That is all excellent, and will give us another fifty
thousand men in South Africa, but we wish the Government had done three things more—i.e., given the order (1) to mobilise the Navy; (2) to form a special Territorial Army at once of one hundred thousand men who have already seen service; (3) to buy artillery of all descriptions from private English or American, or even foreign. firms. We have dealt with the matter else- where, but will only say here that we do not lay such great stress upon mobilising the Navy and preparing a Territorial Army of trained men because we are in any fear of in- vasion, but because we want to give foreign Governments a good excuse for not attempting to interfere with us. It is the peoples, not the Governments, who suggest action of that kind, and urge their rulers to seize on this splendid oppor- tunity. Now, if foreign Governments can point to a mobilised Fleet and a country bristling with troops, they will have an excellent reason for damping their Chauvinists' ardour. In a word, one may be able to resist burglars perfectly, but when they are active one does not tempt them to try by unlocked doors.
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