these resolutions. Nine of the resolutions now on file in the
Senate are already held to be of doubtful legality, but the
ground on which they are held doubtful will appeal to most
people as a mere splitting of legal hairs. Nevertheless, the
Senate of the United States, at least, is, as a whole, a
notorious legal hair-splitter, and this fact must be taken
into account.
"It is, of course, a matter of record, that the House of
Representatives has four times sent to the Senate a proposed
joint resolution calling for the direct election of United
States Senators."
_Washington Correspondent of the New York Evening Post,
October 13, 1909._
UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION:
Its conflict with the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel
and Tin Plate Workers.
See (in this Volume)
LABOR ORGANIZATION: UNITED STATES: A. D. 1901.
UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION:
The Placing of its Stock among its Employés.
See (in this Volume)
LABOR REMUNERATION: PROFIT-SHARING.
UNIVERSITIES.
See (in this Volume)
EDUCATION.
URIBE-URIBE, RAFAEL.
See (in this Volume)
COLOMBIA: A. D. 1898-1902.
URUGUAY: A. D. 1901-1906.
Participation in Second and Third International Conferences
of American Republics.
See (in this Volume)
AMERICAN REPUBLICS.
URUGUAY: A. D. 1904.
Rebellion and prolonged Civil War.
On the 8th of January, 1904, the American Minister at
Montevideo reported by telegram to the State Department at
Washington "that another crisis is at hand in Uruguay; that
encounters have taken place between groups of ‘Blanco,’ and
the Government forces, and that the former, who were neither
concentrated nor well organized, have been dispersed. A number
were killed and wounded. The Government is making an
aggressive campaign and demands obedience to the constituted
authority as a condition before peace negotiations will be
entered into."
This was the beginning of a state of civil war that was
prolonged through nine months, with infinite harm to the
country.
When peace came, at the end of September, it was practically
bought from the insurgents, the terms of submission, as
officially announced, including the following: "Sixth,
incorporation into the army of all the chiefs and officers
included in the amnesty law. Seventh. A mixed committee
appointed by agreement by the Government and insurgents will
distribute the sum of $100,000 between the chiefs, officers,
and soldiers of the rebel forces."
URUGUAY: A. D. 1910.
Agreement with Argentina concerning the River Plate.
See (in this Volume)
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC: A. D. 1910.
URUSSOFF, PRINCE:
Speech in the Duma.
See (in this Volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1906.
URYU, ADMIRAL.
See (in this Volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1904 (FEBRUARY-JULY).
UTAH:
Law limiting Hours of Adult Labor in Mines.
See (in this Volume)
LABOR ORGANIZATION: UNITED STATES: A. D. 1902.
UTILITIES, PUBLIC.
See (in this Volume)
PUBLIC UTILITIES.
{684}
V.
VACUUM OIL COMPANY.
See (in this Volume)
COMBINATIONS, INDUSTRIAL, &c.:
UNITED STATES. A. D. 1904-1909.
VALIAHD, The:
Heir to the Persian throne.
See (in this Volume)
PERSIA: A. D. 1905-1907.
VANNOVSKY, GENERAL.
See (in this Volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1901-1904.
VALPARAISO, DESTRUCTIVE EARTHQUAKE AT.
See (in this Volume)
EARTHQUAKES: CHILE.
VEHEMENTER NOS, THE PAPAL ENCYCLICAL.
See (in this Volume)
PAPACY: A. D. 1906 (FEBRUARY).
VENEZUELA: A. D. 1901.
Claims and Complaints of Germany.
Memorandum presented to the Government of the United States.
Its Reply.
Interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine.
On the 11th of December, 1901, the German Embassy at
Washington presented to the State Department of the Government
of the United States a memorandum of the claims and complaints
of Germany against the Government of Venezuela. The principal
claim recited was that of the Berlin Company of Discount, "on
account of the non-performance of engagements which the
Venezuelan Government has undertaken in connection with the
great Venezuelan Railway which has been built by the said
Government." In respect to this it is remarked that the
"behaviour of the Venezuelan Government could, perhaps, to a
certain degree, be explained and be excused by the bad
situation of the finances of the State; but our further
reclamations against Venezuela, which date from the Venezuelan
civil wars of the years 1898 until 1900, have taken during
these last months a more serious character. Through those wars
many German merchants living in Venezuela and many German
land-owners have been seriously damaged"; and the treatment of
claims for these damages is characterized as "a frivolous
attempt to avoid just obligations." After some recital of
circumstances in these cases, the memorandum proceeds to
announce that "the Imperial Government believes that further
negotiations with Venezuela on the present base are hopeless,"
and that measures of coercion are contemplated. "But we
consider it of importance to let first of all the Government
of the United States know about our purposes, so that we can
prove that we have nothing else in view than to help those of
our citizens who have suffered damages. … We declare
especially that under no circumstances do we consider in our
proceedings the acquisition or the permanent occupation of
Venezuelan territory."
In reply, the Department of State returned a memorandum, in
part as follows:
"The President in his Message of the 3d of December, 1901,
used the following language: ‘The Monroe Doctrine is a
declaration that there must be no territorial aggrandizement
by any non-American Power at the expense of any American Power
on American soil. It is in no wise intended as hostile to any
nation in the Old World.’ The President further said: ‘This
doctrine has nothing to do with the commercial relations of
any American Power, save that it in truth allows each of them
to form such as it desires. … We do not guarantee any State
against punishment if it misconducts itself, provided that
punishment does not take the form of the acquisition of
territory by any non-American Power. … The President of the
United States, appreciating the courtesy of the German
Government in making him acquainted with the state of affairs
referred to, and not regarding himself as called upon to enter
into the consideration of the claims in question, believes
that no measures will be taken in this matter by the agents of
the German Government which are not in accordance with the
well-known purpose, above set forth, of His Majesty the German
Emperor."
_Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations
of the United States
(House Doc’s, 57th Congress 1st Session, Volume 1),
pages 192-195_
VENEZUELA: A. D. 1901.
Delegates withdrawn from Second International Conference
of American Republics.
See (in this Volume)
AMERICAN REPUBLICS.
VENEZUELA: A. D. 1902-1904.
Concerted Action by Great Britain, Germany, and Italy
to enforce Claims.
Blockade of Ports and seizure of Warships.
Intermediation of the United States.
Agreements Secured.
Reference to the Tribunal at The Hague.
The rebellion and revolution in Venezuela which gave control
of the government to General Cipriano Castro, in 1899, and the
speedy outbreak of revolt against his self-assumed
administration, are told of in Volume VI. of this work.
See, also, (in this Volume)
COLOMBIA: A. D. 1898-1902.
The first insurrection was overcome in May, 1900; but other
risings, concentrated in leadership finally under Manuel A.
Matos, followed in 1901-1902. Partly growing out of the
disturbances in the country and partly due to the arbitrary
and wayward conduct of Castro (who obtained election to the
Presidency in 1902, for six years) many claims for indemnity
and debt against that Government accumulated and citizens of
many countries were interested in them. As no satisfaction
could be obtained from President Castro by diplomatic methods,
peremptory proceedings against Venezuela were concerted in
1902 by Great Britain, Germany and Italy. A blockade of
Venezuelan ports and seizure of war vessels was undertaken by
the three Powers, with results which are narrated as follows
in the Message of President Roosevelt to the Congress of the
United States, on its meeting in December, 1903:
The "employment of force for the collection of these claims
was terminated by an agreement brought about through the
offices of the diplomatic representatives of the United States
at Caracas and the Government at Washington, thereby ending a
situation which was bound to cause increasing friction, and
which jeoparded the peace of the continent. Under this
agreement Venezuela agreed to set apart a certain percentage
of the customs receipts of two of her ports to be applied to
the payment of whatever obligations might be ascertained by
mixed commissions appointed for that purpose to be due from
her, not only to the three powers already mentioned, whose
proceedings against her had resulted in a state of war, but
also to the United States, France, Spain, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, and Mexico, who had not
employed force for the collection of the claims alleged to be
due to certain of their citizens.
{685}
"A demand was then made by the so-called blockading powers
that the sums ascertained to be due to their citizens by such
mixed commissions should be accorded payment in full before
anything was paid upon the claims of any of the so-called
peace powers. Venezuela, on the other hand, insisted that all
her creditors should be paid upon a basis of exact equality.
During the efforts to adjust this dispute it was suggested by
the powers in interest that it should be referred to me for
decision, but I was clearly of the opinion that a far wiser
course would be to submit the question to the Permanent Court
of Arbitration at The Hague. It seemed to me to offer an
admirable opportunity to advance the practice of the peaceful
settlement of disputes between nations and to secure for the
Hague Tribunal a memorable increase of its practical
importance. The nations interested in the controversy were so
numerous and in many instances so powerful as to make it
evident that beneficent results would follow from their
appearance at the same time before the bar of that august
tribunal of peace.
"Our hopes in that regard have been realized. Russia and
Austria are represented in the persons of the learned and
distinguished jurists who compose the Tribunal, while Great
Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, Mexico, the United States, and
Venezuela are represented by their respective agents and
counsel. Such an imposing concourse of nations presenting
their arguments to and invoking the decision of that high
court of international justice and international peace can
hardly fail to secure a like submission of many future
controversies. The nations now appearing there will find it
far easier to appear there a second time, while no nation can
imagine its just pride will be lessened by following the
example now presented. This triumph of the principle of
international arbitration is a subject of warm congratulation
and offers a happy augury for the peace of the world."
_Message of President Roosevelt,
December 7, 1903._
The claims of the Powers against Venezuela, presented in
September, summed up as follows:
France, $16,040,000;
United States, $10,900,000;
Italy, $9,300,000;
Belgium, $3,003,000;
Great Britain, $2,500,000;
Germany, $1,417,300;
Holland, $1,048,451;
Spain, $600,000;
Mexico, $500,000;
Sweden, $200,000.
The claim of Great Britain, Germany, and Italy to a right of
priority in payment, because of their action which compelled
the Government of Venezuela to arrange a settlement, was
submitted to the Tribunal at The Hague in November. The
decision, rendered in the following January, affirmed the
right of the three Powers which had exercised coercion in the
case to priority in the payment of their claims, and it
imposed on the United States the duty of overseeing the
fulfilment of the agreements which Venezuela had made. In this
last particular the decision of the Tribunal could be regarded
as an international affirmation of the Monroe Doctrine, and of
signal importance in that view.
VENEZUELA: A. D. 1902-1905.
A short Period of Comparative Tranquility.
"After the blockade instituted in December, 1902, by Germany,
Great Britain and Italy, had been raised, and protocols had
been signed for the settlement of all duly recognized claims
of foreign nations against Venezuela, Venezuela enjoyed a
short period of tranquility; but, by the beginning of 1905,
every legation in Caracas had a list of grievances founded on
alleged unfair awards of arbitrators, on denials of justice on
the part of the Venezuelan courts and on the diminution by
President Castro of the percentage he had agreed to pay to the
creditor nations from the receipts of his custom-houses.
Moreover, Germany and Great Britain began to show signs of
restlessness, because President Castro had not provided, as
had been agreed in the protocols, for the payment of interest
to British and German bondholders. The situation looked even
worse than before the blockade, for the principal nation
aggrieved was the United States, and it had the moral support
of all other nations represented in Caracas by legations.
"The main issue between the United States and Venezuela was
the asphalt case. In July, 1904, President Castro had demanded
ten million dollars from the American Company, known as the
‘New York and Bermudez Asphalt Company,’ and had threatened,
if that amount was not paid immediately, that the whole
asphalt lake and the property of the Company would be seized.
He based his demand on the alleged support given by the
Asphalt Company to the Matos revolution of 1902; but, as he
did not demand anything from the countless other supporters of
the revolution, it was clear that his demand on the Asphalt
Company was piratical."
_H. W. Bowen,
Queer Diplomacy with Castro
(North American Review, March 15, 1907)._
VENEZUELA: A. D. 1904.
Adoption of a new Constitution.
The following summary of the provisions of a new Constitution,
adopted in Venezuela, on the 27th of April, 1904, was
communicated to the State Department at Washington by United
States Minister Bowen:
It reduces the number of States to thirteen—Aragua, Bermudez,
Bolivar, Carabobo, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda,
Tachira, Trujillo, Zamora, and Zulia—and provides for five
Territories—Amazonas, Cristobal Colon, Colon, Delta Amacuro,
and Yururari—and the Federal District, which is composed of
the Departments Libertador, Varagas, Guaicaipuro, and Sucre,
and the island of Margarita.
The States enjoy equality and autonomy, having all rights not
delegated to the central Government. The Territories are
administered by the President.
The Government is divided into three branches—the legislative,
the executive, and the judicial.
The legislative branch is called the Congress, and is composed
of two bodies—the Senate and the House of Deputies. One deputy
will be elected by every 40,000 inhabitants, and all deputies,
as well as senators (two from every State) and the President,
will serve for six years. Deputies must be 21 years of age,
senators 30, and the President over 30. No extraordinary
powers are given to the Congress, except that 14 of its
members shall be chosen by itself to elect every sixth year a
President, a first and a second vice-president, and to elect a
successor to the second vice-president.
{686}
The President, besides being charged with the usual executive
duties, is authorized to declare war, arrest, imprison, or
expel natives or aliens who are opposed to the reëstablishment
of peace, to issue letters of marque and reprisal, to permit
aliens to enter the public service, to prohibit the
immigration into the Republic of objectionable religious
teachers, and to establish rules for the postal, telegraph,
and telephone services.
The judicial power is vested in the Corte Federal y de
Casacion (seven judges elected by the Congress) and the lower
courts (appointed by the State governments).
All Venezuelans over 21 years of age may vote, and aliens can
obtain that right by getting naturalized. No length of time is
prescribed for an alien to live in the Republic before he can
become naturalized.
Article 15 of the constitution denies the right of natives or
aliens to present claims to the nation or States for damages
caused by revolutionists.
Article 17 abolishes the death penalty.
And article 120 provides that all of Venezuela’s international
treaties shall hereafter contain the clause, "All differences
between the contracting parties shall be decided by
arbitration, without going to war."
In conclusion, the constitution provides that the next
constitutional terms shall begin May 23, 1905. Up to that date
General Castro will be Provisional President. He took his oath
of office as such on the 5th instant, and on the same day Juan
Vicente Gomez was made first vice-president and Jose Antonio
Velutini second vice-president.
As Provisional President, General Castro has been authorized
to name the presidents of the States, to organize the Federal
Territories, to fix the estimates for the public expenses,
and, in short, to exercise the fullest powers.
VENEZUELA: A. D. 1905-1906.
Troubles with the United States and France.
President Castro’s Vacation.
Both France and the United States had troubles which became
acute in 1905 with the arrogant President of Venezuela,
growing out of his high-handed treatment of French and
American business interests and rights in that country. In the
case of the United States, the most serious grievance, as
stated above, was that of the New York and Bermudez Company,
which had a concession dating back to 1883, and a later mining
title, under Venezuela laws, to the asphalt deposit known as
Bermudez Lake, together with the fee-simple ownership of land
surrounding the lake. Ever since the advent of Castro, the
company had been harassed by litigious proceedings, behind
which the Government was said to be always in action. In 1905
these were carried to the point of putting the whole property
into the hands of a receiver or "depositary," practically
transferring its capital and plant to its rivals in business.
A little later, a judicial decision, pronounced by a Venezuela
court, annulled the company’s concession. The main ground of
this confiscation appears to have been the charge that the
company had contributed funds to the support of the Matos
revolt, in 1901.
The same accusation was brought against the French Cable
Company, whose franchise was annulled and its property
confiscated in like manner. In both cases, the matter was a
proper one for arbitration, and this Castro refused,
maintaining the finality of the decision of the Venezuela
courts. Neither France nor the United States could afford to
permit such a penalty of confiscation to be imposed on its
citizens without a searching investigation of the justice of
the act. Under instructions from Secretary Hay, the American
Minister to Venezuela informed the Government of that country
that if it refused to arbitrate the questions involved in this
and other American claims, "the Government of the United
States may be regretfully compelled to take such measures as
it may find necessary to effect complete redress without
resort to arbitration"; and France, about the same time, made
a significant movement of armored cruisers to the French
Antilles. Not contented with the strain thus brought on the
relations of his Government with those of two considerable
Powers in the world, the Venezuelan President soon—in January,
1906—gave a fresh and quite wanton provocation to France. The
French _Chargé d’ Affaires_ in Venezuela had gone on
board a French steamer without official permit, and was
refused permission to return to shore, on the pretence that he
might bring yellow fever infection. France at once dismissed
the Venezuelan _Chargé_ from Paris, and added a demand
for apologies to her other claims.
Having brought his country into this interesting situation,
the eccentric Castro, of incalculable mind and temper, found
the occasion opportune for a vacation, and announced it, April
9, 1906, in a proclamation which opened as follows:
"Fatigue, produced by constant labor, and which I have been
endeavoring to overcome for some time past, makes it
imperative for me now, in order to restore my broken health,
to retire from the exercise of the office of prime magistrate.
"In accordance with a provision of the constitution I have
called to power General Juan Vincente Gomez, a very
meritorious citizen of well-known civic virtues, who in my
absence will fulfill strictly the duties of his office. You
all know him, and you know perfectly well that in view of his
character you must support him without any hesitation
whatever, in order that the administration may continue, as it
has up to now, under the surest bases of stability, order, and
progress, thus making the action of the executive the most
expeditious possible.
"On retiring from power I wish you to take into consideration
my effort and my sacrifices for the country’s cause, which has
been, and still is, the cause of the people, of reason,
justice, and right, so that you will agree with me that he who
has thus labored has a right to even a slight rest, and this
cannot be taken except in retirement and solitude.
"On the other hand, our present international situation,
completely defined and clear, gives us reason to hope that
everything will continue harmoniously and on a basis of mutual
respect and consideration."
{687}
The next morning he left quietly for Los Teques, where he has
a private estate; his late cabinet resigned, and a new
Ministry was formed by the acting President, Gomez. Six weeks
later, on the 23d of May, the President-on-vacation, from his
retirement, issued a second proclamation, announcing his wish
to withdraw permanently from public life, and his intention to
resign the presidency at the next session of Congress. But
differences appear to have arisen soon after this between the
retired President and his substitute, General Gomez, over
cabinet appointments, and presently there was a delegation
sent to request the former to abandon his intended
resignation. The delegation succeeded in its mission, and on
the 4th of July the now rested and refreshed Chief Magistrate
returned to Caracas and reburdened himself with the cares of
state.
VENEZUELA: A. D. 1905-1909.
Trouble given to Colombia over the Navigation of Rivers
flowing through both countries.
See (in this Volume)
COLOMBIA: A. D. 1905-1909.
VENEZUELA: A. D. 1906.
No participation in Third International Conference
of American Republics.
See (in this Volume)
AMERICAN REPUBLICS.
VENEZUELA: A. D. 1907-1909.
President Castro’s obstinate Provocations to France and
the United States.
His Quarrel with Holland.
His unwary venture Abroad.
The Triumph of his Enemies in Venezuela.
The Foreign Governments he Quarrelled with take part
in Preventing his Return.
President Castro, practically Dictator in Venezuela, continued
obstinate in his provocative attitude towards both France and
the United States, and added Holland at length to the list of
exasperated nations which were questioning and studying how to
deal with insolence from so petty a source. His courts, after
confiscating the franchises and seizing the property of the
French Cable Company and the American asphalt concessionaries,
imposed fines of $5,000,000 on each. Of the five claims for
redress or indemnity which the American Government pressed
upon him he refused to submit any to arbitration, in any form,
at The Hague or elsewhere. This situation continued until the
American Legation was withdrawn from Caracas, in June, 1908,
to signify that negotiation was ended, and the whole
correspondence of the State Department with Venezuela was laid
before Congress, for such action as it might see fit to take.
Castro had opened his quarrel with Holland in a characteristic
way. The bubonic plague had got a footing at the Venezuelan
port of La Guayra, and he refused to allow his own medical
officers, who reported the fact, to take measures for
preventing the spread of the disease. Then, when his Dutch
neighbors at Curaçao protected themselves by a quarantine
against La Guayra he retaliated by an embargo on commerce with
Curaçao, exchanged angry letters with the Dutch Minister at
Caracas, and ordered him finally to quit the country. The
Netherland Government acted slowly, with deliberation, on the
matter, despatching a battle-ship, at length, to the scene,
and otherwise manifesting serious intentions.
But now the domestic situation in Venezuela underwent a sudden
change; or, rather, a recurrence to the situation in 1906,
when Castro had found it easy to lay down the reins of
authority and take them up again at his pleasure. He was
afflicted with some ailment, for which he went abroad to seek
treatment, appointing Vice-President Gomez to conduct the
Government in his absence. Landing at Bordeaux on the 10th of
December, 1908, he made a short visit to Paris, receiving no
official recognition or entertainment, and went thence to
Berlin. In Germany he stayed with his family and suite for
about three months, undergoing a surgical operation with
subsequent treatment for his malady. Meantime, in Venezuela,
his enemies, or the opponents of his rule, had acquired the
upper hand, and were prepared to resist his return. On the
16th of December a mob at Caracas, crying "Down with Castro,"
wrecked considerable property of his friends. A few days later
some of his partisans were arrested on the charge of having
plotted the death of Acting-President Gomez, and that trusted
representative of the absent President became openly
antagonistic to him. The Castro Cabinet was dismissed, and an
anti-Castro Ministry was formed.
Pacific overtures were now made to the foreign governments
with which Castro had quarrelled. The Honorable William I.
Buchanan, an able diplomat, of much experience in
Spanish-America, was sent from the United States to reopen
negotiations at Caracas, where he arrived on the 20th
December, and the late Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs
went abroad as an agent of President Gomez to treat with the
Netherlands, Great Britain, and France. Mr. Buchanan found
difficulty in arranging modes of settlement in the case of two
American claims, that of the New York and Bermudez Company,
and that of the Orinoco Corporation, which claimed very
extensive concessions; but the obstacles were overcome and a
satisfactory protocol signed, February 13, 1909.
Before this time, criminal proceedings had been instituted
against Castro, on the charge that he had instigated the
assassination of Vice-President Gomez, and the High Federal
Court had decided that adequate evidence had been adduced to
warrant the action. To this accusation Castro made answer from
Dresden, February 27, saying: "The only charge that has been
raised against me is that I tried to instigate the murder of
Gomez. It is incredible that, after having shown my interest
in him in so many ways, I should try to cause him to be
murdered. If Gomez had given me occasion to suspect him, I
would have given orders regarding him before my departure from
Venezuela, and I would not have been so stupid as to send such
an order by cable. Whoever knows me knows also that I am
incapable of such disgraceful cowardice. I give this
declaration in the interest of truth to the press and to the
foreign countries, in order to set at rest in places where I
am not known all doubts and suspicions regarding my behavior."
Having no apparent doubt that he could master the adverse
situation in Venezuela, Castro was now making his arrangements
to return. On the 24th of March he arrived at Paris, on his
way to Bordeaux, to take passage on the Steamer
_Guadeloupe_. There he was met by a statement from the
steamship company, "that it had been informed by the
Venezuelan government that Señor Castro will not be permitted
to land in Venezuela; that he will be arrested on board the
Guadeloupe if this vessel calls at a Venezuelan port, and that
even the movement of the _Guadeloupe_ in Venezuelan ports
will be controlled by the authorities, if Castro is a
passenger.
{688}
As a result of this communication the company will embark
Castro only on condition that he leave the _Guadeloupe_
before reaching Venezuela, either at Martinique or Trinidad.
This official notification to the steamship company was handed
in by José de Jesus Paul, the special Venezuelan envoy to
Europe. Señor Paul says in part:
"‘Cipriano Castro is under criminal prosecution in Venezuela,
and the High Federal Court having suspended his function as
President, he is liable, in accordance with the laws of
Venezuela, to imprisonment pending the result of the trial. A
warrant of arrest can be executed even on board the
_Guadeloupe_ at the first Venezuelan port.’ "
At Bordeaux he was forced to take passage with the
understanding that he must leave the ship before she reached a
Venezuelan port, and he accepted tickets to Port-au-Spain,
Trinidad. On leaving Paris his parting words had been: "I
believe that God and destiny call me back to Venezuela. I
intend to accomplish my mission there, even though it involves
revolution." But he mistook the call, and mere earthly
authority sufficed to frustrate the mission he had in mind.
The British Government, after consultation with the United
States and other Powers most interested in the avoidance of
fresh disturbances in Venezuela, forbade his landing at
Trinidad, and he found no port to receive him but that of Fort
de France, Martinique. From that French soil, too, he was
ordered away the next day, and look passage back to France,
ultimately settling himself with his family in Spain. If he
has made further efforts or plans to recover a footing in
Venezuela, the public has not learned of them.
As soon as the out-cast President had been thus eliminated
from Venezuelan politics, he was cleared, May 21, of the
charge of plotting to assassinate General Gomez, by decision
of the Criminal Court. Both Holland and France had settled, by
this time, their differences with Venezuela, and restored
diplomatic relations. On the 12th of August, Vice-President
Gomez was formally elected Provisional President by Congress
in the exercise of powers claimed under the new Constitution.
On the 11th of September announcement was made that all but
one of the five American claims for which Mr. Buchanan had
arranged modes of settlement had been settled, and that one—of
the Orinoco Steamship Company—was before the tribunal at The
Hague.
VENICE: A. D. 1902.
Fall of the Campanile of St. Marks.
On the morning of July 14, 1902, the Campanile or bell-tower
of the cathedral of St. Marks fell to the ground. An attentive
architect had been calling attention for several years to
signs of danger in its walls, but nothing had been done to
avert the destruction of the most interesting monument of
antiquity in the city. The building of the tower was begun in
the year 888, and underwent a reconstruction in 1329. Its
height was 322 feet.
"At 9 o’clock, according to the story of an American architect
who witnessed the fall of the tower from the neighborhood of
the Rialto, he saw the golden angel slowly sink directly
downward behind a line of roofs, and a dense gray dust arose
in clouds. Instantly, from all parts of the city, a crowd
rushed toward the Piazza, to find on their arrival that
nothing was left of all that splendid nave but a mound of
white dust, 80 feet high." A press telegram from Venice,
January 4, 1910, announced that "the Campanile, after seven
years’ work, is now approaching completion. The shaft is
finished, and only lacks the belfry, the separate pieces of
which are ready to be set in place."
VEREENIGING, BOER-BRITISH TREATY OF PEACE AT.
See (in this Volume)
South Africa: A. D. 1901-1902.
VERESTCHAGIN, VASILI, DEATH OF.
See (in this Volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1904 (FEBRUARY-AUGUST).
VERNON-HARCOURT, LOUIS:
First Commissioner of Works.
See (in this Volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1905-1906.
VESUVIUS, MOUNT:
Violent Eruption in 1906.
See (in this Volume)
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.
VETO, CIVIL, IN PAPAL ELECTIONS.
See (in this Volume)
PAPACY: A. D. 1904.
VIBORG CONFERENCE.
See (in this Volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1906.
VICTOR EMMANUEL III., KING OF ITALY:
His Agency in founding the International Institute
of Agriculture.
See (in this Volume)
AGRICULTURE.
VILHENA, SENHOR.
See (in this Volume)
PORTUGAL: A. D. 1906-1909.
VILLAZON, ELIDORO:
President of Bolivia.
See (in this Volume)
ACRE DISPUTES.
VIRCHOW, RUDOLPH:
Celebration of his Eightieth Birthday.
See (in this Volume)
SCIENCE AND INVENTION: ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS.
VIRGINIA: A. D. 1907.
The Jamestown Tercentennial Exposition.
See (in this Volume)
JAMESTOWN.
VITHÖFT, ADMIRAL.
See (in this Volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1904 (FEBRUARY-AUGUST).
"VLADIMIR’S DAY."
See (in this Volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1904-1905.
VLADIVOSTOCK:
In the Russo-Japanese War.
See (in this Volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1904 (FEBRUARY-AUGUST).
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS: ITALY: A. D. 1906 (April).
Great Outburst of Vesuvius.
The Most Violent since 1631.
"At a meeting of the Geological Society, London, on May 9, a
paper giving a scientific account of the recent great eruption
of Mount Vesuvius was read by Professor Giuseppe de Lorenzo,
of the Mineralogical Museum in the Royal University of Naples,
a foreign correspondent of the society. According to the
report in the London _Times_ Professor de Lorenzo stated
that after the great eruption of 1872 Vesuvius lapsed into
repose, marked by merely solfataric phenomena, for three
years. Fissuring of the cone and slight outpourings of lava
began in May, 1905, and continued until April 5, 1906, when
the fourth great outburst from the principal crater occurred,
accompanied by the formation of deeper and larger fissures in
the south-eastern wall of the cone, from which a great mass of
fluid and scoriaceous lava was erupted. After a pause the
maximum outburst took place during the night of April 7 and 8,
and blew 3,000 feet into the air scoriæ and lapilli of lava as
fragments derived from the wreckage of the cone.
{689}
The southwesterly wind carried this ash to Ottajano and San
Giuseppe, which were buried under three feet of it, and even
swept it on to the Adriatic and Montenegro. At this time the
lava which reached Torre Annunziato was erupted. The
decrescent phase began on April 8, but the collapse of the
cone of the principal crater was accompanied by the ejection
of steam and dust to a height of from 22,000 to 26,000 feet.
On April 9 and 10 the wind was northeast, and the dust was
carried over Torre del Greco and as far as Spain; but on April
11 the cloud was again impelled northward. The ash in the
earlier eruptions was dark in color and made of materials
derived directly from the usual type of leucotephritic magma;
but later it became grayer and mixed with weathered elastic
material from the cone. The great cone had an almost
horizontal rim on April 13, very little higher than Monte
Somma, and with a crater possibly exceeding 1,300 feet in
diameter; this cone was almost snow white from the deposit of
sublimates. Many deaths, Professor de Lorenzo states, were due
to asphyxia, but the collapse of roofs weighted with dust was
a source of much danger, as was the case at Pompeii in A. D.
79. The lava streams surrounded trees, many of which still
stood in the hot lava with their leaves and blossoms
apparently uninjured. The sea level during April 7 and 8 was
lowered six inches near Pozzuoli, and as much as twelve inches
near Portici, and had not returned to its former level on
April 13. The maximum activity conformed almost exactly with
full moon, and at the time the volcanoes of the Phlegræan
Fields and of the islands remained in their normal condition.
Professor de Lorenzo believes that this eruption of Vesuvius
is greater than any of those recorded in history with two
exceptions—those of A. D. 79, the historic eruption which
destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum, and of 1631, when Torre del
Greco was overwhelmed and 4,000 persons perished."
_Scientific Notes and News
(Science, May 25, 1906)._
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS: WEST INDIES: A. D. 1902 (May).
Of Mont Pelee and La Souffrière, on the islands of Martinique
and St. Vincent.
Destruction of the City of St. Pierre.
The most appalling catastrophe in the annals of the Western
Hemisphere is that which burst from the long torpid volcano of
Mont Pelée, overlooking the city of St. Pierre, on the French
island of Martinique, and from its slumbering neighbor, La
Souffrière, of the British island of St. Vincent, on the
morning of the 8th of May, 1902. The following particulars of
the frightful volcanic explosion are borrowed from a graphic
account prepared for _The American Review of Reviews_ by
W. J. McGee, of the Smithsonian Institution.
"The outbreak of Mont Pelée seems to have been second only to
that of Krakatoa in explosive violence in the written history
of the world. Nor was the catastrophe confined to a mountain
and a city, or even to an island: the towns and villages of
northern Martinique were devastated or utterly destroyed as
far southward as Fort de France, while the scant 400 square
miles of the whole island were at once shaken from below and
showered from above with uncounted tons of hot rock-powder,
scorching what it touched, and desolating the tropical
luxuriance of one of the fairest among the gems of the
Antilles. At the same time the Vulcanian spasm thrilled afar
through subterranean nerves and stirred into sympathetic
resurrection other long-dead volcanoes; and one of these,—La
Souffrière, on the island of St. Vincent, over a hundred miles
away,—sprang into baleful activity, poured out vast sheets of
viscid lava, showered land and sea with its own scorching
rock-powder, devastated another gem in the Antillean necklace,
and slew its thousands. The vigor of such volcanic outbursts
as those of Martinique and St. Vincent, and the vastness of
their products, are beyond realization. The governor of
Barbados, Sir Frederick Hodgson, estimates that ‘two million
tons of volcanic dust’ fell on his island, which is 110 miles
from La Souffrière, and still farther from Mont Pelée. …
"About the middle of April of the present year the inhabitants
of Martinique and passing seafarers began to note the
appearance of ‘smoke’ about the crest of the mountain; and
within a few days the report spread that Mont Pelée was in an
ugly mood. The smoky columns and clouds increased at
intervals, and anxiety deepened both at St. Pierre and Fort de
France; but as the days went by without other manifestations,
apprehension faded. On May 5, detonations were heard and a
tremor shook St. Pierre, while a mass of mud was violently
erupted from the old crater. The indications are that this
eruption was occasioned by the rise of viscous lava,
accompanied by steam and other gases attending its formation,
probably through the old vent, in sufficient quantity and with
sufficient violence to blow the lake out of the ancient crater
and vaporize the water. Portions of the lava were apparently
blown into dust by the flashing into steam of water imprisoned
in its interstices, after the manner of volcanic ejecta
generally; and this material (better called ‘lapilli’ than
‘ashes’) hastened condensation of the aqueous vapor in the air
already overcharged by the addition of that cast up from the
lake. The consequence was a shower of mud, apparently of
limited extent. Some of the accounts indicate that the greater
part of this mud was not vomited into the air, but that it
welled up in such wise as to fill and overflow the old crater,
and send scalding streams down the gorges seaming the rugged
sides of Mont Pelée; one of these flooded a sugar factory and
enveloped a score or more of the employees; others mingled
with the rivers, converting them into hot and muddy torrents,
carrying destruction down their channels to the sea. … So
matters rested, with Pelée still grumbling, until the evening
and night of May 7, when the black vapor-clouds and
subterranean groanings grew more terrifying; but it was too
late to escape before another day.
"About 7:50 A. M. on May 8 came the great shock, of which that
of May 5 was the precursor; and within ten minutes St. Pierre
and the smaller towns of Martinique were in ruins. Few
witnesses were left to describe the event, and the accounts of
these vary so widely as to require interpretation through the
testimony of other witnesses of similar eruptions elsewhere.
Briefly it seems evident that the lava mass, of which the
uppermost portion exploded on May 5, had continued to rise in
the vent after the temporary shock due to the recoil of the
initial explosion, and that by the morning of May 8 it had
reached such a height in the throat as to find relief from the
stupendous pressure of the lower earth-crust.
{690}
Coming up with the high temperature of subterranean depths,
the mass was, like other rocks in a state of nature, saturated
with water held in liquid state by the pressure, and charged
with other mineral substances ready to flash into gas or to
oxidize on contact with the air; and these more volatile
materials, being of less density than the average, were more
abundant in the upper portions of the mass.
"As the viscid plug of red-hot rock forced its way upward, the
mighty mountain travailed, the interior rocks were rent, and
the groaning and trembling were conveyed through the outer
strata to the surface and strange shakings of the shores and
quiverings of the sea marked the approach of the culmination.
Then the plug passed above the zone of rock-pressure great
enough to compress steam into water whatsoever the heat,—and
with this relief the liquid flashed into steam and the
superheated rock-matter into gases, while the unoxidized
compounds leaped into flame and smoke as they caught the
oxygen of the outer air. The lava was probably acidic, and
hence highly viscous; and when the imprisoned droplets of
water expanded, they formed bubbles, or vesicles, often much
larger than the Volume of rock-matter; doubtless some of this
matter remains in the form of vesicular pumice; but
unquestionably immense quantities were blown completely into
fragments representing the walls of the bubbles and the
angular spicules and thickenings between bubbles. Of these
fragments lapilli, or so-called volcanic ashes, consists; and
the Mont Pelée explosion was so violent that much of the
matter was dust-fine, and drifted hundreds of miles before it
settled from the upper air to the sea or land below. When the
imprisoned water burst into steam, the heavier gases were
evolved, also, with explosive violence; and while the steam
shot skyward, carrying lapilli in vast dust-clouds, these
gases rolled down the slopes, burning (at least in part) as
they went; and at the same time the heavier lava fragments,
together with rock-masses torn from the throat of the crater
by the viscid flood, were dropped for miles around. …
"Both press dispatches and physical principles indicate that
it was the debacle of burning gas that consumed St. Pierre
even before the red-hot rocks reached the roofs and balconies.
Meantime the aerial disturbance was marked by electrical
discharges, with continuous peal of thunder and glare of
lightning, while portions of the hot rock-powder were washed
down from the clouds by scalding rains. The heat of millions
of tons of red-hot lava and of the earth-rending explosion, as
well as of the burning gases, fell on Martinique; green things
crumbled to black powder, dry wood fell into smoke and ashes,
clothing flashed into flame, and the very bodies of men and
beasts burst with the fervent heat. Such, in brief, were the
evil events of Pelée and St. Pierre for May 8."
Simultaneously, on St. Vincent’s Island, the outbreak of La
Souffrière occurred that day. "The accounts are vague or
conflicting as to the hour and as to the precise nature of the
initial and later throes; yet it would appear, from the burden
of the testimony, that the outbreak quickly succeeded that of
Pelée. Apparently, too, the extravasation of rock-matter, both
of liquid and lava, exceeded that of the northern neighbor;
yet the indications are that the explosion was feebler, and
that the formation of gases was proportionately less abundant.
Lapilli are reported to cover the entire island to depths
ranging from an inch or more to several feet, several
roofs,—like those of Pompeii of old,—being crushed in by the
weight; the estimates of human mortality ranged from a few
hundreds in the early reports to over two thousand, and were
afterward slightly reduced, while the destruction of property
seems to have been relatively greater than on Martinique. So
far as the accounts of the two outbursts go, they indicate
that the Pelée eruption was primarily an explosion due to the
flashing of water and other gases on relief from pressure,
with attendant heat and meteorologic disturbances, followed by
a limited and quiet outflow of lava from the deeper and drier
portion of the lava plug; but that the upwelling lava of
Souffrière was in some way nearer equilibrium,—perhaps drier,
perhaps cooler, perhaps from less depth and pressure,—and
hence poured out in broad sheets of viscid rock-matter,
likened by some observers to burning sealing wax.
"Such, in brief, is the record of La Souffrière on May 8,—a
record that would have appalled the nations had it not been
eclipsed by the ghastly tale of Mont Pelée and St. Pierre."
In the case of St. Pierre almost the entire population had
remained in the town, not sufficiently warned by the outbreak
of May 5, and was, in consequence, destroyed. It is estimated
that 30,000 people perished in or near that town alone. Death
came to them almost instantaneously,—not from the flow of lava
or the showers of hot ashes that fell to the depth of perhaps
two feet, but from such a fierce current of burning gases that
men breathed flames instead of air.
On the English island, there was no large town close to the
mountain, and therefore not as great loss of life as in
Martinique, but nearly two thousand persons in the rural
districts lost their lives. These were burned to death by hot
sand or were killed by lightning, there being no suffocation,
as in St. Pierre. A layer of ashes fell over the entire
island, and in the northeastern part the land was buried in
ashes and stones to the depth of eighteen inches. As a
consequence, all the crops were destroyed.
Repeated outbreaks of both Mont Pelée and La Souffrière
occurred at intervals during more than a year following the
great explosion, adding much to the destruction of the means
of living on large parts of the islands and to the misery of
the inhabitants remaining in the regions affected, though not
greatly to the loss of life. Of the relief in money and
supplies from all sources that was poured into the two
afflicted islands no full reckoning can be obtained; but the
Governor of the Windward Islands reported to the Colonial
Office at London on the 20th of June, 1903, that total
receipts for the Eruption Fund to that date were £77,000, and
expenditures £42,787. "I shall have sufficient funds left in
the Colony," he added, "to meet all present needs, unless any
further unforeseen misfortune takes place."
VULGATE, REVISION OF THE.
See (in this Volume)
PAPACY: A. D. 1907-1909.
{691}
W.
WAGES AND COST OF LIVING.
See (in this Volume)
LABOR REMUNERATION: WAGES, &c.
WAI-WU-PU.
See (in this Volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1901-1908.
WALDECK-ROUSSEAU, PIERRE MARIE:
Resignation of Ministry.
See (in this Volume )
FRANCE: A. D. 1902 (APRIL-OCTOBER).
WALLER, DR. AUGUSTUS.
See (in this Volume)
SCIENCE AND INVENTION, RECENT: OPSONINS.
WALL STREET INVESTIGATION, THE.
See (in this Volume)
FINANCE AND TRADE: UNITED STATES: A. D. 1909.
----------WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR: Start--------
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR: At Large:
Contradictory Feeling and Action in the World.
Its Causes.
International Barbarism with Inter-Personal Civilization.
The Two Main Knots of Difficulty in the Situation.
The British and the German Posture.
There was never before in the world so wide-spread and so
passionate a hatred of War, among civilized peoples, or so
earnest and determined an endeavor to supplant it by rational
methods of composing international disputes. At the same time,
there was never so frenzied a rivalry of preparation among the
nations for Warfare, by monstrous accumulation of its horrible
engines and tools. How can the glaring inconsistency be
accounted for without impeaching the general sanity of
mankind?
The strangeness of the situation was described most
graphically and feelingly, not long since, by Lord Rosebery,
in speaking at a banquet given to the delegates attending the
British Imperial Press Conference, at London, in June, 1909,
and his own feeling that went into the description of it
affords an explanation of the anomaly. "I do not know," said
the eloquent Earl, "that in some ways I have ever seen a
condition of things in Europe so remarkable, so peaceful, and
in some respects so ominous as the condition which exists at
this moment. There is a hush in Europe, a hush in which you
may almost hear a leaf fall to the ground. There is an
absolute absence of any questions which ordinarily lead to
war. One of the great Empires which is sometimes supposed to
menace peace is entirely engrossed with its own internal
affairs. Another great Eastern empire which furnished a
perpetual problem to statesmen has taken a new lease of life
and youth in searching for constitutional peace and reform.
"All forebodes peace; and yet at the same time, combined with
this total absence of all questions of friction, there never
was in the history of the world so threatening and so
overpowering a preparation for war. That is a sign which I
confess I regard as most ominous. For 40 years it has been a
platitude to say that Europe is an armed camp, and for 40
years it has been true that all the nations have been facing
each other armed to the teeth, and that has been in some
respects a guarantee of peace. Now, what do we see? Without
any tangible reason we see the nations preparing new
armaments. They cannot arm any more men on land, so they have
to seek new armaments upon the sea, piling up these enormous
preparations as if for some great Armageddon—and that in a
time of profoundest peace. We live in the midst of what I
think was called by Petrarch _tacens bellum_—a silent
warfare, in which not a drop of blood is shed in anger, but in
which, however, the last drop is extracted from the living
body by the lancets of the European statesmen. There are
features in this general preparation for war which must cause
special anxiety to the friends of Great Britain and the
British Empire, but I will not dwell upon these. I will only
ask you who have come to this country to compare carefully the
armaments of Europe with our preparations to meet them, and
give your impressions to the Empire in return. (Cheers.) I
myself feel confident in the resolution and power of this
country to meet any reasonable conjunction of forces. But when
I see this bursting out of navies everywhere, when I see one
country alone asking for 25 millions of extra taxation for
warlike preparation, when I see the absolutely unprecedented
sacrifices which are asked from us on the same ground, I do
begin to feel uneasy at the outcome of it all and wonder where
it will stop, or if it is nearly going to bring back Europe
into a state of barbarism, (hear, hear), or whether it will
cause a catastrophe in which the working men of the world will
say, ‘We will have no more of this madness, this foolery which
is grinding us to powder.’ (Cheers.)
"We can and we will build Dreadnoughts—or whatever the newest
type of ship may be (loud cheers)—as long as we have a
shilling to spend on them or a man to put into them. (Loud
cheers.) All that we can and will do; but I am not sure that
even that will be enough, and I think it may be your duty to
take back to your young dominions across the seas this message
and this impression—that some personal duty and responsibility
for national defence rests on every man and citizen. (Loud and
prolonged cheers.) Yes, take that message back with you. Tell
your people—if they can believe it—the deplorable way in which
Europe is lapsing into militarism and the pressure which is
put upon this little island to defend its liberties—and yours.
(Cheers.) But take this message also back with you—that the
old country is right at heart, that there is no failing or
weakness in heart, and that she rejoices in renewing her youth
in her giant dominions beyond the seas. (Loud cheers.) For her
own salvation she must look to herself, and that failing her
she must look to you. (Cheers.)"
{692}
Here, in the feeling of one superlatively civilized man, is
the feeling of more than half the world epitomized. It shrinks
with horror from the enormity of preparations that are "as if
for some great Armageddon," and shudders over what seems to be
"nearly going to bring back Europe into a state of barbarism";
but suspicion, distrust, fear impel it nevertheless, to cry
with Lord Rosebery: "We can and we will build Dreadnoughts as
long as we have a shilling to spend on them or a man to put
into them—because others are building them who may use them
against us." There is senselessness in this predicament of
mind, but it is the senselessness of a persisting
international barbarism, which keeps nation-neighbors still
standing in attitudes toward one another which became
foolishness to individual neighbors a thousand years ago. It
means, simply, that the society of nations is as barbaric as
it was when Englishmen and Normans fought at Senlac; and that
it is only in little street-neighborhoods that men have
arrived at the rational relationships which offer an
appearance of civilization in some parts of the world.
Two principal knots of difficulty must be cut in some way,
before an international civilization can be developed, by the
rational and moral processes which have civilized us
interpersonally in some considerable degree. The hardest of
these knots is tightened upon England, by the weight and the
strain of her great world-wide empire on the little island to
which it is bound. Not only the whole exterior fabric of
British Empire, but the bare subsistence of the people of the
small island at its center, depends on the uninterrupted use
of the surrounding seas for trade and travel between its
parts. To lose freedom in that use means the downfall of Great
Britain, not merely as a militant power, but in everything
that could carry her past importance into the future of the
world. It means so much as this, because the resources of the
island-home of the nation, within themselves, are so small.
There can be no wonder, then, that Englishmen reckon nothing
else so important to them as an indisputable free use of the
seas. Nor can there be wonder that they learned in the past to
look on an indisputable free use of the seas as implying a
mastery of the sea. Until within the last generation or two
this was the sole condition on which there could be security
in ocean trade. That it remains so still is the continued
belief of all the Governments which put millions on millions
into bigger and bigger steel-clad battleships, and of the
publics behind the Governments, which cry with Rosebery, "We
can and we will build Dreadnoughts as long as we have a
shilling to spend on them or a man to put into them." England
differs from the rest only in the imperativeness to her of
what is simply important to them. If security in the use of
the seas is still impossible of attainment without the
supremacy over them of an irresistible sea-power, then England
has justifications for the enormity of her naval armament
which no other nation can claim.
So long as a majority of Englishmen feel constrained to
believe that their ocean trade is made secure from hostile
obstruction by nothing but their naval strength, so long they
will strive to maintain a navy that shall be equal to the
combined navies of any other two Powers; and so long as that
"Two Power Standard" of British naval policy remains
inflexible, it seems forbidding to the hope of a common
agreement among the maritime nations to reduce their building
of battleships. With other Powers than Germany there might be
possibilities of such an agreement, even subject to a
concession of British naval supremacy, because of the
exceptionality of circumstance in England’s case; but it is
here that we come to the second of the two principal knots of
difficulty which hinder the international civilization of the
world, now so flagrantly over-due. Germany, coming late, by a
tardy unification, into the national career which the German
people are entitled to, by their energy of spirit and capacity
of brain, is impatient in the ambitions that were repressed so
long. Her industries, her commerce, her maritime undertakings
have been pushed in the last generation, against the older
competitions of Europe and America, with an impassioned
determination that has won extraordinary triumphs on every
line. Here, again, as in the case of England, there is an
exceptional exposure of the nation to those perils from war
which the state of international barbarism still keeps in
suspense. Germany elbows so many close neighbors in Europe
that nothing but a perfectly trusting friendship or a
perfectly organized reign of law among them can make safety
for any. In the absence of both friendly trust and
authoritative law, they stand on guard against each other in
the twentieth century as they did in the tenth; but with arms
a hundred-fold more hellish and a thousand-fold more ruinous
in cost. Under the pressure of her long-pent ambitions and
energies, Germany has beaten all her neighbors in this as in
other fields of exertion. She commands the best trained, the
best organized, the best equipped army in the world, and
stands admittedly the first among military Powers. But
military power does not give "world power," in the accepted
meaning of that term, and Germany is impelled by all the
strong motives of our time to acquire that. She is competing
with England in commerce, in shipping, in exploitations of
enterprise, everywhere, and she manifestly hopes yet to make
good the lateness of her coming into the field of colonial
plantation. By everything in the prevailing theories of
statesmanship, this calls for a development of naval power to
mate the military; and Germany has been zealously obedient to
the call,—so zealously that England has taken alarm. Since
about the year 1900 a German navy has been created so fast
that the "two power standard" of Great Britain has begun of
late to be a seriously difficult, because a frightfully
costly, naval standard to maintain. Yet England more than ever
believes that she must maintain it at any cost; because the
strenuousness of the German navy-building inspires her with a
new distrust. Hence these two Powers are setting a new pace to
the increase of naval armament, all other Governments catching
some infection from the new temper of suspicion and distrust
which works in theirs.
And this, mainly, at least, is why the world is busier to-day
than it was ever busy before in building monstrous ships and
guns and horrible inventions of a thousand sorts for battle,
while it loathes battle and war as they were never loathed by
mankind before.
{693}
One of the most impressive of recent utterances on this grave
subject fell from the lips of the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs in the Government of Great Britain, Sir Edward Grey,
on the 29th of March, 1909, when he said in Parliament: "Sir,
the martial spirit, I should be the last to deny, has its
place, and its proper place, in the life of a nation. That the
nation should take pride in its power to resist force by force
is a natural and wholesome thing. It is a source of perfectly
healthy pride to have soundness of wind and limb and physical
strength, and it has no unworthy part in the national spirit.
That I sympathize with entirely, but I would ask the people to
consider to what consequences the growth of armaments has led.
The great countries of Europe are raising enormous revenues
and something like one-half of them is being spent on naval
and military preparations. You may call it national insurance,
that is perfectly true; but it is equally true that one-half
of the national revenue of the great countries in Europe is
being spent on what are, after all, preparations to kill each
other. Surely the extent to which this expenditure has grown
really becomes a satire and a reflection upon civilization.
(Cheers.) Not in our generation, perhaps, but if it goes on at
the rate at which it has recently increased, sooner or later I
believe it will submerge that civilization. The burden already
shows itself in national credit—less in our national credit
than in the national credit of other nations—but sooner or
later, if it goes on at this rate, it must lead to national
bankruptcy. Is it to be wondered that the hopes and
aspirations of the best men in the leading countries are
devoted to trying to find some means of checking it? (Cheers.)
Surely that is a statement of the case in which, however
attached a man may be to what I may call the martial spirit,
he may at least see that the whole of Europe is in the
presence of a great danger. But, Sir, no country alone can
save that."
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR: At Large:
Lord Morley on the Responsibility of the Press.
Speaking to the Imperial Press Conference, at London, in June,
1909, and referring to the "rebarbarism of Europe—the
rattling back into arms and the preparation to use arms," Lord
Morley said he thought the Press was more answerable for this
than all the ministers, officers, and diplomatists taken
together, and he pleaded for a systematic and persevering work
on the part of newspapers in behalf of peace among the
nations.
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR: Military:
Average Cost of the Armies of the Great Military Powers.
In his report on the French army budget of 1909 M. Gervais
made a calculation of the average military expenditure of the
six Powers—namely, Russia, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary,
Italy, and Japan, which can mobilize the largest armies, and
found the total amount spent annually to be no less than 5,037
million francs (more than $1,000,000,000), and the number of
men which they could put into the field to be 31,700,000. The
army which England can mobilize comes seventh, and is given as
555,000 men, though her average annual expenditure is the same
as that of France—namely, 700 million francs ($140,000,000).
Comparing next the expenditure and the effectives of France
and Germany, the report states that the German army estimates
show an increase in 1909 to 69 million francs, being fixed at
1,067,862,437f., of which 838,037,151f., belong to the
ordinary budget and 229,825,226f. to the extraordinary budget.
The French army estimates for the year were 742,443,745f.
($150,000,000). The totals on either side were: Germany,
34,118 officers and 602,670 men; France, 27,310 officers and
511,930 men. The average cost per man in Germany is l,398f.
and in France 1,150f.
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
Belgian Military Service Stiffened.
Substitution Abolished.
Personal Service Exacted.
Conscription of a mild type has existed in Belgium for some
years, supplemented by voluntary enlistments and ameliorated
by hired substitution, which released the well-to-do from
military service if they wished to escape it. The Liberals and
Socialists have for a long time been advocating the abolition
of the practice of substitution in favor of a system of
personal and universal military service; and, latterly they
were joined in the demand by a section of the Catholics. The
question became a dominant one in politics, and brought about
an extraordinary session of the Belgian Chamber in October,
1909, for discussion of a comprehensive measure of military
reform, for strengthening the self-defense of the kingdom. It
resulted in a decision that "general personal service
restricted to one son per family should be introduced, that
the annual contingent should be raised to 18,000 men, that the
peace strength should stand at 48,400, and that the eventual
war strength should be 250,000 men. It was also agreed that,
the ecclesiastics should be exempt."
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
Brazilian Military Service.
Service in the Brazilian army was made obligatory by
legislation in 1907.
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
The British Territorial Force.
The Reorganization of 1907-1908.
Lord Roberts’ Criticism.
His Bill for Compulsory Training.
The volunteer or militia forces of the United Kingdom, for
home service, underwent an important reorganization in 1907,
according to the provisions of an Act entitled the
"Territorial and Reserve Forces Act," the general scheme of
which may be learned from the following clauses, taken out of
the text of the Act:
"For the purposes of the reorganisation under this Act of His
Majesty’s military forces other than the regulars and their
reserves, and of the administration of those forces when so
reorganised, and for such other purposes as are mentioned in
this Act, an association may be established for any county in
the United Kingdom, with such powers and duties in connection
with the purposes aforesaid as may be conferred on it by or
under this Act. Associations shall be constituted, and the
members thereof shall be appointed and hold office in
accordance with schemes to be made by the Army Council."
"It shall be the duty of an association when constituted to
make itself acquainted with and conform to the plan of the
Army Council for the organisation of the Territorial Force
within the county and to ascertain the military resources and
capabilities of the county, and to render advice and
assistance to the Army Council and to such officers as the
Army Council may direct, and an association shall have,
exercise, and discharge such powers and duties connected with
the organisation and administration of His Majesty’s military
forces as may for the time being be transferred or assigned to
it by order of His Majesty signified under the hand of a
Secretary of State or, subject thereto, by regulations under
this Act, but an association shall not have any powers of
command or training over any part of His Majesty’s military
forces."
{694}
"The Army Council shall pay to an association, out of money
voted by Parliament for army services, such sums as, in the
opinion of the Army Council, are required to meet the
necessary expenditure connected with the exercise and
discharge by the association of its powers and duties.
"All men of the Territorial Force shall be enlisted by such
persons and in such manner and subject to such regulations as
may be prescribed: Provided that every man enlisted under this
Part of this Act—
(_a_)
Shall be enlisted for a county for which an association has
been established under this Act and shall be appointed to
serve in such corps for that county or for an area comprising
the whole or part of that county as he may select, and, if
that corps comprises more than one unit within the county,
shall be posted to such one of those units as he may select:
(_b_)
Shall be enlisted to serve for such a period as may be
prescribed, not exceeding four years, reckoned from the date
of his attestation:
(_c_)
May be re-engaged within twelve months before the end of his
current term of service for such a period as may be prescribed
not exceeding four years from the end of that term."
"Any part of the Territorial Force shall be liable to serve in
any part of the United Kingdom, but no part of the Territorial
Force shall be carried or ordered to go out of the United
Kingdom. Provided that it shall be lawful for His Majesty, if
he thinks fit, to accept the offer of any part or men of the
Territorial Force, signified through their commanding officer,
to subject themselves to the liability to serve in any place
outside the United Kingdom."
"Subject to the provisions of this section, every man of the
Territorial Force shall, by way of annual training—
(_a_)
Be trained for not less than eight nor more than fifteen, or
in the case of the mounted branch eighteen, days in every year
at such times and at such places in any part of the United
Kingdom as may be prescribed, and may for that purpose be
called out once or oftener in every year:
(_b_)
Attend the number of drills and fulfill the other conditions
relating to training prescribed for his arm or branch of the
service":
"His Majesty in Council may—Order that the period of annual
training in any year of all or any part of the Territorial
Force be extended, but so that the whole period of annual
training be not more than thirty days in any year."
The King is empowered to make orders with respect to pay and
allowances of the Territorial Force, as well as concerning its
government and discipline.
Under this Act the Territorial Force assumed form on the 1st
of April, 1908. The former organizations of Yeomanry and
Volunteers were given until 30th June to transfer to the new
Force. The strength of the Yeomanry and Volunteers on 31st
March had been 9,174 officers and 241,085 men. On 1st July the
strength of the new Force, including both transfers and
recruits, was about 8,000 officers and 176,500 men. Of these
some 112,000 men had joined for one year.
The latest published statement of the enrollment in the
Territorial Force (that can be referred to, here) was made on
the 26th of April, 1909, in the House of Lords, by Lord Lucas,
speaking for the Government, in reply to questions as to "how
many of the 315,000 men required to complete the Territorial
Force had been enrolled up to date; how many of these now
serving in the force were under 20 years of age; what was the
lowest age at which they had been and were now accepted; and
how many Territorials now serving had engaged for one year
only." The answer was: "the strength of the Territorial Force
on the first of this month was 8,938 officers out of an
establishment of 11,267, or 79 percent.; 254,524 men out of a
strength of 302,047; or a total of 263,462 out of an
establishment of 313,314, which came out at 84 per cent. In
answer to the second question he was sorry that they had not
got later particulars than October 1, 1908, but on that day
there were 188,785 men on the strength of the Territorial
Force of whom 62,288 were under 20. The answer to the third
question was that the limit of age for men was 17, and for
boys 14. In answer to the fourth, he could not give the noble
earl the actual number of men serving at the present time for
one year, but the figures he could give would make it pretty
clear. They had last year 107,857 one-year men serving in the
force—Volunteers who had transferred for one year. On April 1
last out of these 107,857 men 56,238 had already reengaged for
one year or more. That was to say, that these men had
signified their intention of re-engaging before their year was
actually up."
Lord Roberts has no confidence in the efficiency of the
Territorial Force, as a voluntary organization. In a letter
read to the House of Lords on the 17th of May, 1909, when a
motion expressive of this opinion was to be made and he found
himself unable to attend and support it personally, he wrote:
"On July 10, 1905, I said that ‘I have no hesitation in
stating that our armed forces as a body are as absolutely
unfitted and unprepared for war as they were in 1899-1900.
Close upon four years have passed since then, and I have no
hesitation in reaffirming my conviction."
Subsequently Lord Roberts introduced in the House of Lords a
"National Service (Training and Home Defence) Bill," on which
he spoke with great earnestness on the 12th of July. His Bill
imposed on all male subjects the obligation of serving in the
Territorial Force between the ages of 18 and 30, excepting
officers of the Regular and Reserve Forces, naval and
military, and some others; but subject to this and other
modifications every person who came under the Bill would be in
the same position as a person who voluntarily joins the
existing Territorial Force. The liability to training would
not extend over the whole term of service, but be limited to
four years. The Bill provided for absolute equality of
treatment of all classes, no purchase of discharge or of
exemption from service being allowed; but in the matter of
training various exemptions were provided for.
The Bill encountered more opposition than support in the
debate on it, and did not secure a second reading.
{695}
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
British Army Reorganization.
Creation of a General Staff.
Result of the Report of the Esher Army Commission.
Work of the Defence Committee.
Speaking, in April, at the Imperial Conference of 1907, Mr.
Haldane, the Secretary for War in the British Ministry, gave a
brief but clear account of the reforms in the organization of
the Army which had been in progress since 1904. "The effect of
the war in South Africa," he said, "made a profound impression
on the minds of our advisers here. We realized that we had
gone into the war without adequate preparation for war on a
great scale, and that we had never fully apprehended the
importance of the maxim that all preparation in time of peace
must be preparation for war; it is of no use unless it is
designed for that; it is the only justification for the
maintenance of armies—the preparation for war. In consequence,
when the war was over, the then Government set to work—and the
present Government has continued to work—to endeavour to put
the modern military organization into shape. In 1904 a very
important committee sat. It was presided over by a civilian
who had given great attention to the study of military
organization, Lord Esher, and it contained on it two very
distinguished exponents of naval and military views, Sir John
Fisher and Sir George Clarke, as its other members. The
committee reported, and its report contained a complete scheme
for the reorganization of the War Office and of the Army. That
scheme was adopted by the late Government and has been carried
on by the present Government. One broad feature is this, that
our naval organization has been the one with which we have
been conspicuously successful in the history of this country,
as distinguished from our military organization, and,
therefore, as far as was possible, the naval organization was
taken as a type. But the broad feature which emerged with
regard to military preparations was this—Count Moltke was
able to organize victory for the Prussian and German armies in
1866, and again in 1870, because he and the General Staff
working under him were free to apply their minds wholly to war
preparation. That he was able to do this was due to the fact
that the organization and business administration of the Army
in peace were kept entirely distinct from the service which
consisted in the study of war problems and in the higher
training of the Staff and of the troops. That was the
principle recommended by the Esher Committee, and it
culminated in the provision of a brain for the Army in the
shape of a General Staff. That General Staff we have been at
work on for a long time past in endeavouring to get together.
The task was not as difficult as it seemed at first, because
the effect of the war was to bring to the front a number of
young officers who had shown remarkable capacity, and who
constituted the nucleus of a serious and thoughtful military
school. They were got together under the Esher reorganization,
and virtually there has been a General Staff in existence for
some time. But it was not until last September that it
received formal and complete shape in the Army Order of that
month."
Besides this fundamental reform, the Esher Commission pointed
the way to other important changes or effective improvements
in the administrative system of the Army. In place of the
commander-in-chief, a new post, that of inspector-general,
with a term of five years, was proposed, the principal duty of
the office being to inspect and report on the efficiency of
the military forces. Earl Roberts had just retired from the
position of commander-in-chief, and the Duke of Connaught
became inspector-general under the new regime. The existing
Defence Committee, instituted in 1902, was to be enlarged by
the addition of a permanent secretary, holding office for five
years; two naval officers, selected by the admiralty; two
military officers, chosen by the Viceroy of India; and, if
possible, other colonial representatives, holding office for
two years.
Of the importance of this Defence Committee, and of its work,
Prime Minister Asquith took occasion to speak recently in
Parliament (July 29, 1909). "Under the present Government," he
said, "during the four years we have been in office the full
Committee constituted by my predecessor, and which has since
rendered the same service to myself, has consisted of six
Cabinet Ministers in addition to the Prime Minister—namely,
the four Secretaries of State other than the Home Secretary,
the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the Chancellor of the
Exchequer. It has consisted next, as representing the Navy, of
the First Sea Lord and the Director of Naval Intelligence, and
as representing the Army the Chief of the General Staff and
the Director of Military Operations; and in addition to these
official members it has had the services and the coöperation
of the Inspector-General of the Forces (Sir John French), who
occupies an independent position; of Lord Esher, who is a
great expert in all these matters; and latterly, at my
nomination, Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson. That has been the
composition of the full Committee, but from time to time we
were able to add to it, and we ought to add to it, members
_ad hoc_. …
"The functions of the Defence Committee arise out of the
necessity felt, I think, in almost all the great countries of
the world, but which is nowhere so pressing as it is here
owing to our geographical and economic conditions—the
necessity of coordinating the work of the Navy and Army. It is
the primary business of the Defence Committee to study and
determine what is the best provision that can from time to
time be made for the military and naval requirements of the
Empire as a whole, to keep both naval and military
requirements, and their due relation to each other, constantly
in view." Giving examples of the subjects which the committee
had discussed, he said they had had under consideration the
military needs of the Empire with reference to recent changes
in Army organization; its military requirements as affected by
the defence of India; the strategical aspects of the Firth of
Clyde Canal; aerial navigation in view of the present and
prospective developments; our policy in regard to the Channel
tunnel and to the means of transit across the Channel; the
standard of fixed defences and garrisons in various parts of
the Empire, and the scale of reinforcements.
{696}
"In 1905 Mr. Balfour, who was then Prime Minister, made a
statement of the highest importance in regard to the
possibility of an invasion of these islands. Since then Lord
Roberts had asked for a reinvestigation of the problem in the
light of new facts and of the changed situation, and in 1907 a
special committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence was
appointed to go into the whole matter. In arriving at their
conclusion the committee conceded to those who were
apprehensive of invasion that it would take place when our
Regular Forces were absent upon some foreign expedition and
that the attack might be a surprise attack. The view
unanimously arrived at was, in the first place, that as long
as the naval supremacy of the country was adequately assured,
invasion on a large scale, involving the transport of 150,000
men, was an absolutely impracticable operation. The committee
held, on the other hand, that if we were permanently to lose
command of the sea, whatever might be the strength and
organization of our military forces at the moment—even if we
had an army like that of Germany—the subjection of the country
by the enemy would be inevitable. It followed from this that
it was the business of the Admiralty to maintain our naval
supremacy at such a height as would enable us to retain
command of the sea against any reasonably possible
combination. The second conclusion arrived at was that we
ought to have an Army for home defence sufficient in numbers
and organization to repel raids and to compel an enemy who
contemplated invasion to embark a force so considerable that
it could not possibly evade our Fleet. The belief of the
Admiralty was that a force of 70,000 men could not get
through; but an ample margin must be allowed for safety, and
it therefore became the business of the War Office to see that
we had a force capable of dealing effectively with 70,000 men.
For this country, then, to be secure against invasion we ought
to have an unassailable supremacy at sea and a home Army ready
to cope with a force of the dimensions he had named. It was
upon these conclusions that both the military and naval policy
of the country during his administration would be carried on."
Speaking in Parliament, in June, 1909, of the peculiar
character and efficient quality of the Regular Army of Great
Britain, Mr. Haldane, the Secretary for War, described it as
"an Army of the kind which no other Power in the world
possesses to the same extent as we do. It is customary," he
said, "to speak of the small British Army; but what Power in
the world has 80,000 white soldiers raised in their own
country stationed in a country like India, and 40,000 in other
parts of the Empire, and a further large force at home which
is tending to increase—and more and more the overseas
Dominions are tending to undertake their own defence? Now that
force is not primarily for use at home, though it may be used
for that; its real purpose is to work with the Navy overseas
and to undertake wars there. The great armies of the Continent
can only be mobilized for a limited time, and they cannot
undertake wars which last for two or five or ten years, as
ours can because it is a professional Army and leaves the
resources of the nation unaffected. That kind of overseas Army
is a peculiarity of the military organization of this country,
a peculiarity which is too often overlooked, but which is just
as essential as the command of the sea."
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
German Emperor’s Speech.
The following speech by the Emperor William was made at
Karlsruhe, September 11, 1909, after a military review in
Baden: "We Germans are a people glad to bear arms and proud of
the game of war (_kriegsspielfreudiy_). We carry the
burden of our defence lightly and willingly, for we know that,
we must preserve and maintain our peace in which alone our
labour can prosper. At the review from which I have just come
I have seen that portion of the warrior sons of our Fatherland
which springs from the land of Baden. Today, under the command of
their illustrious lord, they have given me the most complete
satisfaction. So long as there are peoples there will be
enemies and envious folk; and so long as there are enemies and
envious folk it will be necessary to be on one’s guard against
them. Consequently there will continue to be prospects of war,
and even war itself, and we must be ready for everything.
Hence our army before all forms the _rocher de bronze_ on
which the peace of Europe is based and with which no one
intends to pick a quarrel. It is to preserve this peace, to
maintain the position in the world which is our due, that our
army serves; this also is the aim of the strenuous days which
are expected of it. But I am firmly convinced that it will
stand its test successfully and that our German Fatherland may
rest in confidence that we are on guard and that with God’s
help and under God’s protection nothing will befall us."
MILITARY AND NAVAL;
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
British Imperial Defence Conference of 1909.
Its Agreements for an Imperial System.
Compulsory Military Training contemplated in Australia.
In connection with the doubts that were awakened in Great
Britain, and throughout the British Empire, in 1909, as to the
adequacy of their general preparations for defence, the
Premier announced in the House of Commons, on the 3d of May,
that steps had "been taken to ascertain whether the
Governments of the self-governing Dominions are prepared to
favour a conference at an early date for the discussion of
Imperial co-operation for defence. The Government had
suggested, he said, that the conference should be held this
summer—if possible, in July." The proposal was approved
throughout the Empire, and delegates to the Conference from
each of the self-governing Dominions came to London and held
sessions with representatives of the Home Government,
beginning on the 28th of July. The delegates in attendance
were the following;
Commonwealth of Australia.—
Colonel J. F. Foxton, Minister without portfolio, assisted by
Captain Creswell and Colonel Bridges, naval and military
experts.
New Zealand.—
Sir Joseph Ward, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence.
Canada.—
Sir Frederick Borden, Minister of Militia and Defence, Mr. L.
Brodeur, Minister of Marine and Fisheries, these Ministers
being assisted by Admiral Kingsmill and General Sir Percy
Lake, as naval and military advisers.
Newfoundland.—
Sir E. P. Morris, Prime Minister.
Cape Colony.—
Mr. J. F. X. Merriman, Prime Minister.
Natal.—
Mr. J. R. Moor, Prime Minister, assisted by
Colonel Greene, Minister of Railways.
The Transvaal.—
General J. C. Smuts, Colonial Secretary.
Orange River Colony.—
General Hertzog, Colonial Secretary.
{697}
The discussions of the Conference were unreported, but on the
26th of August, after its adjournment, the Premier, in a
statement to the House of Commons, summarized its main
conclusions as follows: "First as regards military defence:
after the main Conference at the Foreign Office, a military
Conference took place at the War Office, and resulted in an
agreement on the fundamental principles set out in papers
which had been prepared by the General Staff for consideration
by the delegates. The substance of these papers, which will be
included among the papers to be published, was the
recommendation that, without impairing the complete control of
the Government of each Dominion over the military forces
raised within it, those forces should be standardized, the
formation of units, the arrangements for transport, the
patterns of weapons, and so forth, being as far as possible
assimilated to those which have been recently worked out for
the British Army. Thus while the Dominion troops would in each
case be raised for the defence of the Dominion concerned, it
would be made readily practicable in case of need for that
Dominion to mobilize and use them for the defence of the
Empire as a whole. The military Conference then entrusted to a
sub-Conference, consisting of military experts at headquarters
and from the various Dominions, and presided over by Sir
William Nicholson, acting for the first time in the capacity
of Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the duty of working
out the detailed application of these principles. I may point
out here that the creation early this year of an Imperial
General Staff thus brought into active working is a result of
the discussions and resolutions of the Conference of 1907.
Complete agreement was reached by the members of the
sub-Conference, and their conclusions were finally approved by
the main Conference and by the Committee of Imperial Defence,
which sat for the purpose under the presidency of the Prime
Minister. The result was a plan for so organizing the forces
of the Crown wherever they are that while preserving the
complete autonomy of each Dominion, should these Dominions
desire to assist in the defence of the Empire, in a real
emergency, their forces could be rapidly combined into one
homogeneous Imperial Army.
"Naval defence was discussed at meetings of the Conference
held at the Foreign Office on August 3, 5, and 6. The
Admiralty memorandum which had been circulated to the Dominion
representatives formed the basis of the preliminary
conference. The alternative methods which might be adopted by
Dominion Governments in co-operating in Imperial naval defence
were discussed. New Zealand preferred to adhere to her present
policy of contribution; Canada and Australia preferred to lay
the foundation of fleets of their own. It was recognized that
in building up a fleet a number of conditions should be
conformed to. The fleet must be of a certain size in order to
offer a permanent career to the officers and men engaged in
the service: the _personnel_ should be trained and
disciplined under regulations similar to those established in
the Royal Navy, in order to allow of both interchange and
union between the British and the Dominion services, and with
the same object the standard of vessels and armaments should
be uniform. A remodelling of the squadrons maintained in Far
Eastern waters was considered on the basis of establishing a
Pacific Fleet, to consist of three units in the East Indies,
Australia, and the China Seas. … The generous offer of New
Zealand and then of the Commonwealth Government to contribute
to Imperial naval defence by the gift each of a battleship was
accepted with the substitution of cruisers of the new
‘Indomitable’ type for battleships, these two ships to be
maintained one on the China and one on the Australian station.
Separate meetings took place at the Admiralty with the
representatives of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and
general statements were agreed to in each case for further
consideration by their respective Governments.
"As regards Australia, the suggested arrangement is that with
some temporary assistance from Imperial funds the Commonwealth
Government should provide and maintain the Australian unit of
the Pacific Fleet. The contribution of the New Zealand
Government would be applied towards the maintenance of the
China unit, of which some of the smaller vessels would have
New Zealand waters as their headquarters. The New Zealand
armoured cruiser would be stationed in China waters. As
regards Canada, it was considered that her double seaboard
rendered the provision of a fleet unit of the same kind
unsuitable for the present. It was proposed according to the
amount of money that might be available that Canada should
make a start with cruisers of the ‘Bristol’ class and
destroyers of the improved ‘River’ class, a part to be
stationed on the Atlantic seaboard and a part on the Pacific.
In accordance with an arrangement already made, the Canadian
Government would undertake the maintenance of dockyards at
Halifax and Esquimault, and it was a part of the arrangement
proposed by the Australian representatives that the
Commonwealth Government should eventually undertake the
maintenance of the dockyard at Sydney. Papers containing all
the material documents will be laid before Parliament in due
course, and it is hoped before the conclusion of the Session."
In Australia and New Zealand there had been eagerness for some
time to take a more effective part in the defence of the
Empire, their remote position and their contiguity to swarming
alien populations giving their people some special anxieties
which are reasonable enough. They are lonely communities of
Europeans, planted on the edge of the prodigious populations
of the Asiatic world. They have learned suddenly that some, at
least, of those populations can do things, in war and
otherwise, that were supposed to be reserved especially for
effective performance by the white variety of the human race.
What disposition of mind will move the Eastern folk in the
exercise of these powers of action—which are discoveries as
new to them as to us—has yet to be learned. It is doubtful if
they themselves know what the inclination of their career will
be, when they have really digested the new contents of their
minds and have fully surveyed their new position in the world.
Meantime, Australia has good reason to think anxiously of what
Japan certainly and China most probably can do, if they are
moved by imperialistic ambitions to an aggressive career.
{698}
If anywhere in the British Empire there was reason for the
lively stir of increased preparation for defence, it was Far
East Australasia. New Zealand, in March, had put a heavy
strain on its resources by offering to build a
_Dreadnought_ for the Imperial Navy, and Australia had
followed quickly by the proffer of another. When,
subsequently, these projects were superseded by the
arrangement made at the London Conference, funds raised by
private subscription for the Australian _Dreadnought_
were applied partly to the foundation of a naval college near
Sydney for the training of officers of the Australian
squadron, and partly to the establishment of at least two
farms for the training of young British immigrants, who will
be specially selected by the county colonization societies.
In acting promptly to realize the plans of military
organization that were formed at the London Conference,
Australia went far beyond anything that is likely to be done
by any other of the British Dominions, unless it may be New
Zealand; for that Commonwealth has undertaken to organize a
system of compulsory military training. A Defence Bill
introduced in the Federal Parliament on the 21st of September
applies compulsory training to all males from the age of 12 to
that of 20. "Junior cadets are to have annually 120 hours’
physical drill, elementary marching, and practice with
miniature rifles, for two years. Senior cadets will have 96
hours’ annually, including four whole-day drills, elementary
naval or military exercises, and musketry practice at ranges
up to 500 yards, for four years. The citizen forces are to
have 16 whole-day drills or their equivalent annually,
including eight days in camp for two years. Those who are to
undergo naval, artillery, and engineer training will have 25
days instead of 16. Males from the age of 20 to 26 will remain
enrolled, attending only one muster parade each year.
Exemptions will be made only on the ground of unfitness or in
the case of persons of non-European descent. The latter,
however, will be trained in non-combatant duties. Sparsely
populated districts may be exempted temporarily. Persons
failing to attend the training will be fined from £5 to £500
according to the culprit’s wealth, or may be confined and
trained till they have performed the duties they have shirked.
Persons failing to reach efficiency must undergo another
year’s training. The cadet training begins in 1911, and the
citizen training in 1912. When the scheme is in full working
order it is estimated that it will provide 40,000 junior
cadets, 75,000 senior cadets, and 55,000 citizen soldiers
under 21. The Militia, 25,000 strong, will thenceforth be
recruited only from the fully-trained, and will become a corps
d'élite."
On this subject of British imperial defence,
See (in this Volume)
BRITISH EMPIRE: A. D. 1909.
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
New Zealand adoption of Compulsory Military Training.
An Act which establishes compulsory military training in New
Zealand, on lines similar to that in Australia, passed the
colonial Parliament during its session which closed December
29, 1909.
NAVAL:
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
Brazil and Argentina in a "Dreadnought" Competition.
"The controversy between Brazil and Argentina about what is
called ‘equilibrium of armament’ is still carried on with much
animation in the Press of both countries, but apparently
without producing any effect, good or otherwise. The subject
of discord is the Brazilian Government’s order for three large
battleships of the ‘Dreadnought’ type, which is to be met by
an Argentine triplet, for which tenders are urgently called.
Fortunately these big ships take a long time to build, and by
the time they are ready the Press will probably be commenting
upon the _entente cordiale_ in South America and the
obsolescence of floating engines of war; but in the meantime
taxpayers in both countries are inclined to support the
somewhat daring proposal from Buenos Ayres that Brazil should
keep the first ‘Dreadnought,’ cede the second to Argentina,
and cancel the order for the third."
_Rio de Janeiro Correspondent
London Times, December 22, 1902._
Four months later the same correspondent telegraphed, May 3,
1909, among other statements quoted from the President’s
Message to Congress, that day: "In regard to the navy seven
vessels would be launched under the new programme. Two-thirds
of the total expenditure of £4,500,000 had already been paid
from ordinary resources, and this proved that the
reorganization of the navy would not be disastrous to the
national finances. Tenders would shortly be invited for the
construction of a new dry dock."
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
British Navy War Council.
The following is from an official statement issued by the
British Admiralty, October 11, 1909: "In further development
of the policy which has actuated the Board of Admiralty for
some time past of organizing a Navy War Council, it has been
decided to place on an established footing the arrangements
made in previous years for the study of strategy and the
consideration and working out of war plans. A new department,
called the Naval Mobilization Department, has been formed
under the directorship of a flag officer, and there is
concentrated in it that part of the business of the Naval
Intelligence Department and the Naval War College which
related to war plans and mobilization. Under the presidency of
the First Sea Lord, the officers directing the Naval
Intelligence Department and the Naval Mobilization Department,
and the Assistant Secretary of the Admiralty will form the
standing Navy War Council."
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
The British "Two Power Standard."
During the debate in the British House on the Navy Estimates,
in the spring of 1909, the Premier, Mr. Asquith, was called on
by the Opposition to define the Government's understanding of
the requirements of the "two Power standard" of naval
strength, so called (see above). In reply, he laid it down
that in dealing with this standard they must not merely take
into account the number of Dreadnoughts and Invincibles, but
the total effective strength of the British for defensive
purposes as compared with the combined effective strength of
any two other navy Powers. That was the two-Power standard as
understood by successive Administrations, and the present
Government had in this matter in no way changed the policy
pursued by preceding Administrations. For the moment this
question was an academic one, because whatever two Powers
might be selected, their combined effective strength for
aggressive purposes against Great Britain was far below the
defensive strength of the latter. The expression "two-Power
standard" was a purely empirical generalization, a convenient
rule of thumb, and he should be very sorry to predict that
this formula would be an adequate or necessary formula some
years hence.
{699}
In measuring the combined effective strength of the two next
strongest fleets the power of one powerful homogeneous fleet
ought to be borne in mind. Further it had been established
that the rule only applied to battleships and ships ejusdem
generis. Then in existing conditions "we ought not," he said,
"to limit our vision to Europe alone; but at the same time,
while considering the combined effective strength of any other
two Powers for aggressive purposes against this country regard
should be had to geographical conditions." Supposing China had
a fleet of Dreadnoughts, no rational Minister would treat that
fleet as standing upon the same footing for the purpose of the
two-Power standard as the German or French fleet. In the same
way, the fleet of the United States could not be put in the
same category with the fleets of France and Germany.
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
Canadian Share of the Undertakings of British Imperial Defence.
For performance of the share assumed by Canada, of
undertakings of British imperial defence agreed to at the
Imperial Conference in London, July, 1909 (see above), Sir
Wilfrid Laurier brought forward a Bill in the Dominion House
of Commons, on the 12th of January, 1910, the essential
provisions of which he set forth in a speech from which the
following passages are taken:
"The bill is entitled ‘An act respecting the naval service of
Canada.’ It provides for the creation of a naval force to be
composed of a permanent corps, of a reserve force, and of a
volunteer force on the same pattern absolutely as the present
organization of the militia force. … Every man who will be
enrolled for naval service in Canada will be enrolled by
voluntary engagement. There is no compulsion of any kind, no
conscription, no balloting. … ‘Active service’ as defined by
the act means service or duty during an emergency, and
emergency means war, invasion or insurrection, real or
apprehended. The act provides also that at any time when the
Governor in Council deems it advisable, in case of war,
invasion, or insurrection, the force may be called into active
service. There is also an important provision that while the
naval force is to be under the control of the Canadian
Government, and more directly under the control and
administration of the Department of Marine, yet in case of
emergency the Governor in Council may place at the disposal of
his Majesty for general service in the Royal Navy the naval
force or any part thereof, and any ships or vessels of the
naval service and any officers or men serving on these
vessels, or any officers or men of the naval service. There is
a subsequent provision that if action is taken by the Governor
in Council at a time when Parliament is not sitting,
Parliament shall immediately be called. …
"Another important provision of the bill is that it provides
for the establishment of a naval college on the pattern of the
Military College now in existence at Kingston."
Coming to a statement of the armament contemplated, the
Premier said: "Two plans were proposed and discussed, one
involving the expenditure of $2,000,000 a year and the other
involving an expenditure of $3,000,000. The first one would
have consisted of seven ships, the second one would have
consisted of eleven ships, namely—four Bristols, one Boadicea,
and six destroyers. We have determined to accept the second
proposition, that is to say, the larger one of eleven ships.
That is the force which we intend to create, and to start with
four Bristols, one Boadicea and six destroyers. Perhaps it
will be interesting to the House to understand what is meant
by a fleet unit, by a Bristol, a Boadicea, and a destroyer.
The fleet unit, which was suggested and which has been
accepted by Australia, and to which the government contributed
a certain sum per annum, is to be composed of one armored
cruiser of the type of the Indomitable, three protected
cruisers, six destroyers and three submarines. Now the fleet
which we have agreed to accept is to be composed of four
Bristols, one Boadicea, and six destroyers.
"A Bristol is a protected cruiser, which means that it has a
steel deck which protects all the vital parts of the ship. It
has a tonnage of 4,800 tons, with a speed of 25 knots. The
number of guns has not yet been determined, but the largest
Indomitable carries eight guns. A Boadicea carries six guns,
so that it is probable that the number of guns will be eight.
It has a total crew of 391 men, of which twenty are officers.
The Boadicea is an unarmored cruiser, with a tonnage of 3,300
tons, and carries six 4-inch guns. It has a crew of 278 men,
of whom seventeen are officers. We are to build six destroyers
of what is known as the improved river class. …
"The total cost of these eleven ships will be, according to
the British figures, £2,338,000, or a little more than
$11,000,000. According to Canadian prices, supposing the ships
were to be built in Canada, we would have to add at least 33
per cent, to the cost just given. I may say that it is our
intention to start at the earliest possible moment with the
construction of this fleet, and, if possible, to have the
construction done in Canada."
The leader of the Opposition, Mr. Borden, who spoke after Mr.
Laurier, endorsed fully the purpose of the Bill, but
criticised the proposals of the Government as being
inadequate. "They are," he said, "either too much or too
little. They are too much for carrying on experiments in the
organization of a Canadian naval service; they are too little
for immediate and effective aid, and it seems to me that the
policy of the Government will be attended with a very great
waste of money, with no immediate effective result."
The Bill embodying the naval programme of the Government, as
set forth by the Prime Minister, was enacted on the 11th of
March, 1910, by 119 votes to 78.
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
Chilian Navy-building.
It was reported from Santiago de Chile to the English Press,
October 21, 1909, that "the Government has decided upon a
naval expenditure of £4,000,000, which includes a 20,000 ton
battleship, two ocean-going destroyers, and several
submarines. Instructions for tenders have been sent to the
Commission in London." A later message to the American Press,
November 12, stated that "the naval building programme decided
upon by the Chilian government, provides for the construction
of one battleship, four torpedo boat destroyers, and two
submarines at an expenditure of $14,000,000."
{700}
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
The Chinese Programme.
A Press message from Peking, October 11, 1909, announced that
a naval commission, consisting of Prince Tsai-hsun, the
Regent’s brother, Admiral Sa Chen-ping, and Sir Chen Tung
Liang Cheng, who was secretary to the Special Chinese Embassy
to the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 1897, left that day for
Europe. This was understood to be the first step toward the
fulfilment of China’s programme for the expenditure of
£40,000,000 on the rehabilitation of her army and navy.
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
Denmark’s Fortification and Naval Defense.
See (in this Volume)
DENMARK: A. D. 1905-1909.
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
The "Dreadnought" Era.
Outclassing of all Battleships built prior to 1906.
The New Type.
Effects of its Introduction.
The evolution of sea-fighting monstrosities received a
startling and revolutionizing impulsion in 1906, when a new
_Dreadnought_ (replacing an obsolete battleship of that
name) was added to the British navy. In size, plan and
armament it embodied naval teachings just taken from the
Russo-Japanese War, and was supposed to put every other
existing battle-ship into an inferior second class. It brought
suddenly a new standard into all comparative measurements of
naval power, impairing seriously the worth of the costly
monsters then afloat. It signalled, in fact, a start for
entirely new racing among the competitors for "sea-power,"
since the prizes of substantial fighting efficiency among the
navies must all be won over again, by the quickest builders of
the _Dreadnought_ type of ship. England had more reason
than any other nation to lament this happening, and her Lords
of the Admiralty have been sharply criticised for bringing it
about; though the new type of battle-ship would have had
creation elsewhere (as still newer types of monstrosity are
being created already) if English naval architects had not
produced it. Even Admiral Lord Charles Beresford has lashed
the naval authorities of his country for bringing on the
_Dreadnought_ craze. In a speech at London within the
past year he said that "he did not object to Dreadnoughts or
improvements in battleships; what he did object to was the
advertisement connected with the first Dreadnought. Then they
had told another nation that that ship would sink the whole of
its fleet, and the result was that that nation set to work
upon a definite naval programme of its own. Having given that
insane advertisement of their Dreadnought, the British delayed
ship-building with the inevitable result that they would have
to pay a great deal more than if they had kept up their yearly
proportion of ships. The command of the seas was their life,
and he believed that they would have to spend £50,000,000 more
than they need have spent through that insane advertisement.
It would be absolutely impossible for Great Britain alone,
under present conditions, to keep up the two-Power standard,
and if there were no other alternative, there could only be
the prospect of bankruptcy or defeat; but the two-Power
standard could easily be kept up with an Imperial Navy."
Similar criticism appeared in a pamphlet published last year
by Mr. Carnegie; and when his attention was called to the fact
that both Japan and Russia had bigger ships than the
_Dreadnought_ on the stocks before the latter was begun,
he wrote:
"Britain, having so much larger a Navy compared with any other
Power or compared with several other Powers together, should
have adopted the policy of waiting before building a type that
rendered most of her ships ineffective. She had nothing to
fear from Japan, Russia, nor the United States, and could
easily have overtaken Germany if Germany began building the
new type. Britain made such a noise about the Dreadnought as
to attract the attention of the whole world."
The following account of the _Dreadnought_ and of the
interest she had excited in naval circles appeared in a
prominent technical magazine while the building of the ship
was in progress:
"Not for many years has the building of a man-of-war excited
such wide-spread interest as that of H. M. S.
_Dreadnought_. In many respects this ship has assumed a
sensational character; she is the largest vessel ever
constructed for any war fleet; she was the first to be
commenced after the recent great struggle in the Far East; her
design, which embodies many new features, has hitherto been
kept an official secret, and the work of construction has been
pressed forward with so much success that it is hoped she will
be in commission within fourteen months of the laying of the
keel plates. All these facts have contributed to arouse
curiosity, particularly as it is well known that British naval
attaches were accorded special privileges by the Japanese and
were enabled to watch the progress of the war to greater
advantage than the representatives of other powers.
Consequently, from the day when the first whispers of the
coming of the _Dreadnought_ were heard, an unusual amount
of interest has been taken in this ship, not only in the
United Kingdom, but in foreign countries, and the influence of
the design may be traced in the new programmes of several
rival Powers. … The essential feature of the
_Dreadnought_ which distinguishes her from all
battleships now in commission in the world’s fleets is that
she is of huge size and mounts only one type of gun for use in
line of battle, instead of three types, as in the 'King Edward
VII.’ class.
"The war between Japan and Russia conclusively showed that the
intermediate armament carried by the vessels flying European
flags was not effective at modern battle ranges. Even on the
partial evidence obtained by the French authorities it has
been calculated that the effective ranges for battle have been
raised from 3000 yards to 7000 or 8000 yards. Careful
calculations show that at such a distance the striking power
of 7.5-inch and 6-inch guns, which have been the favourite
intermediate weapons in the British Navy hitherto, are
comparatively useless. … It is understood that originally the
_Dreadnought_ was to have carried twelve guns of the
12-inch type, but difficulties arose in working out the
design, and it was eventually decided to drop out two of these
weapons in order to mount effectively ten pieces of this
colossal striking power, so as to enable eight of them to fire
on the broadside, six ahead and four astern, without
endangering either the stability of the ship or running any
undue risks owing to the blast. … With a broadside of eight
12-inch guns, the _Dreadnought_ is equivalent to any two
battleships built for the British fleet prior to the
construction of 'King Edward VII.,' and yet her total cost,
complete with guns, will be only £1,797,497, while the ships
of the ‘King Edward VII.,’ class, carrying only four 12-inch
guns and the same number of 9.2-inch guns, represent an outlay
of just under a million and a half sterling."
_Cashier's Magazine,
June, 1906._
{701}
The steadily increasing sine of the _Dreadnought_ ships
is shown in the following, reported from Portsmouth, England,
September 30, 1909: "Since the launch of the
_Dreadnought_ by the King in February, 1906, each
successive ship which has taken the water at Portsmouth has
exceeded her predecessor in size. The weight of the
_Neptune_, successfully floated by the Duchess of Albany
to-day shows an advance of no fewer than 1,500 tons upon that
of the vessel launched by his Majesty; and of 500 tons over
that of the St. Vincent, the preceding battleship on the
building slip. The ship which is to be laid down next month
will probably far exceed the dimensions of the
_Neptune_."
WAR, THE PREPARATIONS FOR:
England and Germany.
Their "Dreadnought" Building Compared.
The Question in the British Parliament and the Hysteria
in the Country.
An exciting period of debate in Parliament and of discussion
throughout Great Britain was opened on the 17th of March,
1909, when the Navy estimates for the coming year were
submitted to the House of Commons. In his speech on bringing
forward the Estimates, which contemplated an expenditure of
£35,142,700, being nearly £3,000,000 in excess of the
expenditures of the current year, the First Lord of the
Admiralty, Mr. Reginald McKenna, explained the reasons for the
increase at length, saying in part: "We cannot take stock of
our Navy, and measure our requirements except in relation to
the strength of foreign navies. I am, therefore, obliged to
refer to foreign countries in making estimates of our naval
requirements. Several of the Powers are rapidly developing
their naval strength at this moment; but none at a pace
comparable with that of Germany. If in what I have to say now
I select that Power as the standard by which to measure our
own requirements, the House will understand that I do so only
for what may be called arithmetical purposes, and without
presuming upon the expression of any feeling or opinion of my
own—except it be one of respectful admiration for
administrative and professional efficiency. …
"When the Estimates were presented to Parliament a year ago we
had seven battleships of the Dreadnought class and three
cruisers of the Invincible class, either afloat or in process
of construction. The whole of these were due for completion by
the end of 1910. At that time Germany was building four
Dreadnoughts and one Invincible, of which two Dreadnoughts
were expected to be completed by the end of this year, and the
remaining three ships in the autumn of 1910. Thus, at that
time, we had a superiority in these classes of ships of ten to
five in course of construction, with the additional advantage
that the whole of ours were expected to be completed some
months in advance of the last three of the German ships. The
new German Fleet Bill had at that time become law, and
according to our interpretation of its provisions three
Dreadnoughts and one Invincible would be laid down in the
course of the year 1908-1909. The financial provisions of that
Bill were such as to lead us to the opinion that no work would
be commenced upon these four ships until the month of August
last year, and that they would not be completed before
February, 1911. This time last year, therefore, we had to
contemplate five German ships under construction, three of
which would be completed in the autumn of 1910 and four more
ships to be commenced about August, 1908, and commissioned in
February, 1911. In view of this state of affairs this House of
Commons last year approved of a programme of two large ships
to be laid down at such a time as would give to this country a
total of 12 of these new ships, as against a possible
completed German total of nine. In the face of last year’s
programme no one could with any fairness charge this
Government with having started upon a race of competitive
armaments. By example as well as by precept we sought to check
the rapid rate of shipbuilding. We failed. …
"The difficulty in which the Government find themselves placed
at this moment is that we do not know—as we thought we did—the
rate at which German construction is taking place. We know
that the Germans have a law which, when all the ships under it
have been completed, will give them a navy more powerful than
any at present in existence. We know that, but we do not know
the rate at which the provisions of this Act are to be carried
into execution. We now expect that the four German ships of
the 1908-1909 programme will be completed, not in February, 1911,
but in the autumn of 1910. I am informed, moreover, that the
collection of materials and the manufacture of armaments,
guns, and gun-mountings have already begun for four more ships
which, according to the Navy Law, belong to the programme of
1909-1910. Therefore we have to take stock of the new
situation, in which we reckon not nine but 13 German ships may
be completed in 1911, and in 1912 such further ships, if any,
as may be begun in the course of the next financial year, or
laid down in April, 1910. We may stop here and pay a tribute
to the extraordinary growth of the power of constructing ships
of the largest size in Germany. Two years ago, I believe,
there were in Germany, with the possible exception of one or
two slips in private yards, no slip capable of carrying a
Dreadnought. To-day they have actually no less than 14 such
slips and three more under construction. And what is true of
the hull of the ships is true also of the guns, armour, and
mountings. Two years ago any one familiar with the capacity of
Krupp’s and other great German firms would have ridiculed the
possibility of their undertaking the supply of all the
component parts of eight battleships in a single year. To-day
this productive power is a realized fact, and it will tax the
resources of our own great firms if we are to retain the
supremacy in rapidity and Volume of construction.
{702}
"Having said so much on foreign naval development, I turn to
our own programme of construction. As I have said, we shall
have in March, 1911, eight completed Dreadnoughts and four
Invincibles. We propose to lay down two more Dreadnoughts in
July of this year, and the terms of the contracts will provide
that they shall be completed in July, 1911. … Two more ships
will be laid down in November this year, to be completed in
1911, and in that year our total strength in Dreadnoughts and
Invincibles will be 12 of the former and four of the latter.
The date, however, which we have to bear in mind is that up to
which the present programme must provide—April, 1912. I have
shown that we shall in the course of 1911 have 16 of these
modern ships, as against 13 ships for which Germany is already
making provision. The German law provides for four more ships
to be laid down in 1910-1911. But if the construction of these
ships is accelerated—as I understand was the case of the four
ships of the 1909-1910 programme—they would be completed by
April, 1912. Therefore on that date Germany would have 17
Dreadnoughts and Invincibles. But even if no acceleration
takes place before April, 1910, this number would be completed
in the autumn of 1912. This is a contingency which his
Majesty’s Government have to take into account.
"We cannot afford to run risks. If we are to be sure of
retaining superiority in this by far the most powerful types
of battleships, the Board of Admiralty must be in a position,
if the necessity arises, to give orders for guns,
gun-mountings, armour, and other materials at such a time and
to such an amount as will enable them to obtain delivery of
four more large armoured ships by March, 1912. We should be
prepared to meet the contingency of Germany having 17 of these
ships in the spring of 1912 by our having 20, but we can only
meet that contingency if the Government are empowered by
Parliament to give the necessary orders in the course of the
present year. I can well imagine that this method of
calculating in Dreadnoughts and Invincibles alone may seem
unsatisfactory, and even unfair to many persons. They may say:
‘What has become of the Lord Nelsons, the King Edwards, the
Duncans, and the Formidables and the earlier battleships on
which our naval superiority has been so constantly reckoned?
Is no account to be taken of our powerful fleet of armoured
cruisers, numbering no less than 35?’ Yes; the Board of
Admiralty have not forgotten these ships. They still
constitute a mighty fleet. The Dreadnought has not rendered
them obsolete, and many of them would give a good account of
themselves in the line of battle for many years to come. But,
though they have not been rendered obsolete by the
Dreadnoughts and the Invincibles, yet their life has been
shortened. … A battleship must be regarded as a machine of
which the output is fighting capacity. All improvements in the
designs of ships which increase the fighting capacity
necessarily shorten the life of earlier battleships just as in
the case of any other machine. The greater the value of the
improvements, the sooner the earlier ships become obsolete."