Connecticut western news., 1880-09-22
New YOrk's Qualifications.

In discussing the question if hostile fleet could lombard New York City, the ScientitGc American says: Now let us examine the chart of the sea coast around New York bay. There are three channels from the open sea to the Mar rows. The main entrance passes close under the guns of an unfinished fort on Sandy Hook. The channel is deep and comparatively constant in depth. The Swash channel is about two miles from the Sandy Hook fort, and, at low tide, it's depth will not permit the entrance of vessel drawing m ore than A feet. The third channel is far distant from the fort, but it has depth of only IA feet. Now, while every effort would bemade, by using torpedoes and other obstruc- tions, to close the main and Swash chan nels against an enemy's fleet, it is not impossible that an entrance should be effected. Since torpedoes are available only when covered by heavy fire from guns on shore or on shipboard, the ships could proceed in comparative safety, after passing Sandy Hook, until they approached Forts Hamilton and Wads- worth at the Narrows. The fort at Sandy Hook is only half begun, and is of old and almost obsolete character, and therefore in the event of hastily de- clared war it would not be likely to af- ford much protection. Hence the prob ability of fleet passing has been con- sidered; but it is far different at the Mar rows. Without going into the particu- lars of the armaments of these forts, it is sufficient to say that there are no ves- sels afoat that could approach nearer than one-haf of mile to these forts without being sunk by torpedoes, unless some skillful inventor shall devise hithertounthought of protection against these hidden and deadly machines. But at the distance mentioned the ships would be only seven miles from the Bat tery, and if they could maintain their position there, and if they had guns with a range of eight miles, they could easily bring the lower part of the city to grief.
 Assuming that a Krupp 71-ton gun was used, throwing a shell of 1,76O lbs, con- taining a charge of 73 lbs. of powder, the destruction would soon reach into the millions. One such shell exploding in warehouse would wreck 1t from cellar to roof. Since it is very probable that a range of eight miles will be obtalned in the near future, the invulnerability of the city in this direction depends upon the fort at Sandy Hook and the effici- ency of our torpedo system.
 But there is another direction whence the city could be reached if guns can be invented of sufficient range. From the Battery to the sea-beach of Long Island, seven miles from Sandy Hook fort and five miles east of Fort Hamilton, the distance is exactly ten miles, and one mile further brings one to the 25-foot line of soundings. In other words ..an iron-clad drawing twenty-four feet of water can approach within eleven miles of the Battery without exposing herself to the slightest danger of even being fired at. Consequently it needs only a gun to carry twelve miles to place the whole of Brooklyn and the wealthiest part of New York at the mercy of the enemy. Such 8 gun is not only possible but extremely probable and, in view ot the helpless position in which we should then be placed, in the absence of any navy to take the offensive, it might be well for our business men to take thought for the future by asking Con- gress to give them some protection in the event of war. It opens the widest field for the inventive genius of this country to exert itself to devise such protection,