130 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



next strongest navy which he had enjoyed a few years ago had 

 now been reduced to a mere 60 per cent. ; the two-to-one 

 standard had not been maintained. The Mediterranean, more- 

 over, had certainly been practically evacuated by his fleet ; and 

 he had read somewhere, at one time or another, that the 

 Mediterranean was the strategical pivot of manoeuvre, or 

 strategical centre of gravity — he could not quite remember 

 which ; but, at all events, it was something of first importance. 



These official statements did not ring true. The citizen 

 religiously read all the debates in both Houses of Parliament; 

 and he had been struck by the very unconvincing answers to 

 certain questions. Some of the official statements, moreover, 

 were rather conflicting ; while some of the statesmen appeared to 

 have changed their minds whenever it suited their convenience. 

 He had gained a temporary increase of confidence when he read 

 that the official views were supported by the General Staff and 

 by the Committee of Imperial Defence. But, within a few days, 

 the statesman concerned had modified his assertion ; and every- 

 body had gathered that the General Staff had raised some 

 objection. He had asked a soldier friend of how many officers 

 the General Staff consisted ; and had been told that he was not 

 quite certain, but that he supposed there might be some two or 

 three hundred scattered about in various parts of the world. 

 The citizen ruminated, asking himself, were all these officers 

 unanimous on this tremendous problem of national defence ? 

 He also made inquiries as to composition of the Committee of 

 Imperial Defence ; and this body seemed to consist chiefly, if 

 not entirely, of members of the Government. The citizen had 

 lately been reading Dickens aloud to his family after dinner; 

 and all had been hugely amused at the cleverness of Sairey 

 Gamp in putting the closure on an argument by quoting the 

 opinion of the non-existent but expert Mrs. Harris. It seemed 

 to the citizen as though the Committee of Imperial Defence and 

 the General Staff were being used by statesmen as political 

 Mrs. Harrises. 



The citizen did not at all like it. His suspicion was accen- 

 tuated by the fact that, while he had been asleep, or, rather, 

 while he had been in the act of yawning and stretching, 

 neighbouring nations had left him far behind in the matter of 

 aerostatics. Here was a patent danger. Of what value was the 

 command of the sea if the command of the air were lost? He 



