No good can be done by pretending that Mr. Lloyd
George's declaration is not a direct challenge to Mr. Winston ChnrchilL The matter has become a duel between Mr. Asquith's two chief lieutenants. How Mr. Winston Churchill will take the blow which has been aimed at him by his colleague we cannot, of course, say; but unless his temper is much more serene, and his belief in the need for an invincible Navy much less sincere, than we believe them to be, he will not, we fancy, sit down under the attack by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. If he likes to call to his aid the friendly interviewer, we have no doubt that he could without difficulty state an over- whelming case for making good our lead in sea-power at the present moment. As a rule, public sparring matches between Cabinet Ministers are very undesirable things. but we should not be surprised if Mr. Winston Churchill finds it impossible to let the case for sea-power go by default.
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