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378 mand was abandoned about the time of the second Punic war. I believe your ideas are equally novel and feel sure our minds meet on the common ground of dislike and distrust of that patrician Cariolinus. P. D, Muss. A Prophetic Utterance In the light of subsequent events, the following abstract from an article writ- ten by Arthur Balfour and published last May possesses almost prophetic vision : "The external facts of the situation appear to be as follows: The greatest military power and the second greatest naval power in the world is adding both to her army and to her navy. She is increasing the strategic railways which lead to frontier states--not merely to frontier states which. themselves possess powerful armies, but to small states which can have no desire but to remain neutral if their formidable neighbors should become belligerents. She'is in like manner modifying her naval ar- rangements so as to make her naval strength .instantly effective. It is con- ceivable that all this may be only in order to render herself impregnable against attack. Such an object would certainly be commendable, though the effort undergone to secure it might (to outside observers) seem in excess of any possible danger. If all nations could be made impregnable to the same extent, peace would doubtless be costly, but at least it would be secure. Un- fortunately, no mere analysis of the German preparations for war will show for what purpose they are designed. A tremendous weapon has been forged; every year . adds something. to its efficiency and power; it is as formidable for the purposes of aggression as for purposes of defense. But to what end it was originally designed, and in what cause it will ultimately be used, can only be determined, if determined at all, by extraneous considerations. "T here approach the most difficult and delicate part.of my task.. Let me preface it by saying that ordinary Englishmen do not believe, and certainly I do not believe, either that the great body of the German people wish to make an attack*on their neighbors or that the German government intend it. A war in which the armed manhood of half Europe would take part can be no object of deliberate desire either for nations or for statesmen. The danger lies elsewhere. It lies in the coexistence of that marvelous instrument of warfare which embraces the German army and navy, with the assiduous, I had almost said the organized advocacy of a policy which it seems impossible to' reconcile THE MARINE REVIEW with the peace of the world or the rights of nations. For those who accept this policy German development means German territorial expansion. All coun- tries which hinder, though it be only in self-defense, the realization of this ideal, are regarded as hostile; and war, or the threat of war, is deemed the natural and fitting method by which the ideal itself is to be accomplished." Taking Over Warships The British navy has obtained some valuable reinforcements in the 'shape of certain warships destined for for- eign countries which were just com- pleted in Great Britain. Ihe admir- alty exercised its right of preemption, and as the country was actually in a state of war the vessels could not have been delivered to their respective owners. The first of these, now called the Agincourt, had already changed owners. She was first designed for the Brazilian navy, and was built by Messrs. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., at Elswick. In this phase of her existence she was known as the Rio de Janeiro. Her displacement is 28,- 000 tons, and she is designed to steam 221% knots per hour. In December last she was acquired by the Turkish government, as a reinforcement for their diminished navy, and was re- named Osman I. She was recently docked at Plymouth, and was almost ready for sea. She is a very fine ship and heavily armed, having no less than fourteen 12-inch guns, in ad dition to twenty 6-inch guns. The 'second battleship newly acquired is to be known as the Erin. She has been built at the Vickers yard, and is just completing, having been launched in September last. She was designed for Turkey, and has hitherto borne the name Reshadie. She has a dis- placement of 23,400 tons, and her speed will be 21 knots. She is prac- tically a sister ship of the Iron Duke class -in the British navy, = ia addition to these, two destroy- @Is, tO be named the Faulkner and the Broke, have also been ac- quired. They were intended for' the Chilian navy, and are the heaviest destroyers in the world, and probably the fastest. They are of 1,850 tons displacement, and have a speed of 3k knots, . 9 eve Mr. Franklin's Opinion In an interview, P. A. S. Franklin, vice president and general manager of the International Mercantile Ma- rine Co., said: "The ship registry bill, - in my opinion, goes a long way to help build up a mercantile marine by facil- October, 1914 itating the transfer of ships from a foreign register to the American flag. Here is now the opportunity for American capital invested in shipping to place upon the national register the ships owned by it, and immediate relief should follow in increasing our tonnage to meet the lack of ships we suffered from at the outbreak of the watt "As to the operation of the ships, the proclamation of the President, which he is authorized to make and which I understand he is likely to make at once, will place our ships in a better position to meet the com- petition of foreign-owned ships op- erated at less expense than our pres- ent laws permit us in carrying on the steamship business as a calling of its own. "One of our ships may be trans- ferred immediately under the new law. "With regard to the war risks in- surance bill, this is an emergency bill and its going immediately into effect on the President signing it will help the situation for: this reason. There is not enough insurance avail- able in the local market to cover the valuable cargo of a modern big ship. The government assistance in this direction will practically release much cargo that is offered and has been held back by the high rates that have been exacted. "There is the question of building ships for the American register. I have stated and repeat it that for the American Line the International Mer- cantile Marine is willing to build 'steamships to be always available for the government's service as express mail carriers and for use as auxiliary cruisers when circumstances demand if the government will bear a share of the cost, in the same way as that in which the Mauretania and Lusi- tania were built with the pecuniary assistance of the British government." ' The steamer Pacific, building for the Emery Steamship Co., Boston, was re- cently launched at the yard of the Fore River Shipbuilding Corporation, Quincy, Mass. The Pacific is a sister to the Atlantic which went into commission during August, and is 450 feet long over all. Both vessels will be operated in the coast to coast trade via the Panama canal. The United States torpedo boat de- stroyer Nicholson, 315 feet long, 30 feet 6% inch beam, with a draft of 9 feet 414 inches, was launched from Cramp's yard, Philadelphia, on August 19. She is designed for a speed of 29 knots and carries a battery of four 4-inch guns.