Rival Navies.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5623, 19 November 1889, Page 4

Rival Navies.

The London correspondent of the N.Z. Times writes :— " It has always been the proud boast of Englishmen that their navy had never been surpassed and seldom equalled by any other nation. No doubt up to the present there is some truth in this theory. But recent events show that ie is possible for the proud boast to be useless. It has always been a standing cry against the Americans that they had no army of any standing, and that their .iavy was nowhere. The Americans have always replied, " We do not require an army or navy here, save for ornamental purposes. While European ideas run on war ours run on trade. You may fight just as often as you like— we'll find you provisions, and that pays us best." Although this theory has been well kept by the Americans, a change has come over their ideas of late. They find that although desiring peace they must in common with the rest of the world be prepared for whatever turns up. Lately they have paid considerable attention to the reconstruction of their navy. They have just launched a new man-of-war, a swift cruiser, the Baltimore, and if they intend to turn out more vessels of this class England must look to her laurels. The Baltimore was designed of course by an Englishman, Mr W. H. White, Director of Naval Construction to the British Government. She was built by Cramp Brothers, of Philadelphia. Her makers guaranteed a speed of I<> knots with 9000 horse-power. On her trial trip out to sei in rough weather she steamed 200 miles and maintained an average speed of 18*7 nots. In smooth water she made 14 9 knots for six hours at half power. Then for four hours at full steam ahead she made 20"2 knots. Now, the recent autumn manoeuvres by the British fleet showed that the best vessel we possess could not make over 15 knots in average weather. So the Americans are beating the Mother Country on tho point hitherto thought imurcnable. Tiia soorot uerhans is that to-dajTthere is more genuine articles sent out by America than there is by Great Britain. American manufacturers of all goods have found out that honesty is the best policy, and they have evidently applied this to warships, as they have to canned fruits. The great fault, more especially with Government work in England, is that it is dreadfully "scamped." The late swords, which bent like tin, and the bayonets,, *vhieh doubled up at the least pressure, are examples of this crime.

The Pall Mall Budget has the following : — "Government House at Wellington, New Zealand, from which Lord Onslow has been driven by typhoid, is a large wooden building without any pretensions to beauty. Nevertheless, these great wood houses strike one as having a certain indefinable beauty of their own. It nestles under the rugged circle of Hills upon which half of Wellington is built. Wellington is not a smelly town. It could not be if it would, for the Wellington wind is a blast to be remembered. In fact, it is famous for its winds. It is the stock joke of the colony, that you can always tell a Wellington man wherever he is, for he always keeps his hand on his headpiece. I daresay Wellington will be glad of a good word just now, for typhoid has an ugly sound. It is one of the loveliest places in the world to live in, and one of the healthiest. The houses on the upper slopes command a magnificent view of the lake-like bay, which is some eight or nine miles long, by four broad, and surrounded by noble and lofty ranges. The entrance to this splendid harbour is very narrow — like the neck of a bottle — and is invisible from every part of the town. The London correspondent of the Auckland Star states : — There have been more enquiries for passengers to New Zealand during the past three months than during the preceding five years. So, at least, the brokers say. Anyhow, the direct steamers up to November are full, and it is impossible to book through to New Zealand by P. and O. or Orient lines before January next. The number of tourists going to the Antipodes for the winter is, the P. and O. clerks state, exceptionally large. Shaw. Savill, and NowZealand Ship-

ping Company report that the demand for space for frozen mutton from Now Zealand in far greater than they can supply. This state of tilings, however, is not likely to last long, as several meat-carrying steamer companies are in emhnjo. Shaw, Savill know this, and by way of being beforehand, last week launched the first of three steamers intended expressly for this trade. The second is on the stocks, and a third will follow.