The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-07-29 00:00:00

of others, such as Edward M. and -Henry V.,
made the prowess of our arms ring with trumpet
tmgme through many a foreign laud. Cceurde
Lion carried the fame and the reputation of the
country, which gave him birth, into distant
Pa'e itine—the classic ground described in the
New Testament. The shores of the sea of
Capernaum, the gently sloping sands of Galilee,
the pool of Bethesda, the waters of Bethabara,
the rushing stream of the Jordan, the cool rill
of Siloam, all so familiar to readers of Holy
writ, seemed to live again, to be surrounded
with active life, and to be invesed with fresh
interest under the foreign policy carried • out by
the King of England, when he issued forth from
his own island, armed with his battle-axe, to
wage
.war against the Saracens. It was as though
the city of Jerusalem was once more filled with
busy crowds, and the temple in all its glory an
object of pride and admiration to its people
Then, again, if we look at our experience
nearer home, and consider the conquests of
some of the early kings, we shall find that they
did. not view the sea as a barrier to their going
forth. conquering and to conquer. Cressy,
Poictiers, and more lately Agincourt, told of the
enterprise of ambitious sovereigns, who were
capable not only of leading an army in the field,
but of transporting it across the sea, and carry-
ing on hsotilities successfully in the enemy's
country. These schemes of conquest and
invasion were occasionally diversified by our be-
ing called upon to fight in self-defence, as at the
time when the Spanish Armada appeared off
Plymouth drawn up in the form of avast crescent
extending sevcn miles from horn to horn. Then
it was that such men as Drake, Hawkins, and
Frobisher made the British navy as dreaded an
arm as our troops had been to foreign foes
hundreds of years before. Coming down to the
days of Queen Anne, which witnessed the
triumphs of the Duke of Marlborough, and to
the long reign of George 111. which gave us,
amongst others, Trefalgar and Waterloo, we see
clearly enough that the aim of our statesmen
has not been merely to legislate for domestic
wants, but to give an adequate idea of the
strength of our position abroad.
There are some counties in Europe whose
opinion no one ever thinks of asking in a period
of great international crisis. Spain, which was
so powerful 300 years ago, is now effaced as a
Power which is capable of exerting any influence
over the current of Continental affairs. If
Europe is likely to be set in ablaze, the strength
of the Dutch army and of the Dutch navy, the
politics of its statesmen, or the leanings of its
people. do not give rise to much consideration.
It was the custom during the war between
France and Germany in 1870, for some foreign
newspapers to declare unhesitatingly and with-
out circumlocution that Great Britain was an
old and effete country which was as surely
drifting to decay as ancient Rome before she
was invaded by enormous hordes of barbarians.
Articles suggestively headed " The Effacement
of England," were gleefully quoted in the lands
watered by the conveted Rhine. Because
Great Britain had no interest in the quarrel be-
tween the Teuton and the Gaul, she must, in
the opinion of her adverse critics, have become
helpless and imbecile. This was all very well
while it lasted, and many persons even at home
were coming to belive what was reiterated so
ciften. The excitement of the Franco-German
war passed away, for even such a tremendous
conflict as that could not continue to monopolise
the attention of the world. The forces of dis-
integration which had been so long at work in
Turkey at length culminated in results which
induced Russia, Germany, and Austria to draw
up a scheme for settlement of the Eastern
Question in which Great Britain was to have no
voice. Emperors and Imperial Chancellors
gravely met, and whether they bestowed a
thought upon England is not clear ; but if they
did, they dismissed her as being unworthy of a
share in their councils. England replies by
sending to Besika Bay the most powerful fleet
which had ever been sent to sea; the coalition
of the Northern Powers was instantly broken
up; and at this moment the two countries pos-
sesing most influence in Europe are Great
Britain and Russia. The two nations upon
which the attention of the whole civilized world
was concentrated in 1876, are of no account in
the present dispute. Such are the vicissitudes
of national life; but we may rely upon it that,
although we no longer possess fleets and armies
for the purposes of conquest and invasion, we
cannot submit to be blotted out from the coun-
cils of Europe simply because Providence has cast
round our island the mantle of the sea.