THE GERMAN NAVY AT HOME.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 23 April 1907, Page 1

THE GERMAN NAVY AT HOME.

THE SCIENCE OF COAST DEFENCE.

The headquarters of thee German Navy aro (says a writer in "Chambers' Journal") nominally at Kiel. But Kiel is on the Baltic, and when the canal wa3 cut, in order to join its excellent harbour to the North Sea, German Dreadnought had not been thought of, and there is no doubt that the "mousetraps" of the Baltic will be as dangerous to them as to the war-vessels of other nations. There are plenty of accidents t the existing ships as it is ; and the canal is only 70ft in width at the bottom, with a depth of 30ft. Besides, it takes nine hours to pass through its 60 miles of length. A moment's reflection will convince anyone that the North Sea will be the battleground of the German fleet and it is to the North Sea, therefore, that we must look to see the German Navy as it really is, and also as it will become. The German North Sea coast is not much more than 100 miles long as the crow flies, and anything more dreary and uninteresting it is imposible to conceive. Sandbanks and mud are everywhere, and decent sea-bathing is only obtainable at Heligoland, or the sandy islands off the coast. There is none at Wilhehnshaven,«ihe naval harbour, lying behind its ZMt high dykes ; and its only visitors are the German teachers and professors (a title given to the higher class of schoolmasters) who go there with parties of their boys in order to view the ships through which a "Greater Germany" is to be brought into being. The entrances to the harbour of Wilhelmshaven are through locks, for there is not enough water at low tide to serve. A large torpedo-boat harbour outside the dykes has only recently been enclosed from the Jahde-Busen, an inland circular bay about 60 miles in area, frmed by an inundation some hundreds of years ago, a great part of which is left dry at low water. An additional inland harboilr is also being scooped out which will have a separate entrance to the channel of the Jahde. The soft, sandy nature of the soil may be gauged by the fact that quite lately the dam of the new building-slip for ships of the Dreadnought type gave way. This is one of the reasons why the new ships have not yet been laid down. The containing dyke for the new torpedo-boat harbour (capable of holding a whole fleet of them) also had great breaches made in it no less than four times in one winter. So that, if excavations are easy, the maintenance of the work done is no light task. A large number of dredges have to be kept constantly at work in order to keep the channel of the Jahde free. Even now the largest battleships can only enter with safety at high tide. No wonder that the German Navy is casting hungry eyes on Holland. All round the harbours great barracks have been and are still being built. The size may be gauged by the fact that one ,not the most modern, is palled the "Five thousand men barrack." No foreigner is permitted to inspect the dockyards withont special permission — not easily obtained. Cases of espionage are not infrequent .especially by French artillery officers. The offenders are always :ent to prison, and, of course, are disowned by their own governments. Kiel is under the supreme command of Prince Henry, and Wilhelmshaven under Admiral Bendemann. The shore batteries (many of which are inland), and military, as well as naval works, are all controlled by them and when they are in residence an admiral's fiag is flown from the Schloss. When the harbours at Wilhelmshaven are complete, Emden (the most westernly port), will be taken in hand, and the existing commercial canal to the former place deepened and widened into one for battleships. There will thus be less danger f a successful blockade by a hostile fleet, for the two ports are 50 miles distant, and the coast in between is unapproachable. When Emden becomes a war-harbour, then will come Holland's danger. . Only those who have seen the German Emperor among his ships and men can really appreciate how completely he is the very soul of the navy. He continually visits it, knows all his superior officers personally, and loses no oppor- 1 tunity of delivering one of thoss flamboyant speeches t othe men which tee world know so well. At the annual swearing in of tho recruits before him he invariably delivers a speech or sermon to them, standing in front of a field altar, with crucifix and candles on it, and attended by a Protestant pastor and Catholic priest. On board ship, on Sundays, he always conducts Divine service, and preaches the sermon (generally written for him by a pastor). He is never seen out of uniform. When at a naval port the Emperor sleeps on board a battle-ship, dining in the emmen room at the mid-day dinner of his officers at their Casino. When the meal is over he almost always delivers a speech, and is said to "let himself go" in the way of expressing his opinions a good deal more than he does in his other and more publio speeches. As Emperor hie is a very different person from what he is in private life. On hearing him speak in public, it is impossible not to think of a drill-sergeant, The loud, harsh voice, the curt peremptory sentences, ending abruptly, irresistibly remind one of the drill ground. But in private life he is all generosity, lavish even, to his officers, as his gifts of his yachts, pictures (his own drawings among them), books, and many otlier things show. One cannot help suspecting that the sudden and impetu<_u__ nunppOT ir. wH»c_- lie soraetimos actpp is provoked by the chronic malady of inflammation of the ear from which he is said to suffer. It is generally forgotten, too, that his left arm is almost useless. It is four inches shorter than its fellw, has a malformed hand with only rudimentary fingers, and is quite limp and lifeless. At table he usea a combined knife and fork.

"Did you ever wonder why toast is always recommended for invalids?" said a doctor. "The reason is that toast is predigested bread. What makes fresh bread trying for invalids is the starch in it. Starch is very hard to digest. It needs a good stomach "to take hold of tho soggy starch in bread and change it to strengthening, stimulating dextrine. But when you cut bread thin and toast it brown, the fire itself changes the starch to dextrine. That, in fact, is what the brown colour in toast indicates— that the starch has gone and dextrine has taken its placo. The stuff is redigested.