Page:Heresies of Sea Power (1906).djvu/213

Rh that fleet is inadequate. One of the strongest of popular conceptions is that local defence is a sovereign remedy—and there is every reason to suppose that colonial influence upon the question of fleet distribution would be almost entirely made up of demands for local defence. As the population of the colonies is so small in proportion to the area to be protected it would thus follow that either totally inadequate and useless local defences were provided, or else undue calls would be made upon the Imperial fleet to its detriment.

The naval defence of Australia for instance is probably best assured by a fleet some ten thousand miles or so away from Oceania; but it will be a long day before Australians as a whole will realise this and a still longer day before its people will be satisfied to pay their share to an invisible navy. The demand on the faith of the colonial man in the street is too great.

Consequently the colonies are likely to remain a tax upon an Imperial Fleet to which they contribute practically nothing; and this may be the lesser of two evils.

The nightmare of colonials—when such matters enter their thoughts at all—is that some large hostile cruiser may 'get through' and devastate their coasts. In actual fact the devastation so caused by a ship far from a base would be trifling, and would certainly be unlikely to remunerate the enemy for the loss of the cruiser's services nearer home, nor is it probable