend money thus than upon actual
fare. country wealthy England must be q mark
for the cupidy of the world. Her free institutions
must make her obnoxious to her despotic neghbor
We must pay the penalty of wealth must resign
ourselves to the conviction that liberty has drawbacks by
the side of her manifold advantages. The first point
the point by the side of which all others sink into nsg
nifcance-is that should be secure.