LORD JELLICOE.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16883, 10 July 1920, Page 10

LORD JELLICOE.

STRENUOUS ENGAGEMENTS.

(feom oub own cobbespoctekt.)

LONDON, May 20

At the end of last week Lord and Lady Jellicoe came to town from the Isle of Wight, and they have been staying at Westminster with the Right Hon. R. MoKenna. They will be in London for a month longer, and they will make their headquarters at the Hyde Park Hotel, where their children and their governess are already in residence.

Lord Jellicoe seems .to have had a nasty, illness, though on account of his "tan" he shows little trace of it, and he is not yet quite strong. He was laid up with influenza and congestion of the lungs, and there are always for a while the after effects of weakness.

However, he has survived strenuous engagements. Tkere were two on Monday—when, at the Guildhall he received the Freedom of the City and a. very- ornate sword, and later there was the luncheon at the Mansion House, each fixture occasioning a speech. On Tuesday, after fulfilling engagements in the morning, Lord Jellicoe went to Cambridge, where, with FieldMarshal Earl Haig, he was presented with the honorary membership of the Union "Society, the Undergraduates' Club, ami the Debating Society. There is no known record of the heads of the two services being present at Cambridge on one ana the same occasion, and Cambridge made the most of it. There was a fairly strong contingent of naval'officer students, as well as riy ex-Army officer undergraduates, of whom had a special interest in the proceedings. The war chiefs were the guests, at dinner, of St. John's College, and after a certain amount of speech-making they went on to the Union Society's rooms, to be admitted to tho roll—and, of course, appropriate speeches were again looked for. But "the fun" really did not take place until yesterday, when the Admiral of the Fleet and the FieldMarshal had conferred upon them the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, in the Senate House. Other recipients of the honour were the Abbe Henri Breuil of Paris, the Earl of Plymouth, and Sir John Sandys. All had most cordial receptions, but the war heroes bore tho palm, and Lord Jellicoo had a'particularly hearty reception, y "When Lord Haig's turn came the undergraduates sang "For He s a Jolly Good Follow.", In introducing Lord Jellicoe, the Orator (Mr T. R. Glover, of «t. John s College) said the freedom of the seas was the common cause of all. So when the great war began, the first great necessitv was to guard that freedom. Lord Jellicoe through two years achieved this, for the safety of our people, and consummated his labours m tho battle of Jutland, after which the Germans so despaired of their fleet that they never suffered it to leave harbour until they surrendered to our admirals. In introducing Lord Haig, the Orator said it was an established maxim m war that the moral of the troops was the supreme thing. . , , , , , Jord Jellicoe, in reply, wished he hadat his command the eloquence of tho younger generation. 'He regarded them with respect as the coming legislators, but above all he thanked them for the wav in which they had welcomed the junior officers of the Navy. He had road that dav in a paper something about the lack of intelligence in the officer class. (Laughter.) Well, he was convinced that, so long as the officer class had character this country would win any war in which it was gaged. Nearly everyone seemed to have served under Earl Haig, and ho had a tremendous welcome. He pointed out, dealing with his own experiences, how costly was our habit of improvising. South Africa taught us a great deal, and he said that Lord as he had been abused—was the first man who laid it down that the British Army had a definite object—war on the Continent. Ho organised the Territorial Army, and he believed that Lord Haidane" would stand out in history as one of our greatest Secretaries for War. He condemned the -whole system of organisation as wrong. He named the waste of the best men of the universities and public schools as a tremendous fault in our statesmen. t From tho Senate House the newly honoured had to "process" to Emmanuel College for luncheon with the Vice-Chancellor. The procession was

broken up by the high-gpir*ied youths, wlu) seized the Admiral and the FieldMarshal and carried them shoulder high to the college, cheering with great vigour. Lady Jellicoe followed in a motor-car, and to this was attached a cheering crowd of students. According to the "Manchester Daily Dispatch," an unusually enthusiastic welcome awaits Lord Jelilcoe when he arrives "in that most loyal of all the Dominions." The Admiral's acceptance of the Governorship is regarded by Imperialists as a most important new departure in the political organisation of the Empire. ''The appointment is a distinct improvement upon former selections of Governors and Governors-Gen-eral, who have generally been either party hacks or impecunious peers. In view of the threatened abolition of Colonial Governors in the Dominions, Lord Jellicoe's going out to New Zealand is expected to restore the prestige of these institutions." The "Yorkshire Post" remarks that Lord Jellicoe's appointment has given unlimited satisfaction. "The new demand for an Imperial Cabinet to sit constantly in London .and include Ministers and Privy Councillors from each of the Dominions, increases the tendency to regard Governorships in the Dominions as an outward institution." The writer further remarks: "One of the most urgent questions awaiting consideration of an Imperial Conference is the appointment in future of Governors-Gen-eral and Governors for the Dominions. The State of Queensland declines to accept any new Governor to fill the vacancy* there, and. in tho Dominions generally there is a growing public opinion against the appointment of Governors, whose office is criticised as a costly luxury and out of date. It is admitted, however, by opponents of the Dominion Governorships that much depends upon the appointments made."