The Portland daily press., 1898-04-30
but of later contraction (1sss) and has a

but of later contraction (1S92) and has a
speed of 10 knots. her armament is some
what lighter, consisting of one 6 inch an6
ten 5-inch rapid fire guns. eight 6-pound-
ers. four 1 FOUNDER, and two machine
guns. The Concord is small, unpr O.
tected cruiser of 1,700 tons and O speed
of II knots She carrie six 6-inch and
two 6,pounder rapid fires, two 3-pounder
one l-pounder and four machine guns.
The Petrol is a gunboat of $50 tons. with
a speed o. a little less than IA knots. She
carries four 6-inch guns, two 3-pounder
rSpid fires, one 1-pounder, and four ma.
I chine guns. The Spanish vessels in the
| order of their size are the Reina Chris.
! tina, of 5 $40 tons Displacement, and the
Castillo, 3,342 tons, and neither of these
has either armor. protective decks. or
sneed. The Christina is credited with II
knots an hour, but the Castillo makes
only 10. The former was built in 1886.
Her armament consists of six 62-inch
Hontoria guns, two 2.7-inch, and three
2.2-inch rapid fires, six 1.4-inch and two
machine guns. She is fitted with torpe-
do tubes, but probably has no torpedoes.
The Castilla is still older, having been
launched in 1881. She carries four So
inch Krupp guns, two 4.7-inch, two 49,
! inch, and four 2.5-inch rapid fires, and
two machine guns.
| There are three more unprotected cruis-
ers of small size, the Velasco, 1,l52 tons,
and Don Antonio de Ulloa, and Don
| Juan dc Austria, each of 1,130 tons.
Their utmost speed is fraction ever IA
knots The Velasco's armament CON-
sists of three 5.9-inch Armstrong guns.
two 2. finch Hontorias, and two machine
guns; that Of the Ulloa is four 4.7inch
Hontorias, two 2.7-inch rapid fires, and
five machine guns. and that of the Aus
inch rapid fires. two l.5-inch. and five
machine guns. The General Lezo and Ell
Cano are listed as "gun vessels of 524
tons. They were both built in 1885 and
are alike, except in armament. Neither
can steam over 11.5 knots an hour. The
Gen. LEGO carries two Hontoria guns of
47-inch calibre, one of 3.5-inch, two
small rapid fires, and one machine gun.
Eel Cano has three of the 4.7-inoh guns
two small rapid fires, and two machine
guns. The Marques del Duero is dis
patch vessel of 500 tons, more than twenty
years old. and has one old smooth bore
muzzle loader of 6.2-inch calibre, two of
4.7-inch and one machine gun.
1t will be seen that the American fleet
is superior in the kind of vessels, in the
number and calibre of its guns, and doubt
less also in the personnel of it's officers
and men. The number of men in the
fleet exceeds that OF the Spanish by
more than three hundred.
The Spanish fleet, however, is likely to
have some advantages. 1t will fight prob
ably near shore batteries and get the ben
eft of thsir assistance. How much this
will amount to cannot be foreseen, be-
cause we know little about these batter
les. If the fight were certain to take
place in the open sea, where neither fleet
had anything but itself to rely upon the
result could not be doubtful. But the
fact that we may have to pursue the
Spanish feet within the range of shore
batteries infusss some uncertainty into
the contest, though the chances, even
under these circumstances, seem to be
greatly in favor of the Americans