| GREAT BRITAIN: | MEDITERRANEAN. | COLONIES, | | ON COMMISSION, AND | | AND EXPERIMENTAL | | GUARDSHIPS. | | SQUADRON. | | | | | | Guns.| Guns.| Guns.| | Bellerophon, 78 | Albion, 90 | Asia, 84 | | Britannia, 120 | Caledonia, 120 | Hastings, 72 | | Cumberland, 72 | Ganges, 84 | Imaum, 72 | | Hogue, 60 | Powerful, 84 | Indefatigable, 50 | | Impregnable, 104 | Superb, 80 | Leander, 50 | | Monarch, 84 | Queen, 110 | Phæton, 50 | | Ocean, 80 | | Portland, 50 | | Saturn, 72 | | Prince Regent, 92 | | St George, 120 | | Southampton, 50 | | Trafalgar, 120 | | Wellesley, 72 | | Vengeance, 84 | | | | Victory, 101 | | | | Blenheim, 56 | | | | | | | | Line and Guardships, 13 | 6 | 10 | This shows that out of twenty-eight line-of-battle ships and fifties in commission at that period, only thirteen were in the British harbours, and even including the Experimental Squadron, only fifteen. Of these, at least a half are mere guardships--such as the Victory at Portsmouth--of little real use but to furnish a mast for the Admiral on the station to hoist his flag. Of the six or seven that really are fit for sea, not more than one half are fully manned. Accordingly, it is universally known among naval men, that there are not more than three or four ships of the line that could on a sudden emergency be got ready for sea in the British harbours: being not _half_ the force which the Danes had when they were suddenly attacked by Nelson in 1801, and by Lord Cathcart in 1807. On the first occasion, they had nine ships of the line and floating batteries moored off Copenhagen: on the last, _eighteen_ ships of the line were taken by the victors, and brought to the British shores.