Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/289

 1899.] Germany.— The Navy. [281

will be prepared to confirm by deeds. As regards England, we are entirely prepared to live in peace and friendship with that Power on the basis of complete reciprocity and mutual con- sideration. But it is exactly because our international position is a favourable one that we must utilise it to make ourselves secure for the future. In the old diplomacy one sphere of friction lasted a generation ; nowadays new questions are con- stantly cropping up. We must be strong enough to be secure against surprises, not only on land but also at sea. We must build ourselves a fleet strong enough to exclude all possibility of an attack being made upon us. I underline the word ' attack ' because there can be no question of an attack proceeding from us in view of the absolutely peaceful character of our policy. . . . German foreign policy — and this is not addressed to the Reich- stag alone — is neither covetous, nor restless, nor fantastic. But to secure Kiao-Chau, Samoa, and the Carolines was no such simple matter. . . . The German people may be quite at its ease. Confiding in the rising star of the German nation, German policy will not let itself be beaten by any one. But what we must do is always to reckon with the conditions of the case. The older States with maritime interests require to have naval bases because of the necessities of coaling. We, too, must look about for coaling stations, though not to the extent attributed to our intentions by unfriendly foreign critics. Like other people, we have to cut our coat according to our cloth. But we are bound to recognise that the sphere of our maritime interests has developed far more rapidly than the naval resources which are required for their maintenance.

" History has been made with singular rapidity in the period immediately following our last Navy Act. In quick succession we have had the war between America and Spain, the troubles in Samoa, and, last of all, the war in South Africa, which has seriously affected our interests. . . . What has happened in these last two years has demonstrated how patriotic of the Reichstag it was to pass the last Navy Bill, and at the same time how indispensable the further development of that measure has be- come. A policy which diverged from the lines I have sketched would cease to be a business-like policy, and that is the only policy for us.

" Yet with all our transoceanic interests, we must not forget that our centre of gravity is in Europe, we must not forget that our position rests upon the unshaken Triple Alliance, and upon our friendly relations with Russia. The best pledge that our transoceanic policy will always be moderate lies in the necessity of keeping our strength in Europe always collected and ready.

" This must not, however, prevent us from carefully and conscientiously doing all we can for our maritime interests. Why do all other States strengthen their Navies ? Italy devotes her energies to this task. The French Government cannot do enough to meet the desires of the representatives of the people