The Times' correspondent in Paris states that - a new scheme
for arming the frontier, from which much was hoped, has failed. A fort was constructed of an enormous block of con- crete with an iron turret in the centre, mounted with the heaviest guns. The concrete defied attack ; but it was found that no turret could endure the shock of the new shells, and that the splinters of steel from the turret were as dangerous as the shells themselves. It is deduced from this that in actual warfare the ironclads upon which so much has been spent will be found comparatively useless,—rather a hasty conclusion. They can hardly be less defensible than wooden ships. It is, however, the opinion of the most experienced sailors that no certainty on this point will be attained until a great naval engagement has occurred, and that the result may be a sur- prise, ramming, for example, being found more effective, and more destructive of the enemy's nerve, than any kind of artillery.
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