The National tribune., 1893-06-29

1878. when it went to $1.22.. It then began
falling, and dropt to 90 eents an ounce until
the passage of the Sherman Bill, in August,
1890, sent it up to $1.21. Since then it has
fallen steadily to figures given above.
1t is calculated that the Government Of
Hindustan viii have to withdraw from cir
culation about 1, 150, 600 600 rupees, and re-
place them with $685., 100000 of gold.
1t is hoped that this will be facilitated by
the coming into circulation of immense
quantities of gold which are known to be
boarded in Hindustan, but which have
not hitherto found their way into eircula-
ton, owing to the prevalence of the single
standard of silver. In the last so years
India has imported $s0O,000,0O0 of gold, but
has coined but 2,352, 800 rupees, and it is
expected that the remainder will now come
into circulation.
Immediately on the reception of the news
Secretary Carlisle, accompanied by several
House to consult the President, and the
consultation was continued far into the
night at Woodley. 1t was taken up at the
Cabinet meeting the next day. What ac-
ton, if any, will be taken remains to be
seen, as the President and Secretary are
very reticent as to their conclusions.
THE SINKING OF THE VICTORIA"
The sinking of the great British war-ship
Victoria startles the whole naval world
almost as much as the celebrated battle
between the Merrimac and the Monitor did.
The Victoria was the highest achievement
Of naval architecture in the direction of
heavy battle-ships. The entire resources of
naval science had been expended in making
her the most formidable ship afoat. There
is no telling what she cost-anywhere from
$10,000,0O0 to l5,G0O,00O Yet, in the midst
of peaceful manuvers, in no wise compli-
Gated or hazardous, and while riding upon
perfectly calm SEAS she receives hurt from
a sister ship and almost Immediately over
turns, drowning 400 out of the 700 men on
board-a larger loss of life than ever oc-
CURED in an English naval battle.
Of course, there is endless preaching on
the lessons" of this disaster. The first
and strongest lesson seems to be on the
deadly effectiveness Of the ram. The great
ship was invulnerable to the most powerful
guns afioat. She could have stood hammer
ing at close quarters for an indefinite time
by the heaviest ordnance built. It is not
likely that torpedo could have sunk her,
for the torpedo, at most could only have
made relatively small hole, and sinking
could have been prevented by closing the
doors of the compartments. But the
ram tore away so much of
the compartments that it was useless to
close the doors. Enough water entered in
stantly 10 destroy the balance of the ship,
and she turned bottom-side up in 80 lathoms
of water. IF this occurs in the. midst of
calm and unexciting manuvers, what will
happen when these leviathans are pIunging
toward each other in the smoke and excite
ment of battle?
1t seems to us that this is a sharp. lesson
to US TO maintain our wise policy of letting
these enormous ships severely alone, and
continue the building of relatively light,
very swift, and heavily-anned vessels. ANY
of the new cruisers would have sunk the
Victoria as quickly as the Camperdown did,
and in an engagement they would have ten
times the chance of hitting her fatal blow
that heavier ship would. We have no
need of such heavy ships for any purpose, as
it is becoming more strongly believed every
day that our old Monitor style of ship makes
as effective q harbor-defender as any.