Tus pos that w huge ironclad ovating @ million sterling may be sank at one blow by a torpedo launched from bent costing tess thin one hundredth of that amount has been turning the Attention of all the naval departments of Burope to the construction of seagoing torpedo boats, The wonderful Teuncbes built by Yarrow and Thorney. croft, these steel boxes of machinery running some twenty miles an hour, have been found to be of little use exceptinsmovth water. First-class boats of 100 to 180 feet in Tongth lave made long ocean voyages: but they have to be epecially prepared and rigged for such voyager, and they are 80 wet even in a moderate gen, that life on board thems is almost unendurable, and if the sen la not like @ mill-pond' they can. not keep up their speed or fight their torpedoes, 'lieu years ago (we take these Inole frou a recent Times) the Germans had built on the Thames a seagoing torpedo-boat named the Zicten. She was 200 feet long by 29} feet beam, with @ displacement of ubout 1,000 tons, She was engined by Penn, and altnined a speed of 16 knots, but her torpedo fittings were x failure, and she has remained the only one o her close, The Italians at the same time built a vessel 200 feet long nud 21 feet beam, of 550 tons displacement, called the Pietro Micea, but she proved a complete failure ne to apeed. Orher European nations have tude similar attempts, bat their vessels have nearly all failed in the important quality of speed. After an in. terval of some sents the Branch took the matter up seriously, and being, as they undoubtedly are, the first ship-designers in the world, with access, Their torpedo aviser, or Bombes, are 180 feet long, 22 feet beam, 6 feet draft, and about 850 tons displacement. hey have a speed of 17 knots and enn keep the sen, the only doubtful int about them being their boilers, Their success Das stimulated the other Governments being 18.4 knots. She is thus far abend of even our latest torpedo ships, the Scouts. The only vessel of equal displacement of similar epeed is the Prench despateh vessel Milan, which in one trial attained 18.4 note, But she is one-third (76 fee!) longer than ithe Panther, and therefore far less handy. It is now reserved for out Admiralty to beat the Panther nnd her sister-ship, the Leopard, and it is not to be supposed that the resontces of our naval architects and engineers are yet exhausted, Indeed, the last mull brings news of the trial of a new torpedo-bent, the Adler, built. by Messrs, ernment, which, landed dows nornml drafty attained a "peed of 22-4 quote on the mensured mile, But as her size is not sintod in the report, it is doubtful whether she is n sen-going torpedo cruiser, or only torpedo-bout.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.