330 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



building. Four new sloops (the "Torch," "Alert," 

 " Phoenix," and Algerine") were finished and ready 

 for service by spring, and there were 22 destroyers 

 in commission. One of the latest of the torpedo- 

 boat destroyers is the "Desperate," 210 feet over all, 

 with 19.V feet beam and a depth of 13| feet, built of 

 mild steel, with engines of 5,600 horse power that, 

 with a consumption of 2| pounds of coal per horse 

 power per hour, give her a speed of 30A knots. The 

 battle ship " Renown " was completed in the sum- 

 mer. The cruisers of the " Niobe " or " Androme- 

 da" class are called small " Povverfuls." They have 

 a length of 435 feet, a breadth of 09 feet, a draught 

 of 29i feet, a displacement of 11,000 tons, 16.500 

 horse power, intended to give a speed of 20^ knots, 

 a coal capacity of 2,000 tons, and a battery of 16 6- 

 inch guns, with a strong auxiliary armament and 2 

 torpedo tubes. The protective deck is 4 inches on 

 the slope. In the new programme are 7 cruisers of 

 the "Arrogant " class, resembling the " Doris " type, 

 but a little heavier, having a displacement of 5.750 

 tons and a speed of 19 knots. The new first-class 

 deck-protected cruisers, besides the "Eclipse," " Mi- 

 nerva," and" Talbot," comprise the "Diana."" Dido." 

 " Doris," " Isis," " Juno," " Venus," " Powerful," 

 " Terrible," " Diadem," " Europa," " Niobe," " Ar- 

 gonaut," " Ariadne," " Amphitrite," and " Sparti- 

 ate," which were all ordered and several were 

 launched before December, 1896. The 9 of the 

 " Talbot " class have 5,600 tons displacement, 9,600 

 horse power, a speed of 19i knots, and an armament 

 of 5 6-inch, 6 4'7-inch, and smaller quick-firing guns. 

 The " Powerful " and " Terrible " have a displace- 

 ment of 14,200 tons, engines of 25,000 horse power, 

 a speed of 22} knots, and an armament of 2 9'2-inch, 

 12 6-inch, 18 12-pounder, and 12 3-pounder quick- 

 firing guns. These were the first ships to be fitted 

 with water-tube boilers. Their length is 500 feet, 

 with a breadth of 71| feet and 27 feet draught. 

 The others are improved "Blenheims " of 11,000 tons 

 displacement, a 4-inch protective deck with a rise of 

 10 feet, engines producing 16,500 horse power, or in 

 the last 4 18,000 horse power, making a speed of over 

 20 knots, and an armament of 16 6-inch rapid-fire 

 guns. 14 12-pounders, 3 3-pounders, 8 Maxims, and 

 3 torpedo tubes. Three new cruisers of the improved 

 " Talbot " type have been ordered, and these will 

 have a length of 360 and a breadth of 54 feet, with 

 a displacement of 5,870 tons, a wood and copper 

 sheathing, Belleville boilers developing 10,000 horse 

 power, giving a speed of 20 knots, and greater coal 

 capacity and a better battery than the vessels of 

 this type already built. Of these the " Venus" was 

 ready in September. The speed was 19 knots. 

 These vessels are armed with 5 6-inch, 8 4'7-inch, 

 and 8 12-pounder rapid-fire guns, all protected 

 with shields, and machine guns in military tops. 

 There were under construction 8 battle ships, 21 

 cruisers, and 40 torpedo-boat destroyers in the spring 

 of 1896, when Mr. Goschen announced a new ship- 

 building programme, to embrace 5 battle ships of 

 the " Renown " type improved, 4 first-class cruisers 

 of the " Diadem " class, 3 second-class cruisers of 

 the " Talbot " class, 6 third-class cruisers of the 

 "Pelorus" class, and 28 torpedo-boat destroyers. 

 The latest battle ships will have a length of 390 

 feet and a breadth of 74 feet, the same coal endur- 

 ance as the " Majestic" class, though of 2,000 tons 

 less displacement, and the armament will be the 

 same, and the speed somewhat greater, owing to the 

 water-tube boilers, but the armor is not so thick. 

 All the ships, both of the new and of the old pro- 

 gramme, are to be completed and ready for sea by 

 July, ls;j'J. Ordnance will be turned out as rapidly 

 as possible, not only to equip the new, but to rearm 

 the older ironclads. 

 The naval-works bill of 1895 involved the expendi- 



ture of 8,500,000 and the new programme will 

 require 5,500,000 more, including the expense of 

 2 docks at Gibraltar in addition to the one already 

 building. These improvements will cost 3,000,000. 

 Docks are also to be constructed at Simon's Bay and 

 Mauritius. The augmented navy will require an in- 

 crease in the personnel of 4,900 officers and men, 

 making 93.700 in all. 



In January, 1896, soon after President Cleveland 

 sent his message to the Senate on the Venezuelan 

 question, and immediately after Kaiser Wilhelm 

 addressed his congratulations to President Krliger, 

 of the South African Republic, on his victory over 

 the Jameson raiders, a flying squadron was hastily 

 placed in commission, consisting of the flagship 

 " Revenge," the battle ship "Royal Oak," the first- 

 class cruisers "Gibraltar " and " Theseus," the sec- 

 ond-class cruisers " Charybdis " and " Hermione," 

 and 6 torpedo-boat destroyers. It was never defi- 

 nitely announced what particular object the Govern- 

 ment had in view when the squadron was formed. 

 It proceeded to Ireland, and remained there till the 

 middle of May, when it was disbanded. 



Commerce. The total value of the imports in 

 1895 was 416,687,630, against 408,344,810 in 1894. 

 The exports of British products were 226,169,174, 

 against 215.824.333 in the preceding year, and the 

 exports of foreign and colonial products 59.970,- 

 763, a_ r ainst 57.901.534. making the total imports 

 702,827,567, against 682,180,677. There are no 

 protective duties levied by the British Government, 

 but only revenue duties on a small list of articles, 

 comprising chicory, cocoa, coffee, dried fruits, 

 spirits, tea. tobacco, and wine, the imports of which 

 in 1894 amounted to 27,882,822, while the imports 

 free of duty had a total value of 380,461,988. The 

 imports of dutiable articles of food and drink dur- 

 ing the calendar year 1895 were valued at $25,097,- 

 513; of tobacco, 3,472.256; of articles of food and 

 drink free of duty, 140,125,616; of live animals 

 for food, 8,966,252; of metals. 18,645,036; of 

 chemicals, dyes, and tan, 6,558,249: of oils, 8,110,- 

 625; of raw textile materials, 70,772,860; of raw 

 materials for various industries and manufactures, 

 44,114,973; of manufactured articles, 75,625,242; 

 of miscellaneous articles, 14,355,380; imports by 

 parcel post, 978,101 ; total value of imports, 416,- 

 687.630. The imports of wheat were 152,598,320 

 bushels, not including flour. Of flour 18,368,410 

 hundredweight was imported, and of this 13,131,- 

 850 hundredweight came from the United States. 

 The total imports of cereals and flour were 179.927.- 

 450 hundredweight; of bacon and hams, 5.352.936 

 hundredweight; of butter, 2,825,682 hundred- 

 weight; of margarine, 940,168 hundredweight; of 

 cheese, 2,1,33,809 hundredweight ; of beef, 2,410,538 

 hundredweight ; of preserved meat, 856,255 hun- 

 dredweight; of fresh mutton, 2,610,375 hundred- 

 weight ; of spirits. 8.214,345 gallons ; of wine, 14.- 

 635^68 gallons ; of tea. 221.800.140 pounds; of raw 

 sugar, 17.010.002 hundredweight ; of refined sugar. 

 14,147.273 pounds. The values of the principal im- 

 ports in 1895 were: Cereals and flour. 49.178.252: 

 raw cotton, 30.429,070; wool, 26,031.550: meat. 

 23.769,638; raw and refined sugar, 17.685,01:!: 

 butter and margarine, 16,802,400; timber and 

 wood, 15,782.936; silk manufactures, 15.090.707; 

 tea, 10,278,602; woolen manufactures, 10,275,- 

 279; flax, hemp, and jute. 9.715,312: animals, 

 8,966,252; oils, 8,110,625; leather, 8,051,511; 

 chemicals, dyestuffs, etc., 0.558.249 ; seeds, 6.200.- 

 230; fruits and hops, 5.510.330: wine, 5,412,OS4 ; 

 cheese, 4,674,181 ; eggs, 4.003.440 ; coffee, 3.7sO.- 

 958; tobacco, 3,337,783; iron manufactures, 

 l'3.299,374; iron ore, 2,977,952; copper ore, 

 2.807.558; tin, 2,631,038; copper partly manu- 

 factured, etc., 1,831,806 ; currants and raisins, 



