1862.] Mr, Scott Bussell on the Iron Walls of England. 503 



WEEKLY EVENING MEETING, 



Friday, May 16, 1862. 



Sir Henry Holland, Bart. M.D. D.C.L. F.R.S. Vice-President, 

 in the Chair. 



John Scott Russell, Esq. F.R.S. 



On the Iron Walls of England, 



It was not the first time the speaker had been allowed the honour of 

 expounding such truths as had been the object of his special study, 

 but he had never treated on one of so great national inaportance. He 

 was somewhat rash, perhaps, in accepting from the Managers the title 

 of this address, — rash because the subject was then in a state of transi- 

 tion. It was even worse now, for it had come to what geologists had 

 called a " slip ;" he might almost say he found himself at " fault." 

 What he had to say now was as different as possible from what he 

 should have said when he made the promise. Six or eight months ago 

 he should have met here a formidable phalanx of adversaries — amongst 

 them nearly all the naval officers — arrayed against him as the advocate 

 of iron ships of war, and he should have had to argue every point as 

 he proceeded. But unfortunately now we were all on one side ; the 

 pugilistic encounter which might then have entertained his audience 

 could not come off. Twelve months ago he had written a pamphlet 

 showing that the end of wooden men-of-war was at hand, and that it 

 was a sin and a shame to send our sailors to sea in them ; but the 

 authorities of that day brought their guns to bear upon him and com- 

 pletely demolished him. Since then, however, he had got up again ; 

 and his heterodoxy had become orthodoxy, and he thought there would 

 be no opponent of " iron walls " for the future. About the beginning 

 of the year we were on the eve of war with a people who, whatever 

 their faults, have never hesitated to adopt for war the fittest weapons, 

 — who, long before rifles were introduced into our army, were cele- 

 brated for their use of them and for their manufacture, — to whom we 

 are indebted for the revolvers we found so useful in India, and which, 

 whether they invented them or not, they brought to perfection. That 

 people excelled also in ships ; for while the English people, priding 

 themselves on the beautiful " wave lines " on which their fast steamers 

 were built, were slow to perceive the advantage of the same lines for 

 sailing ships ; the Americans adopted them for their sailing vessels, 

 and came over and beat our fleetest yachts in our own waters. It 



