New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-08-31

a
perae, .rd orderly social pecaliaftss OF the frerch
sailor, render unnecessary on board ship tnsa
cs,,t,puous restraint without which the stubborn
Saxon would be uhmanageable and dangerous.
There are retained on shore, ready q. GIL tunes
10 art as circumstances may demand. Divest-
ing ,b.se statistics of all possible supsrhnties,
counting only 10000 Of the marine coniin-
gent as actually available, leaving out the
"mousses" ard sea coast people altogether, ana
including the artillery alluded 10, the total force Oh
the French navy could in three weeks or month
muster ICO, eco mep. Even dropping tue mereantis
Arm, II xonld BE on an exac, level with the British
naval strength az regards men, Each country, ther,
commits an equal number Of sailors ard marines Bat
France having commissioned 100 OF her idle ships, g.
the British average OF 800 apiece, may stu further
augment il. navy. It may be objected that 10
dropping the mercantile marine, France must Hsn her
chips th mere soldiers This IL not so. Everything
s 20 ~ stestized in her service inst technical di
entities which would be almost insurmountabie TO any
9th. nation, are comparatively trihing TO heL BY
the lew regulations nov in course OF adoption in the
French navy, each grade of the mos; necessary
men for naval duty ia proportionsbly distributed
among the ships. FOR Instance, instead OF pacing
900 thorough sailors on board one iiDe-ofbatte ship,
the crew is composed Of 200 s.ors 400 artillery n,
ard 800 of miscellaneous character, or in propor-
tons more suitable. BY thus reducing the manage
ment of affairs TO well-reguated system, %,Ooo
sailors and 60 GOO aItierynen, would be more sfec-
tive in a naval battle than 900 seamen aone.
There are, even now, three French men-of-wT IN
COMM, sion subject this regulation, and it is report
ed to work admirably. The possibility Of such ssys-
tenn has been frequently discussed by naval writer's,
but while others have discussed, Napoleon has Trac-
ticAlly illustrated its great worth. For, remember
says work on Naval Position, published in England,
that except for the work OF the engneroom Il tor
guns thst crews are required"
England and France, having, then the same number
of men. the former would have 800 ships TO provide
crews for, and the latter 20; England would require
90 coo and France 81 900 men, provided both were to
equip ali their vessels Now the % 900 sailors in ser
vice in British ships foreign stations are the cream
of the navy except pg only the 5000 compr sing tae
manual material of the Channel fleets Toe choicest
sailors Of France are attached to ships In fort con-
mission" notwithstanding a large force was sent TO
the East Indies abou. year ago The crews gentr-
aly of FreI ch men-of.war need no marines to keep
them in order; courts-maitia rarely resorted 10,
and every man among them can level gun sponge
it, act as captain loader, powderboy. The system
is perfect. Every sailor aspires TO know his duty So
well that no prompting may be necessary. He g'ts
nm 10 wine at sunrise breakfasts soon after, washes
down decks at q. M, Winter Summer; Il detailed
for guard he is as agile in belts and gloves at as
Zouave, and stands post as straightly as Mr.. Tom
Campon" himself or goes to quarters, and then othe
work laid ont for him When the band il called he
dances till his feet are sore. &" He knows al the
ropes." and practices daily on them. But the great
super,ority in the French man of.wars mar, es-
pee ally when compared with the English, is his
n,ellie ence and character; unlike nearly all other
national sailors he is well informed and does not look
on rigid system as persecution Hence the duties of
ships corporal and dr.msster easily PERFORMED.
1t is true that in handling the Frank is GER
tainly Inferior to the brawpy-armed fnrer and
REFER Of England, bui steam hes made this inferior
ity Of but little consequence.
1t is evident, then, that were both France and En-
gland to equip their entire navies, the latter wold
have no advantage in numbers over the former. Bat
in other respects France has greatly the advantage of
her antagonist across the Channel Napoleon could
in six weeks call together within sight of The French
coast, 100 powerful ships, manned by 10000 men,
without at all interfering with the regu routine Of
the duty performed by foreign squadrons. Should
England leave her foreign squadrons untouched and
cher Msjestys Government believes that it would
"pot be advisable, under any circumstances, to lessea
their numbers or impair their efficiency, the
British tiles would have, in case Of emergency, to
supply force in ships and eight times larger in
the number Of vessels and five times larger n the
number of men, than the Channel fleet which II he's
taken over ten months TO organize. Even were she
to compass this seeming impOssibility, France would
still ounumber her in steamships 1t is, unquestions
bly, in one or more desperate battle, in which many
form liable vessels will be engaged that the supremacy
Of the seas viii be decided. Gunbost skirmishing in
the words Of the French Admiral, "are never deci
sive.' A writer in The Edinburgh Reriep for
September, in discussing this point, makes this &C.
knowledgment:
III the wbse British navy we're adequately manned
in two grand divisions, tho one occupying the stTs
tsgehca portion OF our Channel feet between Ply.
mouth aid Gibraltar; the other in Malts baroof, We
should then be able to oppose, ship fer ship, the
naval forces which the Emperor OF Francs mas l. IN
bis power TO concentrate At very shot notice at his
great naval positions of Caerbou'g and roulon and
NO more France says the naya Peer before
quoted nom, "hss two f.ets but bott of these are
within reach OF her Atlantic or Meditersnesn ports
Ire navy Of France is uDquestoDably more powerful,
because less scattered than that If Eogand and il
certainly fully equal in numbers bot1 q regard ships
and men. The trsditionary superiority when public
opinion has continued to socord 10 the later is popu
lar error. 1t is like the unparalleled perfection Of
the Austrian military system" and viii one day be
proved Is ehimercal as thet has lately been.