Naval Reform
P. H. Colomb
1887
Royal United Services Institution Journal
It is rcqucstcd that cornmunicTtions or books for rciicw may bo addressed to Coloiicl Lonsdalo Hale, n t tho Rojnl United Scrvico Institution, Whitchnll Yard, London, S.W. NAVAL REFORJZ.' i\r. GannIEt CXI,~RMES Iind not, I believe, ppccially devoted hiuself to na\-al qucstions beforu lie wrote tlic article which forms the fiist chapter of tliis book, in tho "Revuc dcs deur ~[ O I I~C S " for I)cccmbcr, 1654. Jlc wu a gre:it writcr of articles of a raried cliamcter, and beino cssciitinlly a
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... ary J I I~I I , docs iiot appear to 1iaw bccn exceptionnlly q d f i e d for the task hc uiidertook in the proJuction of the book of wliicli that under review i3 :L \-cry successful tmiislitioii. TLc importance of the work rcsts less upon its authorship t h i on its bcing the litemy exponent of a school of nnvd policy of which Adniiral Aube lins become the acknowletlgcd head. IVheii thu Frcucli Admiralty, after clesipiiiig a IICW type of war vessel which eruboMrlies to a grcater or lesr extent thc principles advocitcd by our author, christened her the " Gabriel Cliarmes," they stamped thox principles with an official imprimatur, ant1 ndmittcd the weight of tlie writcr wlio enihdied them in their published form. So tlie book is in somc sort a bnroriieter by diich to gauge possible Prciicli iinvnl opinioii, nnd to foreast Frcncli naval action. As surll it denialids our arcful study, and u it real1 * trnvcrscs tlie w1iolc ground of iinvnl policy not only for Fixace, but tor nil naval natious, it offen everywhere coiltentiow matter, very suitable to briiig out truth in argument aiid discwsion. \ Tlic book 1135 tlic fault of too many Frciicli 2 1 3 V d u-riting.g in mistaking strength of assertion for verifidion of fact. Tkcrc .is notliiiig in it of tile 11u11iblc tom of the cloubtful but pcrsercrin,n inquirer; it is full of the corifdciicc of one \die kiio\~s, and is somenlint irritated by the want of coniprclieiisioii dis ilnyed by possible disciplcs. Herice to an EngIishman, accustomed to fee! liiniselt disciitangliiiy 3 provokingly ciifficult skciii, ill followiiig the evoliitioiis of the p i i , the ~x m , the torpcdo ; iron plating nud steel protcctioii ; lO,O@O-toii ship3, torpedo ~csseIs, gnn-and torpedo-boats ; scnrcli ; lights water pressures and air pressures ; the Cordinn method of 11. Clianiieu docs iiot nlm-nys coinriiend itself. TIic book consists of five cliiptcrs, of whicli the first t h o appeared in tlic I " Xnm1 Rcforni :I' From tlic Frcncli of t h 1atc 31. Gnbricl Chrmr9. TZIMlatcd by J. E. Gordon-Cummin,". London : Allen 6: Co., 1557. Pp. 263. S k o 9" x 6" x 14". IYcight under 1 lb. 10 02s. Yricc 12s. Downloaded by [University of Montana] at 18:37 01 April 2015 768 XAVAL REFORJI. columns of tlie Revue des tlcus Jfondcs." llicse are entitled : I. "Torlxdoand Gun-boats; " 11. llh'aval Warfarc and the Organitntion of h'aval Forccs ;" 111. Coast Defenco ; " IV. "Naval Personnel ; 1 ' . Scrvicc Afloat." T h e are sonie interesting appenclices; one a defencc of tlic "GnLricl Cliaimes" type of g u i i h i t ; n sccond aiicl third dealing with tlie Maritime Inscriptioii ; a fourth drawing pnrticular lcseoiis froiii an accident on hard the "La Cloclieterie ;" and a hfth offeriug a vcry liostilc criticism oc the state of the Freiicli Navy in tlie yew 1835. This sort of criticism is frcqucnt throughout the book, arid sliould be so far a conifort to O W o w 1 critics, and )crlinps a plausible answer for thosc who, bcirig the subjects of criticisni inkngland, have no other re dies at Iiaiid. 11. Cli;:rnies cannot be propcr~y ua(terstoot1, iior the iutriiisic value of his words t~y estiriintcd, uiilcss we Ii:ire riinsterrd tlie priiiciplea wIiich animate thc thou hts of AI. Aubc, of him witliout whom the book would hardly have seen the figlit. 31. Aiih put forth liis viers of future naval aarfarc, mid policy of prepam tioii tlierefor, in nri nrticlc iii the "Revue dca deur Nondes" for 1st .July, 1674, aud he relxatcd tlicjc views with eriip1i"sis1 but without addin.. materially to tlic streiintli of their basis, in an issue of tlie same Iwriaiicnl POr 15111 March, 1882. As XI. Chnrnics' witiiig: are dniost a natural enlargement and clerelopment of these two articles, it is only rc~sonable to suppose tliat tliougli the liniids are those of Esnn. yet tlie voice is that of Jacob. Admiral AuWs is a well-kiiowii nnme in E:~igla~icl, nritl tlie objective wliicli lie puts before the French nation-our coast towria aiitl commerce-iii the event of its going to war with IIS, is ncncmlly known, Iioic-ever ini rrfcctly \vc may h srip~wsed to liave :qiprchen$ctl tlie consequences. But t\iougli this riiucli is known, I niii not surc that anyone lins .as yet offered a full criticism, citlicr of Al. ~I u b c~s vicwe or of tlic proccss b)wliicli hc Iias renclictl tlieni. 111 1101~ attcmptiiig t o fulfil this duty I sliall offcr, I tliink, a clue to >I. CIi:lriiiesl itle.~, wliicli, if we carry it with u s in reading his book, will matcrially assist in
doi:10.1080/03071848709416435
fatcat:xl63wz62ijb55htfrmsvyiz67y