The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-08-15

to the inferiority of French ordnance, al 4
though we observe in the official Erposc we
have quoted the statement that all the IRON
clads are now armed with nine-inch guns.
But whether French ordnance is equal or not,
Prussian ordnance is certainly of the most
formidable description known, as is
evident from the tonnage of the ships
and number of guns. The wellknown
Konig Wilhelm, of 6000 tons burthen, carries
four 600-pounders and twenty-four 800
pounders-a tremendous armament while
her consorts, the Friedrich Carl and the
Kronprinz-the one 1000 tons, the other 34O0
each carry sixteen heavy guns. The other
ships, are smaller, and carry three or four
heavy guns apiece. But if the French ships
are not inferior in guns, there are other
points on which there seems less doubt of
their inferiority. The ma sjority of them are
of an early type, inferior to our Warrior and
Black Princes whereas the Prussian are all of
the latest type for strength and heaviness of
plating, and ere none of them wooden ships
cut down, as many of the French are. 1t is
all but certain that the French have no single
ship equal to the Konig Wilhelm, their most
formidable vessel being the American Dan
derberg, which has not answered their
expectations. The average speed of the
French vessels is, again, rather inferior
to the Prussian. If there is any truth
in these facts, we should think it a safe con-
clusion that the French feet in the Baltic
may not in all circumstances have things all
its own way--that there is a chance of the
Prussian feet hindering il good deal. What
ever the inequalities may be, if the Prussian
fleet happens to have fair play, it may not be
easily driven from the seas. 1t may return to
the charge again and again, gaining one
slight conquest after another, till it may even
dispute the mastery of its own seas with the
enemy What is still more important, If the
French fleet should try any difficult enter
prise, such as attacking strong fortress, and
sustain the usual injuries, or if tempest
should damage it, the Prussian fleet, issuing
from its safe harbor of Kiel, would have a
splendid opening for attack. Certainly the
mere existence of such fleet should be
enough to make French generals and admi-
rails cautious in invading Prussia on a grand
scale, even if they had the transports to do so.
1t is a logical conclusion from what we have
written, that even Prussian victory over the
French fleet would be far from unintelligible.
But that ought not to surprise US. In the
present transitional stage of naval architec-
ture and equipment, single feature of
marked superiority on one side may be suffi-
cient to ensure the most decisive victory.
The Merrimac, though a poor enough iron
clad, could do what it liked with the wooden
fleet of the North, but was Immediately
checked by an ironclad of q different type.
1t is barely possible that the Prussian fleet,
having some such superiority, may hold at
bay and finally overcome the much greater
numbers of its enemies. We do not antici-
pate this, for the French have several first
class ships, and their overwhelming superi.
ority in wooden ships, of which we have
not spoken at ALL should also stand them in
good stead-such vessels being of some use
in the thick of hot fight, as the engage
| rnapta Of Mohila HarbOr and TiSsa have
proved. All we wish to maintain at present
is, that the naval contest may turn out to be
one of a most interesting character, and
that the ready belief in the French nava
operations doing much harm to Prussia is fai
from having assgood foundation.