In the House of Lords on Tuesday Lord Selborne made
an mrortant statement in answer to a question addressed to him
by Lord Wilton. Lord Wilton wanted to know whether, in view of the recent experiments with capped projectiles, it was intended to strengthen the armoured belt of the Monmouth' class of cruisers, and also whether it was intended to provide our ships with an adequate number of capped projectiles. Lord Selborne in reply declared that the ten ships of the 'Monmouth' class were already far advanced towards completion, and if at the present time the Board of Admiralty were so ill-advised as to endeavour to recast the whole design of those vessels the result could not be satisfactory, and the delay would be very great. It was impossible to combine every quality in every ship. With regard to the adoption of capped shot, that was, in the opinion of naval experts, as he stated last year, not a simple but an extremely complex question. But, said Lord Selborne, and here all thinking men will agree with him, the essential thing is that the men behind the gun should know bow to shoot. "Every officer in his Majesty's Navy should understand that his primary and most important duty is to make the men under him the best shots in the world." We are delighted to find that the Admiralty has at last come to recognise the truth of Farragut's illuminating doctrine that accurate and rapid gun-fire is the best form of armour.—It will be remembered how in the action off Santiago the Gloucester,' an armed yacht, successfully engaged a Spanish ironclad which could have sunk her with one shot simply by a fire so quick and rapid that it prevented the enemy working his guns with any effect.—Let us hope that, having officially recognised the paramount importance of good shooting, the Board will give all the encouragement in their power to officers and men who make good practice. That certainly has not been the official custom hitherto.
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