A very important letter, signed by politicians so widely separated
in point of politics as Sir Charles Dilke, Sir- George Chesney, Mr. H. 0. Arnold-Foster, and Mr. Spenser Wilkinson, has been addressed to Mr. Balfour, Mr. Cham- berlain, and other leading men, proposing virtually the amal- gamation of the Board of Admiralty and the War Office,. under a single head as the Department for National Defence, with military and naval advisers who should Bo- hr be responsible for the advice they give, that in case it is not accepted by the Cabinet they should be expected to re- sign, and should be provided for in other offices of the State. Thewriters hint that the lion's share of defensive expenditure goes to the War Department, which is not at all what should be expected in a country of which the first line of defence is certainly the Navy. But what they chiefly urge is such con- sultation and complete understanding between the authorities providing for our Navy and Army as should ensure co- operation and prevent rivalry. Both Mr. Balfour and Mr. Chamberlain reply in letters expressing great respect for the suggestion, and a general sympathy with the object of the writers. The general purpose, indeed, is one which has long been prominent in the minds of our military and naval advisers, and which we have urged on our readers.
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