In these passages Admiral Colomb has put the present aspect of the torpedo boat question very aptly. We are now experiencing the inevitable reaction consequent upon our early over-valuing of the torpedo. The unknown possibilities for distinction of those weapons were so magnified that scarcely any expenditure was thought too great to provide means for their employment, both in and out of season. Torpedo vessels have been growing in size and costliness. More and more gear has been crowded into them, increasing their weight and cost, and also the intricacy of their machinery. In all this, cheapness, the one great virtue of the torpedo, has been overshadowed. No doubt it is right for a great naval power like Great Britain to have vessels of all classes, and the possible value of small fast vessels such as the Archer or the Rattlesnake--not necessarily as connected with the torpedo--can hardly be overestimated. But for smaller naval powers, that look on the torpedo boat as a means of coast defense, especially those countries having a broken coast line studded with islands, bays, and inlets, it is very questionable whether the smaller boats, such as that now under notice, will not be a better investment than the larger craft at present more in vogue. By the additional seaworthiness of this boat, secured chiefly by the increased width, the 60 ft., or second class, boat has been lifted into the category of practicable vessels; and it must be remembered that four or five of these smaller craft can be purchased for the price of one modern first class boat. This is the crucial point, the money standard, and it is to that that all ship and boat building questions must be reduced, whether it be in wealthy England or the most impecunious and perhaps hardly more than half-civilized state. The question may be argued from many points of view, and we put forward these remarks simply as suggestions, without any wish to dogmatize. But it seems that, as the cheaper second class boat has been carried so many steps in advance, it may be worth while to reconsider the position with a view to returning to the original torpedo boat idea of small, inexpensive vessels, acting by surprise; and not putting too many eggs in one basket. SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS AT THE MANCHESTER ROYAL JUBILEE EXHIBITION.