NAVAL NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 14638, 7 August 1911, Page 2

NAVAL NOTES.

[COKTBIBDTKD 8T THB NAVS LeAQBT, OXAGO BbAMCH.I ".. THE MOTHER. Mother of Ships whose- might, ■' England,-my England, 4 Is the fierce old Sea's delight, England, my own, Chosen daughter of the Lord. Spouse-in-Chief of the ancient sword, There's the menace of your word In the Song on your bugles blown, EnglandOut of heaven on your bugles blown! * W. E. HnrtEir. THE DAUGHTER STATES. And slowly, very slowly, the gorgeous dream grows bright, _ _ Where rise the four democracies of AngloSaxon might; The Republic fair, alone, , The Commonwealth nety-grown, The proud, reserved Dominion with a story of her own. And one that shall emerge at length from travail, war, and blight. Buss Carman, (Canadian poet). THE KATSER AS POET. The poet reflects the spirit of his age and the ideals of his race. He summarises in brief, pregnant, and striking form tho thoughts with which men's hearts are full in days of elation and hours of danger : he orvstalises and concentrates; lie gathers together the scattered threads of. speech, gives shape jmd consistent being to much that otherwise woidd be void of result, and. not rarely, purifies and inspires. Especially is this true in relation to all that concerns love of country, pride of race, belief in the national destiny, and the consecration of the individual to the service of the State. Here the poet finds his true field. Here he . attains his highest flights. Hence the number of writers and the variety of this form of verse. When full charged _ with thought that seeks expression prose is scorned as a halting vehicle, though, for the many, it is possibly the safer. Be this as it may, the Kaiser of Germany has written verso of a kind that stirs the heart and sets free the blood. His 'Song of written in 1894, is one of the deservedly popular melodies of the Fatherland. Both words and music are his, and each, in its own way, proclaims the faith that is in him, and, let us not forget, in Germany. The song has been arranged and adapted for almost every conceivable combination of voices and instruments, and is equally effective when sung by a chorus or when played by a military band. •

THE SONG OF SEGVR. /Egir, in the old Norse mythology, was the God ef the Sea, corresponding to the Poseidon of the old Greeks and the Neptune of the Latins. The song is supnosed to be an invocation sung by Vikings before starting upon a marauding expedition, praying for protection from the mighty lord of the ocean. The following is the English version : SE«is, r.of<t of Oceari. , Who rul'st the stormv sea. To thee, in deep devotion. Our warriors bow the knee. In bloody feud we hasten Far forth to hostile strand. Through shoal and breakers guide us | To that far distant land. So if the storm fiend threaten, And earthly aid is vain. Do thou, with glance of lightning, Avert the dreaded bane. As Frithjof to Ellida. O'er thy swan-pathway flew, Do thou protect thev children, Watch o'er our galley's crew. When in the wild encounter Shield rin?s on shield a-main. And o'er the heroes hover The chcosers of the slain. Then let our chant -ring bravely, Far o'er the angry sea. Eternal praise and honor To thee, great god, to thee! —The Chances of War.— The Kaiser William IT. of Germany is a warrior—a chief of the old school. He stands for .peace, but it is peace that, is based on German honor and the recognition of German supremacy. It is not a peace for the sake of peace, but rather a peace that Germany gives to the World. Germany is ready to draw the sword should necessity arise, and no man or nation can say when, in the opinion of Germany, that may be. It arc6e less than two years ago, when Russia threatened to intervene between Germany's ally, Austria, oyer the hitter's Bosnia-Herzegovina policy, and there are indications that the necessity may have arisen within the past few weeks over French policy in Morocco. What is—-or rather should be—clear i? ! that no man has the right to assert that I war is an impossibility or even an impro- ; bability. The recent—perhaps still exist- j ing—tension over seme seemingly insigni- i hcant affair, such ae the assertion of j shadowy rights in an out-of-the-way part j of a semi-savage North African State. | proved sufficient to send down the price of securities on the Berlin and l*ari«s Bourses. to set the cables ringing, and to fill the world with rumors that were not more sensational than they were in glaring contrast to the signing of international treaties of peace, on which thoughtless men have built so much. There are- always those who, possessed of the sublime confidence that is born of profound ignorance of history and human nature, will assert "they saw- no sign of possible invasion, they would like to know where the possible enemy was, they must condemn as wholly unnecessary the' licking - of some scores of yelling Yahoos into hw-abidinpr, useful citizens." Such prophets are always in evidence. They were to, be found in England during the days of the Armada, of the Dutch wars, of the threatened French and Napoleonic invasions. The Empire owes nothing to them; we are an Empire in spite of and in opposition to them. The moral of which js: "Work for peace «by preparing to keep it" : or, to borrow Mr Roosevelt's homely phrase, always have the " big i-tick " handy. —'• The Hammer of God." — And the Kaiser of Germany i.s getting his "big stick" welded and fashioned into shape. He can command peace in Europtj because he has him the first- army in the world, and he means in the near future to h> able to speak with tho greatest of his rivals on the sea on nearly equal j terms. That is what the world admires j in the Kaiser. He believes in Germany, .he ivs convinced that Providence has entrusted him with a mission, and he intends to live up to his ideals. Recently he dined aboard the Hamburg-American liner Amerika, and in response to the. toast of the Emperor's health he said : In wools full of feeling you have giveu us a sketch of what was once upon a time and of what is now. The once upon a time shows us that, if a nation . is to be spurred on to do tilings aud is ] to develop as our Fatherland has devel- • oped in the- last 50 years, the hammer ot God is necessary "to get rid of the slags and forge the block of stsel. The block of steel was formed, and 40 years ago proved its firmness. If in the 40 years since the great time which restored to ug the Ivaisertum the development'of Hamburg, for its part, has made this enormous progress, and if in reality, as your Magnificence was good enough to say, it has been granted to me to be able to be of use to you, and especially to the Hamburg and other German shipping lines, the establishment of this fact gives me great pleasure, I have, how«ver, been but a link-in history (Ich habe. nur historisch gehandelt), for when I came to the Throne I said to myself that tho'tasks which the Hansa once . tried to accomplish by itself, and was unable to accomplish because there was no strong Empire -behind it and the Empire's protection and executive power •were lacking, must now again fall upon the shoulders of the new-created German Empire. It was, in fact, simply the responsibilities of old traditions . which had to be taken up, and in every sphere of activity 'what had been lost during the prolonged period of difficulty Jiad to be canqaertd and.vvon back inch by inch. .► = —Commerce and the Navy.— * But, above all. the development of trade and shipping could assume these

'. great proportions only if behind the de-. , velopment stood* the 'defensive forces of the JJmprre—above all, a well-respected German , Na.vy; . My hopes have been fulfilled.. Kot only have the okl Hanseatic tasks been taken up* again, but the men have been found who could accomplish them. From my very being. gentlemen, I thank you for that by vonr activity in thinking and in doing—here is the leader of the HamburgAmerican Line with ijs. to-day (Herr Ballin) as a model of all this—you have through these years served our Fatherland so marvellously, and brought it to the position which we now occupy before 'the'world. It was only possible" because of the Ions; peace. After the restoration of the German Empire peace -was- assured. And witii will peace will remain assured. —What the Men in Blue Think.— Mr H. C. Bywater, the Berlin correspondent, of 'The Navy,' in the -course of an articlo on the 'German Naval Personnel,' says: "To say that the beginning and end of tlie duties for which a heet is created is summed up in the one word 'destruction' is to utter an. axiom. ; But* in connection with the. German Navy this axiom seems to'acquire, a vital meaning which it would lack if applied, to the maritime forces of certain other Powers. The Imperial Marine is a weapon newly forged, whose actual potentiality for destruction is unknown, but having deadly purpose writ large across its design. The intense earnestness of the "men who serve in it corroborates, this impression. Kvery German officer or bluejacket believes that sooner or later the day will come when he will be called upon to fight the greatest tight in the liistory of his nation. That it will bo a struggle to the death he is well aware ; he also recognises the tremendous issues.that must depend on the outcome of this struggle, and this twofold knowledge tills him with a profound sense of individual responsibility which he often unconsciously reveals. No one enjoying a wide acquaintance amongst tho personnel of the Imperial Marine will deny the pre■valeneo of these sentiments." And so we have the completed trinity— Kaiser, ships, men—animated, controlled, inspired bv a common purpose—God's sledge-hammer, wherewith to smite the unready, the utopian; and the unfit.