Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1861-12-27

I NAAAAA-=a=s % oNu
Six other lron-cased ships Of 60 guns each,
are 70 be built, and three Of them have been
ordered already, They are to be 400 feet
long and go fest wide. Their engines will
be Of 1880 horse power, aud their speed Is
expected 70 be 2 10 l3 knots.
In addition 10 these l3 iron ships, the fol-
lowing wooden ships are rapidly building
in the Navy Yards, expressly designed for
being aFmorp plated; Royal Alfred, in Ports
mouth; Royal Oak, In Chatham; OAledonis,
in WOOlWich; 0cean, in DeveRpOrs; Triumph
ID Pembroke. Their armament will consist
Of 40 guns of the heaviest calibre, and they
viii be iron -cased In slI their lengths.
This number Of ls iron-eased men-of-war
ships, Of the largest class, is to be ready for
sea by the end OF next year, and the capital
which they represent Is estimated at the
eaornous sam Of eight million pounds ster-
ling, or s39 600 900. Same
The French Government viii have by the
same time, aAoat, about twenty iron-cased
ships and all the principal and even minor
powers Of Europe, are constructing large
number Of these powerful ships.
Mckay, then goes on to urge upon the
United States the immediate construction Of
3 powerful nsvy, and shows hOwit could be
done, as follows
There is no reason why we should not
have a fees ss powerful as either that Of
England or France. We have the money,
the .msterials and artisans necessary 70 build
aafiFst class feet, and the best sailors to man
So, iala IIasE.t -
It would be easy for US to build, in one
year, q feet OF 500 to 500 men olsWar ships,
from a'gunbOat % the largest class Of iron
\ cased friGates It is q Well-knoWn fact that
We built ia one year, this astonishing nun.
/ Der Of 2, 03A vessels and steamers, of all
classes, measuring together 5s3, ,450 TONS
A5large number Of these vessels were as large
as the biggest class Of higases hitherto con
structed. What we have done once, we
may do over sgain, and working ct the
same rate; we would be able alone in our
merchant yards to turn out, in one year, 583
ships of 1000 tons each. In our six navy
yards; where the choicest materials are
stocked tor building feet of 100 ships, so
more men of war ships might be bnilt in
one year, making total Of 643 men-of.War
ships Of al classss, varying In their arma-
I UEAN AENl aAlA1o " nAAt tAAla AAAAN. NAAdl
q hundred Of our greatest engineering firms
would complete al the machinery necessary
10 be put in these ships In less than year
Our capabilities and facilities Of building
shius havenot in the least suffered BY the
II loss Of the Seeded States. They never
were ship-building States, and as late as 1850
they only built (combined) one full-rigged
ship, while the Northern States built llO
ships of the same description. That is to say
in plain words, all the seeded States COM
bined did net build even Zone per cent" Of
the sea going ships built in the Unitst
States.
Il is true, on very urgent occasion, in I
great emergency, our country could largel-
increase her navy, in very few months
with very powerful descriptions Of vessels, ]
they would proceed as follows
Out down sH our lihe-of-battle ships on
or two decks, case them with fve-inch iroI
plates, put Q battery Of 80 or 20 guns Of th
heaviest calibre on board Of them, AM
pOor them across the entrance Of our bar
bors. Plate our heavy fHgates with shsl
preof iron plates, and to make up for th
additional weight pat into them, do ava
with their armament on the upper deck.
Transform 100 Of our best sea-gOing mer
chant steamers into so many fTigates, sloop'
dispatch and gunboats Of speed superior
any men-of-Wsr ships yet produced
. Among our large clipper ships and trsderI
more than 500 may be found that are caps
ble 10 be transformed into so many eficier
sling sloops and frigates, Their lengt
81. e from go to 300 feet their breadt
Vath o TO 81 feet, and whenever the
rom = Wn one deck, or their decks al
are cut 20 I be found capable Of earryin
ilo"ereui WI. -arying from 20 10 so gun
al VI l.4- 1alle1e cir respective capacity
iaecofolng 2 ~ IF our best md large
clipper ships might've .eriga.ss-ss. for 4
ed into powerful screw. Slbicb eTcesda
stance, the Great Republic, RrCIisb 5O.0u
1 her dimensions the larges -StS 4 insou
frightes, while her shape for s..
parsbly superior. q,
The scantling Of all thess shiDs =
knoEn 70 be larger than that Of the best =
strongest nenswar-shipa Of our navy:
| Among the baTks and brigs, there are Ger
/ tainly 900 % 500 capable Of receiving an ar
hsment Of from 70 20 guns, and more thar
/ 4 thoasand Of our large cossting schooner
1 that have q breadth Of % 70 80 feet ant
over, and form never surpassed for speed
I ican 10 a lew weeks be transformed into men
oi-Waf sehooners, armed with one pivot gui
Of the heaviest description in the middle, anl
tFo g four % posnderaa at the ends. Tn
vessels have q very large stability, and th
seantiiug q their itnbsEs, etc, is By tWent.
PER cent heavier than that Of the common
ulen-of-war schooness.
/ This feet Of about 3 600 vessels Of war cal
working with al The natural energy Of on
nation Be turned out 10 less than four o
ssz months. ead il would be sumcisht +
ptotect our coast and meet the frlt storm.