Thk Progress of the World. 



263 



Anglo-German 

 Relations. 



sense of sluune has permeated the thinking 

 sections of the communitv. All this is 

 excellent, and _ may result in permanent 

 good. Once the election is over the 

 reaction will gain strength from this solid 

 desire to vindicate the international good 

 name of the United States, and we shall be 

 astonished if in the end the present mad 

 action of President Taft does not result in a 

 permanent drawing together of the two 

 great English-speaking races in a joint 

 endeavour to make the best out of the 

 Panama Canal. The guardians of the 

 inner and the outer gates of this international 

 waterway together can ensure fair play for 

 the- world's commerce and prosperity for 

 what is one of the world's greatest engineer- 

 ing feats. 



The reports of the serious 

 illness of the Emperor of 

 Germanv brought anxiety 

 as to Anglo-German re- 

 lations. Wf know the German Emperor 

 and the German people do not want war, 

 hut if death should reniove the Kaiser a 

 new and comparatively unknown factor 

 would come into play. And the German 

 Crown Prince has always been ])resented to 

 the world as rather more warlike than his 

 father. Happily the danger of change is 

 not a real one at the moment, but the hint 

 has been salutary, in that it warns us that 

 changes may come, and unexpectedlv. W'c 

 do not believe that a war will c;ome if the 

 forces of |)eace are adequate, but we must 

 acknowledge that the longer there is no 

 certainty that there will be peace, the 

 greater grows the danger of war. If Eve 

 had not continued to look at the ap|)le 

 she would never ha\e taken it. \n<l so 

 if two nations are contiiuially looking for 

 war they bectuiK- accustomed to the idea. 

 and the descent is casv. That there is 



danger about may be judged from the 

 eflect ot knowledge of its nature upon the 

 Canadian Ministers and also from the very 

 exhaustive naval preparations recently com- 

 jileted. It is no consolation to learn that 

 Holland, abandoning coast defence war- 

 ships, is going to build Dreadnoughts. 

 F'or every new Dreadnought belonging to 

 a minor Power may seriouslv affect the 

 balance of naval power in time of war. 

 Meanwhile we can only go on preparing 

 for j)eace by making greater and greater 

 the margin of security in the British navy. 

 We need more of the spirit of Richard 

 Cobden, who, no Jingo, said in 1861, "I 

 would vote ,^'100,000,000 rather than 

 allow the French navy to be increased to a 

 level with ours, because I should say that 

 any attempt of that sort, without any 

 legitimate grounds, would argue some 

 sinister designs u()on this countrv." 



For the British Empire 



The Navy there is one qtiestion which 



a Party Question, ^'lould never be made a 



party question, and that is 

 the maintenance ot the Navy. For without 

 the Navy there is no Empire. Here Party 

 politics still play some part in naval matters, 

 but less than in any other. Gradually we 

 believe that the Navy will be regarded as 

 much outside of jxilitics as is the monarchy. 

 In Canada an excellent lead has been given 

 bv the |)roposal that both parties should 

 unite in voting the share of the Dominion 

 for the Imperial Navy. It is probable that 

 even Sir Wilfrid Laurierwill not be able to 

 prevent this unanimity of the expression of 

 an Imperial a|)preciation of Im|)erial needs. 

 Meanwhile Australia is proceeding ajiace 

 with till- creation ot a local na\ \ of cruisers 

 and >maller vessels, anil is endeavouring to 

 achieve her ideal of relieving the Imperial 

 Na\y of the duty of policing ami defend- 



