The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1889-05-10

|
BRITISH OFFICERS WATCHING THE EFFECT
OF THE MOTOR BOMBS.
Each Of the disabled ironclads was
now in tow of a 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 o
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 bad 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 o 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 prccipice of rock. Against
waves and winds she formed massive
breakwater, with q 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 a fleet of small
vessels had taken from her her ponder
| Gus armament, her coal and stores, and
she had been ightened enough to float
upon high tide and to follow three tugs
to Portsmouth.
When night came on Repeller No. II
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 well, but, fearful that torpedoes
might be sent ont 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 next morning 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 rereller look 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, a 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 imnaterial to the
syndicate what fortified post should be
destroyed, provided it should answer the
requirements of the proposed demon
stration. Consequently the British gov
eminent 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 situations; 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 to
them that they should be extremely wary
and circumspect during the further con-
tinuance of this unexamplcd war. There
fore, when the note of the syndicate was
considered, it was agreed that the time
had come when good craftsmanship and
wise diplomacy would be more valuable
to the nation than torpedoes, armored
ships OF 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 the country's safety
There was nothing, in the opinion of the
ablest naval officers, to prevent the SYM
dicate's fleet from coming up the Thames
Instantaneous motor bombs could sweep
away all forts and citadels and explode
and destroy ell torpedo defenses, and
London might lie under the guns of the
repeller.
In consequence of this view of the
state of affairs an answer was sent to the
syndicatc's note asking that further time
be given for the consideration Of the sit
uation, and suggesting that on exhibition
Of the power of the motor bomb was not
necessary, as sufficient proof of this had
been given in the destruction of the Cana
dian forts, the humiliation of the Crag-
levin, and the extraordinary results Of
the discharge Of said bombs on the pre-
ceding day.
To this reply was sent from the office
of the syndicate in New York by means
Of q cable boat from the French coast,
that on no account could their purpose
be altered or their propositions modified.
Although the British government might
be convinced of tho power of the syndi-
Gates motor bombs, it was not the case