THE NAVY LEAGUE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18545, 4 May 1922, Page 8

THE NAVY LEAGUE

PROTRACTED AND WARM MEETING. FINANCIAL STRINGENCY- ' (Fboii Odb Own Correspondent.* LONDON, March 14. It was not exactly a happy family that j assembled- for the annual meeting of the j Grand Council of tho Navy League, which i was held ,at the Victoria Hotel on March ItJ. The proceedings were very protracted ' and at times very warm, speeches boing ; punctuated by such interpolations as “Shame!” “No!” “Don’t be personal!” : “No personalities!” “Let us.leave all this . put l’f apd “Get on with the business'." ■ There was it good attendance of representa- i tives from many branches, but <one of the critics referred to the 12,000 people who had been shut outside the room but who | ought to have been present. ] Dissensions in the ranks of those con- j trolling the policy of tlie league have already j been referred to publicly, notably after a | somewhat stormy special meeting on Jan- i uary 12, and a subsequent conference on I February 2. Friday’s mfeeting did little towards evolving a definite naval policy round which the two groups —those demanding a single-Power standard for the British ■Navy, and those wanting a navy “to,secure adequate protection of British commerce and British subjects all the world over—might compose their differences. Before the conclusion of the meeting the entire committee had resigned as the result of the vote of no confidence passed at a special Grand Council meeting held in January. Finally, they agreed to remain (or four weeks at their posts in the hope that some .way out of the troubles might be found. The report wag read and its adoption proposed by tho chairman (Mr Y. Biscoe Tritton, chairman of the /Executive Committee) ; Admiral Turnell seconded the proposal., Its rejection was moved by Mr Arnold White, and seconded by Professor ■tsostock Hill, but after lengthy discussion the amendment was withdrawn, and the report and balance sheet adopted. To add to the difficulties of the league the financial position is not ‘one of the soundest, and an appeal waS. made for 20 people to guarantee £3,00 each for the next six months in order that the league might c . arr Y on -. Jf. at the end of /a month’s time,” said Colonel Buchan, a member of the committee, “we have to come before the Grand Council and’ say we have failed to get the financial support to carry on, and we have failed to get an executive committee together, there will be no alternative before us then but to ask the Grand Council to wind up, the league.” Mr Tritton opened his speech by formally announcing that the Duke of oomerset had resigned from the presidency of the Navy League. He foil sure that all present would wish to place ’on record their appreciation and gratitude for the interest 1 he had always shown, and he deep regret at the decision which the duke had found it necessary to take. No successor had been / chosen. The outstanding feature of the year (continued the chairman) had undoubtedly been the assembling of the Washington Conference and the .decisions there arrived at. The .members of the Navy League would feel especially gratified at the results achieved. For more than a year they have consistently advocated such a conference, • and they desired to take this opportunity, of placing on record their gratitude to President Harding for summoning the conference and to Mr Balfour for the .great and statesmanlike part he had played in contributing to its successful 1 issue. The fundamental principle on which the policy of the league had always been based had, been to ensure adequate naval protection for British subjects and British commerce all the world over, and he denied that this had been violated by any of the recent pronouncements made by the' executive of the league. Under the Washington Agreement the position of the Great Powers .was .neither weakened nor impaired. Overseas members had continued their unabated interest during the year, and their efforts hat} been very largely directed to the wdrk in, the schools. New Zealand especially had a very large membership of school children. Special attention was also being directed to the formation of Sea Cadet Corps- and Boys’ Naval Brigades in the dominions. The Navy League Overseas Relief Fund had now closed (its “relief” activities, and was engaged in carrying out the scheme which provided for the education and advancement in life of approximately 1100 orphans of sailors at a time during the next eight years. Donors from overseas had made this largely possible./ Since the fund was opened in 1916, £436.024 had been received in donations, and, adding interest on investecTfunds the total amount for distribution wouty be not faV short of half a’ million. The principal donations contributed by the overseas branches -had been:—Australia. £141,819; New Zealand, £120,668; Canada, £83,962; South Africa,, £38,053; China, £16,100; Federated Malay States, £6889. Administration expenses had been kept to the low proportion of 3.5 per cent. ~ The number of cases dealt with under all headings since the fund was started is 11,033. - When it became 'necessary for the league to arrange for a bank overdraft the chairman gladly made himself responsible for £645 6s 7d, but he could no longer take this responsibility. Everything had been done to cut dofvn expenses, and they had been reduced as much ajs possible if the league were to continue its work: Money must be found now and at once, or arrange•ments made for guaranteeing a temporary overdraft. . Mr Tritton then went fully into the differences which had arisen over the tion of the league’s policy, and which had led to the resignation froml the, executive of Mr P. J. Hannon. M.P.. and other members, but emphasised the fact that in spite of those differences they all wished the league to continue as a powerful organisation, as an asset to the Empire, with a definitely agreed policy.—■-(OheerS.) Ine league reconsidered its in October, 1919, and subsequently issued its Year policy in 1921, as a, result of the altered world outlook, but in no sense was there any departure from the principles on which the league wtaa founded* That policy was endorsed fiy the Grand Council, and was received *with approval by the press and the members of the 1 league. In no sense and m no instance did they depart from the principles as initiated in an accepted policy. Mr Hannon was a member of the Executive Committee, and had supported all its resolutions which in many cases he had assisted in drafting. Apparently only when he had left the committee he seemed to have changed his views, and he began to criticise many of the actions ot the Committee, to- which he himself was a party. .It was owing to the defeat of a counter-resolution which he proposed to one submitted by the chairman. Amongst other things in the resolution Mr Hannon asked for unqualified support to the British members of the delegation to Washington, hut inasmuch us no on© bod at that time been appointed, it seemed ridiculous to give support to the names of people who were not then known. Subsequently Mr Hannon resigned from the executive .and began to criticise mopv of the actions of the committee, to which he was a party. A verv unfair attack had also been made on Admiral Hopwood, because in a private capacity ho had joined a sub-committee of the League of Nations, after receiving an assur ance that the committee of the Navy League would raise no objection. There wore those amongst .them who demanded a return to the original pWioy of unqualified supremacy at sea, but such a policy would logically 'carry with it disagreement with the decisions of the Washington Couforenco; there were others who supported the view held by the committee. A STRONG AND. ADEQUATE NAVY. Admiral L. G. Tufuoll, who, seconding tho resolution, said he wished to support and emphasise nil that 1 the ohairmnn ha<l said, was subjected to many interruptions and nmnv interjections, such as “Don t be personal!” Ho felt sure it would be unanimously admitted that it would be nothing short ,of criminal if. Great Britain djd not have a Navy League or some equivalent organisation. Ho maintained that the policy had not been changed, but only modified. Before the war the enemy were at the gates; now that the enemy were at the bottom of the sea. surelv they did not require the same extraordinary amount of protection. It stood to reason thiat the naval policy must be modified; they must look to other things to explain the present slate of affairs in the league. It was to his mind and ho was upheld by the opinion of very many members —that it was a case of wounded personal vanity or of disappointed ambition.—(“No !”) perhaps a hankering after aggrandisement.—(dries of “Get on with business.” “Leave nil this out.” “No personalities!”) It was a curious coincidence that as soon ns a particular membtfr resigned from tho committee lie began to attack them through the press. The incident of the Longue of Nations Union had been simply hooks on which to hang the hats of their opponents. The policy of the league was now as always it had been, that there must be a navy for the protection of those who pass over'the seas in their lawful vocations, and there mutt be an adequate and strong navy, on which, under the providence of God, the safety of the Empire depended.

PATRIOTISM OVERSEAS. , In moving the rejection bf the report, Mr Arnold White dissociated himself altogether from the language which the gallant admiral had used about Mr Hannon. 'There was some hocus-pocus going on which he did not understand. Where tyere the 12,000 people who were outside this room and who ought to bo present? Why were the Duke of Bedford and Lord' Ampthill shut out?, He ventured to say that in no other century had 'there been such a serious timein the history bf this country as now. He made an eloquent appeal for a more vigor-* ous policy, and the abandonment of all connection of the league with the League, of Nations. He pointed out that the executive had done nothing to enlighten public opinion on the threat to our sea-power brought about by reason of tljp handing over of the naval pons in Southern Ireland to the mercy of the 1.R.A., that sea-power bv which we maintain our hold on India. The League of Nations, bo it good or evil, did not include the inhabitants of the large land surface of the planet. 'lhe League of Nations, far from representing : all the nations of the world, did not include Russia, Germany, or the United States, and 21 of the nations professing to belong to it had not paid their subscriptions,—(Laughter.) He deprecated the form of internationalism, which he defined as sinister, whereby we forgive the enemies of our friends and suppbrt the friends of our enemies, indicating that it was to this form that the executive, by their silence on grave issues affecting oup naval security, subscribed, and appealed for trust in the navy, rather than in the League of Nations. Now, because some obsolete ships were to be scrapped, we were told that wo were to trust this League of Nations. The thing was l u ri|eIt turned the Navy League into a parochial body of men. He would appeal from that audience to the great membership of the Navy League in the diminiona. who. were heart and soul in favour of the' original idea of the functions of this league is being maintained. He wanted to appeal to that great audience of the league beyond the seas, ne received,' he suppose], ae many letters irom Navy Leaguers: outside the United Kingdom, as most people, and there was not a week passing without his seeing how truly and how clearly the flame the pure flame—of influence and supreme nationalism, and the love of the sea power of England blazed across the sea. _ “Read the report of 'the Navy League of Australia or New Zealaqd, or South Africa, and you _ will see how the original idea of the functions of this league is being maintained across the seas. Let us have no quarrel.” He did not believe in the policy of the league as regarded the League of Nations, Union, but he suggested that the rift in the league might, be healed by the resignation of its general secretary, RearAdmiral Hopwood, for whom he expressed great -admiration, but whose high ideals as t 6 the future of ' mankind were, in his opinion, not compatible with the material policy required by the Nevy League. The Admiral’s resignation was, he thought, the minimum he could ask. He believed that ihe enemies of England were the enemies, of the navy, and that the enemies of the navy were ,the enemies "of the Navy League. He urged them to stand up to their friends and against their enemies. A CHANGE OP MOTTO.

Professor Bostock Hill, Mr White’s resolution,--, mentioned that during a journey to Ceylon the motto of the Navy League had been changed from “ Keep Watch” to “Service and Sacrifice.” - Did that mean sacrifice of the interests of the league and of the country?”—(Cheers.) Had we so soon forgotten all that critics abroad, as well as at home, thought of the work of the navy during the war? —(Cheers.) If the Navy League is not to keep watch, if it is to be at the mercy of anybody, then he did not see its use. If the Navy League were to go on, it must go on doing its work. Educational work, what was it? If anything, it is education of the British sea power. He appealed that all personalities, which had entered largely into the discussion, should be avoided, and that all should work wholeheartedly to reconstruct the league o ( n sound lines, and it should still keep watch. Mr Hannon, M.P.„ said he completely and cordially endorsed all that Mr Arnold White had said. He had no desire except to do everything in his power to preserve theorganisation of the league in its fullness as the national protagonist of cur sea power. At length he gave his account of the disagreements .that unfortunately had arisen; he said. the committee had completely reversed its policy, and it was simply because of that that he resigned. Referring to the executive’s letter in The Times on October 14 I'ast, he characterised it .is an unfortunate and malignant manifesto. responsible'for the grave dissensions within the league and dissatisfaction with the executive, and called for a reconstruction of the league and 1 a return to old principles. In this case he felt sure there were thousands, of people in. the country who would he proud to support them, but they would not get that measure of support 'until that confidence was restored . Admiral Lowther Grant (formerly Naval Attache at Washington) yielded to none, for he reckoned that he was just as much an Imperialist os Mr Arnold White. He had. been v over the Empire a good deal, and he knew as much as anyone what force was required for the defence of the commerce and the peoples of the British Empire, It was necessary to adjust- ourselves to the true perspective of the present international position, the needs of this country and the Empire as a whole. The state of taxatioil and unemployment in ,this country demanded attention, for if unemployment went on as it was at the "present time, something not- far short of a revolution would take place, and then good-bye to the navy altogether. Those who were crying out ' against the Washington Conference and against a reduction of capital ships (which had been agreed to by the Admiralty) were in the grip of a very bad attack of “Little Englandism,” because they were prepared to sacrifice the Empire to a purely imaginary peril, and to sacrifice personnel to material. . On the motigh for the adoption of the' report being put to .the delegates, the voting was so close that the chairman intimated that he would call a general noil, and include in it the" proxy votes, which he held, and which he _ said were largely in favour of the executive. TTiis met . with much protest, but eventually Mr Arnold White withdrew his motion, the report being finally adopted. ATTEMPT TO SAVE’ THE LEAGUE. On the agenda paper there .were several motions from branches, some of which called for a reversal of the decision reached at the January meeting, and urged the executive to reconsider their resignation. This again led to much discussion and argument, but the first motion to this effect, by the -Bristol branch, was carried. A number of delegates and members then left, expressing their dissatisfaction with the proceedings. There were some heated comments when- the chairman, before announcing what the voting in the room had been, declared that he was putting in proxies, which would carry the resolutions, and there -was also a -chorus of protests from people in. all parts of the hall, who, not being delegates from branches or hon. vice-presidents, found that they were not entitled to vote. . Mr Hannon was amongst this number. Subsequently the vote by show of cuj-ds was retaken, and the resolutions were carried by 38 votes to 85, without the introduction of the proxies. The meeting then ’developed into a general discussion, which finally resolved itself into ah attempt to find a means of keeping the league in existence, the financial situation being very grave. Mr W. B. Hards, a member of the council, stated that guarantees amounting to £2OOO would bd necessary; there was no alternative but immediate liquid-a- i tion. Colonel Buchan ’ offered to guarantee £IOO for three months, and called on 19 others to do the same, but there was no response. The chairman thereupon announced that the Executive Committee would continue in office for one month to endeavour to seek a way out of their present difficulties, the result depending primarily on securing the necessary 1 funds to carry on. Dr Bostock Hill agreed, on being appealed to by the chair, to co-operate in an effort to see that the league’s various activities were kept going. A resolution, proposed by ,Mr_ 11. Harcourt-Smith, and seconded by Miss Gordon Barrett, was passed, declaring that it -was absolutely necessary that, the- Navy League should continue in existence. Alex; “ They say when a man’s ears are red that somebody is talking about him.’*Jess; “Yes. and he can just hot that somebody is falking about him if his nose is red.” ", “Now, children,” said the Sunday school teacher, “can you tell me of a greater-power I than a king?” “Tes, ma’am,” cried a littia boy eagerly. “Very well, Willie, you may tell the class.” replied the teacher her.i"uly. “An a£©. ma’am.” was the reply. ’Sirs Hiram Offen; “Here, Bridget, see how dusty >♦ is under the bed.” Bridget: “Yea’m.” "Haven’t I impressed upon you that you must sweep under the beds?” “Ay. course, ma’am, an’ how could the dust get here if I hadn’t swept it under?” “I want.” said the very plain girl, "abook entitled ‘Cultivate Your Natural Beauty,.’” “Here it is,” said the clerk, who wanted to be sociable. “Are you getting it for a friend?” And the very plain girl put her purse back into her bag .and went right out.,