The St. Johns herald., 1894-08-16
NAMING VESSELS.
A British Plan for Perpetuating
 the Fame of Heroes.
Simplicity of the System in Vogue in the United States Navy-About the Customs of Other
 Naffcns.

7 ssWhy do foreign nations give such odd and oftentimes fanciful names to their warships?" is a question that has often been asked since the visiting fleet arrived in New York. The sys- tenn of nomenclature in the United States navy is very simple. The great battle ships are named after states, and the first-class cruisers after large cities. The latter are represented by the Philadelphia, the Chicago, the Newark, the Atlanta, the Baltimore and the San Francisco. The gunboats are christened after smaller towns where celebrated battles have been fought. The Bennington and the Con- cord are instances of the naming of this class of vessels A popular idea about the naming of the British ships is that Englishmen select names for their war vessels as they do for their inns. At first glance the Magicienne, the Tartar and other vessels bearing even more fanciful names seem to have as much reason for their titles as do the Crown, the Magpie, the Arti- choke, the Queen, and other quaintly named inns of old England. The idea, however, is erroneous, according to the New York Times. The United States method of naming vessels is modelled after that of t. e British navy. The name of each vessel is an index to its class, capacity, number of guns, etc. The English, however, have divided their ships into number of classes and divisions, which makes their sys- tenn at first a little confusing. Then again, for some special reason, they admit to a peculiarly named class vessel with another title. The battle ships representing tonnage of fourteen thousand are either called after sovereigns or are given names having some some special attribute of the nation, prefxed by the word Royal" The Royal Sovereign and Empress of India are two of Eng lands great battle ships. The Blake, the flag ship of the English fleet in this country, belongs to the admiral class and is named after one of Eng lands greatest naval heroes. The ad- miral ships are irst-class cruisers-ar- 1nored ships, the British call them. Blake was the pride of England dur ing the days of the commonwealth. Charles I. had been legally-according to the interpretation of the times murdered, and his sons, the duke of York and the prince, afterward to be Charles H., had taken refuge with their French cousins. Toprevent ''the king coming over the water" as the old Jacobite saying ran, Blake kept from England's shore the royalist fleet, and defeated it in a great battle in the waters of the Tagus. In 1852 Blake gained q victory over Van Tramp after a running fight of three days along the the coast of Holland. His last great exploit was the capture of Santa Cruz, until then considered by the Spaniards as their impregnable fortress. A re- markable fact connected with Blake's career was that he did not become a sailor until he was fifty years of age. As long as there is British navy, so long will there be ship named after him. In the national gallery in Lon don there hangs picture representing an old war ship, battle-scarred and time-worn, being lowed to her last anchorage by a tug. There is something very pathetic in this pie ture, and it is one of the most popular in the entire collection. The English thus feel for their old battle ships al- most the same affection that they have for the heroes who commanded them. They are to them living crea- lures, and long after they have been dismantled and broken up their names are retained in the memory of a grate- full country. The British navy has certain classes in which these names are invariably given to new ships The names are fanciful, but they orig mated in an age of poetry. The Frenchman, the Jean Bart, is named after the Nelson of France, one of her earliest and greatest naval captains, the son of Fisherman. The French system of nomenclature is based on the design of the ship and that of the service for which it is intended. The Dutch ship Van Speyk is named after the Dutch admiral who, after many victories, found himself pursued by the enemy and blew up his ship, with everyone on it, rather than be con- quered. Italy embalms the memory of Giovanni Bausan in the handsome cruiser which is no stranger to New York. Italy, Russia and the Neither lands have followed the English sys- tenn in naming their cruisers of cer- tain class after their admirals. Spain names after royalty, Brazil after prov inces, and the Argentine Republic eel ebrates the 9th of July, 1853, her natal day, in her first steel cruiser.
 Identification of Signature.