Our command of the sea is stronger than ever. Tho
High Sea Fleet will take months to recover from the shock. There were no surprises. All that there was to be known is now known. Except by a mischance, Germany cannot possibly upset our supremacy. She tried to " come out ," and she was promptly driven back. That is the central fact beside which everything else is unimportant. If she has had a new heart put into her by the battle, as she asserts, her sincerity can very easily be put to the test. Let her "come out" again, if she does not come out, we shall know what to think of her candour ; if she does come out, our thrice-gallant sailors will know how to deal with her. All people of British blood salute the noble seamen who had lost no particle of their passion for attack during their long watch. Rather it seems to have grown more intense with waiting. Admiral Beatty cheerfully took risks in what he clids But he saw an opportunity and seized it. The event amply justified him. If we had lost more ships while we Were outnumbered and were among the submarines and mines on the other side, we should have had no right to complain. With good luck we might have lost fewer. But the result as it was is cause enough indeed for deep gratitude and the highest confidence. In those who remain to watch the seas we place an intensified and absolute trust. Those who died have earned the reverence and affection of a whole people.
