Page:The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century.djvu/319

 Even Greece has been unable to withstand the desire to rank as a naval power, and has lately had three ironclads built in France of about 5000 tons displacement.

Turkey alone seems indifferent to the advantages conferred by an efficient naval force. Under the rule of Abdul Aziz a powerful fleet guarded the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. When invaded by Russia, a supremacy in the Black Sea prevented any transport of troops by that route. But the present Sultan appears to have a greater belief in fixed defences, and his ships lie idly at their moorings, disuse making sad havoc in equipment and machinery. The Black Sea will in future be closed to a Turkish Squadron if hostilities again arise between the two countries, while it is doubtful whether at sea Turkey could now meet Greece. There is, however, still time to do a great deal towards preserving some of the old efficiency – not by tinkering at and altering the older ironclads, as Turkey is ill-advisedly doing, but by keeping what she has got in thorough order, and devoting a small sum annually towards new construction.