“During my talk his face was a study. It was impossible to note or guess at his impressions, and I was extremely doubtful as to the result; but the fact that we were then building a Japanese war vessel, the ‘Kasagi,’ led him to believe that I knew something, particularly as my elaborate description in detail of the qualities of the ships under construction was correct; so, being sure that I was thoroughly posted, he made no denial, but bowed smilingly and with an air of approval. I had no opportunity of discussing the new fleet with Mr. Tchernigovsky after we left the Armstrong Works, but from information I subsequently received I was satisfied that his early visit to Newcastle was not accidental. “The discovery of the construction of this fleet was the origin of my article on ‘The Coming Sea Power’ in the _North American Review_ of October, 1897. “I ascertained while in London, from additional sources not to be mentioned here, that the construction of these ships was undertaken in consequence of a secret alliance between Great Britain and Japan to prevent the United States from securing possession of the Sandwich Islands and to head off the Russians in the Pacific, etc. “The great engineering strike in Great Britain during this time delayed the delivery of the Japanese vessels and the construction of the great fleet of British ships then under way for two or three years, and the whole thing fell through because the favorable opportunity had passed. The delay gave them time to think it over. And, besides, we were beginning to make a show of naval power. It was also at this time that the Germans were beginning to show their practical aspirations in the direction of ‘sea power.’ “The construction of the ships and their object was known also to Captain Gregorovitch, Russian Naval Attaché in London, and that probably accounted for the visit of Mr. Tchernigovsky. “One interesting circumstance in connection with this strike and its consequences was the fact that under the operations of the strike a very large number of the best English shipyard workmen and engineers went to Germany, and became permanently located there in the shipyards; and while their absence crippled Great Britain, they more than any other cause advanced the construction of the German navy; so that while the leaders of the strike in England gained nothing by it there for the engineers but disaster to themselves and their country, they were conspicuously instrumental in assisting the most powerful rival of England. “It would be an interesting subject for reflection or discussion as to what might have been the consequences if the strike had not occurred and the Japanese and British fleets had been finished two years before they were.