THEN AND NOW.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1556, 14 September 1886, Page 3

THEN AND NOW.

In its account of the great naval demonstration held at Portsmouth in honor of the colonials, The Times has the following interesting remarks regarding a visit paid to Nelson’s vessel the Victory and the iron monsters by which the “ wooden walls of Old England have been supplanted ” }— Others, partly influenced by the rain, and partly by historic associations, had meantime taken the opportunity of boarding the famous flagship of Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar, the weather and warscarred Victory, which bad been brought from its moorings in the stream alongside the railway ietty for the general convenience. Battle ships and the munitions of modern naval warfare can only be adequately appreciated by the few, but as the colonies, in forming an integral portion of the Empire, became also the heirs to ils tradition and glory, they share with England the honor which the hero bequeathed to the Mother Country. In the words of Southey, “ The most triumphant death is that of the martyr j the moat awful that of the martyred patriot 5 the moat splendid that of the hero in the hour of victory. And if the chariot aod horses of fire had been vouchsafed for Nelson’s translation, ho could scarcely have departed in a brighter blaae of glory,” The Victory remains a vener&b'e, venerated, but perishable monument, alike o| Nelson’s triumph and his death. On going on board, the visitors, were s hown the very spot on which lire hero fell and the cockpit wliiihe he waa carried upon nceiviug th

fatal wound. Here he lay fanned by the chaplain ond pursers while the doc'or, at hiR own i quest., was attending to the nameless >4minded. Here he cried out in agony aggravated by the continued concussion of the guns —“Ob! Victory I Victory ! how you distract ray poor brain !” and where he expired with the last words upon his lip—“ Mow lam satisfied. Thank God ! I have done my duty," after having learnt that fourteen ships of the enemy had surrendered. They were also shown one of the old topsails which carried the ship into action, a sample of the guns which contributed to the vie tory, and the immortal signal blazoned in front of the poop. The inspection of the Victory, combined with what they had seen of arniourdads and the scientific accessories of modern naval warfare, enabled them to draw a suggestive contrast between the n >vy of to-day and that of the time of Nelson, and to understand how a change in a single factor involves changes all round. Between the noble ships of the line, lhe wooden walls by means of which the Admiral was enabled to vanquish the combined naval strength of France and Spain, and the Colossus, for example, no useful comparison can be instituted. The conditions and characteristics of the two vessels are utterly : :at variance. The Victory measures 226£ft in extreme 1 mgfeh, the gun deck 186lt, the beam 52ft, and the depth of hold 21£ft, and yet, in spite of these ample .proportions, being entirely built of wpodjher tonnage wbt-n fullv equipped for ad ion, did not exc-ed 2200 tons, or a trifle less than the tonnage of the Hotspur. But while the tuiret-ship mounts only a brace, of 25-ton guns and as many 64 pounders, the Victory carried int > action at Trafalgar 104 guns, composed of 32, 24, »ud 12 pounders. The entiie wi-ight of tier broadside amounted to o'ly 1160 b, whereas the two guns of the Rupert dif charge an aggregate weight of 12001 b, while' one of the 80-ion guns of the Inflexible fires a projectile weighing 170011). In other words, one of the lufl rxible’a guns throws a mass of metal exceeding in weight the entire broadside of the Victory by over 500 b, with an augmentation of energy utterly inconceivable, The Victory is built of wood ami the Hotspur of iron ; the former was driven by sails, the latter is mastless and nlies entirely upon steam for her propulsion.