The times., 1898-04-27
SPAIN ON THE WATER.
A Nation That Invariably suffer.
Defeat.


Spain is theatrical TO the last The
crews Of the squadron at CadIz have. it Is
said. vowed before the shrine Of ths
Virgin never to return to their own couu-
try unless they return victorious. Pro-
viding this pledge is carried out. let US
see what the Spanish sailors chances arc
TO ever return if they leave Spain. In
1871 the SDanlards. under Don John OF
Austria, one of Charles VS. illegitimatc
sons. destroyed the Turkish fleet in the
Gulf of Lepanto- This was one OF the de-
cisive battles of history. and Spain had a
great man. one of the remarkably few
great men thae country ever produced.
at the head OF it's administratiOn-Philip
IL The Spanish had not only their ablest
warTior-DOn JOhn-at their head but
they had the aid of a GenOese and yene-
tian fleet and they largely outnumbered
the Turks. However. the victory was
notable. and most Of the credit for iG be-
longs to the SDaniards.
No naval victory has been gained by
Spain since that day. Three centuries
and quarter have elapsed since the bat
tie of Lepanto but Spain never Won an
other impOrtaHt fight on the water after
ward. Since LepantO Spain has on the
ocean at one time and another fought
England, France, Holland, the different
parts of Italy, some Of the various COM
binations OF the German states and al
most every other country in Europe.
small and great. and most of the little
nations OF Central and South America
but she has won no battle which has had
the faintest effect toward lettering her
own fortunes or which has altered in even
the slightest degree the general current
of history. Seventeen years after Le-
panto. in the reign of the same Philip.
SPANS '-invincible armada. the most i'm
posing fleet. in numbers of vessels and
men, which had ever been gathered to-
gether along to thai time. was over
whelmingIy defeated and almost ami
hilated BY a far smaller British force.
Often after 17Of. when Gibraltar was won
by England from Spain. did Spain try To
win it back. but although sometimes &c
was defended by only an insignificaus
garrison. Spain always failed. She failed
conspicuOusly and ANONYMOUSLY in the
siege of 1T79-S3, when she was assisted Oy
a powerful naval force from France. and
when England was not only fighting the
United States but had half of Europe ar
rayed against her.
For more than three centuries SPANS
conduct in its naval wars has been below
contempt. In the battle of Trafalgar in
1865. the last of the more important naval
battles in which Spain has participated.
Nelson made short work of the Spanish
| fleet the only serious resistance offered
TO him In the battle being by SPANS
French allies. In the wars against the
{ little nations OF the southern half of the
American continent in this century
Spain'S fights on the ocean We're even
feebleT than We're those on the land The
Peruvians and Chilians easily beat the
Spanish fleets in the wars of 1854 60 The
poltrOOn Pereja. the Spanish admiral who
committed suicide in 1864 on account OF
his defeats by these South Americans. had
as successor the coward and blunderer
Nunez, who destroyed the defenseIess
Valparaiso. thus raising a storm of wrath
against Spain in Europe for his destruc-
ton of property of Europeans in that
city, but Nunez quickly fed with his fleet
from before Callao after few shots were
fired at him from the vessels which
chanced to be in that harbor. There is a
possibility, of course. a faint possibility
that Spain may win an Isolated and un-
important fight or two on the water in
the pending war. but in order to do
even this she will have TO show courage
and capacity which she has never dis
played anywhere in the world in the past
three centuries.