“In that case the command of the seas, or a deluded belief that they have such command, will remain with these _Invincible_ ships, even although they may be of slow speed; but to stop at this point would be too little and unworthy of the Navy of the richest and most potent Power in the world. “For this squadron or division, however ‘invincible,’ will not be really and truly _supreme_ if it cannot also catch hold of the enemy’s tail. The bull in the vast ring of the amphitheatre deludes himself with the idea that because he is more powerful than the agile toreador he therefore has absolute command of the scene of the combat; but he is too slow in following up his adversaries and these almost always succeed in eluding his terrible horns. “We must, therefore, come to the conclusion that the type of vessel will not be absolutely _supreme_ and worthy of such a nation unless we furnish it with such speed that it can overtake any of the enemy’s battleships and oblige them to fight. It is, then, possible to give to a vessel of 17,000 tons displacement-- Protective armour of 12ins. Twelve guns of 12-inch calibre. An abundant supply of ammunition, and A very high speed, superior to that of all and existing battleships afloat. “It has been said and written--indeed, repeatedly written--that the _Vittorio Emanuele III_ was a practical impossibility. But before long she will be actually in the water, and facts already show how vain were the suppositions and criticisms of such croakers.[28] “But it has also been asserted that in the case of this vessel surpassing the contemplated speed of 21½ knots on trial and attaining that hoped for of 22 knots, such would only prove that that particular tonnage of displacement especially lends itself to obtaining a form of hull with which we can realise a very high speed, and more so than with larger ships. This, however, is not quite exact. The law which governs the speed and displacement, other things being equal, is well known to all naval constructors, who have by heart the rule that whilst the displacement increases as the cube of the dimensions, the resistance, on the other hand, at a given speed does not increase in the same proportion as the displacement. The pith of the kernel lies in utilising the most opportune dimensions, or, rather, let us say, in adopting the special form of hull most adapted to those dimensions, more than in the actual amount of the displacement itself.