of fire was wonderful when it is remembered that their
carriages are fitted with none of the automatic appliances for
returning the gun to the firing position, but have to be dragged back
every time by hand, and then carefully adjusted with the wheels at
exactly the same level. As regards mobility, they have on at least one
occasion--namely Zwartz Kop--taken their guns up a place condemned by
the Royal Artillery as impossible. All this experience is now to be
made no further use of, and the guns pass into the hands of men who
will have to learn it afresh. A great advantage the Naval gunners had
over the Royal Artillery was their use of the glass. Besides the
telescopic sights used with the big guns, they were provided with a
large telescope on a tripod, at which an officer was always seated
watching the effect of the shells, and, in the case of an advance the
movements of our Infantry as well, and they were never guilty, as the
Royal Artillery have been more than once, of firing on our own men. On
January 24th, whilst the fighting on the top of Spion Kop was taking
place, the Naval guns on Mount Alice were able at a distance of rather
over four miles clearly to distinguish our men from the Boers, and
shell the latter. Compare this with one instance that came under my
personal observation on February 27th. An officer in command of a
battery was totally unable to distinguish, with a pair of the
field-glasses supplied by Government, at a distance of a little over
one mile, between our Infantry charging and the Boers running away. I
see that your Cape correspondent has already said that in this
campaign, where we are perpetually fighting against an invisible foe,
good glasses are of paramount importance to the rifle. They are even
more essential to the gunners than to the other branches of the
service, and they are in this respect most inadequately supplied.

* * * * *

_Speech of the First Lord of the Admiralty (Mr. Goschen) at Royal
Academy Banquet, May 5th, 1900._

"I do not propose to dilate on the courage or resourcefulness, or
other great qualities of the Naval Brigades. The nation has acclaimed
them. The Sovereign with her own lips has testified to their deeds....

"The ships' companies of the _Powerful_ and _Terrible_ would be sorry
if they were to monopolise the public eye, clouding the performances
of men from other ships. Many other ships have sent contingents to the
front--the