THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 248 OLthe splendid squadronof armoured cruisers, the best was the Cristobal Colon, built for the Italian navy as the Giuseppe Garibaldi,but purchased and renamed by Spain before the war.

She had a complete armour-belt— six-inch steel armour on her sides and conning tower, and five-inch on the two barbettes fore and aft ; each wasto be armed with a oj-inch gun. Shehad ten 6-inch quick-firers (100-pound shells) and twenty-six lighter quick-firers, all behind shields, with two Maxims in the fighting top of her military mast, and four torpedo-tubes. The six torpedo-boat destroyers were of the most recent and powerful type of the class, and were all built on the Clyde.

Of the squadroncommanders, the bestknown before the war were Admirals Cervera and Montojo, and Captain Villamil. Villarnil had a considerable reputation as a scientific officer and hadmade a speciality of torpedo work. He had commanded the Destructor, the first ti boat in the Spanish navy, and for some years had devoted himself to study and practical experiment in this branch of his profession. Cervera, who was in command of the Atlantic squadron, had served for more than forty entering the navy as a boy of thirteen. He had seensomeactive service inCuba during the Ten Years' War, but he was best knownin the navy for the determined courage with which he had saved the arsenal at Cadiz and the squadron from the Communist insurgents, who nearly obtained possession of it during the Re! Republican revolt of1873. He had the reputation of a brave man and a skilful seaman;he had many friends among American naval officei - ir he had been for more than a year attached to the Embassy at Washington. Montojo, who commanded the squadron in the Philippines, was an old sailor,not much of a tactician, but To man her fleet Spain had, thanks to the maritimeconscription, about 23,000 officers and men in the service, with a trained reserve of upwards of 20,000, all of whom had served for from three to five years in the navy. Compared with the United States navy, that of Spain suffered under the disadvantage that few even of the superior officers had seen any actual fighting afloat. For the most part the engineers were not of good quality, and under their care the machinery was apt to deteriorate very quickly— a most serious matter in a modern with a good record for courage and determination, which,when the day of trialcame, hefully justified. warship AUM1KAL CERVLkA.