An agitation as to the state of the Navy, which was commenced in the year 1887, mainly by the initiative of the _Pall Mall Gazette_,[12] finally resulted in the passing of the Naval Defence Act of 1889. This provided for the construction of a total of seventy vessels, consisting of ten armoured ships, nine first-class cruisers, twenty-nine second-class cruisers, four third-class and eighteen torpedo gunboats, to be built as quickly as possible at the estimated cost of £21,500,000. The substantial part of the programme of 1886 had consisted of two big turret ships, the _Nile_ and _Trafalgar_, and two armoured cruisers, _Immortalité_ and _Aurora_ of the _Orlando_ class. In 1887 nothing larger than second-class cruisers was laid down; and in 1888 the most important vessels on the programme were only the protected cruisers, _Blake_ and _Blenheim_. There was, therefore, ample material for panic. Details of the _Blake_ class:-- Length (_p.p._)--375 ft. Beam--65 ft. Guns--Two 9.2 in., 22-ton B.L.R., ten 6-in. Q.F., eighteen 3-pdr. H.P.--20,000. Designed speed--22.0 kts. Coal--1500 tons. Builder of Ship--_Blake_, Chatham; _Blenheim_, Thames Ironworks. Builder of machinery--_Blake_, Maudsley; _Blenheim_, Thames Ironworks. Launched--_Blake_, 1889; _Blenheim_, 1890. Special features of these ships were a combination of the armament of the _Orlando_ class with greatly increased speed secured by the development of deck armour in place of the belts of the _Orlando_ class. In so far as a special type of ship may be said to be the development of some predecessor, the _Blake_ and _Blenheim_ may be described as enlarged _Merseys_. They were, however, unique on account of their relatively great length and great increase of displacement as compared with preceding vessels. In them the armoured casemate, a leading characteristic of nearly all Sir William White’s ships, made its first appearance. It was employed in the _Blake_ and _Blenheim_ for four main deck guns, the upper deck guns being behind the usual shields. The coming of the casemate, curiously enough, attracted little attention, compared to its importance. It may be said to have rendered possible the return to main deck guns in unarmoured ships. In the _Orlando_ class, ten 6-inch guns were all bunched together on the upper deck amidships. Since these ships were designed the 6-inch quickfirer had made its first appearance, and the largest possible distribution of armament was therefore desirable. The adoption of the two-deck system of the _Blake_ and _Blenheim_ secured this much larger distribution, rendering it impossible for a single shell to put more than one of the five broadside 6-inch out of action, whereas in the _Orlando_ class at least three guns were at the mercy of a single shell.