PROBLEMS OF EMPIRE.
No power with which we might be at war would respect the neutral flag where ships were carrying food supplies absolutely vital to the existence of the enemy. Place the command of the sea in doubt, and the ruin of British commerce and the British Empire is assured.
Attacks on Colonies.
By land on Canada and India.Of all the colonies and dependencies of the British Empire, India and Canada alone are open to serious attack by land. Though the navy is powerless to prevent these two great British possessions from being attacked, the power to defend them depends absolutely on the command of the sea. In the event of war with Russia we can place reinforcements to our army on the north-west frontier of India far more easily, far more cheaply, and probably more expeditiously than the Russians can bring forward their invading forces. Deprived of the power of reinforcing the army in India by sea, England's hold upon India is gone for ever. The contingency of war with the United States no Englishman cares to contemplate. Should Canada be ever again liable to invasion, our power of defending Canadian soil depends, as in the case of India, on the power of transporting British troops by sea. Canada is defended from the attack of any other power but the United States; Australasia and South Africa are secure from the attack of every power, by the fact that they are of large extent and occupied by a numerous and friendly population. An army of 50,000 men would be required to conquer and hold either of these great colonies or dependencies. Such a force cannot be transported across the ocean by surprise. To make the attempt while the command of the sea was in doubt would be madness.
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