Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1884-11-08
EN0LAND's VAR

long contributed article from writer
especially instructed to examine the
subject We print the first part of the
editorial and last part of the special
article-each being in summary Of the
questions raised and the answers elici.
ted.
We publish in another column, at
a length which although fully warented
by the importance Of the subject is
entirely without precedent in the history
of this journal, detailed statement of
what purports to be the truth about the
navy, made by one who is in position
to know the facts, although for obvious
reasons we withhold his name. So
startling are his disclosures so alarm
ing the net effect of his exposure of the
weakness OF our defensive position,
that we hesitated at making it public
before submitting his statements to the
examination of some OF the most com
petent and careful authorities in the
service in both its branches, admins.
trative and naval. Without pledging
themselves to all the details Of the cal
culations and the figures Of our con
tributor, those to whom we referred
"The Truth about the Navy" agreed
entirely with the general accuracy Of
the writer's representation Of the facts.
1--WE then subjected his statement to a
careful and minute comparison with the
published estimates and the speeches,
in the house and out Of it, Of the
official representatives of the admiralty.
Not only were none Of his general state
ments challenged, but this remarkable
fact was brought into clear relief: in his
description of the state of the navy he
has in almost every case followed very
closely the figures Of those who are gen
orally denounced as official optimists.
His totals of the displacement Of our
ironclads, for instance, correspond ex-
actly with those given by Sir Thomas
Brassy in his speech at Portsmouth,
which has been derided by every
"alarmists" in the service as being pre-
posterous exaggeration Of our naval
resources Another remarkable fact that
was brought out in examination is that
in no single case does he base his dis
quieting revelations upon the assump-
ton that the present board Of ad-
miralty have made single mistake
either in armor, guns, or any other de-
partment Of our naval administration.
In the comparison of rival ironclads
and their armaments he applies no
standard of effiency to which Lord
Northbrook, Lord Harrington, Mr..
Campbell Bannerman, and Sir Thomas
Brassey have taken exception in their
public utterances. Yet, notwithstand-
ing all that, he sets forth one of the
most gloomy pictures OF the condition
of our navy that has probably ever been
published in an English newspaper, and
one which, unless its substantial accur-
acy can be promptly disproved, must
arouse the nation to energetic and i'm
mediate action For that we need not
rely upon the "proud instincts of an
imperial race"--the instinct of self
preservation is at once stronger and
more constant.
The following are the questions in
summary;
l. Our war risks have enormously
increased. Has our navy, which is our
national insurance, been correspond
ingly strengthcned1
2. Can we or can we not demon
strate beyond all gainsaying our SIRE
sistable superiority" in armor, guns,
speed, and coal-carrying capacity over
any combination of fleets which it is
reasonable to believe could be brought
against us?
3. If at this moment we are in this
position, how will it be five years hence,
when the ironclads now building are in
commission
4. Have repairs been sacrificed to
building, or are our ships in commits
sion really serviceable
S. II our iron clads are superior in
hull, is their armament up to their
mark1 Is it or is it not true that both
the French and Italian navies are armed
with heavier guns Of greater precision
and more convenient for handling than
are our own ships'
6. In case Of sudden outbreak
Of war with any naval power, have we
at this moment fighting ship on each
of our foreign stations better than the
best that the enemy could send against
us?
| J. Have we sufficient store of fast
ocean cruisers to scour the seas in
search Of the innumerable vessels
which in case Of war would at once be
let loose upon our commerce.
8. Are our coaling and telegraph
stations secured against the sudden de-
scent Of hostile ship'
g. Are our own seaports in a state
of defence, and our own harbors ade-
quately protectedf
10. II an ironcld were disabled in
any part of the world, have we provi-
ded docks wherein it could be refitted
within reasonable distance Of the scene
OF action9
II. Have We sufficient trained sail
ors and gunners, first, to man our ships /;
and, secondly, to supply the wear and
tear Of service in time OF WARP
IA. And, lastly, ii all these can be
answered in the affirmative, have we a
sufficiently numerous mosquito feet Of
torpedo boats, steam launches, and
picket boats to fend off the attacks Of
an enemy's torpedos and save our gi-
gantic ironclads from sudden destruc-
tion.
The following are the answers also
in summary:
l. INCREASED RISKS. Our risks
from war have enormously increased