Shall Britain Continue to " Rule the Waves "

Thames Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 8606, 10 March 1897, Page 2

Shall Britain Continue to " Rule the Waves "

CALL FOR A BIG EXPENDITURE,

Captain Mahan, while speaking most warmly of our ships and officers, clearly states that the preponderance on the sea depends on the number of battleships. In other words, the nation j which has most battleships trill win. It comes back to this, then, says a writer in the Spectator, that if England wants to gain and keep the comi mand of the sea she must buy it by building a fleet which will outnumber the fleet of any possible antagonists. But to do iliis is of course a very great sacrifice. It is no good disguising the fact that the expenditure erf vast sums of money on the fleet during the next ten or twelve years—we need not look beyond that—will per se be I ; A.WATIOSAt EVIL. However rich a country may be, it is an evil to raise vast sums by taxation. It is, therofore, perfectly right and proper to consider whether the command of the sea may not be bought too dear—whether the price may not be run up beyond the point at which it is possible to purchase. To answer the question whether the command of the sea is worth buj'ing at a very high figure, it is necessary to consider what would be the position of England if she did not possess the command of the sea. If the command of the sea were in the hands, say, of France alone, or France and Russia combined,

SIX THINGS WOULD HAPFEW,

even if we still had a reasonably strong fleet in our.'home praters :—>(1) Our commercial navy would have to be transferred to foreign flags or else be put in jeopardy by hostile cruisers. (2) Our garrisons in India and Egypt could not be re-inforced. (3) Gibraltar, Malta, Aden, and all other ports and coaling stations in islands which could not provide food for themselves would have to be abandoned. (4) Our colonies would be liable not merely to raids by cruisers, but to conpuest by military expeditions despatched against them for that purpose, s (5) Our food supplies would be; imperilled, if not actually stopped. (6) Our coasts would be liable, not perhaps to invasion so long as «ur; a moderately strong " fleet remained in existence, but, at any rate, to the surprise visits of small squadrons. That is no fancy picture, but a very moderate catalogue of- •.•-., -■*•- SOME OF THE RESULTS 01' WAR between England and a Power or Powers who possessed the command of the sea. But an item remains to be added. If the Power with the stronger navy— i.e., with the command of the sea—ultimately -used it to crush our " moderately strong" navy, the country inu3t either make peace instantly or be exposed to the horrors of an invasion. But the plain English; of all this is that if we are to remain a great nation we must buy tho command of the sea at whatever cost. That is, we must never see either France or Russia or Germany add to their fleets without at once making to our own not an equivalent but a greater addition. We must always bid higher than any one else. The process may be, and no doubt is, very expensive; but at least it is

CHEAPER THAN AS VXSITCCESSI'CL WAR — there is no extravagance equal to that. Now comes the question: If we are to keep ahead in the bidding, is it better to do so by means of small increments, and by saying guineas to pounds, or by large and bold bids ? We ourselves incline to the latter, and for this reason. The small rises in the bidding have the, effect of tempting and inciting our competitors to go on. If we only raise the bidding by shillings, so to speak, they are inclined to think that we are getting tired of the game. " Just one more effort," they argue, " and poor old John Bull will throw up the sponge in despair." If, however, we were to raise the bidding by a great lump-sum, it is by no means improbable that we should couviuce our competitors that we really mean to keep command of the sea,' and that therefore they need not attempt to beat us. And remember that

TUB AUCTION-ROOM OF EUROPE differs in one very important respect from a private auction-room. At the auction where the command of the sea is sold the bids have to be paid and spont immediately they are mode, or else they do not count. Hence there is far more ground for not following a high bid than when to follow a high bid merely means a certain waste of breath. To follow a bid of many millions, and then to add another million, is a ticklish matter when the millions will have to be paid, and yet perhaps have no effect, because they will only make England add yet another ten millions.