The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-02-23

with twenty-f0ur pound howitxers TO IRE at them
down upon their decks whsn close close on board
An intelligent commanding ofncer VIII naturally
bring either OF these torpedoes astern OF his yes
sci, which it 10 easy to do In daylight, no matter
ahead ne can turn on his heel II from abeam he
torpedo Vessel with ali her reels ana towing lines,
deck crowded with men, &C., would soon be h0rs
presume, it Is not ntsnded sucn vessels should be,
for torpedo boat must be light and able to
man9uvre quickly. 10
smoke, these rorpeIoes win be extremely iormida-
handing oficer 70 guard against their attacks.
The practice recommend, OF manGuvring in
steam launches. win teach onncers to provide for
Any ship can be arranged with Q heavy net all
around, from the bowsprtt enc 70 the end Of the
srced mp and dropped jus. before ETH lie Harvey or
torpedo would be exploded twenty feet from the
ship, and would do NO harm except to the net
censy sSs nsswosi g ons Of snese
t0rpedoes passing through the interstices would
explode Harvey or Fish torpedo before it could
Here, then, 10 q most interesting and important
experiment TO try. The network Is the only
dives although 1t Ii poor protection against q
torpedo on q bar connected with properly con-
structed torpedo vessel with appliances Tor cutting
such torpedo vessel win be found the most
dangerous 70 deal with, for there win be NO
perior speed. With iron decks ana men all under
cover grapeshot would do the torpedo vessel little
solid shot would seldom strike her, especially at
night or In q fog. Yet all these matters are prob
and we are solving them too slowly.
In the late experiments conducted on board the
United States steamer Mononghahela where
hulk WAS blown up by spar torpedo, the ship
running for the quarter Of the hulk, two large
pieces OF timber containing several bolts were
some smaller fragments Of debris. TO avoid casa.
alties at such times every ship In the navy should
e ses e sT wsn splinter netting as
feel am touching on tender ground when
refer to the question as to how far naval jurisdic.
harbors with tOrpedoes. No matter how wel
drilled soldier may be at his several duties, he
shipb0ard as seaman. nor can an army On1cer as
well direct the management or boat or vessel as
TOrpedoes planted TO defend harbor should be
land down by men accustomed to boats and skilled
IN the management Of lines and tackles. Along
the open coast or on the ocean, torpedo duty must
OF necessity fall to the lot Of the navy.
During the War Of the Rebellion the torpedo
duty OF che enemy aOat, was in the hands OF rebel
naval ofncers. who managed 1t with great success
taking into consideration the small means at their
the duty OF the soldier defending the harbor Is in
the fort where he can protect with the ire OF his
mel. for torpedoes without protection from guns
on shore would be useless and the guns on shore
the torpedoes, but in handling torpedoes in boats
In all weathers, seamen alone can be relied upon
The question then arises, win not the navy, in
case OF war; be called upon to protect coast by
torpedoes, and ought there not to be q system
adopted and provision made to meet future emer-
In S0f6e countries there is torpedo corps, com.
posed OF ofacers and men taken from the navy.
whose sole duty IT IS to look after the coast and
AnfonroQ ro n no tor
am strongly In favor or such q corps in our
navy, with permanent head. the junior ofleers
to serve 2 length Of time equal to that served at
The organization Of proper torpedo corps viii
BE- ar from the navy for the reasons
most important part OF our naval system we
should take advantage Of the present opportunity
and commence the establishment.
1t Will be rather late when war breaks out to be-
gin discussion on matter that Ia quite plain
enough already to all who have examined the sub
IN my OPINION, it Is simply the duty of the army
to fire torpedOes from the stations after they have
been planted. For this they should have the
proper appliances and every means for knowing
the arrival Of an enemy's vessel over torpedo
nest.
lhave said SO much on this subject to show that
sion ior operating on the water should be- MADE
and Tor those t0rpedoes used on land the appro-
priation should be made to the army: Com
mon sense would indeed point out that the
defence OF harbors and coasts where there are
often dangerous bars and lines OF breakers either
with nOating turning, submarine or any other
kind OF tOrpedoes in any way connected with q
vessel should be manipulated y naval officers and
Incline line snona ne drawn bstVsen the onties q, the
army, and navy where one terminates and the other
commences, otherwise there will be confusion.
NAVAL DRILL.
would respectfully call your attention to the
fact that the quarterly returns OF not
as run as the regulations require or as is desirable
snip can be thorough man.Of-War unless
perfect in all her drills and ready
acon sSosa De able ship e e s3rp o o
the fight IN few moments, for with all her top
hamper up and rigging rove. she runs the risk Of
foung her propeller should mast be shot away
and GRIPPING her guns by falling spars Now that
battles are to be fought under steam there is no
action; but constant exercises are necessary to
EXTRAORDINARY sEAMANsHyP.
On one occasion, while in command OF the Naval
Academy, saw sloop-of-war with royal yards
across. rigging rove and sails bent stripped to her
teen minutes, and this the work Of young mid
shpmen without previous preparation. ! have
hour Sas 'e hardly think any Of our ships no an
In commission can do as well. The reasons
assigned by commanding oficers for not perform
ing all the exercises do not always seem to me
valid and frequently no explanation at all Is given
OF omissions Many complaints are made that the
exercises; and this Is given as an excuse for not
sending up and down tOpmasts and lower yards;
for, of conrse, no commanding officer should risk
the lives Of men on doubtful iron hooks or bolts
But there is SIMPLE remedy Tor this, which Is to
have every bolt, bar or hook tested to what 1t
Will bear, and a test mark put on 1t.
Where iron breaks 1t Is always the case that it
has been previously put together by only about
One-fth Of It's thickness-the fault OF bad forging.
Ships stationed in the tropics have neglected
their exercises the ground OF the excessive heat
making them oppressive to the crews. But few OF
the exercises occupy over ten minutes; and II the
called to quarters daily, cast, loose run
IN and out the guns and secure, 1t Will do no one
any harm. Thesendlng up and down OF topgallant
yards and masts requires not more than three
minutes, In the cool OF the morning and evening;
lOoslng and furng sails require at the most three
minutes, and the sails are quite as well preserved
on the yards as In O sail room. where they are apt
TO mould and rot. think these things will strike
intelligent officers as they do me.
On the whole the exercises, far as { hey 60
considering the shortness o: our crews are fairly
performed.
IN endorsing , the reports Oh commanding onhcers
therein.