THE NAVY LEAGUE

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 544, 26 June 1909, Page 6

THE NAVY LEAGUE

WELLINGTON BRANCH.. ■, The official annual meeting of' the adult subscribers of .the Wellington branch of tho Navy League, is to be held.'at the Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday afternoon.' Tho annual public demonstration, of the league is to take the form'.of.an evening cntortainmont at the Town Hall on "Thursday next; An attractive programme has been prepared; In addition Co several niassed choruses by, a trained .juvenile , choir of, over 400. voices,' interesting items 'are.being contributed by th* officers and men of H.M.S. , Kodoot , The girls' club-swinging, which' was suea a success at Admiral Voore's reception, is to be' jepeated, with 'coloured light effects. During the evening, Captain! Blunt, R.N., commander I of . the Pioneer, is. to piosont, on behalf of the women's section,' the challenge shield recently won by .the Btarbdard watch of the Amokora, and he has promised to make a few remarks as to the work of the Navy Leagne, and the training of boys for -the sea.'"■:'' .'.•'V:\;-.. '.'': !.■'./■''■■'■■'.■'■'■.■"■-. - v :■■':-- The record of work for the.year mentions inter; alia that patriotic gatherings were' held during the year at- Wellington, Napier, Nelson,': Wanganui; Palmerston North,- Picton, and Blenheim—including receptions to AdA. D. Fanshawe, Sir- W: H. Fawkes,' ;; and Sir Richard' Popra,; Trafalgar Day. celebrations,' lantern entertainments— in all, twenty-two meetings," with audiences of over 27,000 in'the aggregate. Juvenile visits/ were arranged to warships at> Wet lington,'.Nelson,' and Napier, of some 7SOO children' in tho aggregate; A distribution was made among school branches of'over 6000 books, illustrative of the Navy 'and naval history, and the. introduction of close upon 100 i Navy League wall maps of the.. world among ,tle-'schools, of the •'.Wellington district, and other.. districts. Other branches of the work -.•.-.■.., v : ;:,.,, .-'■■,-'

Printing Mid circulation of'an aggregate of: over 30,000, souvenirs of Trafalgar, riewspaper, .ortraots, leaflets and reports upon naval and;- Navy' League mattersj formation of adult .branches at'.N'apier, Nelson, and Wanganuiy . branches • at nineteen Wellington, schools] -~'and; at .ten schools in outsido districts.;: (This is apart from, tho branches formed, at Palmersto'n, Masterton, and Now Plymouth,: in conjunction with ■Liontoant.:;;3pox.).-.'';OT#f:.V % loQp essays on naval ..iisiory .-hivf,, • #een v and about .150 appropriate prize .boots have;been dis- •■*•'*»# <& ■■-■<■ k •-.< In tot of the foregomg. (states the report) it may fairly be claimed that the Wellington branch of tie" league, with the invaluable r and ( hearty J co-operation of the press, has; done a lot towards improving the jPTlblio appreciation of the.far-reaching effects of sea-power, and has largely helped to show that, in the: recent' words of Lord Dudley, the Commonwealth- Governor-General,' "Itritish . naval supremacy must ever' .be \ regarded I as the keystone of- the Empire's policy and existence." ■ '■'.-•'■'."-.''