gainst England. There are grounds for
questioning the sincerity of this utterance; for the Russian statesman,
Muraviev, certainly desired to intervene, as did influential groups at
Petrograd, Berlin, and Paris. In any case, the danger to Great Britain
was acute enough to evoke help from all parts of the Empire, and implant
the conviction of the need of closer union and of maintaining naval
supremacy. The risks of the years 1899-1902 also revealed the very grave
danger of what had been termed "splendid isolation," and aroused a
desire for a friendly understanding with one or more Powers as occasion
might offer.

The war produced similar impressions on the German people. Dislike of
England, always acute in Prussia, especially in reactionary circles, now
spread to all parts and all classes of the nation; and the Kaiser, as we
have seen, made skilful use of it to further his naval policy. His
speech at Hamburg on October 18, 1899, on the need of a great navy,
marked the beginning of a new era, destined to end in war with Great
Britain. Admiral von Tirpitz, in introducing the Amending Bill of
February 1900, demanded the doubling of the navy in a scheme working
automatically until 1920. The Socialist leader, Bebel, opposed it as
certain to strain relations with England, a war with whom would be the
greatest possible misfortune for the German people. On the other hand,
the Chancellor, Prince Hohenlohe, voiced the opinions of the governing
class and the German Navy League when he declared that the demand for a
great navy originated in the ambition of the German nation to become a
World-Power[500]. The Bill passed; and thenceforth the United Kingdom
and Germany became declared rivals at sea. Fortunately for the
islanders, the new German Navy could not be ready for action before the
year 1904; otherwise, a very dangerous situation would have arisen. Even
as it was, British statesmen were induced to secure an ally and to end
the Boer War as quickly as possible.

[Footnote 500: Prince Hohenlohe, _Memoirs_, vol. ii. p. 480.]

During that conflict the tension between England and the Dual Alliance
(France and Russia) was at times so acute as to render it doubtful
whether we should not gravitate towards the rival Triple Alliance. The
problem was the most important that had confronted British statesmen
during a century. Kinship and tradition seemed to beckon us towards
Germany and Austria. On the other hand, democracy and social inter