Not large shipsships. The class of vessels required for the vedettes and sentries of a fleet of line-of-battle ships, to do for the fleet what the cavalry does for an army, requires more consideration than has yet been given to the subject. The sailing fleets of olden times were attended by a numerous flotilla of corvettes, brigs, gunboats, and cutters. In the present day the screw ship of the line has acquired the same mobility as the smallest and lightest vessel; but, just as in military operations on land, a whole battalion should not be told off to take the post of a sentry, nor a regiment of cavalry to escort a solitary staff officer, nor 130 pieces of cannon to convoy a letter, so it would be a culpable waste of power to employ powerful and costly ships in services of secondary importance.
A general concurrence of opinion can be shown to exist on this question abroad and at home, and both in and out of Parliament. In the debate on the Navy Estimates of 1866, Mr. Hanbury Tracy said there was 'a prevalent impression throughout the Navy that first seagoing cruisers and despatch boats were what we wanted for the safety of our commerce. The cruising vessels should be able to go thirteen to fourteen knots, while the despatch vessels should have a speed of from fifteen to sixteen knots.' In the same debate Mr. Graves said that 'we wanted swift handy vessels of moderate size, capable of remaining at sea twelve months under canvas, and of steaming at a high rate of speed on an emergency.' We require for cruising purposes, for showing the British flag in foreign ports in time of