considered on the Continent very ominous. It was, however, though
striking, not very new. The Premier only accentuated the general belief of all competent to judge, that "questions which may bring nations at issue still exist, and that there are territories coveted and not possessed, that there are past wounds not yet healed, and above all that, however earnest may be the resolution of the existing rulers of Europe to avoid war, there never was a time when one could answer more un- certainly that the rulers of five years hence will be the same rulers as to-day." In further proof of the danger, he pointed to the Continent and the enormous expenses incurred by most reluctant Governments. There is evidence in the speech that the uncertainty of experts as to the results of any naval battle under the new conditions weighs heavily on Lord Salisbury's mind ; but that, of course, concerns us rather than the Continent.
