as compared with 5,400 tons in the unarmoured ship. But the horse-power of the ironclad was 3,500, while that of the unarmoured ship was raised to 7,500, the enormous increase being required in order to gain 3 knots additional speed. Both ships were constructed to carry 12½-ton guns; but in the case of the 'Shannon' the hull and machinery and the two 18-ton bow guns are protected by 9-inch armour. Compared therefore with the fast unarmoured ships, the 'Shannon,' in the opinion of Mr. Barnaby, will have all the advantages of a first-class ironclad, and would be as unassailable as the 'Hercules' or the 'Sultan.' It is not pretended that the 'Shannon' would compare with the 'Alexandra,' but then two 'Shannons' can be built for the cost of one 'Alexandra.'
M. Dislère. Passing on to the most recent expressions of professional opinion on this subject, I may refer to the principles so forcibly advocated by M. Dislère in his able work, 'La Marine Croisière.' The displacement must be limited, both because it is desirable to avoid building unhandy ships, and because it is necessary to distribute the strength of the navy, so that all its resources may not be concentrated in a few hulls, exposed, the large no less than the small, to the various dangers of navigation and naval combat. We must therefore give a due proportion to the various elements, which all combine to make the cruiser the distant representative of the national power. No one of these elements must be sacrificed to another, which the fashion of the day represents as of primary neces-
