st as a nation, sail the seas,
and carry on our trade, by virtue of our predominant strength; as
that strength fails we shall do all these things merely on the
sufferance of stronger nations, who, when pushed by the needs of an
expanding population to do so, will deprive us of the capacity for
carrying on those vital functions of life, and transfer the means
of so doing to themselves to their very great advantage; we have
achieved such transfer to ourselves in the past by force and must
expect other nations to try and do the same thing unless we are
able to prevent them. It is the inevitable struggles of life to be
fought out either by war or armaments."

These are not Lord Roberts' words, but the proposition is the clear
underlying assumption of his speech. And his critics do not
seriously challenge it. Mr. Churchill by implication warmly
supports it. At Glasgow he said: "The whole fortune of our race and
Empire, the whole treasure accumulated during so many centuries of
sacrifice and achievement would perish and be swept utterly away,
if our naval supremacy were to be impaired."

Now why should there be any danger of Germany bringing about this
catastrophe unless she could profit enormously by so doing? But
that implies that a nation does expand by military force, does
achieve the best for its people by that means; it does mean that if
you are not stronger than your rival, you carry on your trade "on
sufferance" and at the appointed hour will have it taken from you
by him. And if that assumption--plainly indicated as it is by a
Liberal Minister--is right, who can say that Lord Roberts'
conclusion is not justified?

Now as to the means of preventing the war. Lord Roberts' formula
is:--

"Such a battle front by sea and land that no power or probable
combination of powers shall dare to attack us without the certainty
of disaster."

This, of course, is taken straight from Mr. Churchill, who, at
Dundee, told us that "the way to make war impossible is to be so
strong as to make victory certain."

We have all apparently, Liberals and Conservatives alike, accepted
this "axiom" as self-evident.

Well, since it is so obvious as all that we may expect the Germans
to adopt it. At present they are guided by a much more modest
prin