The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1900-01-17
England Against Europe.

Discussing the question, "What
could an anti-British coalition dop" the
New York Sun fluids that no European
power, singly, or any probable coalition
of powers, could meet England sue
cessfully on the sea. England's car
rying trade would be obstructed, if moi
practically annihilated, by hostile com
MERGE destroyers, but her fleet would
be invincible 80 far as naval operations
Sun must of course assume, in reach
ing this conclusion as to the invinci-
bility of England's fleet, that the naval
arm of the government is in better
state of preparedness for effective war
than its military arm, by recent events
in South Africa, has been proved to
be. This may be true, but warnings
have been uttered that hostilities with
the powers of continental Europe
would show that inefficiency pervades
the naval as we'll as the military admin
istration of Great Britain. England
has not, since the last war with the
United States, met a strong antagonist
on the sea, as she had not, till she en-
countered the Beers, met on the land a
foeman worthy of her steel since the
period of the Crimean war. What
might be the issue of a contest in which
the navy of England, great as it is,
would encounter the allied naval
strength of France, Germany and Rus
STA, might at least be somewhat prob
lematical, even if England's prepared
ness for naval operations is what it
appears on paper to be, and her old
time efficiency in naval warfare is
unimpaired.
When the ships engaged in guarding
England's outlying dominions are de-
Quoted from the grand total of her ma
val strength, in number of vessels, ton
mage and equipment, the remainder is
what she would have with which to
face an anti-British coalition. To
withdraw her ships from her colonial
and military stations hat grit the earth,
in the Mediterranean and other Eu.
ropean waters, on American, African,
Asian and Australian coasts, for home
defence, would be to invite attack on
the outlying parts of the empire; to de-
fend these adequately would be to scat
ter forces which, united, might be in.
vincible. England is probably well as
sured that she will have free hand in
the costly work of extinguishing the
two belligerent South African repub
lies, and is not 30 much engrossed with
the dangers of a European attack as t.
be materially diverted from the great
souled and colossal task of subjugatine
her petty antagonists in Africa. 1t il
quite safe to surmise, however, tina
England, at this time, is not "hanker
ing" after a fight with her European
neighbors, all or singly, for the pur
pose OF showing them and the rest o
the world that she is still mistress o
the seas.
The Sun assumes that an anti-Brit
ish coalition would desire to treat foo,
as contraband of war, and at this pon
the United States would have an &C
tive interest in the coalition. TIL
coalition would take its cue from Enc
lands recent seizures of America
flour, and would seek to apply to he
case the precedent she has contrived t
contribute to the discomforture of Ia
Transvaal. On this point the Su
says:
The United States, however, would nj
be bound by an unfortunate British pre-,