Since Trafalgar, Great Britain has had command of the sea, and her vital problem now is how the supremacy of her Empire at sea may be maintained. For a century British maritime predominance has been unchallenged. Both in regard to the extent of her mercantile marine, and the strength of the navy, Great Britain is the greatest sea-power the world has ever seen. The merchant steamships and sailing vessels of the world have a carrying capacity of some 36 million tons. Of this vast total the tonnage of British ships alone aggregates 17 million tons; while next, but after a long interval (counting sea-going ships only) come Germany with 3½ million, and the United States of America with 2½ million tons.

In her over-sea possessions, too, both in regard to their extent population, and natural resources, Great Britain shows a huge preponderance over all other nations. Her colonies and dependencies measure 12 million square miles in extent, supporting a population of nearly 400 million a—about one-fourth of the total population of the globe. France can show only 4 million square miles of over-sea territory, with a population of 57 millions; while Germany still lags far behind, with colonies one million square miles in extent, having a population of about 13 millions, of whom only 7000 belong to the Teutonic race.

These two sets of facts alone show, without unnecessary comment why it is necessary for Great Britain to maintain her supremacy at sea, if the Empire is to remain intact. The British Empire is world-wide, consisting of units large and small connected physically by the sea alone, yet linked together with the crimson thread of kinship. Take it all in all, it forms the richest and about the most populous portion of the earth's surface under one flag. It has greater possibilities of expansion than any other power. It is self-contained. It produces, or can produce, within its own boundaries, everything which it requires, or which can be obtained from any other part of the world. It is not necessarily dependent on the rest of the world for anything. The only thing necessary to preserve its greatness, to keep established its continuity and cohesion, to ensure its remaining the Empire it page 3 is that it should maintain the command of the sea; that it should have control of the great sea routes and ocean arteries of trade. How necessary, therefore, is it, that the Empire should strain every nerve to preserve the sea sovereignty it now enjoys!