On Sunday last an Imperial Irade was issued at Con-
stantinople approving the appointment of Rear-Admiral Gamble, of the British Navy, for two years at a salary of £3,000 a year to superintend the reorganisation of the Turkish Navy. There seems to be a general consensus of opinion that no better officer than Admiral Gamble could have been found to undertake this very difficult task. He will, we fear, have very uphill work before him, for the Turkish Navy has been allowed by the old regime to fall into a condition of the utmost decrepitude. At the same time, the Turks make excellent sailors. The provision of officers competent to carry out the duties of a modern naval commander will no doubt be a hard task. Englishmen, however, have a genius for improvi- sation of all sorts, and we shall not be in the least surprised' if Admiral Gamble manages to make very fair bricks in spite• of the apparent absence of straw. He has been described by the Times as a smart, zealous, and popular officer, and these are certainly the qualities which his friends would attribute to him. They are also just the qualities needed.
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