The Dominion. SATURDAY, AUGUST' 5, 1916. MEN OF THE MERCHANT SERVICE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2842, 5 August 1916, Page 8

The Dominion. SATURDAY, AUGUST' 5, 1916. MEN OF THE MERCHANT SERVICE

The tragic story of Captain Fryatt, .. of the steamer Brussels, . whose foul murder, by the German authorities'has shocked.-the civilised world, provides.. a thrillirig : illustration of the perilous • work that is being daily performed by the officers arid men of the British mercantile marine. . The' Germans,by the foulest acts of piracy and murder, have. done their utmost to intimidate our merchant sailors, but British merchantmen refuse to be terrorised -by German "{rightfulness.The. mercantile marine has played a great-part: in- this war, and has played it with 'splendid couragc and resourcefulness. ' The skill and bravery .of our merchantmen in frustrating the nefarious designs, and devices of the enemy cannot be too. ..highly praised. Fight-i-ing'.is--not their proper.business, Dut [■they,. have, at times been compelled 'to"defend themselves, and-they have done so with that. skill and cour- | age _ always ■ associated with the British' sailor. In previous wars British merchant seamen fought gallantly in their own defence, and took great risks in order that Britain's trade might be maintained. But .in the present struggle, contending against submarines, floating mines, and airships, our merchantmen have to face perils undreamed of in days gone by. In a reccnt speech in the House of Commons, Mr. Balfour paid a well-deserved tribute to the mercantile marine. His remarks give some idea of the various forms of indispensable work which our merchant seamen are doing in order to help the Empire to win the war.

I do not refer (he said) to, those who are working practically under the White Ensign, who, in the cordon of blockade vessels-or elsewhere, arc doing, day and night, service to their Country. "I refer to another class who .'are serving their country, but who are not under the Whits Ensign, l the captains and crews of transports, the captains and crews of ordinary merchant and cargo vessels, ■ who also, through the action of a- ruthless and unscrupulous enemy, have their dangers to undergo. lam not sure that any of them trouble their heads about peril until they meet it, and when they meet it they know how to deal with it. (Cheers.) To them also I would, on behalf of the Admiralty,- and, if I may venture., to-do so, on behalf-of the House ajs°—(cheers)—tender my heart,y thank*. The. country is. not. ignorant of their services;, it. is not. ungrateful to .them. On them wo depend not less than on our armed forced for maintaining the necessary economic basis upon which all war must, ultimately .be waged...

Tho work'which is being done by t-he -mercantile marine is naturally overshadowed by the operations of the Navy. The regularity with which' our traders come and go is apt to make'us forget the perils they .face, and; the debt of gratitude which we owe.to them. .We take it for-. granted that they .will . .novel' fail 'us; and our confidence - has not been misplaced. ' From time-to time a sensational incident reminds us that the men. of our merchaut service are carrying their full share of the burden of war. In the words' of the Prime Minister' of Australia (Mr. • Hughes), these men . have "added a glorious page to our history" J>y the brave way in which they are daily facing unknown and unseen dangers, and'by the courage and labour with which th'ey are maintaining those lines of communication which are of such vital importance to -the cause for which we are fighting. Their seamanship and unflagging devotion 1 to duty- have frustrated- the ' Gorman attempt to •cut'off the food supplies of the United Kingdom! Their services on the transports which are conveying trooris to the front from every part of the Empire are well known and appreciated by New Zcalanclcrs. They arc, moreover, responsible for tho safety and efficiency of the vast fleet' of ships which supply our armies with food and clothing and munitions, and.'the dangerous task of mine-sweeping is also.undertaken by the men of the fishing fleets and those of the. merchant service. All this work is being done thoroughly and efficiently, and'as.a mere matter .of'-course. But though. ■ th'cy make no claim to heroism, their; deeds speak for them..Britishers .the world over will agree with Mr'.. Hughes when* lie says the-.proved worth of tho sailor's.'<mdfiremen during this crisis should rcccive permanent recognition after the war.

-.- The National Government is coming in for a certain amount of abuse for proposing to prolong the life of the present Parliament for twelve months. It is somewhat surprising that any exception should be taken to tho course proposed outj sicle the ranks of.the little .band of extremists for whom party politics still exists in spite of the war. The purpose m forming a National Government was. to . eliminate party strife so that those in office might concentrate their whole energies on matters pertaining to the war with-outbeing.-distracted by party strife 01;, hampered -in their actions by the -patty considerations.- There are comparatively few who did. not recognise the, wisdom-of securing this unity of effort by sinking party differences in tho manner finally agreed The National Govern-ment-may not have proved all that was hope-cl of it,V but the fact re-mains-that- under the arrangement made it. has been enabled to carry out its duties without the hindrance and the worry associated with political party warfare. The-proposal of the Government to extend the life of tho Parliament is intended to remove the possibility of the existing truce being disturbed. It is a proper, and, we think most people will: admit, a necessary precaution .to take. The argument - has been advanced that the war might end next year and ■ that the elections .could then be held at tho usual time: that' is in December, '1917. It is further submitted that, it- would bo quite time enough next session to pass the Act extending the life of Parliament. A little thought will show that it would -be unwise- to speculate on the war ending in time to hold the elections next year; not merely becausa'it is a matter on which no safe estimate can be formed, but because the delay in passing the Act and the doubts thus occasioned .would give, .rise to tho very evil .everyone, has. been desirous of avoiding.- So long as there is a doubt as to whether or not the election will be held tho party organisations will find it necessary to begin their almost at once.;on.the assumption that the contest will take phce. What then vould be the position'? We should have the party leaders endeavouring to work together -in the Coalition Cabinet constituting tlia National Government,' while their respective organisations were-, fomenting party feeling and .creating political dissension throughout the v country. What sort of harmony would there be in the ranks of the National Government under such circumstances 1 Ministers, instead of jjulling unitedly together as a National "Cabinet, would be once more split up into party friction and the national interest would be bound to suffer. It must be plain to everyone who troubles to give the matter any thought that if the sinking of party politics during the war is a desirable thing —and.there can be.no doubt on the points-then there -should not only be no general election while' the war is on, but 110 party preparations for' .a. general election.. And if there are to be 110 party preparations for a general election in 1917, then the sooner the Bill extending the life of. Parliament for 12 months is passed- the safer «will'.the' position be. The suggestion that one party or another has something to gain by the proposed postponement, and that this is tho reason for the action taken, w-as bound to be made. It is answer-, ed by the fact that those responsible for the Bill now introduced are the members, .-of--a-National Cabinet representing the only two parties numerically strong enough in Parliament and.in'the country to dispute the question of political supremacy. The prolonging of the life of a Parliament is- an undesirable thing- at ordinary times, but the circumstances in which we live and the condition of political parties here to-day make the course proposed to', be taken both wise and necessary.