AMIDST the fearful events of the war, which at this moment are rending the heart of Europe and holding captive the sympathies of us all, there are few public events of a sufficiently stirring nature to claim from any of us more than a passing interest.

The destruction of men's lives, the maim- ing of their bodies, and tearing away of their limbs by tens of thousands at a time, within so short a period, and the terrible details of which have been so painfully made present to us by the able correspondents of our public press, have well-nigh sufficed to absorb all our compassionate feelings.

Nevertheless it is a law of nature, which without doubt has been, wisely ordained, that whilst we would take an interest in the welfare of all men, yet as the circle is narrowed to include our own community or our own personal relatives and friends alone, then in proportion our feelings are intensified, and the grief or the joy which we would share becomes more nearly our own.

It is thus that we have been startled in the midst of our more world-wide thoughts, by the sudden loss of one of our latest and noblest ships, with more than 500 of the best of our officers and men, and that our mental view is for the moment riveted to -that terrible vortex in the wild Atlantic, in which they settled down to the eternal depths, there to remain until the Resurrection morn.

The turret-ship Captain, it is known to most persons in these islands, was one of the very latest and most admired specimens of our naval architecture, and was considered to be perhaps the most powerful iron-clad ship in the world. She carried four six- hundred pounders, in two turrets, and two seven-ton guns forward and aft; and the iron armour on her sides was seven and eight inches thick. And it is likewise well known she was designed and built under the superintendence of Capt. COWPER P. COLES, R.N., C.B., a distinguished and zeal- ous officer, who was one of the first, if not the first, designer of turret-ships, and who has himself unhappily perished with her.

It is long since a similar disaster has befallen any first-class ship of our Royal Navy. Fortunately there are survivors of it who are enabled to tell us exactly how it occurred, or the nation would have for ever been in doubt as to its nature and cause.

We are not sufficiently acquainted with the form of the Captain, and' with the dis- position of the weights within her, to be able to offer any critical opinion as to how far the fearful accident arose from any in- herent defect in the construction of the ship which endangered her stability. That ques- tion will, no doubt, receive the fullest and most careful consideration of our competent naval architects, remembering how vitally it concerns the future of our naval defence, on which the position and influence of this country in the world must for ever de- pend.

It is rather with a view to express our sympathy with our countrymen, and our condolence with the relatives and personal friends of the officers and men who have thus perished in their country's service, that we at present offer these remarks; but inasmuch as it is undesirable that a hasty opinion should be formed condem- natory of turret-ships in general, or that an unjust verdict should be ptoBOtmced even on this particular ship, we think it well to draw attention, to the facts that, in addition to the many first-class merchant steamers which, like the ill-fated President, London, and others, have foundered at sea, more than one instance has occurred of our old wooden line-of-battle ships having done so, whilst many frigates, corvettes, brigs, and smaller vessels have upset or foundered at sea in gales of wind. There can indeed be no doubt that a conjunction of circumstances may occasionally happen in the open sea which would be fatal to any ship. For in- stance, her " falling off the wind," and lying in the trough of the sea, with the whole broadside and sails exposed to a sudden violent squall, and then, on a heavy lee roll, with its momentum increased, in the case of an ironclad, by her heavily-weighted sides, the breaking full on her side of one of those enormous rollers which occasionally rise with far greater force and height and volume of water than its fellows. These added forces might throw any ship so far on one side as to destroy her equilibrium, and prevent her rising again.

As stated above, we do not offer an opinion as to the cause or causes of the catastrophe in this particular case, but only invite a suspension of judgment which might be premature and unjust, and we will only further express a hope that our Admiralty and its advisers will, throwing aside all prejudice and foregone conclusions, make so good a use of the terrible lesson thus afforded for their consideration and instruc- tion, as will lead to the permanent improve- ment and strengthening of Britain's right arm, her Royal Fleet.