494 Mr, W, Fairhairn on the Properties of Iron, [May 9, 



Changes in Progress. — Having directed attention to the strength 

 of ships, and tlie necessity for their improved construction, we may now 

 advert to the changes by which we are surrounded and to the revolution 

 now pending over the destinies of the navy, and the deadly weapons 

 now forging for its destruction. It is not for us alone, but for all 

 other maritime nations, that these Cyclopean monsters are now issuing 

 from the furnaces of Vulcan ; and it behoves all those exposed to such 

 merciless enemies to be upon their guard, and to have their ' Warriors,* 

 * Merrimacs,' and ' Monitors ' ever ready, clothed in mail from stem to 

 stern to encounter such formidable foes. It has been seen, and every 

 experiment exemplifies the same fact, that the iron ship with its coat of 

 armour is a totally different construction to that of the wooden walls 

 which for centuries have been the pride and glory of the country. 

 Three-deckers, like the ' Victory ' and the ' Ville de Paris ' of the last 

 century, would not exist an hour against the sea-monsters now coming 

 into use. 



The days of our wooden walls are therefore gone ; and instead of 

 the gallant bearing of a 100-gun ship, with every inch of canvas set, 

 dashing the spray from her bows and careering merrily over the 

 ocean, we shall find in its place a black demon, some five or six hun- 

 dred feet long, stealing along with a black funnel and flag-staff on her 

 mission of destruction and scarcely seen above water, excepting only to 

 show a row of teeth on each side, as formidable as the immense iron 

 carcass that is floating below. This may, with our present impressions, 

 be considered a perspective of the future navy of England, — probably 

 not encouraging, — but one on which the security of the country may 

 ultimately have to depend, and to the construction of which the whole 

 power and skill of the nation should be directed. I have noticed these 

 changes, which are fast approaching, from the conviction that the pro- 

 gress of the applied sciences is not only revolutionizing our habits in 

 the development of naval constructions, as in every other branch of in- 

 dustry, but the art of war is undergoing the same changes as those 

 which have done so much for the industrial resources of the country in 

 times of peace. It is therefore necessary to prepare for the changes 

 now in progress, and endeavour to effect them on principles calculated, 

 not only to ensure security, but to place this country at the head of 

 constructive art. It is to attain these objects that a long and laborious 

 class of experiments have been undertaken by the Government, to de- 

 termine how the future navy of England shall be built ; how it should 

 be armed ; and under what conditions it can best maintain the supre- 

 macy of the seas. This question does not exclusively confine itself to 

 armour-plated vessels, but also to the construction of ships which, in 

 every case, should be strong and powerful enough to contend against 

 either winds and waves or to battle with the enemy. It is for these 

 reasons that I have ventured to direct attention to the strength of vessels, 

 and to show that some of our mercantile ships are exceedingly weak, 

 arising probably from causes of a mistaken economy on the one hand, 

 or a deficiency of knowledge or neglect of first principles on the other. 



