THE LAST OF THE ALABAMA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 250, 31 August 1864, Page 4

THE LAST OF THE ALABAMA.

(From the Saturday Review.) Captain- Semmes •will scarcely have earned the gratitude of his own Government by his chivalrous rashness. The Alabama and the Kearsage ■were far less unequally matched than the respective naval forces of the belligerents. "When the two great Border champions of Chevy Chase fell by one another's hands, the King of England, according to the patriotic ballad-writer, trusted that he had within his realm live hundred men as good as Percy. Jf the Kearsage had been lost, the Federal dockyards could have supplied many ships as powerful; while the Confederacy, lite the Scottish King in his lament for Douglas, had but one Alabama. The decisive combat of last frunday has added largely to the value of American shipping in all parts of the world, and the news will be received throughout the Union with an exultation which would scarcely be surpassed if Grant succeeded in taking Richmond. The deliberate offer and acceptance of a challenge to a duel is almost unprecedented in warfare, and the admiration which is sometimes felt for romantic daring is largely qualified by doubts as to the wisdom of quixotic adventures. Jf one combatant has reason to seek a trial of strength, it is generally not the interest of his adver sary to gratify his desire. The strategy of the sea is, indeed, comparatively simple; but a captain of a ship, like a general, ought to fight only for some definite object. If Captain Semmes had been at liberty to consult only his personal wishes, his motive for fighting the Kearsnge would have been perfectly intelligible. No more conclusive ansv.-er could have been given to the slanderous assertion that ho was a piiate or a privateer, for pirates never attack except -when booty is to be gained, and privateers fight only under compulsion. The engagement with the Kearsage goes far to prove that the ravages inflicted on American commerce by the Alabama were acts of legitimate warfare, designed to cripple the enemy's resources, and not merely to benefit the captor; and Captain Semmes and his officers are entitled to respect as gallant and patriotic servants of their country. Of the English crew it can only be said that they were true to their adopted flag, and that, like the seamen of former times, they were as Tead) for a desperate combat, without the prospect of gain, as for the pursuit of plunder. The irregularity of their proceedings may be condoned, as the Federal navy also is largely manned by Englishmen. The incidents of the combat will bo interesting to the numerous speculators on gunnery, shipbuilding, and naval tactics. Although the Kearsage had no iron plates, the cables which were judiciously passed round some portion of her hull served the same purpose, with the additional advantage of deceiving tho adversary. Her armament was superior both in number of guns and in weight of metal, and her crew was somewhat more numerous. Tho Alabama was perhaps swifter than her adversary, and it seems that she trusted to her speed; but the Kearsage was, for some unexplained reason, able to keep up a greater pressure of steam, and consequently to determine tho distance between tho combatants. The guns of the Alabama were more rapidly served, but the fire of the Kearsage told with fatal effect. The action was highly creditable to both parties, and tho victory was fairly won. It was previously known that the Kearsage was in the highest state of discipline, and that the captain and officers did credit to the American service ; and, on the other hand, the veteran crew of the Alabama had abundant reason for confidence in their commander, and in tho vessel in which they had traversed every sea. Although conduct and courage are still as indispensable as in former times, it seems that tho fate of naval battles will henceforth depend almost exclusively on'mechanical causes. The contest will be between iron projectiles and iron armour, and tho result will become a, matter of calculation. Boarding has perhaps already become obsolete, and a cannonade at close quarters w&uld bo' immediately fatal to one or both of the combatants. The Alabama was well adapted for the service in which' she was principally emjiloyed, but her wooden sides were too weak for a regular action. It will still be necessary for naval powers to build fast cruisers for the polico of tho seas, but formal hostilities will be-confined to ironclads large enough to carry tho heaviest guns.