The New York herald., 1862-04-23

little had boep taught us by the incidents OF the Ae
can battle u was natural enough to apprshend Some per
appears as II we should take lesson IN good TIME
The Prime Minister'S remarks viii put the country
at ease on this point We shall tuid no more oood1
ssps NO snail make all the progress we Gun ~ nv
ships and we have the invaluable advantage OF possess
ing number Of fine frames ready TO receive tne afmor
Hc7soT0th ssp t0ioU rs shield UH Je no hgtang snip
az all man o.war must take on her plates exactly as
she takes IN her powderone process being Just as 10
d,spensabe as the other AS TO the expense We nave
great fear of the result if wedo but get rad Of one
obligation while accepting another what rendered
soam SO costly was that persisted in building
ships would, Of course add heavily TO oar outgoings
# we continued 20 build wooden ships also. This
time, however, we hope that encaInbrance viii be
escaped AS to the question OF stationary fortncations
that was concisey disposed Of by Sir j. Pakington.
The question OF forts,' said he is doubtful one
but TO the Importance Of ron-eovered feet, there
IS no difference OF opinion-no doubt at ALL" Those
CORDS codtn Me ptth Of The ch1e ooaorersy and gov
erament has done wisely accepting conclusions svhch
Nobody aeah re srde'ce noao before ae Dord, could pos
From the London Post government o'gan), Apri ~
Independently Of tho strength OF the British navy
means OF attack defence have been obgod by re-
cent oyon consider the atve strength Of exist
ing or proposed ort1cations To this subject the House
Of Commons devoted considerable portion OF Friday
night Has the introduction Of apparently nvunerable
ships rendered Notifications entirely useless ii
ships Of war can be made invulnerabe follows as
matter OF course that fortincations however heavily
armed they may be, afford no means OF defence The
sole manner in which fertilization affords defence
against sea attack is by the injury il inics upon az
taans. II that injury cannot be inflicted then the Tor
tileaton might well never have been constructed,
1hequeston ultimately resolves itself INTO whether ships
oi-war be made for practical purposes invulnerabe
70 artillery whether in fact, the means of defence can
be made superior 10 the OF attack AS at present
advised, il would scem that the means OF defence
vastly superior and consequently tho government acted
wisely in postponing for the present the further con-
strucon OF Notifications the established system,
these alone be made servceabe as means OF attack
How, thon are dockyards to be defended. The
necessity for raising additional defences pointed out
by commission specially appointed TO inquire into the
matter and most assuredy that necessity has not be
less pressing the introduction Of nvunerabe
war vessels, In d0ckydrds lie the materials out II
Which our nary IS 10 be created supplied and er de
sractsn, more especially t'ier existing Ctrcn,sGnces
'o10d De tnconceirdbiy disastrous The sole means by
which the necessary defence can he afforded has been
suggested to be the construction Of engines similar
those which have rendered Notifications useless. 1t does
not however, by any means seem clear that they
will insure the protection Of dockyards. If an iron
led snip can shell town. though exp )sed - the guns
Of fort, it equa ly do though exposed 10 the
attack OF Similar vessel IT, for ermle, La Gtoire cod
rds Ihtmpurity ctn GnGe Of any guns otich could
iGce on, the jorcIio1as outside Portsmouth, there is
10 suppose she c0uli not pass icitt Tie same iDphy
Wthis the range Of The Warriors guns The Warrior
might battle La Gloro just Intellectually the Monitor
did the Merrimac whilst the French ship threw all her
ire into the unprotected Those who dec the
further construction Of fortbcaOnS should not
with the idea that the construction OF ronpated ships
Of war will OF necessity afford the much needed protec
ton They might from their motive power possess some
advantage over stationary forts. but this advantage
than counterbalanced by the superior
calbre Of the guns with which fortncations might be
armed This brings TO what have said is the ulti
mate issue 10 be decided Can the attack be made
10 the of dsceS We OF opinion that
they oan Science has not yet been taxed to produce
pressure has been put feel no doubt that sbe Will
speedily answer 10 the call