The Virginia in England.
As we anticipated, the success of the Virginia has excited much attention in England, and the press earnestly recommend that no more wooden ships of war be constructed, but that vessels on the plan of the Virginia be adopted for harbor defence. As a bulwark against that never-ending source of apprehension, a French invasion, vessels of the class of the Virginia, stationed in every English harbor, would render the fast anchored isle impregnable. A friend, however, suggests that the advantage will not be altogether on the side of England, but that France will derive benefits from it which will more than counter-balance those to be reaped by her ancient rival. The introduction of steam has already, to a great degree, neutralized the naval supremacy of England over her rival. The French, whilst the best soldiers in the world, have never been able to attain the maritime aptitude and seamanship of the English; but these qualities have been no longer essential since the introduction of steam. Soldiers are almost as good as sailors in the management of steam vessels — quite as good, with a little training, in such vessels as the Virginia. What is to hinder the French from building such vessels also, and, when necessity requires, shutting up the gates of the Mediterranean, and even blocking up the avenues of England to her East Indian possessions? Russia can do the same thing, provided that vessels constructed like the Virginia can be made seaworthy. It may thus be that England, in leaving her own race in the South to work out their own salvation, has prepared the way for her own destruction. The wonderful experiment in the waters of Virginia is destined to neutralize the naval warfare of the world, and perhaps to cause the downfall of some of its mightiest powers.
