Mr. Winston Churchill was entertained by the Clyde Navigation Trustees
at luncheon on Friday week, and made an important speech on naval policy. The purposes of the Navy were essentially defensive ; the Government had no thoughts of aggression, and attributed no such thoughts to other Powers, but there was this difference between British naval power and that of the great friendly Power of Germany : "The British Navy is to us a necessity, and, from some points of view, the German Navy is to them more in the nature of a luxury. Our naval power involves British exist- ence; it is expansion to them." It was therefore utterly untrue to suppose that Great Britain and Germany were on terms of equality so far as naval risks were concerned. The Government, continued Mr. Churchill, was resolved to main- tain the naval supremacy which this country enjoyed. " The Prime Minister and his colleagues, without exception, are resolved to maintain it, and they would none of them tolerate any person at the Admiralty for a single hour unless they were satisfied that all steps would be taken and are being taken to secure the safety of the country."
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