Show SAY SHE HAD ARMS ABOARD Spaniards Attempting to Evade All Responsibility Responsi-bility ARE APPARENTLY UNEASY A Claim that the AHianca Flew An English Flag Captain Crossman Makes an Affidavit davit to the Contrary Carefnl Investigation In-vestigation Being Made as to the Character of the Alllancas Cargo Secretary Gresham Has Received n Reply from Spain Spanish Journals Jour-nals Are Inclined to Be Timid Probable Complications with Eng gland Havana March 19The name of the Spanish warship that fired on the American steamship Allianca is now known I is the Spanish cruiser Conde de Venadito This fact became public today when the captain of the cruiser reported that he tried to stop a strange steamer and had < opened fire on her when she persisted in proceeding proceed-ing on her course According to the story of the Conde de VenadJtos commander com-mander while cruising off the eastern coast of Cuba on March 8 he sighted a steamer heading for Mays Point and shaping her course to the north east The cruiser hoisted a flag and the steamer replied by raising the English Eng-lish flag The cruiser again signalled the steamer to stop but without effect As the steamer proceeded at full speed the cruiser first fired two blank shots and then tw solid shots The commander com-mander claims that he did not desire to hit the steamer but that he tired the shots merely to cause her to heave t He asserts that the steamer was but one and onehalf miles off the coast when the firing occurred The authorities authori-ties here have ordered ti full inquiry to be made into the commanders acts Did She Have Rifles I is reported here that the Allianca carried 24000 rifles south on the trip on which she was fired at I is also reported re-ported here that there were landed on the eastern end of the island some men who were passengers on the Allianca These men i Is reported were taken off the Allianca in fishing smacks the night preceding the fighting The In fanta Isabel is an exact counterpart of the Conde de Venadito which is named as the vessel which fired upon the Allianca The Venadito is an iron bark rigged gunboat of comparatively modern design having been launched I in 1S8S She Is one of six laid down in the same plan at the same time Her I length is 210 feet beam B2 feet draught 121k feet displacement 1130 I tons speed fourteen knots Her engines j en-gines are sixteen horse power driving a single screw Her battery consists of tour twelve centimeter 472 Inch breechloading rifles Hontoria pattern two threepounders and seven machine guns She has two torpedo tubes The Gun Used The gun with which the Conde de Venadfto fired at the Allianca was the forward one of the 472inch guns on the port side Not having < an absolutely abso-lutely straight head fire the Spanish cruiser was obliged to yaw out of her course in order to bring a gun to bear The gun Is 1 feet long and weighs 26 tons I throws an armor piercing projectile weIghing 531 pounds but in firing at the Allianca undoubtedly used the common cast iron shell weighing 472 pounds The charge of fjowder is 287 pounds and the velocity given Is 1998 feet a second as the shell leaves the muzzle That velocity would of course diminish with the projectiles flight but If it had hit the llianca it would have gone Into her and exploded ex-ploded the bursting charge of the common shell being about 2 ½ pounds of powder which would have wrecked a good deal of material |