ord May.
To all appearances the submarine has come to stay. While it is not necessary to adopt extreme views respecting it, either for or against, the balance of opinion based upon practical proof is that the problem has been solved, and the under-water boat isa fact to be reckoned with. Naval men are divided in opinion as to its militant power, but we very much doubt if the most sceptical would, in case of real warfare, feel entirely at ease on board a vessel in the neighbourhood of a little flotilla of these invisible assailants. Mr. J. P. Holland, the inventor of the boat which bears his name, declares that his opinion after more than twenty years' experience is that "the submarine is indeed a ' sea-devil,' against which no means that we possess at present can il." In another place he says, "You can pit sword against sword, rifle against rifle, cannon against cannon, and ironclad against ironclad, You can send torpedo-destroyers against torpedo boats, and destroyers against destroyers. But you can send nothing against the submarine boat, not even itself." The reason is want of vision. It is expected that some sort of reply will be made to the challenge of the new weapon, but nobody as yet knows what it will be. Shells charged with high explosives may be used, and it is thought that the concussion from their explosion taking place near a submerged boat will be sufficient to place it hors de combat. But this is as yet mere theory; no experiments have been made to test the resisting power of submarines and to discover the dangerous zone within which such explosions would mean destruction' or disablement.
It is claimed for boats of the Holland type that they could cross the Atlantic, travelling in fine weather on the surface and in storms awash with everything closed. If this be so, then it is evident that the shores of the English Channel would be ily open to raids from either "side, and if Mr. Holland's theory is workable in practice the French might be busy in the destruction of Portsmouth—Harbour while we were returning the eompliment at Cherbourg and Havre. The arrival of the submarine certainly opens up new possibilities. Blockade, as we have known. it, as it was carried out at Santiago, for ex imple, will be impossible if} submarines are in the harbour. Blockade, indeed, will be unnecessary. The squadron which in days past would have undertaken that duty will now come up to the attack carrying its flotilla of submersibles. These will be let loose to find their way into the harbour where—if Mr. Holland is right—they will torpedo right and left. Vessels, wharves, docks, fortifications, and all will be absolutely at their mercy. Hostile submarines will be no defence, for the simple reason that it will be impossible to recognise friend from foe. The squadron outside, while this devilment was going on, would stand off at a safe distance. Its submarine contingent, or what was left of ie, would rejoin as soon as possible, be taken on board and carried to the next port, where "De cape" would be the order of the day. To show that this is not an exaggerated outlook according to expert opinion, we once more quote Mr. Holland.
"To-morrow, if we had a fleet of submarines big enough, they could protect New York harbour completely against an attack by the combined surface fleets of the world. But our shipping and. owr city would still be at the mercy of vwr enemies, ij they Ind even one submarine manned by " fearless crew experts." "Phe sentence we have italicised would seem to show that supremacy in the open is yet worth having.
But as man's object in life is peace rather than war, it is worth while to look fora moment at the brighter prospect promised by the new method of locomotion. For short distances, doubtless it may be employed to advantage. The dreaded Channel passage would have no terrors after a few submarines had safely wade the voyage. The difficulty of motive force will prevent any wider adoption of the system at present. Storage batteries to drive a submarine across the Atlantic under water would weigh "about times much as the vessel herself." Even if this objection were overcome, nobody would care to make a passage of a week and more in a hermetically closed chamber. Already, however, practical effect has been given to the promise of the new system for the purpose of exploring the floor of the sea in quest of sponges, pearls, and especially wrecks. Mr. Holland ridicules the idea that submarine work is erous. The many newspaper stories that have been told under that head are apocryphal. Careful examination into all known instances shows that such accidents as occurred were the results of carelessness when at the surface. Only one death has resulted in the course of operations below, that of an Englishman named Day, respecting whom Admiral Hickborn says, "If Day were really crushed in his boat, he has the unique distinct tion of being the only vi dangers of submarine navigation
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.