NAVY LEAGUE.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17813, 12 July 1923, Page 2

NAVY LEAGUE.

ENTHUSIASTIC ANNUAL , MEETING. THREE GREAT^PRINCIPLES. (raoil OTJB OWN CORRESPONDENT.) IX)XI>pX, June 1. If people in New Zetland have had any anxiety regarding tfye' headquarters of the Navy League tiles', may now rest ! assured that all is wes, that the parent body is sound andj in igood heart, and that the need for the continued existence of the League is uily realised. One gathered this from the annual meeting a day or two ago. Following the report of last year, the League was reconstituted at tiie special meeting ol the Grand Council on April 7th and 6th, 1 wiien it was decided to carry oii tne work lor at least a period oi six moiitns. A revised constitution was adopted anu new omcers were appointed. ' iiie necessity lor an li,ndow- ] me lit Fund was approved, and, as an | outcome ol the general opinion expressi ed by delegates and niemuers, tne 010 policy of tne -League wiiieu had been acted uyon iroin its tormation untu liny was reaffirmed and issued to all branches and to the l'ress on July Ist. Notwithstanding the many difficulties that have presented themselves during tiie past year, tne Executive Committee have leit that, since it has received so much encouragement not only in the general rally of its members, new and old, to the old policy of the League as restated under post-war conditions, but also in their generosity in subscribe I ing to its funds, and in the revived interest of the public in its aims and objects, it is .fully justified in regarding the League as having commenced a new lea.se of 'ife as the only existing organisation teaching to every portion of the earth's surface, wherever a Britisher may be found, which will bring home to you and old alike a propei realisation of the fundamental fact that, as in the past so in the future, sea powei is the life blood of the Empire. Complete Harmony. At the meeting this week there was complete harmony, and a subtle indication that the members of the executive are certain of themselves and working for . a definite object. Tne president (the Duke of Sutherland), in proposing the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, hore testimony to the indefatigable efforts of the members of the committee, which had met not less than twenty times since theii election, and meetings of sub-commit-tees were held on an average twice a week. His Grace also relerred to the 'able manner in which Sir Cvril Cobb, M.P., had carried out his duties as chairman of the Executive Committee, and expressed his gratitude to the High Commissioners for representing the various Dominions at the meetings of the League. They had been, he said, of the greatest help and support during: the past year. The League, 6aid Sir Cyril Cobb, was in a far better position now than it was a year ago. They had had to see if it was justifiable to carry on or not. To-day there was not the slightest idea of winding up the League. It could and must go on. When they took over last year, certain financial matters wore most unsatisfactory. There was not a big list of members. During the greater part of the year they had Keen overhauling the machinery. When they started the Endowment Fund appeal they had no idea, there w r as so little organisation working on behalf of the League, and they had to abandon the -appeal for the time being. The only sum of money they could oount upon for certain was £3OOO. This was not enough to carry on the work of the League the world over. They had thought that with a certain income of £6OOO a year they could really run the League satisfactorily, so that they had determined to adhere to the plan of raising- an Endowment Fund. That was tho only security they ,had for a consistent income of £SOOO a year. One of the easiest ways of creating interest in the League was by propaganda, and they had decided to distribute the "Navy" free to all subscribers of 10s a.nd upwards, and they hoped verv soon to be able to send a oopy of the '•Navy," with a full statement of accounts included, free to every member every three months. People had said that the Navy League.no longer had a programme; there was no work for it to do. The old slogan of a "two-Power standard" had ceased since the Washington Conference, but the continuance of the Empire depended upon the freedom of tne Navy to keep the seas of the world open always ana everywhere. The safety of British nationals and the linking of them together was the real object of the Navy, which .meant the preservation of tne British Empire. Two examples of that had been seen recently—the visit of a section of the fleet to Rio de Janeiro, where a great deal of good had been done in fostering trade and pleasant relations with South America; and the Dardanelles incident, where the Navy was on instrument to compel peace Three Important Points. There -were now three important things the League had to do. First, they must see that the Navy was large enough to go anywhere at any time; secondly, the Navy was now oil-burn-ing, and/they must see. that oil fuel stations were available in all parts of the world whenever they were needed ; and, thirdly, they must have a naval base in the Pacific. The Admiralty proposed to spread the cost of the Singapore base over ten years. That

was too long. They must not be niggardly in acquiring a base in tne Far East, and thus increasing the mobility of the fleet. Further, after consultation unci study the committer had come to a definite decision with regard to the air arm. Naval air work was just as directly a part of naval operations as any other, and they had decided to support the principle that the naval air service should be entirely under the management of the Navy. The Finances. Mr W. B. Hards (hon. treasurer) referred to some points in the balancesheet. They still had £lol,4sii invested for the Overseas Relief Fund, but as they were spending interest and capital, all that money would have been used up by 1929. The sum of £25,000 a year provided education for Che 1000 orphans of officers and men. Eight hundred had already passed out of their control, and the results of this work were most gratifying. The Nelson's Day Fund for the training of Bea cadets was not in such a good position as it had been, and some special stepa would have to be taken to Increase the fund. The General Fund showed that last year there was an overdraft of £I6OB. This had been slowly reduced, but it had not yet fallen much below £I4OO. This was to be deplored. Not only had they got the staff down to the smallest possible numbers, but they had had to cut down all lecturers except one. Thus they had really lost touch with all the branches. Thay could not depend upon what they could get from subscriptions if they wished to carry on a definite plan of campaign. There was only one way, therefore, to ensure a definite minimum income of £SOOO, and that was bv raising an endowment fund of £IOO,OOO. It waa equally important that they should get their membership increased very largely. There was not much personal interest in an endowment fund. - The real interest of the League would result from a large membership in this country and in the Dominions. He urged those present, therefore, to make every effort to increase the membership, and thus provide an income that the committee could budget upon for the future. Further business of the meeting included the re-election of the Executive Committee, the election of trustees, and the reception of the report on the rules, most of the alterations referring to the head office and home branches, and not, greatly affecting overseas branches. Other speeches which followed vm-J doubtedly showed a unanimous deter/ mination to go forward with enthusiasm and harmony in the work the Navy League has set itself to do.