The Admiralty have rightly refrained from drawing any con. elusions
which might seem hostile to foreign Powers, and we shall certainly follow their example. It may be pointed out, however, that there is nothing in the new distribution of forces which can be taken as in any sense hostile to France, or as throwing any doubt upon the permanence of the entente cordiale. On the contrary, it may be said to be one of the fruits of the entente, since the power and importance of the Mediterranean Fleet are reduced and not strengthened. Happily, this fact has been at once recognised in France, where men realise that though we are determined to keep the command of the sea, we have no thought of using it in a manner hostile towards France, or that great Empire which she is building up on the further shores of the Mediterranean.
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