THE NAVY LEAGUE ANNUAL.*
ONE of the most valuable pieces of work done under the auspices of the Navy League in recent years has been the publication of this Annual. It has now reached its fourth issue, and the British public owes much to its founder and editor, Mr. Alan Burgoyne, M.P., for making accessible—at very small cost, and in a form which can be generally understood—a great mass of .information respecting the war- fleets of the world, their organisation, programmes of con- struction, and expenditure. This information is -clearly and The Nary League Annual, 1910-191L Pounded and Edited by Alan H. Burgoyne, M.P. London: John Murray. [28. ed. net.]
conveniently arranged, brought up to date, and contained in a handsome and well-illustrated volume, which has grown in size from year to year without increase in price. Already the Annual has established itself as one of the best books of refer- ence on naval subjects, and its circulation should be large. Although Mr. Burgoyne declares himself to be an amateur, and makes no claim to technical training, he has for many years past devoted close attention to the study of naval matters at home and abroad. His book on Submarines, published some years ago, was a valuable compilation of material which had been widely scattered in numerous publications, and it con- tained many items of information not previously available. In this Annual Mr. Burgoyne shows the same qualities as in his earlier work,—untiring industry in the collection of facts, intelligence in their tabulation and analysis, a popular style of writing, shrewd common-sense, and a desire for fairness which cannot fail to impress readers, even when they differ from his conclusions. Of the three hundred pages in the volume, the editor contributes, or is responsible for, two-thirds ; but Part IL contains ten papers by other writers, of whom all but two write under their own names. These papers are naturally of unequal merit and authority; they are all interesting and brief. Admiral Sir S. Eardley-Wilmot writes on "Manning the Navy," Commander Crutchley on "The Mercantile Marine and Imperial Defence," Mr. Fiennes on "Great Britain and the Smaller Powers "; other authors deal with various features of the naval problems of the day. "The Future of the Russian Fleet" is discussed by M. Portugaloff, vice-president of the Russian Navy League, who declares its present position to be "heart-breaking," and indicates that real progress in its reconstruction can only be secured by improved administrative and financial methods. He advocates the development of torpedo craft for coast defence, and regards as futile the attempt "to create active battle squadrons with the means in hand." It is an open secret that the present naval weakness of Russia is a serious factor in the relative standing of the Dual and Triple Alliances. France has wakened up under the administration of the present Minister of Marine, but in her case also the financial provision made for naval purposes is small as compared with that embodied in German Naval Laws. The fresh activity in naval construction displayed by Austria promises to make the relative situation even worse. These points are not over- looked in France, but as yet there has been no practical move- ment to re-establish the naval standing of the Republic. Parliamentary discussion of the subject is now pending.
At the present moment the chapters in the Annual which will be most closely studied are probably those dealing with the German Navy. They exemplify that shrewdness and fairness to which allusion was made above. Mr. Burgoyne insists always on the necessity for the maintenance of British naval supremacy whatever Germany may do, and he favours a large margin of superiority. Officially he is bound to support the formula recently adopted by the Navy League,—viz., that of "two keels to one." At the same time, he sharply admonishes pessimists who declare that Germany is actually overhauling us in the construction of 'Dreadnoughts,' illustrates the failure of past predictions of danger occurring at critical periods, and gives a reasoned state- ment of what is actually being done by Germany at the present moment. Mr. Bywater, whose past contributions in regard to German naval affairs to the Journal of the Navy League have been remarkably valuable, has a paper in the Annual entitled "Some Side-Lights on German Naval Policy." This paper contains some interesting statements as to the past; but its real value will be found in its bearing on present conditions and future prospects. It should be carefully studied by all who desire to -understand German naval policy. No more opportune time could have been found for the publication of this Annual. It appears just before the serious consideration of the British Navy Estimates for 1911-12 must be under- taken, and it will help to clear the ground by removing misconceptions and bringing facts to light.
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