SECOND SUBMARINE BOAT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11399, 17 April 1899, Page 8

SECOND SUBMARINE BOAT.

7• . « WARNING BY A FRENCH ADMIRAL.

With characteristic esprit, the French are making, the, submarine boat business quite the question of the hour, and are evidently sincere in the belief that they now possess a weapon of a. force and importance the most absolutely incredible. Ih, noting that the " Matin " subscription for a submarine boat, to be called Le Francais, to the State has reached a total of 178,501 franc's; the Standard correspondent says that the French journal publishes a long interview with a prominent n:\val officer at-tached-to the Ministry of Marine, entitled, " What would have happened?" in which the officer findea.vpied.to shp.w that-'with one vessel of the Gustave-Zede type the Spaniards, could have forced the United States to raise the blockade'bf HHVana,'"and would also have been the means of forcing the American fleet. to withdraw'from-Santiago, and so have allowed Admiral Cervera's fleet to escape. This officer,..who ,took .part m the recent experiments with the Gustavc-Zede, ' admits that, whilst in his, mind, .the problem Of submarine navigation is "solved, there is yet room for much improvement. For instance, he thinks that I the'pr.ifent vessel'is tod'long, and that if it wore reduced some 26ft, leaving its length just over 110 ft. it-would- be much easier for tho men who form its crew to handle. But with-these reserves,,he is, enthusiastic over the invention. The local papers in all parts of France, are opening branch subscriptions to the " Statin's" fund, aiid several large engineering firms havo gone so far as to offer to construct "parts "of the vessel, or its machinery, free of cost, or for the out-of-pecket cxi penste... i. . [ Writing in tho " Gaulois," Admiral Dupont. says-i—" The,, recejit trials of the GustaveZede, the presence of the Minister of Marine at these trials, and especially the note, in a oei'taiii'Sense"t)fn_i.Vl. wiiidfj gave forth to the world the success obtained, sec-m to me to have somewhat excited -public -opinion, which, always ready to overshoot the mark, will conclude, Jf cq_,-e is . .not talceu, by attributing to the submarine boat qualities which it cannot possess, and a condition of perfection which hits not yet'lieen'i-eaclied. From this point to attributing to them a part which they can never ploy in- -warfare, and forcing ■ out naval constructions on a wrong road is but a single step. It is necessary that, on the question of submarine vessels, the public should clearly; understand that, in a naval war, they have no other than the extremely limited mission of rendering difficult and sometimes d_.ng.e-.Ous :the 'blockade of a friendly port, lt is certainly something, but that fs .certainly all. The British have never been mistaken. Owing to the undoubted power of thou; fleei,making it .improbable, almost impossible, for one of their ports to be blockaded, they have concerned themselves very lit'fle with torpedo boats, preferring to build destroyers, with which to annihilate these vessels." and'-they only scorn to have slightly concerned themselves with tiie submarine .navigation .question." ; The admiral thinks that, for the present, the French Government should content itself with perfecting tho Gu.lavc-Zede, and conducting further experiments, before commencing to build ifmim'ber of these vessels, which, probably, would be out of date in the very near future.