The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1882-07-15
Penny wise. Pound Foolish.


of the Khediye, but actually under the
personal control Of Arab Pacha, Minister OF
War, has at last begun. In addition to
the magnificent feet Of war ships now
engaged in bombarding Alexandria and
the iron-clads that have been dispatched
to reinforce the Mediterranean squadron,
trcOp-ships and transports with 5000 picked
men-the flower of the British army-have
sailed for Gibraltar, whence they can be sent
rs IN army of occupation wherever occasion
may demand. Add to this that several
regiments Of natives and regulars have
been dispatched from Bombay to guard the
lower line of the Suez canal, and it viii be
seen that England viii soon be in position
to give Arab Pacha all the fighting he is
likely to want, in spite of his boast that
having defed all Europe he could easily
take care Of John Bull, acting alone and
independent Of the other powers. The fact is,
that England is for once thoroughly in earn
est. Her pocket nerve has been touched
and the sensation is decidedly acute. That
pocket is stuffed full of Egyptian securities.
which are pretty sure to become as worthless
as waste paper unless she takes measures to
insure their payment, and she has also a
very pretty East Indian trade which viii be
ieopardized unless she takes measures to
keep the Suez canal open. Whenever the
British lion gets up and roars you may be
sure that some disaster IS threatened to
British commerce. If we mistake not, it was
about some petty question Of examining her
tea down our Threats that she undertook to
thrash her American colonies a century or
SO ago,-and got thrashed herself by the way!
Still, notwithstanding this little defect in
her moral vision, we must say that the dash
and spirit which the mother country dis
plays when her authority is called in gues-
ton is q refreshing spectacle, and we con
fess TO a secret joy that it is Egypt and not
the United States that she is preparing to
blow into the remote ages with her eighty
ton Armstrong guns, which are capable of
sending a ton of metal spinning through
the air at the rate of a mile in four seconds!
Indeed one cannot read the accounts which
are published of the British naval prepare
tons without feeling that we should be utter
Iy powerless to cope with John Bull should
he take fancy to lombard our Atlantic sea-
ports. The smallest Of all the ir0nclads COM
posing the feetnow lying Alexandria would
be more than match for our whole navy,
for our guns would be powerless to pierce
her aTmor, and our ships too slow ever to
come into close quarters with her. The Ian
caster which, as it happens, is at this very
moment lying with the Quinnebaug, in the
outer harbor Of Alexandria, having gone
thither to look after any stray Americans that
might need protection, is known to possess the
best battery which we have aioat, but it VIII
be seen by the comparison which we are about
to make, that battery Of toy pistols would
be of quite as much service rs against the
monster guns of the British fleet. She
mounts nothing but old-fashioned smooth
bore Dahlgrens, converted into eight-inch
rifles, carrying a charge Of twenty-five to
thirty pounds Of powder. and throwing a
proiectile of $50 pounds. The utmost energy
which they are capable of developing is only
equal to the effect Of, G27 tons ofmetal falling
from distance Of one foot upon any object,
whereas the eighty-ton Armstrong guns with
which the British ship Infexible, for in
stance, is armed, are of sixteen calibre, are
charged with go pounds of gunpowder,
carrying proiectile weighing 200 pounds,
develop an initial velocity Of q mile in
four seconds, have an energy CT 1928 foot
tons, and VIII send bolt through seven
inches Of iron at q distance Of a quarter of a
mile. Imagine our toy cannon attemptingto
answer the fire Of such a monster as this
But it is something more than humiliating
to reflect that in the event of war with any
first, or even secOnd-cIass naval power, we
should be at the mercy Of the enemy's guns
1t is also alarming. Upon what principle Of
can we Justify ourselves for
our scacoast defences and letting
our navy 20 to pieces? 1t takes time to
cast cannon and time to build ships We
can do both if we have time, but in an
we should be helpless 1t is all
very well TO say that we are at peace with all
the world, and that all the world is anxious
10 retain our friendship. Nevertheless, no one
can f0rcsee what international complications
may arise at any moment, and we should be
in position not only to defend our own
territory, but TO compel the recognition of
our rights by other nations if they should
ever be disputed. We do not need a
great navy like that Of England to patrol
the seas, but the few ships that we do
require for purposes of defence in the event
Of war should be equal TO the finest ailoat