Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-11-10


! ships may bo classed with the formlda-
bic type. a great vessel 400 feet In length
rs feet beam, and mean draft OF 70 feet
0 inches. and o speed OF is knots. with
| disbursement of 1890 tons and a coal
| capacitv OF 22OO tons. these ships nave
| enormous steaming radius and nghtng
qualities Their armament comprises
twelye-inch guns wire wound, IL six-incn'
| is twelve-pounders. and number OF ma
chine and rapid-fre guns. In displace-
ment they exceed the ships Oh the iowa
class greatly, but In battery are httle
superior. Great Britain has large num-
har ~ this tyne. All of Great Britain's
battleships. however, are not OF the latest
TYNE and design, and many that she
| classes I'm this rating are twelve, fifteen,
| and twenty years old. They are all
heavily armed and armored and IN me
condition for immediate service. All or
her coast-defence ironclads are OF ancient
design but would be most useful Tor mar
Dor protection work.
Great Britain's armored cruisers are tne
finest anoat. They were no better SIX
wears ago than the New YORK, but OF late
she has added vastly TO the protectloh,
speed and number Of guns The New YORK
was fayorably compared with the Blake,
the bestJof British armored cruisers, IN
1Sq3 when the latter was at the naval re-
view. but advances in the designs of this
tyne have placed Great Britain at the
forefront i'm both number and effective
ness of armored cruisers. The four Span
ish vessels under Cervera were far more
formidable ships. so far as batteries ana
protection were concerned than the New
York. vet Great Britain has a number or
vessels in all respects superior TO the
Spanish vessels.
The st. Louis and Charlemagne are per-
haps the highest type of the French bat
tleship. each having a displacement OF
II. $50 tons. 9,5OO-horse-power. and speed
of seventeen knots. Their armament con-
sists Of four 11.S-inch guns in two turrets'
fore and aft; ten 5.4G-inch guns, and a
vast number Of smaller guns and machine-
guns. She has other battleships when
are larger. notably the Carnot and Charles
Mantel, but naval experts regard the ~.
Louis type as the more effective lighter
RESULTS OF THE CONFLICT.
There is but one opinion among navas
officers as to the result of conflict be
tween the two governments-the French
feet would he destroyed, but not win
that quickness and completeness whlch
some Frenchmen are asserting would FOL
low. American naval officers are not IN
cljned TO underestimate the fighting quail
titles of the Frenchman on the seas, or
the effectiveness of his war vessels. Adj
mittedly, they say, Great Britain mas a
vastly superior navy, but not so much
so as to crush France until terrific blow
had been dealt England. British seaman
ship and ordnance would, they say. result
in reducing Frances sea-power, were the
two government evenly matched in naval
strength, but sight must not be lost, they
assert. OF the wonderful progress oil
French science in recent years, as applied
to the construction of Frances navy, and
the high state Of it's efficiency through
constant drilling and manoeuvres.
American officers say that France has
not been asleep by any means when Eng
land has been putting her fleets through
summer eyolutions, and that she mas
maintained drills with squadrons, boats
working singly, and at target practice, TO
a surprising extent. She has devoted es-
pecial attention to torpedo-boat practicS
and as a result the Frenchman knows
how TO handle his craft and fight her
with daring and experiences. Our naval
officials have no doubt that war would
bring about some startling lessons to the
world. and that French prowess would
be developed to a great extent.
Chief Naval Constructor Hichborn holds
the views natural TO his corps that Amer
| lean battleshps have no superior, and
| that next in rank are the British, but he
| by no means underestimate the French
| vessel France made some big mistakes.
| he asserts years ago when faults IN de-
| signs resulted I'm some of her finest ships
being top-heavy and unsafe. she mas
| profited. however by experience, and
| her later vessels are, without doubt, equal
! in class to those of the best produced oy
British yards Like all naval officers, he
! is confident that the British navy is vast
! ly superior in all essential respects aud
! that a conflict between the two nations
| could have but one result.
THE FRENCH TORPEDO CRAFT.
Engineer-in-Chief Melville regards the
! torpedo craft OF France highly and has
| learned many valuable lessons, which ne
| has applied in the building Of the Amer!-
can boats from the French. France was
/ the first government to adopt the triple
screw system for her warships and cople i
| this idea from the American navy, Whlch
| was the first to produce in the Columbia
| and Minneapolis perfect specimens or
| fleet. high-powered cruisers. other high
| officials of the navy place the relati'e
| fighting strength Of France and Great
! Britain at a ratio of two TO one, ana none
| question what the effect OF war Would
be If fought out on she seas. Ihere Is
not an officer of the navy, however VINO
| would not stake a years salary on the
result, even though France ana Ehsidhu
we're evenly matched. Anglo-SaX0n
pluck. the fighting qualities OF the race
| and the indomitable spirit which have
| carried If through perilous positions,
would. they say, be pre-eminent again in
-, t-4-,oa,, 4t,a Tlrftish and French.