No. 20. [From The Scotsman, March 26, 1897.] 



THE POWER OF GREAT BRITAIN 



THE extract which you publish in this day's Scotsman 

 from the Hamburger Nachrichten on ' The Power of Great 

 Britain' is of vital interest to all our fellow-countrymen. 

 Like every statement emanating from, or inspired by, Prince 

 Bismarck, it is plain and intelligible ; and its truth is borne 

 witness to by the uncomfortable feeling produced in the 

 reader's mind. It is a "fact" which everyone who has 

 lived with foreigners in foreign countries is perfectly familiar 

 with, "that England has made herself hated all over the 

 world," and this cannot be otherwise than inconvenient to 

 our Ministers, whether they admit it or not. They have 

 only to look across the narrow seas which wash our coast, 

 and " they see the Continent bristling in arms, and when 

 they compare England's comparative defencelessness with 

 her wealth gained to a large extent at the Continent's 

 expense and with her possessions all over the globe, most 

 of them captured from other nations, grave anxieties arise 

 in their minds. They say to themselves that the Continental 

 Powers may one day grow tired of England's little game, 

 throw aside their petty disputes, and turn against her with 

 an united front." It is evident that, even if Great Britain 

 were in the position of preparedness for self-defence, which 

 all other nations, whether poor or rich, consider a necessity 

 and a duty, the prospect thus held out is one which might 

 well cause grave anxiety to her Ministers. But even without 

 any great coalition such as is above suggested, the perilous 

 position of England is clearly pointed out in a few sentences 

 in which the combatant strength on which she has to fall 

 back when attacked is figured up. "It is true that England 



