New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-12-19
FOREIGN NAVAL NOTES.

The old turret-shp Monarch. of the British Navy.
has recently undergone a remodelilns. but she IS not
v,ho, NAV be cassed as one Of the modern var
vessels All her spars and rigging have been re-
moved and three military masts substituted. the
Old simple engines and iOw-prcssure boilers nave
been taken out and new r.plo-eXpanson engines
AMI h!gh-prcssure boilers have been substituted
Waterght buikheads have also been lifted. thus re-
duclng the size of many Of her compartments. she
Is however only a single-screw vessel. having been
built a quarter OF a century ago. IS 800 feet lone.
with q displacement OF s.32o tons. and has draugh.
Of ~ fa.t OF water. Her side armor Is only from
- inches thick. and that on her. turrets Is rom
70 70 inches hck hsr o aTm1 7Innh
rifles. and fourteen rapd-hrns guns.
The British Admiralty have given out with au-
thorty that the Government IS contemplating lay
ing down in fast cruisers or dispatch yes
se.s intended also u act as scouts FOR meet Inc
idea IS to follow in part the innovation OF the
American Navy as suggested In the construction OF
tho Columbia and Minneapolis The British vessels
wiz. however be only little more than one-nNIi
the displacement Of the two American cruisers ya.
is Will have Displacement OF only 24 tons tons red anf ~
give speed OF twenty-five Knots.
Some of the foreign nations have continued the
construction % shea hcd vessels 1t having been
demonstrated that. although the speed may not De
50 great with the same engine power as the I'M
sheaihel ships when their bottoms are free from
sea growth. this Is more than compensated ior III
the saving Of expense Of frequent docking and also
that they DO not foul quickly. hence the average
speed Tor a given time is much greater. 10 say
nothing ~ the economy in fue-burning. the
shcaihoI cruiser Chauters de IA Loire OF the
French Nav, recently launched Xesse $40 t tfe.
IN .engsh and has displacement or 33. tons: ffer
battery consists OF four l-3nch ten 3'-inch ana
fourteen 47-mmetrc rapid-iirlng guns ana TOUR
torpedo tubes
The French torpedo gunboat. or scout DIbervi.le
butt at St Nazaire from the design OF NJ. de Bus
scy has recently had her trial trip. and made an
average speed ~ i 81 knots fourhour trial and
1913 knots on an eighieen-hour run. The contract
for her construction required that her speed should
not be- less than twenty one ana half knots. and
miles kno.s she IS 262 -5 feet In length
25is feet beam and displaces $40 tons
The Dutch Navy is soon to have coast-defence
vessel added to its active neet. The Pet Helm.
recently launched is 2s3 feet in length. has dis
ulacanent OF 1886 tons and her expected speed is
sixteen knots Her armament will consist OF three
az In barbc,ie. two 6-nch rifles mounted on the
broadsde ten machine guns ana TWO torpedo
tubes.
The Independencia. recently launched at GIas-
gov is a steel screw-gunboat Tor Santo Domingo.
She * intended really for a Government yacht
ana viii be armed with battery OF seven Hotch-
Kiss cannon she Is 10 feet In length and % feet
beam
The Argentine Republic has a new addition to
navy the Pdtria she is "a tOrpeuo SuIipoa'
resembling in appearance the more recent torpedo
sunboats Of the British Navy. In her recent
trials In Liverpool Bay she averaged 116 knots on
an elsht-hour trial. Her contract speed was 1914
knots. she is go feet In length and has dispiace-
ment OF 100 IONS. Her battery consists OF TWO
I7-lnch guns. four Spounders two S-pounders, TWO
l-pounlers and five lSnch torpedo tubes
\ serious accident occurred recently on the
French warship Arethuse. which Is now being In
vcstigated one OF the steam pipes burst and sew
cral Of the and Of the engineer oiicers
were scallci TO death. only those who were not
Immediately enveloped in the scaldng steam es-
capped. to the decks.
IS exciting much interest In maritime circles IL
will be remembered that about year ago the
Russian monitor Rusalka lost. with ali hands
in a hurricane In the Gulf Of Finland. The detector
IS an electrical ARRANGEMENT contained In a small
mahogany box having a sinkcr attached whicn
also contains electrical arrangement ana trans
along the bottom by its the wreck OF the Ru-
salka has been located and ali that now remains Is
IA 0sh her up II this Is successful the device might
me used 10 locate the wreck of the original Monitor.
Grove an interesting relief hshed up.
There IS no little discussion among naval ordnance
mon with regard To The advantages and disad-
y,nt,scs OF ordinary breech-loadlng guns especially
In view of the fact that the naval ships OF the pres
ent day have such heavy armor belts that even the
biggest shell and balls would generally smash up