a coaling station during the
operations against Santiago. Watering at sea was usually carried out by
means of casks in sailing days, and must have been almost as difficult
as coaling. As, however, it is certainty of coaling in a given time that
is of primary importance, the utilization of sheltered waters as
improvised coaling stations is sure to be a marked feature of future
naval wars. Although coaling stations are now eagerly sought for by all
powers which cherish naval ambitions, the annexation of the Hawaiian
Islands by the United States being a case in point, it is probable that
they will play a somewhat less important part than has been assumed. A
fleet which is able to assert and to maintain the command of the sea,
will not find great difficulty in its coal supply. Moreover, the
increased coal endurance of ships of war tends to make their necessary
replenishment less frequent. On the other hand, the modern warship,
being entirely dependent upon a mass of complex machinery, requires the
assistance of workshops to maintain her continuous efficiency, and
unless docked at intervals suffers a material reduction of speed.
Prolonged operations in waters far distant from home bases will
therefore be greatly facilitated in the case of the Power which
possesses local docks and means of executing repairs. Injuries received
in action, which might otherwise disable a ship during a campaign, may
thus be remedied. During the hostilities between France and China in
1884, the French ship "La Galissonniere" was struck by a shell from one
of the Min forts, which, though failing to burst, inflicted serious
damage. As, by a technical fiction, a state of war was not considered to
exist, the "La Galissonniere" was repaired at Hong-Kong and enabled
again to take the sea. Local stores of reserve ammunition and of spare
armaments confer evident advantages. Thus, independently of the question
of coal supply, modern fleets employed at great distances from their
bases require the assistance of ports furnished with special resources,
and a power like Japan with well-equipped naval bases in the China Sea,
and possessing large sources of coal, occupies, for that reason, a
favoured position in regard to naval operations in the Far East. As the
term "coaling station" refers only to a naval need which can often be
satisfied without a visit to any port, it appears less suitable to
modern conditions than "secondary base." Secondary bases, or coaling