In Wednesday's papers it was reported that the Admiralty had
resolved to abandon the naval base on the Firth of Forth which they decided upon two years ago, the new scheme of mobilisation for the Fleet having rendered the original plan unnecessary. Though no official announcement has been made, we see no reason for disbelieving the report, which seems to us a natural consequence of Sir John Fisher's policy of more ships, better organisation, and leas bricks and mortar. Much disappointment will naturally be felt in Scotland, and the Government will lose about 2200,000 of preliminary expenditure. Roeytb, instead of becoming a new Chatham, will be only a secondary naval base, probably the headquarters of a division of the Channel Fleet. We have no complaint to make with such abandonment if the Admiralty are convinced of their mistake; indeed, we welcome the moral courage which is prepared to incur a certain loss both of money and credit to avert unnecessary extravagance. But it would surely be well for the nation to make up its mind what its defensive policy is, and thus prevent in the future both naval and military experiments being blindly entered upon and summarily relinquished.
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