17 APRIL 1909, Page 3

The case against the Admiralty is greatly reinforced by an

able letter from Mr. H. W. Wilson in last Saturday's Times. Under ten different headings he emphasises the remarkable contrast :we precept and practice which has prevailed since 1904. cannot reproduce all these illustrations of the feverish Inconsistency of the Fisher regime, but we must express our conviction that they emphasise very strongly the need for a thorough and non-partisan inquiry into our naval policy and °Ler Admiralty administration as a whole. As our readers we first asked for such an inquiry some two and a half rArs ago. With each month our conviction of its necessity has deepened. When we say that the inquiry must not be of a, Partisan character we mean that it must not be conducted In the interests of one group of leading sailors or against those of another. The inquiry must not be meant to humble one Admiral or exalt another, but to tell us exactly where we atand in the matter of naval defence.