THE BRITISH FLEET.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 46, 25 July 1877, Page 2

THE BRITISH FLEET.

t (From the London Daily News.) According to the latest Admiralty re- jj turns, Great Britain 13 represented in the « Mediterranean by seventeen men of war, c besides several smaller vessels; but of * these, two ironclads, the Hercules and the Triumph, are now on their way home. v The Hercules, with Sir c James Drummond on board, has been 0 relieved by the Alexandria, bearing the s flag of Admiral Hornby, who nor holds £ the Mediterranean command. The latter j ( has with him eight other ironclads, tl namely, the Monarch, Hotspur, Pallas, s

Research, Rupert, Sultan, Swiftshire, and Devastation. The last mentioned is the most heavily armed and armoured turretyessel in the whole of the Mediterranean water, while the Alexandria, on the other hand, stands unrivalled as a broadside ironclad. Our Channel squadron, which has been cruising off the Spanish coast, and has now been ordered home, consists of but four ironlads— namely, the Minobearing the flag of Vice-Admiral Seymour ; the Black Prince, the Defence, and the Resistance. On the China station there is just now a numerous British force, but most of the ships are but gun vessels ; the Audacious, with Admiral Kyder on board, being the only ironclad of the fleet. There are besides six corvettes and sloops, nine gun-yessels, and i several smaller vessels. The detached squadron, for particular service, under Admiral Lambert, is composed of four or five frigates and several despatch vessels. The North America and West Indies station, commanded by Vice- Admiral Sir Cooper Key, in the Bellerophon, consists of half a dozen corvettes and sloops ; and the Pacific station, under Rear-Admiral |De Horsey, has 3 similar number of I vessel upon it. In the East Indies there are ten frigates, corvettes, aud gun vessels under the command of Sir R. M'Donald, in the Undaunted : and in Australia the commodore has five corvettes and other f vessels under his orders. At the Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa, there are a dozen vessels to look after British interests, under the command of Commodore Sullivan, but none of them are very powerful. Corvettes, gunvessels, and gunboots, are more useful than heavy ironclads or big frigates to protect trade upon the African coast. Besides the insignificant channel squadron there are many ships at Portsmouth and in the First Reserve available for the pro* tection of the coast, already commissioned and ready to proceed to sea, but they are not attached to any special command ; and there are again others like the Temeraire, the Dreadnaught, and the Inflexible, which require but a few months to fit them for'active service.