| Show COALING STATIONS tho english opinion of their importance I 1 par tancie in the navy 1 while vt not essential al to the maate maintenance A 00 af pf of I 1 naval power these stations are fortified Fort idel adaina the ships emps of nt foreign nations sailing ships could and did remain at sea for many months at a time lord lora brassy writes in the nineteenth century their power to remain at sea was s only limited by the amount of ff water that they carried the period during 2 chwa a modern modem 5 hip of y rm 4 remain main at sea is determined mainly by lier her coal endurance and to a great extent by the necessity of effecting effe eting repairs in port to delicate machinery the c coal 0 al endurance of modem ships of war is is e ven even more limited than 0 official figures so tar far as any are available lead le d us u to suppose and when lord salisbury placed the limit of the striking distance of a ship of war 11 at t two thousand miles viz the distance at which she could deliver a blow and return to her port he certainly did not underestimate her pow ers the country which possesses the and the best beat situated as regards trade routes will wilf have a great advantage in a future war in this respect the british empire is is without a rival while a navy depends for its power of op operating orating in distant waters very largely on coaling stations station the existence of the latter depends abao absolutely cutely ou on the power of the fleet to protect them no local defense whether in fortifications or men will preserve them to a power which has lost the tha command of the sea isea the history of malta during the great war affords an admirable instance of the interdependence of fleets and coaling stations though it must be admitted that the lesson to be drawn is to some extent weakened by the need of modern modem ships for coal many people consider that the pos seshion fies hion of malta is indispensable to the maintenance of british influence in the mediterranean how hov far this is true may be judged from the fact that nelson won the battle of the nile when malta was in the hands of the french and that malta fell into our hands though not for some time as the direct consequence of that battle which pave gave us the command of the mediterranean capt mahan summarizes the conclusions which should be drawn it in these words its fate when in tle the hands hands of france gives wa warning ning that the fleet depends less upon malta than malta on the fleet it if this be true of malta it is still more true of other coaling stations ch do gotlie not lie in such proximity to the ports of foreign coun countries iries we have acted wisely in giving to our ur coaling stations sufficient defense against one or two hostile cruisers more than this is not required ired As long as our navy is maintained at its prop proper er strength and is efficiently officered and manned it should not be no for a serious expedition to leave tile port without a british heet being immediately in pursuit |
