Admiral of the Fleet; Sir Geoffrey Phipps Hornby, a Biography

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1896 edition. Excerpt: ... 197 CHAPTER XIII. THE MEDITERRANEAN, 1877-1880. THE MEDITERRANEAN COMMAND, 1876 THE PROSPECT IN THE EAST H.M.S. ALEXANDRA STEAM EVOLUTIONS INSUBORDINATION THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE ON CONSTANTINOPLE SERIES OF LETTERS DESCRIBING THE SITUATION PASSAGE OF THE DARDANELLES CAUSES OF THE RUSSIAN FAILURE--INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN PEACE WITH HONOUR SIR GEOFFREY-- ESTIMATE OF THE VALUE OF CYPRUS EXPLOSION ON H.M.S. THUNDERER--THE SULTAN'S BANQUET? EXPIRY OF COMMAND. As early as July 1876 the idea of the Admiral being appointed Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean was mooted. In his Diary of July 10 he writes: -- "Mr Hunt asked whether I should like best the Mediterranean, or to be First Sea-Lord. He said he was very anxious about the former command, and yet should miss me very much; in fact, 'he wanted two Hornbys.' I told him that as a matter of pure choice I should infinitely prefer the Mediterranean; at the same time I had always made it a practice to go where my superiors thought I should be most useful, and wished to continue to do so. We then had a long talk about the organisation of the Admiralty, which I told him I thought altogether inefficient for work, and he to a great extent agreed. The real difficulty, he said, was the detail with which every one was overburdened, and that it was caused by the House of Commons requiring to know of, and hold Ministers responsible for, every detail. Nothing was settled, but he said Milne would leave in November, and I fancy I have a good chance of the command." Later on, when the question came to be discussed, the Admiral found that the opinion of his friends fell in with his own inclinations, and about the middle of August the Queen assented to his appointment. Even then things were looking very...