THE U.S. NAVY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2722, 9 December 1881, Page 2

THE U.S. NAVY.

The United States are the only great Power in the world without a navy ; for as the official reports show, what we have now can scarcely be called a navy. At the beginning of our existence as a nation, or a few years after that memorable event, wo were far more effective on the sea than we are to day. Nearly a century since Great Britain possessed the most powerful fleet in the world, as, perhaps, she possesses it today ; but the victories we then won on the sea over the finest of her ships and the most distinguished of her captains will live for ever in the annals of naval achievement. The curious thing about our naval history is that while in the late war American genius hit upon the idea which has revolutionized the naval war system, tactics and equipment of the age —in other words, while we have given the world the iron-plated war-ship as against the old wooden hull and the monster rifled gun as against the picayune things which in those days were called cannon, we are the last to profit by our own inventions. Even poor little Italy is ahead of us to-day, as, indeed, she is ahead of either France or England if the question of superiority were left to the arbitrament of two or three vessels which she could putin line against either of these Powers. The efforts now being made to put the United States in line with the other nations of the world so far as our navy is concerned will, it is to be hoped, lead to the adoption of- an intelligent plan and system on the subject. The idea that has been put forth that we can build a fleet of ships that in time of peace will be able to meet the wants of commerce and in time of war fulfil the requirements of war, borders on the grotesque. Experiments of that kind can end only in failure, disappointment, and a big hole in the Treasury. If we are to have a fleet of war vessels let them be real war ships and not mock ones. Better no navy at all than one on paper, such as we have now. —“ New York Herald.”