The Press., 1889-05-16

to Portsmouth to receive further orders.
 In issuing these commands the British government was actuated simply by mo- tives of humanity and common sense. The British fleet was thoroughly pre- pared for ordinary naval warfare, but an enemy had inaugurated another kind of naval warfare for which it was not prepared. It was therefore decided to withdraw the ships until they should be prepared for the new kind of warfare. To allow ironclad after ironclad to be disa- bled and set adrift, to'subject every ship in the fleet to the danger of instantaneous destruction, and all this without the possibil., / of inflicting injury upon the enemy, would not be bravery; it would be stupidity. It was surely possible to devise means for destroying the seven hostile ships now in British waters. Until action for this end could be taken, it was the part of wisdom for the British navy to confine itself to the protection of British ports.
 When the fleet began to move toward the Isle of Wight the six crabs, which had been lying quietly among and under the protection of their enemies, with drew southward, and making a slight circuit. joined the repeller.
 Each of the disabled ironclads was now in tow of sister vessel or of tugs, except the Llangaron. This great ship had been disabled so early in the contest, and her broadside had presented such vast surface to the northwest wind, that she had drifted much farther to the south than any other vessel. Conse- quently before the arrival of the tugs which had been sent for to tow her into the harbor, the Llangaron was well on her way across the channel A foggy night came on, and the next morning she was ashore on the coast of France, with mile of water between her and dry land. Fast rooted in great sand bank she lay week after week, with the storms that came in from the Atlantic and the storms that came in from the German ocean beating upon her tall side of solid iron, with no more effect than If it had been precipice of rock. Against waves and winds she formed massive breakwater, with wide stretch of smooth sea between her and the land. There she lay, proof against all the artil- lery of Europe and all the artillery of the sea and the storm, until fleet of small vessels had taken from her her ponder ous armament, her coal and stores, and she had been frightened enough to float upon high tide and to follow three tugs to Portsmouth.
 When night came on Repeller No. il and the crabs dropped down with the tide and lay to some miles west of the scene of battle. The fog shut them in fairly we'll, but, fearful that torpedoes might be sent out against them, they showed no lights. There was little dan ger of collision with passing merchant men, for the English channel at present was deserted by this class of vessels.
 The nextmorning the repeller, preceded by two crabs, bearing between them a Submerged net similar to that used at the Canadian port, appeared off the eastern end of the Isle of Wight. The anchors of the net were dropped, and behind it the repeller took her place, and shortly afterward she sent a flag of truce boat to Portsmouth harbor. This boat carried a note from the American war syndicate to the British government
 In this note it was stated that it was now the intention of the syndicate to utterly destroy, by means of the instanta- neous motor, fortified post upon the British coast. As this would be done solely for the purpose of demonstrating the irresistible destructive power of the motor bombs, it was immaterial to the syndicate what fortified post should be destroyed, provided it should answer the requirements of the proposed demon stration. Consequently the British gov ernment was offered the opportunity of naming the fortified place which should be destroyed. If said government should decline to do this or delay the selection for twenty-four hours, the syndicate would itself decide upon the place to be operated upon.
 Every one in every branch of the British government, and, in fact, nearly every thinking person in the British islands, had been racking his brains, or her brains, that night, over the astound- ing situation; and the note of the syndi- cate only added to the perturbation of the government. There was strong feeling in official circles that the insolent little enemy must be crushed, if the whole British navy should have to rush upon it, and all sink together in common grave.
 But there were cooler and more prudent brains at the head of affairs; and these had already decided that the contest be- tween the old engines of war and the new was entirely one sided. The in. stincts of good government dictated tc them that they should be extremely wary and circumspect during the further con tinuance of this unexampled war. There fore, when the note of the syndicate was considered, it was agreed that the time had come when good statesmanship and wise diplomacy would be more valuable to the nation than torpedoes, armored ships or heavy guns.
 There was not the slightest doubt that the country would disagree with the government, but on the latter lay the re sponsibility of t4e country's safety There was nothing, in the opinion of the ablest naval officers, to prevent the syn dicate's fleet from coming up the Thames Instantaneous motor bombs could sweeI away all forts and citadels and explode and destroy all torpedo defenses, and London might lie under the guns of tho repeller.
 In consequence of this view of th' state of affairs an answer was sent'to tn, syndicate's note asking that further tim' be given for the consideration of the sit uation, and suggesting that an exhibition of the power of the motor bomb was no necessary, as sufficient proof of this hat