Show BRITISH NAVY actual fleets lit at son are not on sol wr footing an eff efficient lelent navy Is essential above till nil else for or england owing to her insular position the adoption of free trade the extinction of british agriculture and the altal necessity of flee dec access tor for our ships when going to and fro on the wido common of the tha sea says a london coi respondent correspondent la in the philadelphia public lodger ledger the first element clement of effle efficiency lency in a fleet to Is US its chis to fight naval war Is differentiated from the war on land by quality and suddenness Bud denness when the next maritime war breaks out between two maritime powers the world will get a surprise one of the other of them will strike a blow similar in kind to the blow struck by admiral dewey dumpy against the ships of the spaniards Span lurda in manila bay in spite however o of ft f the lessons recorded on the page of english history our principal british diets ore are not ready tor for action I 1 they hey are deficient in essentials no addition to the building iamme no increase to the number of men no voting of millions by a legislature bewildered by the complexity complex lt and number of the lems lema with which it has to deal will have any beneficial effect on the next maritime war until the fleets actually at sea are made ready for action common sense therefore requires ulrea ta that I 1 t our mediterranean fleet and the iel channel squadron adron should be placed on an a ar footing without loss lose of time whatever economy may be necessary in other directions reet ions tous |