lose much, and to gain nothing; for in what respect should we be the better for the crippling of a great and, in many directions, the most advanced nation in the world?
I am not one of those who believe that this earth was intended by God to be a cockpit to the end of time; but I know that so long as the cockpit view of the world continues dominant, there will be constant changes in the nations pitted against each other. I therefore deprecate any policy based on the assumption that France will always be our friend and Germany always our foe, and I desire to see a return to that independent position in which all our arrangements can be based upon our own needs—safety for our island home, protection for our trade, and uninterrupted, uninterruptible communication with India and our Colonies.
The Navy necessary to the maintenance of such a position would not necessarily be a menace to any other nation, and it is not
