The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-05-10

day. will last her ten days. Her engines are
TO be OF q, 900 horse power, or two or three
times what the Innexible is TO have. Admit
raj SELwYN is evidently man Of large
ideas, and he means TO get up ship which
will astonish the world until bigger one is
built by a man of ideas still more gigantic.
Exactly what function this tremendous
floating battery, which powerful torpedo
could send TO the bottom at the first hit
is TO perform, we are not told. 1t certainly
could be Of no use at sea n bulky, unwicldy
mass OF iron--and il would therefore have
to wait in harbor for an enemy to come
and attack IL. II It got n fair shot with its
sixteen guns II might work terrible dcstruc-
ton, but probably the enemy would take
pains not to give 1t that advantage; and IL
he had efficient movable torpedocs, he might
sink the Britannia before IL could train its
frightful battery ON him. II is, indeed,
pretty safe to predict that even If Admiral
SELwYN's ship is built, it will never harm
anybody except the taxpayers who have to
foot the bills for its construction. It is more
likely to go to the bottom itself than TO send
an cnemy's ship there; and its guns, burst
ing i'm its turrets, as that on the Thuuderer
did u short time ago, may prove more dan
gcrous to their handlers than TO the foe
Besides. as we read his plan, the battery
is so placed that the guns interfere with
each other and thus violate the first and
most important principle Of the turret
vessel, which is to secure the whole range
Of the horizon unobstructed. Two great
guns which can be- fired in any direction by
the revolution of the turret may be far more
potent for mischief than sixteen guns whose
range is limited.
Leaving out the cost Of the construction
Of so monstrous n ship, which would amount
to millions Of dollars, the expense Of main
tanning her alone as sort Of naval scare
crow would be n heavy burden on the tax
payers. Her shells would weigh about n
ton each, and they would have 70 be sent by
four or five hundred pounds of powder.
Every time she fired hostile shot, simply
for the prOjectilc and the powder the people
would be out $500 or more.
And yet all the precedcnts and indications
point To the steady decline OF these great
ironclads as essential elements in harbor
defence, and the whole history of modern
warfare shows that the part navies take in
IL is a more and more subordinate one.
During the Franco-Pruss,an war they were
Of trilling consequence. What did the fleet
on which LOUIS NAPOLEON squandered SO
many millions accomplish for France jim
that contest The heavy guns with which
he had loaded his vessels were oven taken
out Of them and transported TO Paris. where
they might be- Of some use, and the sailors,
no longer needed on the water. were sent TO
the forts OF the capital to man the artillery.
During the Russo-Turksh war the part
played by the fleets Of both powers was in
significant, and had the smallest possible
influence in determining its result.
With modern appliances and modern ex-
plosives. a harbor can be rendered safe
against all the Innexbles and Britannias
that may try to force its PASSAGE and great
sea fights are as much behind the age as the
flint lock musket. Yet naval quacks go on
planning, talking, arguing, and boasting. as
II they were the most important people OF
the age We must remember, however. that
it is always hard for man TO understand
that he has been showed aside by the prog
ress Of things, and his fancied consequence
reduced To actual superiority.