The Government is taking "precautions to meet eventu-
alities," that is, it is arming quietly, so that if the French suddenly take the bit in their teeth and try to make a rush the country may be ready. That is perfectly right, and we suppose it is right, also, for the Departments to request all journals to suppress any news which might give the enemy valuable information. English journalists are ready enough to respond to a hint of that kind, and the public, we see, is quite sufficiently ready to arrest spies ; but one cannot help wondering how much good these " precautions " really do. Is the watchfulness of foreign Governments, which continues always and is supported by a paid organisation, ever baffled by these hasty drawings down of very imperfect veils? We fancy our Government knows as much about foreign arsenals as their owners do. If the trained experts have full conviction on the subject we have, of course, no objection to offer, but we cannot help a suspicion that they are as much influenced by a tradition as by a recognition of modern facts. It may be possible to hide up the movements of a force in motion, but hardly the existence of a force, still less the peculiarities of a. permanent fortress. On the other hand, in a country like this, full information wakens enthusiasm and sets thousands, instead of a few professionals, on the watch for weak places.
