EFFICIENCY OF OUR FLEET. A bather disquieting article upon the condition of the British Navy is contributed by Mr fl. W. Wilson to the Nineteenth Century. On four or five points this authority indicts the efficiency of the fleet. If Great Britiain can get her ships built more cheaply than other Powers, that, Mr Wilson says, is because the speed of construction is sacrificed, and in support of this statement he asserts that there are battleships now three years in hand, though a period of twenty four months is proved by experience to be sufficient for their construction. And Mr Wilson further alleges that the fleet jp being is inefficient. “The French Northern squadron,” he writes, " is composed ‘qf seyep battleships, two of whiph are per fectly modern and the other five of which have been fpodernistd, stripped of their wood, re-hpilerefl, and for the most part rearmed, In our total of ten battleships is po vessel of recent date. All ten are filled inflammable wood fittings, and, in the words of a foreign officer who knows them, and who saw the fight ing at Santiago, would burn like tai barrels. One of the ten still carries muzzle-loaders; not one has smoke less powder for her heavy guns, though, according to the latest American Intelligence Department report, smokeless powder has long been considered abroad to be ab solutely essential.” In quality and power their artillery is inferior to that of their possible French op ponents. Whereas the French ships are all high free-board vessels, with good sea-going qualities, our ten are, with one exception, low free-board ships. One of them at the last manoeuvres could only steam 111 knots; another was good for no n on-, than 12. The fleet has no coiiitib, in; repair sbii/s, ~o adequate number oi cruisers attached to it.” Mr Wilson supplements this heavy indictment with the allegation that our guns can only be loaded in one

position, whereas the FreDch heavy guns and those on the American, German, and Russian ships can be loaded in any position, and that, while in the foreign ships every large quiek-firer is supplied with an electric ammunition hoist, in addi tion to a hand-operated hoist, our Bhips have the hand-hoist alone. 