10th Nov.
Sow: complaints having been made of the imprudence of allowing the French naval officers, during the recent visit of Admiral Gervais' squadron, to inspect the other, the First Lord of the Admiralty has explained that he considered. it perfectly politic to allow our neigh-hours to see and realise what enormous stores of plant and munitions Great Britain keeps in reserve. 'I'his.we know by the accounts in French newspapers was the point that specially struck our visitors. Our naval strength is not merely in the number of slips that we have on the water, but in the unbounded facilities we possess for keeping them in order, and the vast supplies of mmunitions and gear of all kinds that are accumulated at our dockyards. Lord George Hamilton thought it well that the French officers should see something of these preparations, lest they should be led away into a fools' paradise by the depreciatory articles on our navy that the home papers are so fond of publi There are a number of writers at home who are delighted to condemn our navy altogether ifa Queen's ship goes ashore, or some accident happens to a gun; what would they say if one of our numerous squadrons in commission were in the condition that the new U.S. navy is, according to a recent statement by the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Mr. racy Since the riots began in China this year, the American newspapers have consistently taken the position which Secretary Tracy summonses in these words: "If American missions and Auerican citizens in China are to rely upon gunboats for their protection rather than upon the Chinese government, our fleet in these waters must be very large-In accordance with this, they have been constantly urging the Navy Department to send out to China some of the new vessels of which the States are justly proud, knowing perfectly well of what obsolete craft the US. Asiatic squadron is composed. At last Secretary 'I'racy has made a state ment, explaining why none of the new ships, except the Charleston, have been sent to China, the Charleston herself being only lent until the Lancaster, a wooden ship built in Philadelphia in 1859, arrives on the station. With the Lancaster, Alliance, Alert, Monocacy, Aarion, and Palos, " there will be six vessels on the China station, which is {about the usual number which has
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.