Gen. W. A war with Germany would be short and sharp—seven months would see it finished.
A. C. D. You mean, no doubt, the continental part. I could imagine the naval part lasting ten years.
Colonel S.-W. If your fleet was crushed, you would have to give in.
A. C. D. A fleet can never be annihilated as an army is. There always remain scattered forces which can go on fighting. I don’t think we need give in because the fleet is crushed.
Gen. W. You don’t suppose that the Englishman is a better soldier by nature than the Frenchman or the German?
A. C. D. At least he is a volunteer.
Gen. W. How would that affect the matter?
A. C. D. I think he would rally better if he were beaten. There would be no end to his resistance, like the North in the American War.
Gen. W. Don’t you think, if war were declared with Germany, that the public, fearing an invasion, would clamour against any regular troops going abroad at all?
A. C. D. I think the public would leave it to the War Office. In the South African War they allowed our troops to go 6,000 miles away, and yet there was a danger of a European coalition.