Moreover, under numerous circumstances can a submarine allow a merchant ship to pass unmolested? Harmless trader in appearance, in reality she may be one of the numerous fleet auxiliaries, a mine-layer, or carrying troops, and so on. Can the submarine come to the surface to inquire and lose all chance of attack if the vessel should prove to be faster than she is? The apparent merchant ship may also be armed. In this light, indeed, the recent arming of our British merchantmen is unfortunate, for it gives the hostile submarine an excellent excuse (if she needs one) for sinking them; namely, that of self-defence against the guns of the merchant ship. What can be the answer to all the foregoing but that (barbarous and inhuman as, we again repeat, it may appear), if the submarine is used at all against commerce, she must sink her captures? For the prevention of submarines preying on our commerce, it is above all necessary that merchant shipping should take every advantage of our favourable geographical position, and that we should make the Straits of Dover as difficult as we possibly can. It is not proposed here to enter into the technical details of such arrangements; but even after every conceivable means has been taken, it must be conceded that there is at least a chance of submarines passing safely through; while at night, or in thick weather, it is probable that they would not fail to pass in safety. I conclude with some details of British Submarines before and during the War:-- I. When I left the Admiralty in January, 1910: Submarines ready for fighting 61 Building and on order 13 II. When I returned to the Admiralty, in October, 1914, as First Sea Lord: Submarines fit for fighting 53 Building and on order 21 But of these 21, only 5 were any good! 2 were paid off as useless. 3 sold to the Italians, not of use to us. 4 sold to the French, not of use to us. 7 of unsatisfactory design. -- 16 leaving only 5 of oversea modern (“E”) Type. -- Nominally, there were 77 Submarines when I returned in October, 1914, but out of these 24 were useless, or had gone to the Antipodes, as follows: 2 to Australia. 3 to Hong Kong. 1 sold to Italy useless. 8 “A” Class scrapped, 10 years old. 10 “B” Class scrapped, 9 years old. -- 24 77 - 24 = 53 total Submarines fit for Service when I returned in October, 1914. There were 61 Submarines efficient when I left the Admiralty in January, 1910.