BRITAIN'S WAR-SHIPS. A List of Old England's Floating Peacemakers.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 98, 18 April 1885, Page 4

BRITAIN'S WAR- SHIPS. A List of Old England's Floating Peacemakers.

Look now at these monsters— the admitted effectives. Of these there are now the Inflexible —believed to be a match for anything afloat -of II.SSO tons displacement, having twenty-four inches of iron armour, on a solid backing of twenty-four inches of teak, of 8,010 horse-pviwer, and with four SO-ton guns in her two turrets; a vessel whose ability to batter down fortifications Alexandria's ruined batteries bear witness ; the Dreadnaught, which has just relieved her in the Mediterranean, with four 38-ton gun& in her two turrets, and with lighter armour of only fourteen inches; the Thunderer, Neptune, Colossus, Edinburgh, Agamemnon, Ajax, and Monarch, all twoturret ships of varying types, the Thunderer having two 3Ston and two 35 ton guns ; t others varying from four 43 ton breech loaders and two 6-inch guns to 38-ton and 12-ton guns ; while the Monarch, known to Portland, Me., folks, as having brought over the body of George Peabody to that harbour, has four 25-ton guns in her two turrets, two 12-ton guns and one 6J-ton — all muzzle-loaders, and therefore not considered of the best kind, but also powerful at Alexandria. Named after the famous British Admirals are the new barbette ships, the Anson, Ben bow, Camperdown, Howe, Rodney, and Collingwood, of about ten thousand tons each. The first four are yet on the stocks. The Benbow will carry two 110-ton breechloaders, pretty little barkers, with a playful projectile of 2,500 pounds weight or more, calculated to knock out even John L. Sullivan himself— if within a range of nine miles. The other Admirals have four 63-ton guns and smaller pets of six inches bore ; while the Temeraire, Imperieuse, and Warspite — smaller vessels of the same class— are content with 25 and 18-ton cannon. Five turret rams, one of which is the New Hero, yet on the stocks, are also included in the "list. Then the central battery fleet— fine vessel?, all of which have been successful — must be reckoned. There are eleven of these ships, from the Alexandra of 9,400 tons, with two 25 and ten IS-ton cannon, and with twelve inches of armour as her maximum, to the Or'on of 4,870,'t0ns displacement, which, like the Belleisle, its sister ship, yet contrives to carry twelve inches of iron armour and four 25-ton guns. Of this class of ships the Swiftsure, Triumph, Audacious, Invincible and Iron Duke are almost alike, about 6,000 tons,drawing twenty feet of water, with eight inches of iron armour, and carrying each ten 12-ton muzzle loaders. Three armoured cruisers, the Nelson, on the Australian station, the Northampton, flagship in the North American fleet, recently at Newport, and the Shannon, have 12 and 18-ton guns. For coast defence there are five good turret ships. The Glatton, a ram, has nineteen inches of arinourdefending her turret, which has a 25-ton gun, and the Cyclops, Gorgon, Hecate and Hydra of tv»'o turrets each, eight and ten inches of iron armour, and with 18 ton guns. The turreted ships Magdala and Abysinnia are in Bombay harbour, and the Cerberus, already mentioned, at Melbourne. Then there are eighteen unarmoured vessels,seven of which are fast cruisers, building in tho royal dock- yards, and four first-class ironclads are, by a recent vote, to be added to the list. These will carry 110-ton guns, and will be designed to take the first rank.—' 1 Boston Globe."

At the Christchurch Criminal Sessions, George Bark, an old offender, was convicted of robbery with violence to a girl under 14, and sentenced to five years' pewd servitude.