The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-02-28
Maviss Of the Untted States
land and France.

Mavles Of the Untted states H"s
land and France. I'll
AZ this moment, when collision IA '"o VI :.
with the naval forces Of Eagland aud france /"
considered by some journalists as among '"s po'
.,hu,,;.. .ome statistics complied upon the stb.
Ca, nv the New York Macs, and condemnation OF
which re give, arc not without Interest.
TIA Nt.ps says that when all the new steam
.,,.on. a, uresept under way will be At FIR duty.
the navy Of the United States will consist VI some
thing like ninety vessels, all told, of which not
forty can be said to be available for active service
II ID generally believed that there are some line.
Of battle ships 10 the United States service, be.
cause their names appear on the register. This 10
= mistake, however, As have not single sailing
vessel carrying more than atty guus that conid he
Of any use on the ocean. The Pennsylvania, no"
worthless and rottiug speedily, lies at Norfolk,
useless; the North Carolina is jast fiji for remain'
fng where she Is al the Erooklyn yard, until she
falls asunder, which must happen before two
wears; the Delaware, Columbus and Nermo may
be considered among the things that were, and
the New Orleans, New York, Alabama aud Virgin
10 have never left the ship houses, although they
have been booked as Yankee mea-oi war sine the
present century began, or very soon after its com
mencement
There are fourteen sailing vessels. OF which the
Nrcs says fully half are worthless. The Cum
bertrand, st. Lawrence, Sabine, Santee, Copsti
tuition, Raritan, Congress, Brand wine, Potomac
Columbia, Independence, and three others Itt
worth naming, complete the list of frigates. Tie
second and third named are new, one of them, the
SAbiae, Ia flag ship Of the Paraguay feet, aud the
other being built. A movement is GU foot at pre-
sent which will probably cause ali these large
sailing vessels to be dore away with, or RACED
into something serviceable. As il is, under the
most favorable circumstances, only four could be
prepared for sea duty for any length OF time
The other ten are therefore, little better than old
hulks, taking up room needed Tor other purposes
Oar soops of-wsr are not, by any Reans, 50 de-
serving of condem nation the frigates, but that
docs not say q great deal for them. We have a
score, rating from fourteen to twenty guns each
OF these, We could pick out about eight calculated
for few years service. The Constellation, James
town, Germantown, MacedoDian, st. Laais and
Cysne may do some duty for considerable period
The Levant, Dale, Decatur, and Mario. cannot be
counted worth any thing 10 their present trim. In
short, If fighting was to be doue, We have only
eight or nine sloops-ofwar in which it would be
safe to trust our sailors and soldiers.
Our few steam frigates are admirable models Of
ships and the ornaments powerful, but the mae
ehinsry 10 inferior and unreliable. We have eigh.
teen steam ships, OF all sizes. The steam gun
boats, now building by the COVER nment, carrying
three formidable guns, and drawing niue or ten
fest Of water, are u valuable class of vessels.
Let rs now zee, with our ninety ships Of war ofall
ciasses-not balfo Of which are available for active
service, and only sixteen of the whole number pro
PEELED BY steam-what We should have to contend
against in a war with England aud France. The
navy of Great Britain consists of six hundr red and
Sfty seven vessels, OF which ninety six are lue-o!-
battle ships, one hundred rigates, .6l corvettes,
and 200 eun-boats. OF these vessels,j2 line ofbat
Fla ships, 10 frigates and LOG corvettes and gun,
bo,ts are propelled by steam. Not Satisfied with
thi,. the Queen. in her late speech, proposed an
increased appropriation, for tie Iurpoee tf in
Producing this powerful agent still more generally
in the naval service. OF this immense navy one
hundred and eightysix are actually in commits
s,on and doing duty in all parts of the world ii
tsso being on the North American and West In
dian statiou There are also eleven line-of battle
screw Steamers of from SO to 13l guns each, build
fur At the several royal dookyards, together with
ffteeu other screw steamers all In various stages
of progress.
The French navy has six hundred and Il We vessels
of var OF which ffty-six are line OF itte eighty.
y.ttes and two hundred gunboats. Of this force
thirty-three line of battle ships, twenty-eight
frisstes and a hundred and wenty-nine corvettes
and gunboats are propelled by steam. Eight steam-
ships of the line, and twenty hve friga,es aud
smaller vessels, are being built in the French
dockyards.
We bavo lately published statistics from the
Paris C5nsttuttonnei, showing that, on the LIST of
June next France will have army of 100000
men free for operations In foreign country
Undoubtedly, if the Empire of Brazil, in South
America, ahould permit any question, not abso.
lutely affecting the national honor ard indepen-
depce, to involve her in a war with both England
and France there are few men 10 this country who
would hesitate to pronounce her rash aud foolhar.
dy or who would doubt the result of such cons
Aict Yet Brazil has a larger available navy than
the United States nearly bali her vessels are ne
steamers, she has a standing army Of twenty ive
thousand men, and national guard of 100000 -
She 10 therefore better prepared than this country
for an immediate collision, whilst we have the adj
ditional disadvantage Of possessing commerce as
large that of England, which, in the event of
war, would at fall into the hands of the ent
my, whilst our principal seaports, inadequateIy
fortified, would probably share the same fate.