Thanks
to the fact that nowadays more and more books are digitized we are able to read
books that are some times for decades no longer available for the public for
several reasons. That's quite a pity while these books contains useful
information while the archives are destroyed, incomplete or nor accessible. In
this specific magazine was an article titled “The National Defence Madness”
published in which the British navy was compared with several other navies and
the results were presented in the British Parliament.
P.
361: “The navy of Spain consisted in January, 1851, of 2 ships of the line of
74, 5 frigates (I of 52, 1 of 44, 2 of 42, and one of 32 guns); 6 corvettes (2
of 30, 1 of 24, and 3 of 16 guns); 8 brigs (1 of 20, 1 of 18, 3 of 16, and 3 of
12 guns); 15 steamers from 40 to 350 horse power; 3 galleys from 1 to 3 guns; 2
packet-boats of a gun each; 1 lugger, 1 felucca, 1 balancello, transport-ships,
1 frigate, 4 brigs, 3 guard-ships, 7 steam-ships of 140 horse power, 3
transport-ships; and 3 brigs to carry 16 guns were ordered to be built in April
1850; and during the latter part of that year and in 1851, some three or four
large steam-boats have been contracted for and added to the Spanish navy.
Source
William
Tait. “The National Defence Madness: in: Tait’s Edingburgh magazine,
January-December 1852.
