Sir William Armstrong On Swift Cruisers

ÓnSaturdáy aítornoon (April 9), in the presence of more than 100,000 spectators, the monster armor-clad war vessel Victoria, the heaVieét ever BUjpicBsfully (loatcd, waslaunchedfrom the Etewick shipyard of Sir W. G. Armstrdng, Mitchell & Co. (limited.) The following are the dimensions of the vessel: Lenglh 340 feet, breadth 70 feeL 0 inches, mean draft 26 feett 9 inches, displacement in tons 10,500, horse-power 12,000. She is protected by armor 18 inches thick, and will be arined with two 110-ton guns. The Victoria also possesses a powerful torpedo attack. She glided into the water gracefully, aftor having been christened by Mra. Forwood, wife of the secretary to the Admiralty, Mr. Forwood, M. P. Lord Charlea Beresford was present, and also Mr. V. K. White, Chief Constructor of the Navy. Sir William Arnistrong firet proOHcd the toast of " The Queen," and it was heartily responded to Sir William next proposed the toast of the day, "SllCCese to the Victoria." He said that she was not only the rlrst armor-clad thecompany had ever built, but was the heaviest ship that luid ever been successfully launched in this country. The Admiralty seemed disposed to slacken their expenditure upon theso gigantic vessels, and to expand their operations in the building of swift cruisers. and he liad always said thatwhat England wanted above All thins was a numerous Heet (hear, hear) of switt cruisers, not extemporized out of passender boats or merchant sliips, but built and especially adapted for the purpose for which they were intended - for the protection of our widespread commerce, and for aiding in the defence of our colonies. Now, for the purpose of compariscn bet ween thft ships of the present day and the ships of the past, he could take no more fitting examplethan the Victory of the old time and the Victoria of to-day. Nelson's ship, the Victoria, was one of the largest of her time, and yet her displacement, with everything on board, was only 3,500 tons. That of the Victoria of to-day w.is 10,500 tons. The Vietory, in accoi dance with the usage of her time, was built of oak. The Victoria, in ccördance with the usage of our lime, was built of iron. The Victory, of course, depended entirely upon the wind, while the Victoria was depen'lent upon steani. The speed of the Victory ander the most propitious oonditions was barely 13 knots an hour; white the Victoiia, propelled by her engines of J 2,000 horse power, would probably reach a speed of 17 knots per hour. The heaviest gun on board tho Victory was luider three tons, while the largest gun on board this vessel would be 110 tons. The larecit and heaviest shot used on board the Victory at Trafalgar was 38 [lounds; the largest and heaviest on board the. Victoria, would be 1,800 pounds. The weiglit of metal delivered from the Victory's broadside was only 1,150 pounds, whilethat delivered from the broadside of th Victoria would be 4.7(50 pounds. In point of rage, arlillory penetration, ahell power and so forth, tin difference was so enormous that a comparison could not be drawn. Tlie armament of the Victoria would be ; ivo l'uus of 110 tons firing ahead and on either side, one gun of 30 tons firing astein and on either side, 12 guns of 5 tons each in an armored battery, 12fi pound quick-firing guns, besidos machine cvins for smaller ammunition; and in addition to her artillery she had a powerful ram and eight torpedo discharges, four above water and four below. In the days ot the Victory a little ram was the practice and torpedoes were wholly unknown. Therefore, they could have no comparison in that respect. Another point on which the Victoria compared most favorably with the Victory was in the smallness of the number of men the Victoria would needto handle her. The complement of the Victoria was 850 officers and men. The Victoria was three times as big, and the number of men required was only 550, and of that number 110 were engineers and stokers. It was then impossible to work the armament of tho big guns now in uee. Hydraulic power was now used. Sir William proceeded to argne that the large amountof money spent upon the navy was not lost, but was benefical to the nation at larae in many ways, and he resumed his aeat amid loud cheers. - London Daily New.