NAVY LEAGUE DEMONSTRATION. PACKED AND ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2902, 27 October 1909, Page 33

NAVY LEAGUE DEMONSTRATION. PACKED AND ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING.

School Cadets, the Boy Scouts, Defence Cadiets, Volunteers, school childiren, with, their teachers, and a greait crow d of the general public filled the Garrison. Hall to overflowing op the 21st, when a Trafalgar Day demonstration was held undeir the auspices of the Otago Branch of the Navy League. The hall was gay with bunting. Flags of all sorts and sizes were hung all I about, and round the front of the gallery, in blue leisters on a white ground, appeared the words that British seamen, exactly 104 years before, had carried with them irato the' -world's most notable naval , bartle, " England expects that every man j w ill do his duty.' Excellent arrangements ! had been made by the committee for the seating of the huge cro»vd. and a pleasing I programme (spoiled somewhat by the eon- ! slant interruptions of which the childa en j were guilty) had been prepared. Sir Jas. 1 Mills (president of the local brun-c-h of the i Xavy League) was rhairm'cin. and the following members of the executive were with him on the stage: — Messrs R. ChL^holm, P. Goyen, W. F. Edmond, R. S. Black, F. 0. Bridgenna.i, G. R. Ritchie, W. J. Morrell, W. Sibbald, J. F. Woodhouse, P. G. Pryde, Charles Darling, C. Macandrew, J. A. Johnttone, and W. Downie Stewart. CONCERNI NG THE NAVY LEAGUE. Sir James Mills, on behalf of the Navy 1 League, welcomed the people, paiticularly ! the large number of children who had ' come to celebrate the victory of TraI falgair — the most momentous naval event of history — which occurred just 104 years ago. He was glad to see so many young people, because it was the young people that the Navy League looked for the best refills of its work. He wished to eomr.iend to them the league itself and its woik, which Mas to stimulate interest in the navy and foster on the part of eveiyoiw a love of Empire. The navy was their first line of defence, and if deprived of it Britain would be at the mercy of any hostile Power. In times of peace we did not realise the amount of defence given us by the navy, but it was nevertheless our duty to see tiiat it was kept in a state of efficiency and that Britain had the most powerful navy among all the nation;-. The league strove lo inculcate among young childien an idea of the importance of the navy ai'.j an appreciation of all that had b-2n done I>\ the British navy in the past. 'I'lu'e ii,^ much th;>t had been done by th.» league, and there was much yet to hj done. For ii. stance, much literature hid bjc.n di-tiibutod among the schools, and much was being disti ibuted. but there w;t< reason to suppose that a quantity of that <-;>nt out wa-s not placoJ at the dis-|i<j.->al of the ehilche-i. ;is it ought to be. He t ')(>!< the oppcrt unity of urging upon i('.uhci«. (lie nccc-Mtv of seeine; that such matter n..s givni to tin? young folks, that tlicv nii^lit vindy it and learn at- early possible thi'ir rf-pon-^ibiiity to Empire. It was dc-Lrablo. too, th;it teachers should, wlu-rc possible, speak to children on matters aftecting the Biitish Empire. The league also did good by arranging for lectuiHS upon appropriate subjects, which was an evcellcnt means of arousing and maintaining inteie.it in the league's objects. There should, he thought, be a mucli larger league membership in Dunedin. The sub-Miiption was really very small, and its objects woie such that tliey must appeal to every individual among them. It wa-. lather a reproach to think that they did not take more of au interest in

the navy. In that respect they sufiere distinctly in a contrast with their rivals the Germans. In Germany the Nay League had a tremendously large merabei ship, and the navy in that country wa not looked upon as a matter of interes only to the Kaiser and his Minister: Why, in Australia, the- Germans had branch of 1500 --members, which recentl sent home to the Fatherland sums.aggrc gating £8000. - In that respect, th British were far behind. The mainter. ance of the navy in an efficient eonditio. was a matter of the utmost important to the Dominion, of New Zealand, and i was a matter for congratulation that Si Joseph Ward, when in London recentlj had arranged for the protection of Nei Zealand by a portion of the Royal Navj — (Applause.) And facilities had bee provided by which those who desired i could train in our own waters. He paid special compliment to Mr Charles Darlim the honorary secretary of the league, wh had done an immense- amount of wor since he had received the appointmeni Good work was also being done by th Ladies' Branch. In conclusion, the chaii man said that Trafalgar Day was bein celebrated all over the world, that th Nelson monument was being decorated and that at that moment, doubtless, peopl in Trafalgar square, in London, were looi ing on a wreath that had been place upon the monument by order of the Otag Branch of the Navy League. — (Cheers.) NELSON AND TRAFALGAR. The Very Rev. Dean Fitchett deliverer an address upon " Nelson : the Man am his Work." He referred "first to the battl Of '.Trafalgar and events that immediately preceded it. In th© month of October, o 1805, there was lying in Cadiz a FrencJ and Spanish fleet of 40 vessels, includinj 53 ship of the line. And, because the; had 30,000 mouths to feed, and beeausthere came daily from Napoleon, in Paris the most imperative orders to leave Cadiz Flench and Spanish were (really ver anxious to get out. The only ships U be seen outside were two English frigate: keeping tiralees watch. Y-et the allie hugged the port. Why? Because 51 miles away, out of sight oveT the rim o the horizon, was Nelson and his battle chips \\ aiting. A Frenoh army looked oui over the English Channel, but Englanc was piepared for any emrgency, and i great fleet lay helplessly in Cadiz Har bour, afraid to venture out. Napoleon impatient of delay, sent his curt massage* hurrying south ; and away out there th< presiding genius of it ail was Lor< Horatio Nelson, the commander of th< British fleet — the greatest sailor since th< world began. Then the speaker com menced to sketch the career of Nelson — ai first a frail, delicate boy. Yet at 21 yean he was in charge- of a ship, but that wa,s only attained after a great many strenu ous years. He had been in 120 engage ments, and had lost an arm and an ey« prior to gairnig that command. Contemporaneous with him had been Wellington, mid to tlio = c two men they owed the British Empire of to-day. Th« long list of victories, culminating in Waterloo, would neve have been possible without the victory of Trafalgar. The Spam's hFrench fleet took tvo days to get out of Cadiz, and when it was well out, without am* possibility uf getting l>;icl< again, Nelson £ot to gript- with it. The .Spanish and French hiy in a long line five miles long, and the British fleet attacked in two lin&s. The Victory led one line, and was 40 minutes under' fiie before . c he fired a single gun. It v.as a terrible, a ghastly, battle, and they might wonder at two jjiinifeters of religion standing before them and gloiifying such a tiling. But had that fleet been successful, and Nelson been defeated, Napoleon must have taken the great army he had ready across the Channel, and England would have been at his ■mercy. Nelson had prevented that. It had Wen a most righteous and holy war, for it was intended to save and maintain those islands of Britain from the horrors of invasion. The Dean spoke of the character and career of Nelson. Nelson was able to influence his s\ibordinat€& in an extraordinary degree. ■' He had just the samefaculty for winning enthusiasm that Napolean had. But he was not the comodiau that Bonaparte was. He wa^ as tender a* a woman, and as emotional. . . . Nelson had a hundred faults and sins of which I am not piepared to speak. 'Let him that is without sin among you cast the first stone.' He has left an unperifliable memory to this generation, and a memory that will be imperishable with generations yet unborn." BRITISH SKAMEX. The Rev. P. W. Vairclough. speaking on "Biitish Seamen. Pa<-t and Present.' said that they had just heard of the world's greatest sailor. He would show them some of the ordinary s-ea-men — the men behind the gun. Then he proceeded to tell them many tales of the tea — stiriing tales of British heroism under ail sorts of condition?. How a frigate went n'-hore on the Nova Stotian coast, and ei'^ht men out of 300 or 400 were saved by the heroism of a boy. Of how a hanJfnl of men from the frigate Plicebe took an enemy's ship from under the guns of a ho.-tile fortress in San Domingo, and of many other notable achie-, cments of plucky Biitons in all paits of the world. A large number of lantern picture- from slid«s owned by the Navy League were .shown, the boys in the gallery showing their appreciation of the photographs of rotable sailors and soldier;-* and members of the Royal Family which were thiown on xhe screen by deafening cheers and ap- ] lau.se prolonged beyond ail reason. A ( tableau renre-^entinz "Five Nations — One, Empire " (arranged by Captain Waito and \ Mr James) was bhown, while Mr Harrison • tang "Rule Biitannia." | Mr Aithur Harrison s^ang ''The death of i Nelson,"' and Miss L. Darling gave an [ nrtistio interpretation of "The Battle of " the Baltic. " ~Tho Dunedin Garrison Band, under Lieutenant George, rendered yeoman tervice. i

hI f CELEBRATIONS ELSEWHERE. s, [ WELLINGTON, October 21.ry ■ Trafalgar Day was celebrated by the ■r- Navy League by a supper .to-night, abqut is 200 leading • citizens being present. Mr st W. Eraser, M.P., presided, ana speeches s. were delivered' by his Excellency, th"e£ a Governor, Sir , Joseph Wa-cd, and Air [y Foster Fraser. __ c - i CHRISTCHURCH, October 2L^ 1Q J Although mo special public holiday -wis fy. observed to-day »n honour -of the annim versary of Trafalgar, a brave show of , c bunting- \vas made in various parts of the I* city. The railing surrounding the Queen's • r statae in Victoria square was wreathed with garlands of lam-el bearing the initial, - ■*' of the name of England's illustrious a3A J miral. Around the base of the statue N£l- ?' son's famous signal was picked out with '.n. n white flowers. The larger flagpole and ltr the rigging were- dressed ■with flags cona veyinsr Nelson's famous me-sage, the §> whole design being surmounted by the 10 Navy League's banner. The signal was "k also displayed o/er the gate of Christ's t. College. All the other primary and aeconi© dary schools in the city flew the Union r- Jack, and altogether the occasion w.as ig worthily honoutfad 1 . This afternoon the le Rev. E. Eliolt Chambers gave a lecture \ i, bearing upon Navy-. League -matters at His le Majesty's Theatre, his address being.illuEt. trated with ' views of British • battleships, ?0 TIMARU, October 21. j Beyond a large display of bunting, there i was no cplebration in honour of Trafalgar I Day. Incidentally, the Timaru Main j School held a garden party, the chief item being an " Empire- March " of symbolic ; costumed groups. During the afternoon y prizes were presented on behalf of tho £ Navy League (Canterbury Branch) to ttvo pupils of the school, the v sucoassf ul writers of essays on the meaning of Empire Day. | INVERCARGILL, October 20.; ;e In connection with the Trifal&ar Ijay 5 celebrations, some 400 Cadets and bandsB ' men paraded this afternoon- before a large y attendance of the public. Marching past o competitions were held for the Defence , s and Public School • Cadet battalions, and >g trophies were presented by the president JO of the Southland Branch of the 'Navy ,f League . to the various winners of the ;. ' shooting and other competitions annually it ' arranged by the league to celebrate the d anniversary of Trafalgar Day. :- CELEBRATIONS IN BRITAIN. '^ • - - LONDON, October 2%. * Trafalgar Day was celebrated through"" jj out the country. c ' Nelson's column, in Trafalgar square, c was garlanded with laurel and ivy and t- many wreaths, including a number from t the colonial bra.nches of the Navy League. s There were several from New Zealand. 6 ! [ - EDUCATING THE YOUTHFUL: MIND. c OTTAWA, October 22. In many of the elementary schools c-f , Canada appropriate lessons. were given in c connection with Trafalgar I>ay'.