A NOTABLE SPEECH.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1767, 4 June 1913, Page 6

A NOTABLE SPEECH.

Amongst the various public utterances evoked by tho occasion of the Empire Day celebrations in Australia, the speech delivered by Admiral Sir George Ivino-Hall at the Royal Exchange in Sydney_ cannot be allowed t-o pass unnoticcd. It was a striking oration, presenting an admirable example of sound conviction, elegantly expressed, and its moral effect upon the Australian public in its attitude towards the question of naval defence must have been very great.

"It is not in my province," lio observed, "to criticise the naval policy of other Dominions, but, keeping Australia only in view, 1 am absolutely convinced that 110 oilier policy is or ever was feasible, than tho one adopted; this policy is more natural, more enduring, than that of paying a contribution, and I .-mi perfectly astonished that to anyone living out licro tho latter idea should still bo considered in the region of practicability. It is not sound politically, and hence cannot be'sound from the Imperial point of view. .All past history teaches us thin lesson. The critics of the present Australian naval policy may, 1 venture to say, have a limited horizon, only considering present needs. .Do not listen to those who say that it will be a sectional force. It wil! never be fo, miles* mad, fatuous folly seizes hold of all Commonwealth statesmen, and Australians generally, to their own undoing und absolute ruin."

Such a declaration from flu; last of the Imperial Admirals hi hoist his pennant as commander of the Australian Squadron of I he Jfo.val Navy—Admiral Ki.ng-Hall will shortly give place to Hear-Admirai, Patev, rcccntly appointed to tho command of tho Australian Navy—

is peculiarly opportune and stimulating, for it is essential to the successful development of the Commonwealth's defence policy that the naval spirit should he engendered in the public mind, and fostered. It is Admiral King-Hall's conviction that that spirit has already been made manifest, "Two years ago, he said, "the cry was that the Australians will never take to the sea. The result has proved that they will, as ducks take to the water, and as their forefathers have done in the nasi centuries. The naval spirit evoked has been most remarkable. There has been 110 lack of entries. All the reports that I have received of the personnel from Home and officers out here, and from inv own observation, are most satisfactory as regards discipline and intelligence; and a fine esprit dr. corps is being evolved.'' This spirit in a young nation is one of its unrealised assets, the value of which are tested in great crises. It is unquestionable that the virility of a nation is sustained and reinforced by the naval and military ardour of its people, an ardour inspired by a common bond to stand or fall in the protection of hearths and homes.