They must be elaborated in peace-time, and a definite department of the Government must be responsible for these preparations.

The Ministry of Commerce would obviously be the appropriate department, and should, in collaboration with the great commercial houses, prepare the routes which our commerce must follow in case of war.

There must be a sort of commercial mobilization.
These suggestions indicate the preliminary measures to be adopted by us in the eventuality of a war with England.

We should at first carry on a defensive war, and would therefore have to reckon on a blockade of our coasts, if we succeed in repelling the probable English attack.
Such a blockade can be carried out in two ways.

England can blockade closely our North Sea coast, and at the same time bar the Danish straits, so as to cut off communications with our Baltic ports; or she can seal up on the one side the Channel between England and the Continent, on the other side the open sea between the North of Scotland and Norway, on the Peterhead-Ekersund line, and thus cripple our oversea commerce and also control the Belgo-Dutch, Danish, and Swedish shipping.
A close blockade in the first case would greatly tax the resources of the English fleet.