The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-03-19
DEVELOP ENGLISH
Navy ON N[W.l.|N|||.E|::.S':II. | |: 5
Rapidity Witt, Which Battlesl,ips.
Become Obsolete Suggests
Necessary Changes.
NEED MORE SNAIL FIGHTERS.
Lord Brasscy Proposes High
Speed Vcsselsof Torpedo Boat
Destroyer Class.

Especial Cable to The Times.loispatch and
New York liernld)
tcopyrisht. By the New York Herald COD q
| LONDON. March .ls.-Lord Braasey, In
the co,irsc OF falcctnre to the klstitution
or Civil Engineers on naval shipbnidin9.
said the latest official statistics showed
thai England held a commanding posi-
tion In theSnuinerical strength Of her fleet,
but the rapidity with which vessels be-
came obsolete made IT Imperative tina the
designs and principles Of construction of
future vessels should receive very careful
attention.
Lord Brassey thought they should care.-3 e.
fully; watch work in progress foiS foreisn
navies. and he instanced four vessels Of
the yittorIo Emanuel type now building
forSthe italian navy.
I'm the III growth OF dimensions Erz land
had alwayssled the way, he said. md In
the hands or her skilful navy architects
growing dimensions had given more y nan
|aSproportionate gain fighting ef efficiency
but on the other side various arguments
could be advanced. 1ngnaval bat ties NUM-
bers must tell, and Ii the units we're less
costly more Of them could be built IN I
crease OF sIze gave no Immunity from
the dangers OF darkness, nor from st "a nd
ing or collision, nor from thcsran ~ or tof--
pedo or snbnla rine mine. ConninE towers
could givefno protection TO comma N nd d, ers.
Torpedo Boat Destroyers.
Lord Brassey was o e. opinion t I
should not be difficult to design3Sa a high
speed vessel OF the torpedo boa II destroy 4
or ola So. heavily armored, and armed with
torpedo tubes and with heavy gun in he
bows. Many OF these could be built for
the cost of&one battlcshipf and they might
do more than heavy ships to decide the
Issue of a hard fought day. fIe also SUE
gested that some British ba ttlesillPs
might with advantage be similar to those @
now being built for TIA lysand Germany
with d adisplacements@ II of ~ bon tas thirteen hI
thousand tons. ~
Without advocating IA evolutt Ion 4: In
shipbnilding poll ley ring that Eing-
land had "a single big ship less on the
navy list II lie cont ended s. that In future
shipbullling progra plmea I come vessels
should he included 81 type suit q hie. for
narrow and shaI low wa ters. n ss
AS to the submarine. Lord BrasseS
thought it essentially .a efenslvc wea apo;i.i
IT Was valuable for harbor defense. but
Instability to navigate the seas i q yet
to he proved. j. & III s
AS to cruisers. he sconside erel the test
British examples would well bear scnnlT.
PARTON With those under tonst truction
elsewhere Two ypes were necessary,
namely. scouts Of the fleet in which
speed and coal endurance were essential !
qualities and cruisers for the protees ion on
OF commerce. In which lighting fficiency
must be combined with these qualities,
The lattcratype mus be large
With regard to scouting cruisers. he
pointed out that the war In the fnr East
had shown4that8cr,,sers having no @protec-
ton but vertical armor could hardly be
reckoncd as combatants. 4i 4; e q