Mr. Reed, late Chief Naval Constructor, holds out a pleasing
prospect, nothing less than that of another reconstruction of the Navy. In a lecture on Wednesday to the Society of Arts, he declared that the problem of defence against torpedoes must be at- tacked from a different side. The Whitehead torpedo travels " for some hundreds of yards at double the speed of the fastest iron- -clad, and its path is so sure and true, that at that distance a second torpedo can be made to pass through the hole which the first has made." Such a torpedo would destroy a great ship, and the only way to avoid its impact is to build ships so small that they can be handled quickly enough to get out of the way. No more great ironclads must be built, and those we have must be protected below water with chain-nettings. Mr. Reed also pointed out that wealth was no longer necessary to a Power defending itself from mari- time attack. Any State, however small, could purchase torpedoes, which, though they cost £400 or £500 each, "can be discharged from any boat whatever," provided with certain inexpensive fittings.
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