TWO IMPRESSIVE SPEECHES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 266, 6 August 1919, Page 7

TWO IMPRESSIVE SPEECHES

ADMIRAL BEATTY AND MARSHAL HAIG

NAVAL AND MILITARY PREPAREDNESS

On the occasion of the presentation of tho Freedom of the City of London Admiral Sir David Beatty and FieldMarshal Sir Douglas Haig delivered notable speeches on die subject of Imperial preparedness for national "laeiuencies.

fair David Beatty, aittr a stirring tribute to the valour of tiip men at sea, said that the. fleet had expected and hoped that the enemy would show the same initiative at sea as lie did on land. His conduct in the lace of the operations round Heligoland on August 2S, 19H, however, began to wise the suspicion that this would not l.c so. His laok of enterprise on that occasion reacted he believed on his own ilee; so that its moral deteriorated fiojii that hour. There was' no need for him tu apeak of the conduct of officers and men in action. It was the same as had characterised all the armed forcus of the Empire. Modern battle at sea as on land exacted heavy toll, and tte losses of both aides at Jullaud far exceeded those of any other sea battle in history. For men of the fighting services one of the hardest things to bear vtus monotony. It was the lot of the fleet to carry out endless patrols, sweeps, reconnaissances, frequently without fighting anything except perhaps a periscope, let day by day they read of their iatners, brothers, and friends flocking to iho colours for the defence of their country, engaged in glorious acnievement, winning laurels and gladly making tho snpreme sacrifice in the face of an enemy whom they themselves seldom met, (Cheers.) The story of the naval war had been embellished by the wonderful record of the mercantile rarnip. lUich had been -told and much moro remained to be told of their indomitable courage and loyalty without which r tho war could not have been won. is one was more proud of tlifem than their comrades in the Royal Navy- Thee ose association which had been estaolished between the two services during the war must continue so that they .might remain the one great sea service ot the Empire. As the Royal Navy contracted to its peace establishment so the mercantile navy must expand aa rapidly as possible to link 'up tl» Umpire nnd the countries of the world. By the defeat of Germany, tho principles of freedom nt sea tor which thev had fought for three hundred years, were established throughout the world. Purchase of this freedom had cost them an alarming proportion of their merchant fleet and it would need all the wisdom of their rulers, the enterprise ot their merchants, and tho energies of .their seamen, shipping firms, and shipyards, to re-establish their position in the commerce of the world. (Hear, hear.) Ho hoped that in tho revival of commerce employers would consider the claims ot ex-naval officers. Their inevitable lack of previous experience was, he .understood, proving an obstacle to iheir nnding employment. They, had, however, the invaluable qualities of resource, loyalty, discipline, and experience m handling men, winch with then- adaptability to circumstances made them peculiarly fitted for many of the positions wliich had to bo filled. .. • As to the future, ho was unacquainted with the naval policy of tho present time, either external or internal. External policy would necessary depend to a ccrtavn extent on the outcome of the international deliberations now in progress. Nothing, however, could alter thelact that tho British Empire was entirely dependent upon tho sea. Tho Royal Navy was essentially an Imperial Service, and, was one of the strongest and most real connecting links ' between the Mother Country and her children. (Hoar, hear.) The comradeship which we had established with the navies of their Allies and friends could not fail to bo a solid bond for the preservation of mutual understanding and goodwill. Evidence of the depth of good feeling which existed with tho gallant French Navy was afforded recently when British squadrons visited Brest and Cherbourg at the invitation of tho French Government.. (Hear, hear.) Tho trials of tho past years of war. had strengthened tlie close understanding between officers and men. There was never a time in its history when tho service had been more of ono mind than at prosent. One of, tho greatest traditions of tho service was loyalty; loyalty to King, loyalty to country, and loyalty within itself. He trusted that this great tradition would never be lost sight of, and that it would bo always remembered that their Empiro lived by the sea aiid that the Eoynl Navy was loyal, steadfast, and truo. (Loud cheers.)

Lord Roberts's Warning. Bir Douglas Haig recalled the fact that os long ago as 1013 Lord Roberts, speaking at Mane-heeler, ueed these words: "In the opinion of every impartial soldier with any experience of.modern war—in the opinion of every soldier whether British. German, or French, who has given any aLtentjou to the subject, this great Empire ,is wholly unprepared for war. Our Army, as a belligerent factor in European politics, is almost a negligible- quantity. This Empire is at all times practically defenceless beyond its first line. Such an Empire invites War. Its assumed security amid the armj;.ments of Europe, and now of Asia, is inrolent, is provocative." (Hear, hear.) 'The terrible struggle from which—at how treat cost?—they had just emerged, was a striking commentary upon that passage, from tho speech of a great soldier who died in the early stages of a conflict he had foreseen. And Lord Kobei'ts said more—"There is one way in which Britain can have peace, not only with Germany, but with every other Power, national or imperial, and that is to present such a battle front by sea and land that no Power or probable combination of Powers shall dare to attack her without the certainty of disaster." "To-day," proceeded Sir Douglas, "we have great need of peace, and we pray that peace inav not de long delayed, and that when •it cornea, it mav last for many years. Yet there is one thing most certain, and that is that only by adequate preparation for war can peace in any way be Guaranteed. There is all tho difference in the world between piling up vast armaments, the cost of which can only bo redeemed by the spoils of successful war, and the sober recognition of the fact that it is tho duty of'every man, not onlv to defend his country when the crisis ie upon her, but to prepare himself beforehand for her defence. (Hear, hear.)

A Lesson to Remember. We are now face to face with a period of reconstruction, not only in the matters of peace, social, fiiianc'iiL commercial, and industrial, but in matters mili-' tnrv also. We havo got to determine uuon our future military policy. In doing so, let us not forget the lessons of the war. Here in this city, whoso trained bands of old time were the champions of your liberties—and not of your liberties only, but of the liberties of all England—you should have no tn'rticulty in realising that upon proper training for war depends the maintenance of the liberties of our Empire, and not of our Empire only, but. of tho whole world. .Cheers.) Wβ are most fortunate in our national and racial characteristics. In the soundness of our political and educational institutions as a training for character wo have a great asset— and in that connection I would urge, even in this centre of tho world commerce, that we ehould not forget that the highest aim of education is not tho attainment nf certain limited c<immorcial qualifications, but the formation of character and the acquirement of that habit of mind which alike in manhood, as in boyhood, is always at fp.hocP. and has never done with learning. Our public schools and our universities sent out to the Armies many thousands of magnificent young men, who only needed education'in military matters to turn them into first-class officers and leaders of men. We owe much to our 'national games, to the spirit of comradeship and co-operation they engender, and to the physical fitness that resnlts from their pursuit. In a word, and as the war lias mast fully proved, wo have in the youth of our nation most magnificent mntorinl. which onlv needs training nnd organisation to enable us, as a nation and an Empire to realiso that ideal .irhioh. I hold, aa Lord Eoberte hold be-

{ore me, to be the only certain guarantee of peace. ( Cheers.) Message to tho Empire. My message, then, which as a man who lias seen enough of war to make mo determined to spend my utmost eil'orts tu prevent its recurrence—my message to you, and through you to the Empire, is to urge you, now that the war hns given you at once tho reason and tho opportunity to do so, to set up forthwith the organisation of a strong citizen Army on Territorial lines—au organisation' which shall ensure that every ablebodied citizen shall come forward when the next crisis comes, not as n. willing , , patriotic, but militarily ignorant, volunteer, but as a trained man. (Cheers.) There must, in addition, be our highly trained professional Army to maintain the standard of our military knowledge, and meet the daily needs of a police force for our vast Empire; and there must l>e also proper and sufficient training schools and staff colleges that the higher arts of war may be kept abreast of the times. Above all, however, to ensure that the full military strength of our race may be rapidly realisable to meet whatever danrrer may threaten us, wo need to organise at once our democratic citizen army. (loud cheers.)