The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-01-16

crew of the Hatteras prisoners of war over to
Jamaica. where they were paroled"
A very suggestive question at this point
offers itself Will Congress allow three, two or
even one cruising ship for our Navy to be
built of that material when they know centre
sheets can be blown off in so short space
of time that the officers and crew may have to
scramble for their lives under similar circum-
stances?
just before the Hatteras came up with her
adversary the commanding officer says:-"I
steamed directly for the Alabama; but she was
enabled by her great speed and the foulness of
the bottom of the Hatteras, and consequently
her diminished speed, to thwart my attempt to
board whom had gained distance of thirty
yards from her."
From this we discover another great draw
back to the introduction of iron cruising YES
sells into the navy and that is the fouling Of
their bottoms. Ask the agents of any of the
lines of steamers that come to this port in ref
erence to the frequency of docking iron steam
era, and you will learn that they must be
docked at least once in six months, and often
at the expiration of each round trip, for the
purpose of cleaning their bottoms Most of
these companies own their own docks, and the
expense is not much; but until we take possess
sion Of the floating dock in the harbor of
Havana we are not aware that the United
States has shadow of claim to any dry
dock without its limits.
Let us glance at the expense of one of the
Secretary proposed new iron cruisers in
trip around the world. She is locked in New
York, and one month afterwards starts on her
voyage. Say two months on the voyage to Rio
Janeiro and here she must be locked to clean
and paint her bottom, else she will not sail
four knots. Again she sails fol. China, via
the Cape Of Good Hope. A month in Chinese
waters, and again she must be docked, as it
will cost more in time or fuel to drive her
through the water with foul bottom than
the cost of docking, and, of course, it must be
done. From China to San Francisco, say
forty days, and again she needs docking but
1t must be put off until she rounds Cape Horn
and Rio Janeiro is reached. Here again she
Is locked, and then--this iron ship that has
comes home. This is the least that can be
done in the way of dockage in an ordinary
three years cruise; and when these items of
expensS are calculated one could nearly build
q new ship for the cost Of dockage. Here we
have a ship whose whole sheets can. be blown
off by ordinary projectiles Of thirty-two-
FOUNDER or eight-inch calibre in very short
space of time, and where the expense Of keep
ing her clean for three years would nearly
duplicate her. Compare that with the old
oaken bottom, covered with good sheet cop
per. that comes home after her long cruise
with spinning speed and her bottom as clean
as good housewives best preserve kettle.
We venture to assert that had the vessel
been of sound live oak she would be bearing
our flag now, with credit to the Navy and
the country; besides, we would not have
suffered the modification of defeat by q
Confederate cruiser. How different when the
Kearsarge, q wooden ship, met the Alabama