On Monday, while the Navy Estimates were under discus- sion,
Mr. Goschen made an important reference to the new- Council for Imperial defence, over which the Lord President of the Council is to preside. The responsibility of the Secre- tary for War and of the First Lord for their Departments would not be diminished by one iota. Incidentally, Mr. Goschen mentioned that a period of twenty years had elapsed since he was at the Admiralty, and that "the extraordinary contrast• was as astonishing as it was gratifying." That is good hearing, and, we believe, is not official optimism, but in strict accordance with the facts. The anxiety shown by the public in regard to the Navy has not been without effect. No doubt much remains to be done; but still there has been a great, improvement. At present our weakness is in men and stores of reserve material, not ships. Mr. Goschen referred to the men, and added : " As to the personnel of the Navy, I agree with everything that has been said as to the uselessness of all the efforts the Admiralty are making respecting guns and ships if the officers and men are inferior in any degree to those who have gone before them." He went on, 491mirpr, to, express his belief in our system of training. No doubt it is excellent, but that is not the point. The real question i5—Have we enough men in reserve P There is no Other answer possible but "No." Our hope is that Mr. Goschen, with his great influence in the Cabinet and his administrative ability, will be able to give us an effective naval reserve of eighty thousand men.
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