The Admiralty must be protected by all sane landsmen against
the slightest pressure of this kind. No doubt if the Admiralty thinks that experience has shown that some changes in its plans will enable it to catch snipers more easily, those changes will be made. The sufferings of Hartlepool, Scarborough, and Whitby must not, however, be allowed to influence our naval policy by the breadth of a hair. The Ad- miralty is playing the great game, and if it should be necessary to sacrifice half the coast towns in England to win that game. they must be sacrificed. From the spirit shown on the York- shire coast we may be quite sure that the moment the coast towns realized the necessity they would willingly offer them- selves for such sacrifice. The Admiralty in its naval capacity will no more think of Wednesday's casualty list than it will think of the gallant ships that will be sunk with all hands when the final struggle with the enemy comes.
