New-York tribune., 1891-04-30
FOREIGN NAVAL NOTES.

II has become recognized in all navies since the
building of steel ships with powerful and com
plcated machinery, and with the practical abandon
ment of sail power that the engineering department is
the most important branch in any service. In the
English Navy the commanding officers have been
forced to lay aside their old prejudices against the
personnel of the engineering department and now
the Admiralty have been asked to recognize what the
students at the Royal Naval Engineering College are
emitted to. For some years the engineer students
have been charged each term for the INK m us1 1y
of sixpence month for Ptper another charge t & =
that of about S3 year for sending out tie ne nai, @
yearly reports TO parents and guardians There % Was
time when the parents of boy in IN the b,rcb public e
ployed upon the corpus OF his onspnng' Bnt there
may have been good reason for that.
The recent diplomatic correspondence between Italy
and the United States and the consequent talk Of
war has revived the criticisms Of the 110-ton guns
with which many Of the Italian battleships armed
Readers of these columns have been kept Informed OF
the complete failure of these "big guns" on the
sanspare and of the other English battle
ships. A few days ago a statement was made in Par
lament that too much has been said about the great
gun fasco, and many of them have been fired
without injury; it is the practice to fire four rounds
from each gun every quarter" This is true, but
they have been fired with half charges only so say
the reports from the ships and only at the gnnery
then only one round from each gun. Admiral Hop
dns saws: "Vast sums OF the public money have
been recklessly squandered on these big guns they
are n great deal too large be effective, and 1t IS
earnestly to he hoped that we shall hear no more OF
such cumbersome monsters, but return 10 hghler
armament
It is reported that the Warspite, flagship OF the
commandern- chief in the Pacific, has developed such
serous structural defects that, in spite Of the Gillian
troubles she has been ordered TO Esqumaut at once
fo undergo repairs that will take six months to 60
She is one of the latest Of the TStclass cruisers ana
was commissioned only year ago.
Recent experiments with the slxty-sixton Canet
INNS recently purchased by the japanese Government
gave results which were not only astonishing, but
which places Japan in tho lead of the world In the
actual power Of heavy ordnance. No expense has
haen SHARED TO make these guns effective and sure
The gun is of II IL inches calbre. Al % feet long,
and II throws a projectile the maximum weight OF
which is 1904 pounds. The powder charge Is 56e
pounds muzze velocity 1852 feet per sgc0hT @ nfrer ne
cbarge 1916 Inches, and maximum range, l3 IL
miles The tests wero made at Havre' ana oach rouhd
cost $1,000.
Tho Arstclass battlc-shlp Marceau, the keel Of
which was laid by the French Government in 1891
or,,Ietod her contract trial at Toulon few days
oco She has displacement Of 10000 tons, and
her armament consists Of four 13 1-3inch guns. In
harbette turrets; seventeen 1-2inch guns twelve
erng guns eight mitraileuses. and four torpedo
launching tubes Her S0nr bena Il Would seem
That She will hardly be available for service beyond
cnaSt defence unless 10 give battle 10 some other
yesSeI that makes the challenge, since she has not
the speed to give chase to an enemy.
After many suggested alterations in the machinery
and boilers of the British cruiser Barham she has had
steam trial and achieved maximum speed OF II IL
l,,ots This /. said to have been success but IL
~ a - modGed success since her designers contem-
iod an average speed for four hours OF twenty
Pnots stll. in fine weather, she ought TO be made
i1.ef,i for scouting and dispatch purposes.