We have no sympathy whatever with the querulous and panicky
outcry against the Admiralty and Mr. Balfour because the Germans have made such a raid. It is not at all a difficult thing for destroyers to slip through well-guarded waters in darkness and thick weather. The proximity of the useful German base at Zeebrugge is a misfortune for us, and we wonder that such a raid has not been attempted, or penetrated further, before. But for their re- Rance upon submarines-the Germans must- surely have been. more daring with their destroyers. It will be remembered that the guarding of the southern sections of the North Sea was provided for more carefully when several useful ships were told off for the protection of the lower Eastern coast, as Mr. Balfour explained at the time. The Channel raid suggests a more careful provision than ever in this direction, and we need have no fear that the Admiralty will not do whatever is required.
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