The opening of the Baltic Canal by the German Emperor
on June 19th will be one of the grandest maritime spectacles ever witnessed. Great Britain is sending a regular fleet, four gigantic battle-ships, three cruisers, two torpedo- vessels, the Royal yacht, ' Osborne,' and the Admiralty yacht, Enchantress.' The Austrians send three cruisers, and the French two, besides a battle-ship; the Italians four battle- ships, two cruisers, and three smaller vessels, and the Russians a battle-ship, a cruiser, and an armoured gunboat. The Americans will be present with four cruisers, and Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Roumania, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey will all be represented. Germany, of course, will display a large portion of her fleet, and altogether twenty battle.. ships will be present and ninety-six smaller vessels, most of which latter would, in the first half of the century, have been considered giants. The Daily News, which furnishes the list, justly remarks that no such fleet has ever been collected before ; and we trust that the Emperor William II. will constitute himself Admiral-in-Chief for the
three days of the celebration. Otherwise there will be trouble about etiquette and heartburnings without number. The object of the mighty gathering is not entirely clear; but one effect of it will be to warn the new Power in the Far East that Europe is not quite so " effete " as a Japanese orator recently pronounced her to be. Let us hope there will be no storm and no collisions, and no speeches liable to miscon- ception.
Previous page
