Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1898-01-27
The BRITISH MUDDY"
An English cenpnri~op Between hin,
nnd Ills American compr-r-

admiral Sir Wesley Hamilton pub
lished not long ago an interesting con
versation which he had with an Amer
lean admiral. wherein the latter spoke
with the warmcst admiration Of th,.
manner in which he saw our Young
midshipmen handling their boats and
keeping their men in order. and then
drew comparisons between them and
his own fine gentlemen" most un-
iiattering TO the latter. His Young
gentlemen, he said. knew how it ought
tc Ice done, but ours knew how to do H.
The difference is great. The British
midshipman is brought up in his pro
fessiou. and when he finds himself sud
denly in a tight place he knows what
10 do instinctively without waiting TO
reason about il; he does the right thing
at once: and as rapidity Of action is
one of the most important factors Of
success in nautical matters, he general
y gets out Of his tight place with credit
to himself and his profession Thus he
gains confidence at every step. and pre-
pares himself for more important com
inands. On what grounds, then. of
logic or OF common sense, are we about
20 alter system which has produced
s,ich excellent practical results
IL Is ouiy far. however. to see what
can be- said on the other side Of the
question, and thus we would frankly
acknowledge that our naval officers are
the worst educated in Europe. taking
the word education in the sense in
which 1t is generally used. /, is only
quite natural and reasonable that they
should be so. for reasons which We have
already sufficiently Indicated For our
part we do not think they are by any
means such utter iguoramuses as they
are sometimes supposed to be. aud por-
trayed a. being by some self-consti-
tuiesl critics.
For instance. well-known civilian
writer ON naval subjects. masquerad-
/ ing under the title Of "Nauticus," pub
hshed lately "A violent diairibe on the
gross aud deplorable ignorance of Brit
| ish naval officers. lie described them as
being altogether behind the times; as
comparing most unfavorably in point
of general knowledge with the officers
| OF all European nations, as well as with
those Of the United States. They were
| held up tn scorn for not being men
Of the world" and for not being able
To shine in society" in consequences of
| their faulty education; and il was fur
Their stated that they were not sound
scientific officers. Ii is quite possible
that all three accusations might be true
the third modified-and vet that ours
might be the best naval officers in the
world. We say the third modified. as il
depends a good deal upon what we I'M
dcrstand by a sound scientific officer.
II Is probable-nay, almost certain
that, 80 far as abstract science is CON
oerned. our naval officers are surpassed
| 10y those of most other countries. and
certainly by those of France and Ger
many; but when il comes to the prac-
teal application of such scientific or
other knowledge as the officers of the
| different nationalities possess, il has
been proved a hundred times over that
our officers are ahead of all. Ten thou
sand-horse power which cannot be APP
| piled is not so good for propulsive pur-
poses as 5,000-horse power which can
be applied.-B laekwood's Magazine.