The Defence of the Empire. Edited by Lieut.-Colonel Sir G.
Sydenham Clarke, R.E., F.R.S. (Murray.)—In this volume are collected the most important letters and speeches of the late Lord Carnarvon dealing with the Empire and its defence. Though the latest of the papers in the book before us was written eight years ago—i.e., in 1889—the volume is in no sense antiquated. The problems are the same as they were, and the need for prudence and perseverance in the work of defence is as great as ever. It is, however, pleasant to note as we read that though so much remains to be done, we have greatly improved since Lord Carnarvon first began, in 1883, to din into the ears of the public the truth that our coaling-stations were practically undefended. Lord Carnarvon grasped firmly the truth that since a steamer cannot steam with- out coal, coaling-stations are an imperative necessity for a nation the very law of whose being is the command of the sea. You com- mand the sea by your steamships. But your steamships are always wanting to replenish their bunkers. Therefore you must have coal- ing-stations. But undefended coaling-stations are as useful to the enemy as to you. Therefore you must have your coaling-stations defended. The thing is so simple that one is almost ashamed to write it down. Yet Lord Carnarvon was regarded as a kind of brain-sick enthusiast because he was always worrying about our coaling-stations. One of the points which comes out with special clearness in Lord Carnarvon's letters is the importance of the Cape as a naval station. It is hardly too much to say that in the case of a great maritime war the naval base at Simon's Bay would be the central point of our operations. At any rate, the fact that the Cape is, roughly speaking, equidistant from England, from Calcutta, from the West Indies, and from the nearest part of Australia, makes the Cape of great moment. It is the great half-way house of the Empire, and in this fact is yet another argument for promoting a good feeling between us and the inhabitants of the Colony. We hold Halifax on a far securer tenure now that there is no longer any question of Canadian loyalty.
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