Such an attempt as this to lull us into a false sense of security was little short of criminal.
If not from spies, asked a correspondent of the Globe, from whom did Germany obtain, in 1912, the very valuable information that oil was to be the sole source of motive power for the "Queen Elizabeth" (v. Taschenbuch der Kriegsflotten, January, 1913)? Certainly not from any English official source; for we were kept entirely in the dark as to this momentous change until the Morning Post announced in July, 1913, that the battleship in question would consume liquid fuel only. Even minor details did not escape the notice of German spies during the period specified by Mr. McKenna. For instance, the Taschenbuch for 1914 contains this statement:—
"'Hermes,' at present tender to air-craft, and as such only carries eight 6in. guns."
Yet it was not until the "Hermes" had been sunk in the Channel by a German submarine, that any official statement was made as to how she had been employed and her armament reduced!
Again, there is irrefutable evidence to show that German agents were ready waiting in France for the disembarkation of at least some details of the British Expeditionary Force, and the whole world knows that the German Emperor's insolent reference to Sir John French's Army was made before August 21st.
Further evidence of the activity of German spies before and since the outbreak of the war is to be found in the following extract from a letter written by an English naval officer, and published in the Times of November 20th under the heading, "In the North Sea":—
"Their (i.e., the Germans') submarines are outside even now, and it seems funny where they get their information. But, at any rate, they are well served, as they knew where the Fleet was when we were at Devonport, and we did not know ourselves."
Taking all these facts into consideration, it is evident that the German spy system is more than a match for the Intelligence Division of the Admiralty War Staff.