besides, taken good care that the prospect of a war with them should
always be held before our eyes. They talk so much of a possible German
attack that it cannot surprise them if the light thrown on the question
is from the opposite point of view. Again, the preparations which they
are making in the North Sea show clearly that they certainly have
contemplated an attack on Germany. These preparations are like a
strategic march, and the natural extension of their naval bases leaves
no doubt as to their meaning. The great military harbour of Rosyth is
admittedly built for the eventuality of a war with Germany, and can mean
nothing else. Harwich has also been recently made into an especially
strong naval base, and, further, the roadstead of Scapa Flow in the
Orkney Isles has been enlarged into a cruiser station. These are
measures so directly and obviously directed against us that they demand
an inquiry into the military position thus created.

The English have only considered the possibility of a German war since
1902. Before that year there was no idea of any such contingency, and it
is therefore not unnatural that they are eager to make up for lost time.
This fact does not alter the hostile character of the measures and the
circumstance that the English preparations for war are exclusively
directed against Germany.

We must therefore--as the general position of the world leads us to
believe--reckon on the probability of a naval war with England, and
shall then have to fight against an overwhelming superiority. It will be
so great that we cannot hope for a long time to be able to take the
offensive against the English fleet. But we must contemplate the
possibility of becoming its master in one way or another, and of winning
the freedom of the seas, if England attacks us. We shall now discuss
this possibility. On this matter I am expressing my personal views only,