The times., 1901-04-14
LONDON NEWS AND GOSSIP.
The Question of Naval Power Again
Attracting Attention

The Question of Naval Power Again
Attracting Attention.
LONDON. April 13.-Politics. home and
foreign, are dead in England just now.
for the holiday spirit has not yet spent
itself. Todays news of the maueuvres
and cajolings by which President McKin-
ley hopes 20 bring the troublesome Sen
ators into line over the Nicaragua Canal
Treaty exeites the mildest interest In
China, Russia's seeming setback at the
hands of Japan loses much of its impor-
tance in English eyes, when il is remem-
bered that Russia is, after all. in effectual
possession of Manchuria, and the other
Powers are not.
In the home affairs of the week, only
two things really matter in the public
judgment. One is the secret of the theft
of Gainsbcroughs recovered Duchess. -
and whether she was really Georgiana,
the first wife of the fifth duke, or Lady
Elizabeth Foster, afterward his second
wife, as Lord Hawkesbury affirms in the
Times today. The other material fact
is the publication of a fine sonnet by
William Watson, in the pro-BOer Daily
News yesterday on Force and Free
DOM"
Dependent as England is upon naval su-
pltliifttS SAt MUS q pi ptGufidI di-
propriateness in Russias retracing of her
latest advance in Manchuria. 1t is claimed
as a recognition of the influence of ia
pans sea power. for at the moment the
Mikado's feet is far superior to Russia S
in fighting power. In two years time,
however. the position will be reversed. ia
pan has only two more battleships build
ing, whereas in 1901 Russia can send out
three battleships, TO be followed next year
by seven armored ships.
Applying the moral TO the British fleet
naval experts find discomfort in the fact
that although Great Britain will, in the
current year, complete and commission six
first-cldss battleships, an equal number to
that of her rivals, France and Russia, the
latters ships are Is per cent heavier. and
should possess 26 per cent more power in
action. In armored cruisers, which are the
ships of fashion today, Great Britain will
complete and commission five, as against
seven by the allies. The First Lord of the
Admiralty will hear a good deal on this
subject when Parliament resumes. An
other disconcertlng naval discovery of the
past week of stormy weather Is that the
torpedo-boat destreyers. each of which
cost the nation about S375,000, cannot stand
persistentIy heavy seas. All eight craft in
the Devonport torpedo-boat destroyer ffO-
tiila have had to return TO port disabled
from their instructional voyages. One ae-
tualy broke her back, daylight being let
into the stokehold. The same difficulty
was experienced at other naval ports. ow-
ing to the fiimsy character of the material
of which destroyers are constructed, the
thick. There were at Portsmouth recently
fifteen disabled destroyers.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer will
nurse for four more days his budget Sc
cret. Meanwhile, so strong are the eX-
pectations of duty on sugar that very
large quantities of manufactured beet
sugar have been imported into GoOle dur
ing the last six weeks, the shipments from
Germany, Holland, France, and Belgium
to that place amounting 10 about 1,50v
tons weekly. Imports doubled in bulk
come from Hamburg and France.
The municipal telephone will soon be the
rule in England. Glasgow made Il start
this week by opening a municipal tele-
phone exchange in active competition
with the National Telephone Company,
4. 500 subscribers being enabled to use mu-
nicipal telephones in the commercial cap
ital Of Scotland The corporation tele-
phone area covers 143 square miles. The
system is underground the ceuduits all
running under streets. The wires are in
sulated with a paper method, which has
the advantage of enabling large number
to be compressed into a small space.
Ambassador Choate is not likely to meet
with much encourag cement in his ap-
to the War Office in the matter
of the supply of American beef for the
British army contracts. 1t has for years
h. -, Il.
partments to give British goods the pref
erence, if quality and price be equal. At
the most the British soldiers at home con-
sumo only 20000 pounds of refrigerated
beef per week. for at least 100, 900 out of
the 10000 troops in the home army are
in the country districts and
fed with homegrown meat already. and
seeing that the average weekly import of
market alone is 2,5O0Gt@ pounds. Mr..
Choate viii probably discover that this
" ar Office edict is, after all, very small
matter TO worry over In the case of
Canada and Australasia there are feel
lngs of sentiment TO be considered Yes
terday enquiries were made in official
quarters how colonial meat would be at
feeted by the decision. No definite reply
has been yet given out. The colonial au-
thorities here contend that 1t would be
too farcical II, after Canada's and Aus
tralia's sacrifices in South Africa, these
colonies now are to be labeled as non
British
Meanwhile, no one can say that America
does not do well in the English state CON
tracts. Following the expenditure of $25,-
100000 by the War Office in America for
horses, mules, and foodstuffs comes today
the announcement that the British Post
Jffice has placed one order of s.. 500 900 with
)ne American firm for a telephone plant |
including switchboards This is one-half |
1f the total Government vote for tele-
phones English firms complain that they
we're not even asked to compete.
If Mr. HaP{aC fniffITS haI tJ,a ;eoe
With which English journals are occupied
ust now. England will soon be invaded by /
American capital and enterprise I'm many I
jther directions He talks as though he (
meant to prove a Baron Haussmann for /
.ougested London.