PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2302, 14 April 1898, Page 51

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

British and Foreign Warships : A <]omi>i?.risou.

v Last week I cold you that my Mend, when entering Nagasaki, remarked to the pilot that the British warships in the harbour seemed inferior to the French and Russian ones there, but that the pilot thought that they were more seaworthy and mere likely to last out an engagement. The opinion of the pilot has been confirmed ; by an article .dealing with this same question. Tha opinion had been expressed that the stem and stern guns on British ships didn't carry heavy enough metal, and that the ships could not hurl as much metal per ton as their probable opponents; in short, that they are not built for stem and stern firing, and that they are tmder-weaponed. Tho writer j controverts these statements.- He says that ! stem" and stern firing will be avoided, for in | firing distance- is more at- fault than direction, so there is a far greater chance of a shot getting home on a vessel 600 ft long than.on one of 500 ft, so long ships will avoid end firicg ; then in broadside firing,. a few feefe extra in wJdih does not expose so much surface to an attack as an addition to the length, while an additional width gives far i more stability. In this way the writer [ proves that the shorter, broader vessels ara i far more effective as fighting machines — j rolling iesa, being better sea ships, and offering less surface go the enemy. Is he right ? .He.tbiqks he is, at any rate, and goes so far j aa to say that the heavy stem and stern guns cow being mounted on battle ships are only put there by the force of popular opinion, i and against the better judgment of the authorities.

Then, &s to the guns carried and weight of metal they can hurl, he thinks there i& no need to be alarmed — firsv, because a mistaken comparison is being made ; and, secondly, because the heavier armaments _of Francs and Russia are useless. Ho reasons something like this : a 15,Q00-toc British ihip has the same armament as an 11,000 or 12,000 ton battle ship that will probably bs pitted .against her, the 3000 or 4000 tons giving extra stability, extra "magazine room, and extra coal capacity, the latter appreciably increasing the safety by protecting msgszines and engines. In dealing with the guns carried, he says that the comparatively lighter British armaments are heavy enough for the ships, and that heavier would "bs a positive datger. Even with the 3000 ton margin it is not thought advisable to fire a broadside unless necessity arises, and when a broadside ia fired from battle ships of the Majestic class they are sent Gffc "sideways through the water ; and though undergunned according to some critics, they can belch forth 30 shots a minute.

Take two battle ships as types and to illustrate the differences. The Terrible, one 6*f the latest additions, is a battle ship of 14,200 tons displacement, and she carries two 9*2 in guns and 12 Gin. The Rossia, 12,130 tons, carries four Bin guns, 16 6in, and six 4 7in — a very much heavier armament ; but the strain of firing broadsides from her in practice split her decks, and her officers give her five minutes to sink herself when firing broadsides in actual warfare. One of the batlle ships in the Black Sea hasn't yet fired a broadside, presumably for the same reason ; and it is hinted that the Gangnt, which went down last Jane near Viborg, didn't strike a reef, but practically wrenched herself to pieces by broadside firing.

It remains to be seen what type is the best, for though naval experts of all nations watched closely the naval engagements be- ? tween Japan and China, there will be no reliable data to go upon until European nations pitch into one another. One thing : iE we are right she Japs are tco, for they are building by British models. ~ One cannot help shrinking with horror at the terrific loss of life that will take place when the naval powers do try their strength, and it won't be slaughter only bit wholesale scalding and drowning also. Some of the battle shipg now afloat carry between seven j 'and eight hundred men. In batlle most will likely be manoeuvred on forced draught, '

which means engineers and firemen closed down below with hardly the possibility of escape. There will be no riddling and disU masting, and then, as in Nelson's time, "■ refitting to take position in lino of '■batfeie aa good as ever in "the hexfc action. Fewer shot? may get home, but they will be deadlier, and once a vital .patb is .pierced the eDa will come "with "terrific despatch. In action the men showing the"gr«atest amount of quiet resolution and the greatest bravery will be those below,- going to certain death if the ship sicks, for they wiir have less excitement to keep the mind engaged, and the consequent tension of mind in conjunction with the greater risk will be more likely to make men "fearful. x Oa the decks the dangers will be thick enough, but the bustle and change, tha greater" freedom and the greater chance of getting -away when the vessel is about to sink,- will lessen -the thoughts of conse-quences,-and prevent^ distressful tension of mind., . . - Shortly after sending away my "copy" laj3t-_week I saw tha_t a gnsss I had hazarded had become a fact. Britain is to get Wei-hai-wei'alter it is evacuated by the Japs nest week. So far so good, but that doesn't prevent Bnssia from annexing Manchuria and getting- the ascendancy in Chinese polities; .Britain held, out for. the inter gity of China and Freetrade. China is being dismembered, and it ia'-as gure-that Britain's trade with Manchuria will be hampered as it is that day foJlows the night. What is the end, going to be ? Scliooltoqy Blunders; A late issue of the University Corresponj deiit, an * educational "paper published at Home, gives a number of blunders— blunders as ingenious as they'are ingenuous. Here are some oE them : — ' - 1. Magna Charla stated that no man was to pay taxes unless he wanted to. 2. Milton ia called the Morning Star of the' Reformation. He wrote "Canterbury Tales' aud other works.

;" 3. Hamlet is 6he author of Sb*kespearefc* j plays, and a treat musical composer. [- 4. The "Essays of Eli*" were the attempts of Elijah .to get food "when the ravens fed him.

5. The Suez Canal is of great importance, becauso thore *re -largo sewage works in the middle of it. ' , 6.. D.C. at the end «f a pieci of music means " Don't clap." ■-- 7. On Ihe obverse of a penny is represented the figure of Queen Victoria on a bicycle. 8. When a lady faints in church the treatment is, to put her head between the knees of the nearest medical man.

9. Algebra is a natural science wbich changes figures. into letters. -

10. Sines 12 x 7 = 84- .• . 7x12 = 48. 11. A mandrake lias always been a rare animal— in facb, I believe that they are extinofc. We hear of them ia the Bible, bub no mention is made of the females, because they were sfcill fewer than the males. The female was known as a womandnck. 12. " The shades of night were falling fast" means f.hab people were palling down their blinds, • 13.- A" molten" icinge is the imago of an animal moulting. t can quite understand the blunders in 1, 2, 3, 4,. 8, 9, , and ,,10.; they are. .simply a general mix up of. undigested information. The youngsters have been taught tha work, * but -owing to- prominence being given by the teacher to some idea, or to some point being < brought into reli»f by the bent of the pupil, ; or owing to the unlimited capacity children j have for. mixing up what is not interesting I to them — and in this respect ' they resemble ' their seniors— owing to these causes s.ve the blunders made. But- the rest, exc&ptiag 5, are pure gusset— at least I think so— aoade by youngsters wlio won'fc be hanged Ky-and-bye for want of an excuse to go free. And two or three display a considerable amount of humour. Imagine the Queen on a bike I In 5, I think, "sewage works" stands for "Bitter Lakes," and I have known of worse. When on the wharf the other day I heard a man talking to another about tho sinking of the Laira. " Owing to the suciure (suction) ifc wottld be a difficult matter to raise her," said he, and he continued : " They'll have to pat the drag (dredge) on and proclaim (reclaim) some more ground " (inferring to the alleged shallow pi^ece where the Wakatipn " smelt " the bottom). When in Sydney at Christmas, a man speaking to rae when going up the Parramatta made more outrageous blunders than I thought it possible for a. man of average intelligence to make. He was an observant man, willing tc« give any information he possessed, and I really enjoyed the chat, not on account of the blundering, though that was entertaining, but on account of the knowledge he possessed- of fche history pact, and present of the places passed — knowledge I subsequently proved to be correct;. I dare say that my readers could furnish me with columns to corroborate what I have written on the carelessness of jorne, or their incapacity to take in words fiorrectly. These know the meaning they intend to convey, aud we are generally able to understand them, though their conversation at times is extremely .diverting. — Jones : " A golden wedding 1 Why, mau, you've only been married three years I " Groans : " I know, but it seems like 50 1 "