Never, in any crisis, has she
risen to so lofty a height of self-sacrifice and achievement. In the
giant struggle against Napoleon, England's own safety was secured by the
demoralisation of the French fleet. But in this contest the German naval
authorities have at their disposal a fleet of extraordinary efficiency,
and have devised for use on an extended scale the most formidable and
destructive of all instruments of marine warfare. In previous coalitions
England has partially financed her continental allies; in this case the
expenditures have been on an unheard-of scale, and in consequence
England's industrial strength, in men and money, in business and
mercantile and agricultural ability, has been drawn on as never before.
As in the days of Marlborough and Wellington, so now, England has sent
her troops to the continent; but whereas formerly her expeditionary
forces, although of excellent quality, were numerically too small to be
of primary importance, at present her army is already, by size as well
as by excellence, a factor of prime importance, in the military
situation; and its relative as well as absolute importance is
steadily growing.
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