The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-10

stHssou. Moreover, the rcissse of liability was
sisasas by,t nss pessoas vsspsa ere piainssf had eo-
trusted with the duty Of preparing the trunk fo.
shipnsent and Of attending to checking the same,
The fact thatahor SON ~usa nainoradid not incspActs
tsteNhirn from acting a. sntswenss the we'll known
rule being that contracts MADE BY an infant as an
agent AFRO oipditx Asronsbe prsncspsk"
There'is q a1widsepreadc notion that no
act ofFa minor is,binding in law. and the
failacy has brought Some honest and a
good many dtshoRess' persons to grief!
Al this timef whom the sanount OF per-
sonai baegsgse in transit is unusually
large, thissdscfsionsisrof particular time
illness. It points out tho: ~advisabikty'
Of having trunks in good repair the
foolislhsssn Of senting boys on mems
pyramids, and the extreme wisdom ofread-
ing papers that one is'assed to sign.
The Real Rtiasavss Srcn sthfof Naviess
There seems to- be- current considera-
bleo difference Of opinion as ~ which
Of the great maritime nations should
be- ranked an the" second naval Power.
About Great Britain's precminonce, Of
course, there is no doubt, but whether
hsr' war feet is more than equal to the
ffeets Of any two other Powers Is some
timesa matter in dispute. Let US glance
at some Of the --LATEST evihence ON the SUBJ
ject, promising that the accepted test of
a navy's efficiency is not the Number Of
vessels OF alt sorts, or tho aggregate
displacement, or aggregate armament
OF the whole feet, but the relative
number or relative displacement Of first
class battleships. To- etermine whether
battleshlps should be placed i'm thc first
class one must consider their respective
ages, ~dispIhcemsrit, armament, &c. The
principle is, ascweH have said, generally
admitted by naval experts, and it was
applied the other day in the House of
Lords- by ord TwKEpNsoUTH in critics.
ing the returns OF the British Admiralty,
brought down to March 81.
After, eliminating from the list OF ef-
fective' bakslsships, all those ver fifteen
years Of age and thoeer Of a decidedly
obsolete type, Lord TwExDMoUrH re-
duoed the sixty nOminaaiy frat class
battleships enumerated in the Admiralty
returns 10 thirty-nins. The ~application
of the age limit to- the thirty-two first
classsbastleships accredited to Germany
by the Admiralty reduces them 10 twenty
two, and after those of obsoleteoF obse-
lesoent types have also been stricken
out there are left but eleven ships that
are fairly entitled to be ranked in the
first class, According to the Admiralty
returns the United States has twenty
three first classA battIeships. but Lord
TwEBDMoUTH eliminates the Texas. the
Oregon, tho Massachusetts, the Indians
and the Iowa. Subjected to the same
tests the thirty-one battleships ascribed
to France in the Admiralty returns are
cut down to thirteen. Finally, the ff-
teen ~battisshfps with which the Ad-
miraity cretiftS Japan are, ON the score
of faikag to conAe within' tbs aws limit,
or on thak; Of obsoleseness of type, re-
duced to nine, including four captured
from Russia
II is obvfOtis" that according to Lord
TwEEDMourfsss testsrthe United States is
the second naval Power on earth, hav-
ing eighteen frst class bastleships' as
against the thistecn ofFfaacc, the eleven
Of Germany and the nine Of japan.
or course Lord TwHEspMoUTH's stand
ard Of efficiency is arbitrary, burt Captain
ROBINSON, the London naval correspond
ent' of our neighbor the Herald, points
out THAI it il appiied with absolute fair
ness. with the result that Il eliminates
almost twice az much tonnage displace-
ment inathe case Of Great Britain as in
that Of any other country. He adds
that II we accept the dicta Of two other
British experts, Sfw WIrasAM'WHTp and
Sir NATHANIEL BARNABY; that displace-
ment furnishes the faifest" means Of
determining the efficiency of battleships
not too old or obeoletef OF type, we find
thaS they lead to- c~oRcusieus identical
with Lord TwEBDMoUrRs as regards
the" relative rank Of the great naval
Powers Thus the'thirty-nine first ciass
battiesfipsr Of Great Britain have an
aggregate displacement OF 574, 100 tons;
the eighteen first class battleships OF
the United States dsspSAse 20, ess tons;
the thirteen ffrst ciass battleshfps OF
France, 1898 tons; tho eleven first
class battleshipeof Germany, 17s,O OBS tons,
and Jspanfss nine first class bAsttcships
13s, mas tonss Tested. by aggregate OF
battfeship displacement il 10 evident
| that Great Britairf' has the advantage OF
the United States and France combined
by sk,ous 10000 tons, ana thst, COM
pared in respect OF numbers, she has