In the House of Commons on Tuesday Mr. Balfour, in
reply to a question by Mr. Gibson Bowles, declared that the Government were not prepared to buy the two Chilian first- class battleships recently launched by Messrs. Vickers and Messrs Armstrong respectively. The Admiralty had con- sidered the matter carefully, and had come to the conclusion that the ships are not suitable for their purposes, and that it would not be advisable to buy them. This is a most momentous decision, for it means that two very powerful ships, fitted with the very latest engines of war, and built by firms of the highest capacity, may, and probably will, pass into the hands of potential enemies. If we felt sure that the Admiralty's opinion that the ships were not worth buying was one really founded on its merits we should be content, but we cannot help being haunted by the idea that the fact that the ships were not built according to Admiralty specifications may have something to do with the decision. We know that preju- dice to be strong, but we are by no means sure that it is well grounded. Remember that battleships, like votes, count two on a division. If we do not buy, but a possibly hostile Power does, we might have been four battleships stronger than the baying Power, and shall be four battleships weaker than if we had bought,—a very disagreeable difference.
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