Excerpt from The British Navy, Its Making and Its Meaning
No apology is needed for offering to the youth of the British Empire a new book on the British Navy. It is as true to-day as it was in the spacious times of Queen Elizabeth that "Whosoever commands the sea commands the trade, and whosoever commands the trade of the world commands the riches of the world, and, consequently, the world itself." These were the prophetic words of Sir Walter Raleigh, and echoes of them may be found down the pages of British sea power and history.
Sir Edward Grey, in 1909, stated the same proposition for our generation in the following words: "The Navy is the common security of the whole Empire. If it ever fail to be that, it will be no use for us to discuss any other subjects, and the maintenance of the Navy in that position must therefore be the first care, not only of us at home, but of the self-governing Dominions beyond the seas"; and the greatest of all naval writers, Admiral Mahan, tells us in inspiring language that "Nelson"s far-distant, storm-beaten ships, upon which the Grand Army never looked, stood between it and the dominion of the world. The world has never seen a more impressive demonstration of the influence of sea-power upon its history."
The outbreak of the great war of 1914 confirms and reinforces the views of our statesmen and administrators in the near and distant past. Every night in the early weeks of that war the British public slept securely in the knowledge that the silent work of our magnificent fleet was guarding its own ports and blocking the ports of the enemy; and they woke every morning to resume their business as usual, in full confidence that the spirit and tradition accumulated during the centuries would serve to guarantee for centuries to come the integrity of our homeland and the unity of our Empire.
These things do not change with the necessary and inevitable changes in naval construction, Admiralty government, and the munition for war.
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