The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-05-27
NAVAL SUPREMACY.

Last evening Captain Campbell lectured
on our navy and coast defenses and the
first battle Of the ironclads. 1t is true to-
day that England remains what she has
been for over 300 years, the greatest naval
power in the world, and yet it is not easy
TO understand why England should have
become the greatest naval power in the
world in the days of wooden walls" and
1t is still more difficult to understand why
England should remain the greatest naval
power in the world since the replacement
of the wooden warships by the ironclads.
The growth of England as a naval power
has not been due simply to the fact that
the Morse strain in her composite blood
etood for race of daring sailors or rather
pirates: nor is it due wholly to the fact
that her insular situation made the people
naturally a race of fishermen, coasters and
smugglers. The original Saxon in
vaders were not seafaring people
at all; neither were the Britons; the
Danish invaders were bold seamen, but
their supremacy was slight and the inn
press small compared with that of the
Saxons. While the English and Scotch,
like the French and Dutch, were from an
early date largely given to deep sea fish
ing, yet England was not naval power of
formidable strength when Genoa, Venice,
Spain and Portugal were enterprising
navigstors and daring sea-figh,ers. The
Dutch had better navy than the English
in their war with Philip the Second of
Spain. and indeed it was the danger of in
yasion by Spain that stimulated Elizabeth
to put respectable navy on its feet, SO
that her reign became prolific in race of
bold sailors and navigators, who were,
many of them, little better than buc-
cancers. From Elizabeth to Cromwell the
English navy gained no glory, but under
Cromwell's great admiral, Blake, it rode
the Mediterranean VIGOROUSLY, bullied
the Barbary states ana finally beat the
Dutch, up to that date the best sea-iighters
and sailors in Europe.
Under Charles the Second the Dutch
swept the Channel of the English ships
and sailed up the Thames, but under Will
fam the Third England again rose to the
dignity of a iirst-elass naval power, which
she had won under Cromwell, and from
the day of the great naval victory over the
French at Ia Hogue, May, 1872, England
has never suffered serious naval defeat.
with the exception of her war of lsl2-lS
when in combats between single ships,
she was frequently worsted, but even in
that war England's fleets kept our ports
20 effectively blockaded from Portland.
Me-, TO New Orleans that our trade was
ruined.
In the terrible war with France. viii, h
began with the contest for Canada and
lasted with slight breathing spells OF peace
for nearly sixty years, the English navy
was everywhere triumphant through a
succession OF victories that absolutely
wiped out France as naval power as
early as Trafalgar. in October, 1906 Dur
ing the last ten years Of BonRparte's career
France cannot be said 70 have had a navy,
an extraordinary situation for great peo-
pie that had a splendid line of hsrhors, q
fine population os sailors, and was during
eight years Of this time completely victori-
Gus on land.
Since lso5 naval warfare has undergone
many changes. but England has main
tanned her supremacy. 1t is safe 20 say
that today, even with the decay Of her
wooden walls. England, through her i'm.
mensc navy and subsidized swifi