TURKEY. The reduction of revenue entailed by the Turco-Russian War of 1877-78 caused Turkey to let her navy become wholly ineffective for purposes of war. About 1890 it was decided to rebuild some of the most available vessels of the fleet• and now all the old ships have either been rebuilt or are in process of reconstruction. The Navy Department, however, needs reconstruction more than the ships, for so long as present prac flees prevail the vesowls will soon become useless for lack of care. The Minister of _Marine is an admiral appointed by the Sultan. The depart ment is divided into four bureaus, viz.: (1) Personnel; (2) Material; (3) Construction: (4) Medicine and Hygiene. The only great dockyard is the arsenal of Constantinople; this is a large and very excellent establishment as regards plan and arrangements, but is not prop erly kept up, and much of the machinery and lilting; cannot be used. The personnel of the fleet consists of G vice-admirals and 11 rear admirals with the rank of pasha: 130 captains. 25 commanders of superior grade, 55 co-mnanders of inferior grade, 300 lieutenant-commanders all with the rank of bey; 250 lieutenants, and 200 sub-lieutenants—with the rank of effendi; 400 engineers, 60 surgeons, 100 commissary offi cers, 110 pay officers. The enlisted force on paper is about 15.000 men: in fact, it rarely exceeds 3000, and sometimes is considerably less. For many years the larger vessels of the
navy swung around their buoys in the Golden Horn without moving and without sufficient men on board to move them. The fleet consisted in 1902 of I battleship of 10,650 tons, which has been under construction at the arsenal of Con stantinople for nearly ten years, and in 1902 was still far from being ready to launch: 7 old battleships of 5600 to 9120 tons (launched 1864 74. and very thoroughly rebuilt, modernized. and rearmed 1895-1902). 5 old battleships of 2050 to 2720 tons (launched 1868-72, but in 1902 undergoing thorough reconstruction), 1 armored coast-defense gunboat of 330 tons (launched 1864), 3 protected cruisers of 3250 tons (building in 1902 at Philadelphia, Elswick, and Kiel), 2 protected cruisers of 4050 tons (building at arsenal in Constantinople—work practically suspended for many years), 6 small cruisers of 643 to 1815 tons (launched 1892 96), 3 torpedo gunboats of 450 to 900 tons (launched 1890-92). 4 torpedo-boat destroyers of 180 to 270 tons (launched 1894-1900), 22 torpedo boats of 42 to 150 tons (launched 1884 92), 6 gunboats of 200 tons (2 completed 1S94— others building), about 25 special service ves sels.