, 1861-12-21

ments increased in number and efficiency, IN
til at the present time England can boast Of
the largest and best navy Of the world The |
French, however, are not far behind The In
perial navy OF late has been very largely aug
mented- The French people have also become
quite reticent in relation to any branch Of their
naval service. On the other hand England
parades every gun boat, through the medium
Of the press, to the world
During the Crirnean war 1t WAS found that |
the old style Of higntes and sloops Of war
were inadequate for the service required Of /
them, and consequently another class Of YES |
sells, known as gunboats, were recommended, |
and, before the var closed, about one hundred |
and fifty Of them had been built This class
Of vessel was found to be one Of the most use
ful, and their sueceas formed = new e1a in
shipbuilding in the British navy. At the pres
ent time England has nearly two hundred Of
these little vessels, carrying from four to eight
guns Of heavy calibre. Not only has the
number Of vessels been augmented, but naval
science has made such rapid strides since 1853
that the frigate Of that date is By far inferior
to the one OF 1861 T..
Scarcely month has passed since that d3te,
but England has laid the keel Of a war vessel,
With view to test some new principle OF na-
val science, And this seemingly unwontcd
activity Owes its impetus to the action Of the
French Emperor, who had begun to realize the
vast importance Of 2 navy able in every re-
Epect to cope with those Of other nations, and
consequently, In many instances, the keels Of
two French vessels wgre laid to one English.
England, in her wisdom aud fear OF being e1-
eelled in numerical strength, worked with un-
relaxing energy to keep, If possible, faz ahead
Of her competitor.
This energy on the part Of the English has
more than once been the subject Of remark in
this country as well US in Europe. It is not
long since that official statistics were called
for in the British Parliament. It WAS shown
| that the British navy was manned by 81 900
i sailors, and that The French feet was manned
| BY $4,000 sailors. The former had 256 cap
tains and 17,G00 lieutenants in commission,
! while the latter had only 257 captains in com
/ mission.
| The latest mania in foreign naval construc-
| tion has been for iron clad vesscls. La
| Gloi1e {French) Was the first Of the kind
| launched. No sooner did the news Of the
construction Of this vessel reach my lords''
than they voted 81, 50O, 600 to build tlye iron
clad vessels Of {, GOO tons each. This ono fact
is Illustrative Of England desire to outstrip
her neighhor. Two Of these vessels, the
Warrior and the Black Prince, have been
launched, and, by builders, are considered
| infinitely superior to La Gloirc. The
English built two semi-clad war vessels, some
time since, the Defence and Resistance.
The three remaining iron clad vessels for the
British navy will be launched ere long. ALI Of
them will be armed with the Armstrong one
hundred FOUNDER gun, and Of course will
prove very formidable enemy. The British
Government keeps the largest fleets on foreign
stations. On our coast at the present time
there are thirty war vessels, not enumcrating
transports, mounting six hundred and thirty
gunF. From our latest adyiccs other ships
are being fitted oHt and put in commission,
which arc destined for North America What
ever the intentions Of Her Majcsty's Govern
ment may be, she intends to have large naval
force in our waters for the present at least.
The Philadelphia North american gives de-
scription Of the iron-clad g Warrior and le1
associate vessels, which, Us We may hereafter
know more Of them, VIC quoto:-
The Warrior is vessel Of g. 600 tons burden
She has been tried as 4 6ea-goiDg ship, and
found to be q complete success her speed ex.
ceeds that of any war vessel in the world, and
her size and power arc unsurpassed. She ID
completely equipped. Her armament consists
, Of eight guns on her upper deck, viz: two 100
FOUNDER, four 4o-pounder, and two 25-poundel
| rv,I 3r{w - 1r
main deck, ten Of which are 100 0-pounders ant
the remainder GS pounders, which throw shell,
/ filed with molten iron. With her steel ar
! NOR on she weighs nine thousand tons, draw!
twenty-six feet-of water, and can do six
| teen and half miles an hour. Her cngiue
have nearly six thousand horse power, AMI
ahe is built in compartments, each Q
which is both air and water tight Her sister
the Black Prince, is Of precisely the same sizt
and armament, is also fully equipped, and la
, just made her first trial trip successfully. Sh
: steamed round from the Clyde, where sho wa
built, to Spithead, at the rate Of sixteen mile
an hour, and in few days is to take her plac,
in the Channel fleet. Then there are two
smaller frigates-the Resistance and the Dc
= fenEe- The latter was being fitted for sea q
l l docks. They arc 2, 700 tons burden each, an
. have by this time probably Joined the Channe
? fleet. These four ships carry between then
! one hundred aud twenty-six guns Of the heav
!. | lest Armstrong pattern.
Then comes class Of ships Of which bu
! little Is known at present, viz: tho Valiai1
: and the Hector. These ships arc far advance
y in construction, and will be ready for sea
= = May next. Their tonnage is about 800 ton
I more than the Resistance, and nearly 800
less than the Warrior They are $50 feet lons
9 3 Sc broad, and 80 deep; they have BY 10 mean
:. handsome appearance, owing to til
!. stem and stern being almost precise!
u of the same form. The object Of this is to Civ
u increased facilities Of putting in the arinc
- plates. The Faliant will differ from any otht
!. ~ Of the iron ships, in being completely pr<
: tected above the w2tcr-ling by armor plate
u Both the Valiant and the Hector are built
T water-tight compartments, with view to th
= !. safety as well lis to the greater strength Of tt
y water-tight compartments. At the stem IN
- - stern, for about twelve feet at each end, b.
~ hind the armor p1ates the interior is peTfectl
loncy-cumbcd with iron cc1lular phtes. Tt
= majority Of these iron cells arc not moro tina
~ ~ three feet deep, aud less than two feet Wild
..SS Access to them arc obtained through maj
- holes in the different compartments. In som
=. parts the cells are smaller, and man, in pas
- ing down to the lower series, has his body
: time. Such is the admirable manner in vhc
u these dark chambers are constructed that the
: are not only watcr-tight but air-tight. Tt
I u Valiant Wil1 carry thirty guns on the m:
E decks and two piyots and four 6S- S-pounders 9
!, the upper deck. On the fore part Of the VI
= - per deck there will be o shield Of iron, sem
e circular in its form, and rising to tho heig'
4 Of the hammock berthing for the protectic
=, Of the men at the guns, while bearing do"
- On the enemy. Her engines will be Of 81
20 horse power, and she will dra" about Is fe