The herald., 1898-05-08


otaxss in the war now on. The Dons darkly
hint at resources. naval and military, thai
have been kept . profound secxee. nul
which are Hsy to be revealed, to AmesiSs's q :
are vastly mare clever at throwing dust IN
the eyes Of those who supply US with oul
information - to her ships and men thar
we give them credit for. y fs certain t1n'
nary. affair. The United States govern.
me14 has IN its possession compscte rs,
Of the flghting ships Of Spain- This LIST
e of5fcial having been taxed from the , dasa Z,
Madrid. 1t 10 here published for the hrst
time There have bean pubushed lists OF
naval vessels OF spain. but this Is the only
list that has been obtained from official
esct)
WARRINGTON, May 1.-(Special Corre-
spondenoe to The Herald.) Painful as 1t
must be to the Spanish people, and more
especially to the Spanish naval officials, it
becomes necessary, in the interests Of the
American newspaper-reading public, to
print the true facts regarding the navy Of
Spain. spain's minister Of marine may. If
he chooses, clain the authorship Of the ar
ticle, for the information on which 1t is
founded comes direct from the archives
that he did not intend It for publication, in
America, at least, but, even at the risk of
hurting the feelings Of a sensitive Spanish
pfficial, it Is necessary to make the in
formation public.
The admiral Of the Armada-a word
which calls UP the recollections Of the
past-is Senior Chacon Maldunado, who
was born in 1878 and entered the service as
tar back as 1928. In the course of his 70
years. association with the Spanish navy
he commanded one of the ships Of Queen
Isabella, of which Topete took charge at
yhe time when a great part Of the naval
forces Of Spain declared for the republic
As BELTS his distinguished rank, Senior
Chacon y Maldonado is possessed Of In
Vulnerable decorations. He holds the
Brand Cross Of the Order Of Naval Merit,
The Grand Cross Of the Royal and Military
Order Of st. Hermsnegildo, the Grand
Cross Of the Order of Carlos III, and the
Grand Cross Of Isabel the Catholic He Is
q knight Of the Royal Diadem of the Navy,
A Knight Of the First Class of the Royal
md Military Order of San Fernando and a
Knight Of the orders of Irun and Fuenter-
nbia.
On the effective list there are six vice ad-
nirals and fifteen rear admirais, all of them
The holders of covetsd houors. There are
D commodores, Al post captains, 81 COM
handlers, 100 first neutenants and 25S lieu
enants Of lower ranks. In the reserve
here are vice admirals, s rear admirals
Ind 16 commodores. The medical staff has
strength Of LIT, apart from pharmacists.
The ecclesiastical body connected with the
lac hor Nd %har &c axyi1
eYal at its head.
An interesting dacument, which finds a
place In the Spanish navy archives, Is
etter addressed BY Senior de Beranger,
minister Of marine, to the queen regent,
lated August Is, 1896. 1t Is in the following
Terms:
"Afadam-The modern floating material
Of the feet is composed Of several types,
ranging from the heavy armored ships to
the small torpedo boats, the mission Of
which in war time Is Of the highest I'M
portance. This circumstance as well as
the great confusion Of technical nomen-
rlatnre resulting from continual transfor-
nation and experiment, renders 1t some
what dif1cs1t TO grasp At once the scheme
Of the offensive and defensive forces
which is represented by the different
classes Of ships. Sometimes ships Of many
different classes within each Of these types
are designated by the special name Of arm
ored ships, cruisers. gunboAts, ETC.; and as
these vessels have not been carefully and
exactly defined IN name, 1t Is frequently
observed that one and the same vessel is
classified under two or three various de-
nominations, according to the distin-
guished Official who Is called upon to de-
scribe it. It is therefore expsdient not
only fpr the service itself but for the clear
ness and definiteness which should exist
in every technical nomenclature that this
state OF things should end, and that It
should De precisely determined what shall
be the denomination given to each class of
vessel, according to it's potentialities of
offense and defense, its speed. displace-
ment and other characteristics, which,
taken together, constitute the distinctive
character of each ship. In view of this
necessity, the subjoined decree has been
suggested with a view of obtaining In de-
tail, with the utmost clearness, the names
of the different denominations which must
henceforth be given to the types of exist
ing ships in our navy; and in the hope that
your majesty, approaching the reasons
here set forth, will deign to give it your
high appreciation, have. ETC..
JOSE M. DE BERANGER."
Then follows the classification recon-
mended and subsequently adopted. Pro-
tected ships, first-class battleships, second
class battleships, frst-class cruisers, SEQ.
ond-class cruisers. Unarmored ships
First-class cruisers, second-class cruisers
first, second and third class gunboats, tor
pedo gunboats. first and second-class tor.
pedo boats and launches.
The official list Of the ships composing
the Spanish navy comprise two flrst-class
battleships-the Pelayo and the Carlos "
the former launched in 1886 and the latter
In 1896 Both are between 5000 and 10, ,0Ot
tons displacement and carry crews OF
upwards Of $50 men. There are nine SEQ.
ond-class battleships and three first-clas,
and three second-class protected cruisers
OF unarmored cruisers there are six, nine
and five respectively Of the three classes
The gunboats are five Of the first-class
twenty-six Of the second class and forty.
one Of the third class. There are fourteen
torpedo catchers four torpedo boats of the
hrst class and nine Of the second class. tc
say nothing Of launches, pontoons, trans
ports and special service boats.
The ships attached to the naval com
mand 1T Havana and under the control o
Commandant General Navarro Fernan
dez were given as follows q few month";
ago:
Seoond-class protected cruiser-Marque
De la Enscnada.
First-class unarmored cruisers-Rein.
Mercedes, Alfonso XII.
Al n n q m Teal r
II, Infantn Isabel Conde de venadito.