We regret to record the death of Lord Fisher, which
occurred last Saturday in London. It was in 1902 that Lord Fisher filled the public mind with- his schemes for naval reform, and became one of the most prominent figures of the day, and cer- tainly one of the most striking figures the Navy has produced. In. 1904 he was appointed First Sea Lord and put his plans of re- organisation into effect. One of his main principles was that the Executive and Engineering branches of the Navy were to be regarded as interchangeable. He began at once to strap right and left ships which he regarded as obsolete—as "fit neither to fightnor to run away." His theory was that nothing counted but the big gun platform with speed, in short the Dreadnought. It is obvious that the great ships of Lord Fisher's creation had the Smaller ships at their mercy in the war, but the question still remains whether, if Lord Fisher had not -led the way, other nations would ever have dreamed of building up this sort of double-distilled Navy.
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