Nine Kings And Queens of Spain Living.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 176, 30 October 1886, Page 8 (Supplement)

Nine Kings And Queens of Spain Living.

T^herb are at- the present time, including the Carlist dyriastjrm partibus, no fewer than nine < Kings and Queen's of Spain ; First, there iarthe infant King upon the throne, and, his mother the Queen Regent ; then cbmes thy ex-Queen, Isabella and" her • husband, , King Francis ; ' thirdly, the ex-, .King Amodeo/ brother of the King of Italy ; and laBtly,'the four Caflieta— t)on Juan JII andjhus QueSnrBona, Bentrix of :Este, the . former of whom abdicted afewryears ago 1 in favour at in^atyajpon Carlos, iwhp,Vw|thhis' : r wif©j Dona Margaret] ;i makes up 1 the, tbtalV Anane"cd6te\i<t6ld of $he;ex-'Kin1* Airiadep, ipayinga^BitlfoKth^ex.QueenMleabellaw 'rale, iMffewj^fars^agdi ;(^lorwafaWf6un6^%Hefe^i)ona^^ tq6khlsle*vo^ob8eryin ff witha8mile: ; .:' l I

The Fastest Vessels in the World. Ever since 1881, when the Arteona.of the Guion Lihe,by her fastest passage on record gained 'tfcel name of thd i " Greyhound of the Atlantic," public interest in the high speed of steamships of all kinds has greatly increased. At the present time, the, swift rate at which ship and craft can be propelled is not merely the primary consideration relating to several lines of mail steamers and torpedo boats only; but extends to naval cruisers, gunboats, and even ironclads. During the last five years much * progress has been made in providing additional speed to nearly all claaseB of ships and boats which are driven by steam. We will now produce authentic facts relating to the swiftest of them. As regards merchant ships, the fastest in the world, as oceanic n teamers — except the Nord America belonging to a foreign firm — are run between United Kingdom ports and New York, and Havre and New York. The rate at which they are supposed to be driven on voyages if required to make them at their maximum rates are as follows, viz. : Etruria and Umbria, of the Cunard Line, 13£ knots; America, of the National Line, 18 knots ; Alaska, of the Guion Line, .Aller Saale and Trave, of the North German Lloyd's Line, and La Cham pagne, of the General Transatlantic Line, 17| knots ; Gity of Rome, of the Anchor Line, Elbe Werra, Fulda, Eider and Ems, of the North German Lloyd's Line ; La GaBcogne, and La Bourgoyne of the General Transatlantic Company, 17£ knote ; Arizona, of the Guion Line, and Servia, of the Cunard Line, 17 knots ; Germanic and Britannic, of the White Star Line, and La Normandie, of the General Transatlantic Company, and the Aurania, of the Cunard Line, 16£ knots. The fastest voyage for a long run ever made was by the Stirling Castle, in the summer of 1S83. This ship then belonged to Skinners' China Line, but was transferred to a foreign firm shortly afterwards, and was rechristened the Nord America. She made the voyage from Hankow, close to Shanghai, with a heavy cargo of the first of the new season's tea to the Alberb Dock, in London, in 31 days and 10 hours, including all detentions, and 26 days and two hours' steaming time For several long distances she was propelled at 16 knots an hour. In many respects this was a more wonderful performance than the run of the Etruria from Queenstown to Sandy Hook, near New York, in 6 days 1 hour and 9 minutes, which is the quickest voyage on record between the Irish port and the United States. Tha City of Dublin Steam Packet Company have recently had a splendid steamer constructed for them called the Ireland, which is capable of being driven at the same rate as the Etruria. The swiftest men-of-war are cruisers. The fastest of those now completed belong to foreign powers. They are the Eameralda, belonging to the Chilian navy, the Giovanni Bausan, owned by the Italian Government, and the Naniwa-Kan and Takachiho-Kan, belonging to the Japanese navy. Their speed is 18J knots.but they are all unable to carry enough coal to go at this rate for five days, whereas the Atlantic liners of the same speed have a fuel endurance whereby they can be propelled at their highest rate for nearly a fortnight. / The Milan, belonging to the French Government is an 18-knot cruiser, but the British navy is at present without one of this speed except the Mercury, which is known as a dispatch boat. The fastest cruisers we have ready, or nearly so, are the Imperieuse and Warsprite, which vary in their speed from 17 to 17f knote About a dozen others, however, of 17 knots speed, and two additional one's, the Immortalitie and Aurora, of 18 knots, are being built. The French are also having about six 17knot cruisers built, and the Italians two or three of 18 to 18£ knots. The speed of the fastest ironclads is not eqnal to that of the quickest cruisers.) yet the British and Italian have each two armour-clads of 17 knots' speed, and two or three others are being constructed of tne like speed for both the navies. But by far the fastest ships and craft tc be ueed in hostilities are those which come under the designation of torpedo flotillas, from the monster torpedo ram Polyphemus, of 18 knots' speed, to small boats, Several torpedo gunboats will shortly be ready for th9 British and French navies of about 19 knots' speed, with displacements varying from 450 tons to 1,500, but our remarks respecting the speed of torpedo flotillas will be limited to those built and building, which are estimated to be propelled at 20 knots an hour and upwards. The quickest is one for Spain of 24 knots and 400 tons displacement. Another boat for the same nation of 23 knots and 108 tons, and one of the like kind for the British and four for the Italian navy, are also being constructed. Two boats have been built for Austria of 22*4 knots and 87 tons. Of 22 knot boats, Great Britain is to have the largest, of 143 tons ; France, 9 of 66 tons ; Italy 2, Greece 6, and Japan 4 of 40 tons ; Portugal 4, Turkey 5, and China 1 of displacements not given. The only large boat of 21 knots' speed is being made for Turkey, which will be of 260 tons. Of the other displacements, Italy will have 20 of 84 tons, 2 of 33" tons and 34 ot 34 tons, and Holland 2 of 46. In the dimension of the 20-knot torpedo boats Russia takes the lead with one oi 600 tons, Italy comes next with 2 of 312 tons, then Russia with one of 140 tons, "Of the smaller boats Turkey i& to have 6 of 88 tons ; Germany 24 of 85 tons ; "Holland 1 of 72 tons ; and France 50 of from "45 to 50 tons. Four torpedo boats of 20 knots' speed, but the dimensions of which are not given, will be provided for Brazil and the Argentine Republic respectively. The forty or fifty first-class torpedo boats built and building for the British Government by Messrs Yarrow and Messrs Thornycroft cannot be driven at a higher speed 1 than 19 'knots, though they are a great improvement over the first-class .torpodo boats belonging to our navy, which were experimented upon in the Particular Service Squadron last year. They are too short and of insufficient tonnage, and, consequently, have not those 1 sea- going qualities which would render them very formidable torpedo launches or torpedo boat destroyers in a heavy or chopping sea. Foi the protection of our home coasts and seaports and our Indian and colonial, coast towns and coaliog stations they , will doubt be quite efficient, but they are neither suitable for cruising with a squadron of battle ships nor encountering larger and . better constructed torpedo boats of the same, ' or a little less, speed in rough water. ,. , , , - , , „ ' , ' ' Such wretched failures did the, eight first-class torpedo bo&;fcs of the British navy prove,' 1 ' which were engaged in the evolu-, ,tionary squadron referred to, on account of the smallness of the, dimensions, that it is highly, necessary, bur Government ; should, expeditiously- secure a sufficiency ,of efficient, seagoing torpedo boats of '22^ kn.o'ts^spee'd' , and 7 upwards. 1 ' * They : $bbuld .pf 'that size** and construction as s Wpulcf; .enable to be launched frpm<theni^gainat iro^cla,dB t jandiptXe^ ial^||^^^^9^1v^i^ intern? f britwo/br<

Their -fuel, endurance,' and armamentshoald aleo be improved, and it would alsobe^advwable to prqteot them against the quick-firing gun* of .torpedo boat destroyers by constructing them throughout with galvanized, steel, and providing the boate. with longitudinal coal . Bunkers^' eo ' as further to protect! the engine and boilera- , from projeotiles. In the near future it is to be hoped that the . British, Government will be' possessed of themoai efficient/ torpedo boats, both in number and construction ; otherwise,! i we are involved in a war with a formidable, maritime Power or allied eecond-claea naval powers, our men-of-war, even with the aasietance of the swiftest merchant ships asimprovised oruisers t armed transports, and email torpedo boat carriers, will be unable to cope with the battle ships and other warcraft of the enemy.