Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-04-14
The spanish Fleet.


Daily reports give the impression that
Spain has one Of the largest and most
powerful navies i'm the world. one day
il is announced that a number of battle
ships have sailed from Cdrtegena for
Cuba The next, that a dozen or perhaps
twenty Warships have left CadiZ for the
Cape Verde Islands. SO it goes. until one
is reminded of the Ten Years War, in
which, according TO official Spanish re-
ports, the number Of Cubans killed and
wounded and captured considerably eX-
ceeded the entire population Of the island,
infants I'm arms included.
Let us see what some Of these reports
really amount 10. A few days ago il was
announced that a formidable Armada
was 10 proceed forthwith to the Cape
Verde Islands TO escort the torpedo fleet
across the ocean. One of the four ships
named is the EmperadOr Carlos Y. IL IS
a fine armed and armored cruiser, the
best I'm the Spanish navy. and the only
one protected with Harveyized steel IL
Is a vessel that would do credit 10 any
navy as a cruiser, though, Of course. il is
not equal to one of our batJleships. But
that ship has only just left French ship
yard. where IL was being repaired. and IL
cannot possibly be made ready for service
inside of several weeks. Another is the
Cristobal Colon. a fine armored cruiser
purchased from Italy some time ago. The
Spanish engineers in charge of it do not
understand it's machinery and cannot
get il up to anything like fun speed. A
third is the fine armOred cruiser Infanta
Maria Theresa. which the Spaniards seem
able to manage The fourth is the cruiser
Alfonso XIII, which has no armor but
a protective deck and no heavy guns at
all Evidently these four DO not make
an invincible Armada.
Now we are told that squadron OF
fifteen men-of-war is 10 set out at once.
Let us see how it can be made up. IL
probably comprises the three ships named
above. which are ready for service Then
there are the Cardinal Cisneros and the
Princesa de- Asturias. ships similar 20 the
Infanta Maria Theresa If 10 these we
add the Numancia and Vitoria. anti
quated craft Of eight or ten knots an hour
and armed with old muzzle-loading guns.
we have exhausted the list of armored
ships i'm the Spanish navy, excepting the
solitary battleship PelayO and the cruisers
Catalina and Pedro dAragona, which
are not yet ready for service. Such
cruisers as Spain has been able 20 pur-
chase abroad are not yet completed and
will not be for a month or two The
other eight or ten ships in this fleet must
therefore be taken from the list or un-
armOred cruisers and gunbOats. Of which
Spain has a number Two or three OF
them have protective decks and one car
ries four 7S-inch guns. The batteries
of most Of them are composed Of s. and g.
inch and machine guns.
Such ships could do much damage 20
commerce. IN a conflict with real battle
ships they would cut no figure al an
Nor could they enter any harbor which
has modern Notifications about g. As
for the torpedo-neet of Spain. IL Is un-
doubtedly superior TO ours. But IL IS al
the other side Of the ocean, and the task
OF getting il over here. IN the face of such
flying squadron as could be sent 10 In
tercept IL, would not be an enviable one
There is no occasion 10 sit mp o. nights
worrying over the latter-day Spanish
Armada.