The most interesting, because the most momentous, questions which present themselves for study by a patriotic Briton are those which bear upon the future of the Empire on the sea. N 0 one can foretell exactly what a naval war between powers of the first importance will be like, or what surprises it may bring forth yet we all know that, if Great Britain be a party to that war, the issue must be decisive of her fate. Either she must maintain, and indeed increase, the glories Of her naval past by coming triumphantly out Of the contest, or she must lose everything that now gives her a unique position in the world. There is, therefore, no study so vital to the welfare Of the Empire as the study of the modern art of naval warfare; for only by study can a. Man become a master of that art; and only by producing masters Of that art in the day of need can Britain hold her own upon the ocean. Ships, guns, and men will not avail unless there be brains behind them.
