Leading Articles in the Reviews. 



547 



RUSSIA'S MOTOR NAVY. 



Mr. J. Rendell Wilson tells in the October 

 issue of Cassier's Magazine how the Diesel 

 engine is supplanting steam machinery in the 

 Russian Navy. The Russian naval authorities, 

 once the initial experiments had proved satis- 

 factory, took the bull by the horns and com- 

 menced to launch a motor fleet upon the water. 

 So far have they advanced that, 



by the time these words appear in print, the trials will 

 probably have been run of a 3,508-ton motor revenue 

 •cruiser at Nicolaieff, in the Black Sea. She was 

 launched in December last, and would have been in 



Photograph by] [Central News- 



The Russian Foreign Minister, 



service some months since were it not for the delay in 

 delivery of the electrical transmission gear, and due in 

 no way to any trouble with her Diesel propelling 

 machinery. She is notable by reason of the fact that 

 she is the largest and highest-powered naval motor 

 vessel afloat, and credit is due to Russia to boldly launch 

 out without waiting to see the results obtained by other 

 navies, or by private shipowners and shipbuilders. 



After describing fully the two twin-screw Cas- 

 pian Sea gunboats, the Ardagan and Kars, the 

 author goes on to say that, while these vessels 

 are comparatively small 



in comparison with the various big commercial motor 

 vessels under construction, they rank as pioneers of the 

 future motor battleship. It would not come as a sur- 



prise to the author to learn that Russia is nearer to this 

 long-expected instrument of warfare than any ctheir 

 country. It stands to reason that the Russian naval 

 authorities will not be content to rest on their laurels 

 now that they have shown that the Diesel-driven gun- 

 boat is an accomplished fact. In this connection we 

 must realise that Russia has not talked about what she 

 is going to do, but what has now been discussed is what 

 she has actually done. Now that the British Government 

 has appointed a special commission to inquire into the 

 question of adopting oil engines for naval purposes, it 

 is to be hoped that they will not overlook what has 

 already been done by Russia. 



A PAN-GERMANIST CATECHISM. 



In an article on Pan-Germanism contributed 

 to La Revue of October ist M. Jacques de 

 Coussange quotes from and comments on a Pan- 

 Germanist Catechism by Heinrich Calmbach. 



THE CASE OF POLAND. 



The following questions and answers culled 

 from this book will give some idea of the nature 

 of the publication : — 



What are Pan-Germanists? 



They are warm-hearted Germans, who do not forget 

 to think of the future development of the German 

 people, as the cares of a vigilant father of a family are 

 not merely for the present but also for the future. 



Is Prussian rule of Poland very bad and oppressive 

 for the Poles? 



Not according to our ideas. The Poles have every 

 reason to be satisfied that Prussian rule has replaced 

 that of their nobility and priests. Prussia has spared no 

 pains to raise the country and the Polish people 

 materially and intellectually by means of a wise ad- 

 ministration and the school. 



How, then, can the hatred of the Poles for every- 

 thing that is German be explained? 



According to Bismarck, Poland belongs to the category 

 of feminine nations, who are governed by sentiment, 

 whereas the Germans belong to the category of mascu- 

 line nations. The Poles would like to have at their 

 head men like themselves. Nevertheless, they are obliged 

 to acknowledge German superiority ; that is the origin of 

 their hatred of the Germans. 



Is not this struggle for national independence worthy 

 of some admiration? 



We Pan-Germanists recognise it frankly. But we 

 cannot be so kind as to support them in their efforts, 

 because they are not reconcilable with the conditions of 

 life of the German people. Justice to Poland would be 

 injustice to the Empire and the German people. The 

 one must be the hammer and the other the anvil. 



USE OF COLONIES. 



Would not the development of the Colonies be a good 

 thing for the natives? 



That goes without saying. But we must be careful not 

 to believe that our chief aim was to bring our civilisa- 

 tion to the natives. We founded the Colonies for our 

 own use, and it is for our gain that we employ the 

 natives according to their capacity. 



Do you think the natives are an inferior race? 



Certainly, because after thousands of years they have 

 not been able to raise themselves above a nomadic 

 existence and the first step of civilisation. Every race 

 ought to be treated according to what it is. 



