LAND AND NATIONAL SAFETY. 245 



" ' 2. This question has been answered 

 above. Exact statistics are impossible. 



" ' 3. This can only be a matter of 

 opinion as to the qualities of the people 

 of this country, and the probable wisdom 

 of Parliament and the Government of 

 the day. The Admiralty should never 

 allow their action to be influenced by any 

 pressure and yet consent to remain re- 

 sponsible for the conduct of the war. 



"'4. If a portion of the naval forces 

 at the disposal of the Admiralty were 

 deflected from the main operations of the 

 war for other purposes, of whatever kind, 

 the general conduct of these operations 

 must of necessity suffer, and the entire 

 course of the war might be injuriously 

 affected.'" 

 At the time of these replies (August 1904), 

 the British fleet was stronger than the fleets of 

 the three next greatest naval powers in com- 

 bination — probably stronger than any four. In 

 1913 the position is that the best we can hope 

 for is to hold a 60 per cent, superiority over the 

 next European naval power in our home seas, 



