NAVY LEAGUE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3014, 20 December 1911, Page 8

NAVY LEAGUE.

ESSAY COMPETITION. j The following paper was" awarded the j highest marks in the Fenwick Shield Oom- ; petition, held in connection with the essay examinations of the Navy Lague {Otago Branch). It was written by Miss Ethel Gertrude Johnstone, of St. Andrew a Collegiate School. The subject was: I he Influence of the Sea on National Character as Illustrated by the History of the British Race": — The influence that the sea has had on our national character, and the part that the sea has played in our national development, cannot be over estimated, since it is to the eea"that the Anglo-Saxon race owes all its greatness and success as a race. According to Emerson, cold and sea are the two factors which have helped in the highest degree to train an imperial Saxon race. . Many hundreds of years ago—indeed, over two thousand years ago—our ancestors, the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians lived in the north-eastern countries of Europe. At that time they had not taken possession of ' the British Isles, which in the then distant future were destined to become the headquarters of a world-wide Empire the like of which had never before existed. As their lands were bleak and inhospitable these ancient ancestors of ours turned to the sea as a means of supporting themselves, for even then one characteristic of the race was prominent—they delighted in the sea. To quote from "The Romance of the Mighty Deep," within their small limits of power "they ranged the ocean they wrestled with its fury, they exulted in its fmry. they subdued it to their will, they found "-often their graves beneath its surface." For our ancestors the sea was a type of the infinite and of the immeasurable— . "In all time, calm or convulsed, . . . Boundless, endless, sublime." —Byron. Years after the Romans left Britain there came a time when, goaded to desperation by the savage raids ot the Picts and Scots, the Britons sent to the Angles and Saxons for assistance against their foes. This these daring sea-rovers.gave, but they did something else, for they themselves settled down in the land of the Britons, who, weakened by centuries of Roman rule, were quite unable to withstand this new invasion. It is from the "coming of the Angles to Britain that England took its present name, signifying " land of the Angles." With the invasion of the Angles and Saxons there came a new tone into the national life, for ti» invaders were full of the sea spirit, tfhich they showed in their love of freedom, of liberty, of justice, of. truth, in their extreme independence, in their bravery, and in their daring. Later on the Angles and Saxons, by this time quite settled in Britain, suffered invasion at the hands of the Danes. These, however, did not obtain possession of the land for many years, for they wero successfully opposed by Alfred the Great* who, as well as being a brave and skilful warrior, was a ready listener to the voice of the sea, calling for justice, for peaceful administration, and for education. Moreover, to drive away the marauding Danes, who like the Angles and Saxons •were bold and daring seamen, Alfred built the first national fleet, an act for which he will be renowned as long as there is a British race. After Alfred's death his work was carried on by other kings less able Khan himself, and finally, in 1017, the Danes conquered England, which they ruled for about 30 years. About this time the NorCns began to have much influence mEngd—an Influence which .was to last, for aaanv generations, during which, although often not actively .engaged on the sea ve j Mt received much .benefit, from the fact {hat there ma strip of sea between u« Sf *h« reat ii *fco uorld. For, while the

other European Powers were struggling for their very existence, we. because of the sea that served us "as a moat defensive to a house," had leisure even in the: midst ot the- internal troubles that disturbed us. from time to time, to lay the foundations of that constitution which to-day is the envy of the civilised world, to strengthen and consolidate our laws, and to put justice on a firm footing. At the same time; many, of our sovereigns encouraged the spirit/t commerce, and wherever -goes..this spirit .there goes also the spirit of peace, which, is the element of all mora\ progress, and which, as no less an authority than Mr Llovd George has recently said, is the hrst condition of prosperity. But it was, in tie illustrious reign .of Queen Elizabeth that Ave really came into contact with the sea in a degree almost unparalleled in our history This was a time of great intensity and progress, for once again the voice of the was heard, and men listened and obeyed, though in awe and wonder at the poVer and majesty of the, «ea , W is a good thing in itself-indeed, when wonder is no longer excited in the.human mind, then there is an end of! alllgflW moral or commercial, in© vast new lands across the seas discovered by Columbus and other navigators caused fresh interest to be taken in maritime affairs, and, ag a result England became an important commercial country—"A nation of sftopkeeoers " was the taunt thrown at her by her jealous rivals. Thus the racacame into fresh contact with the sea, and the contact of the raoa with the sea secures not only its commercial prestige and security from invasion, but it keeps alive the sense of mystery and awe, without which there can be no real progress. The character the people, too, became more definite. Character has been defined by Emerson as moral order seen through the medium, of an individual mind, while another writer says that character is one of the greatest motive powers in the world, for in its highest embodiments it exhibits men at their best. In Elizabeth's reign, then, the national character became more strongly marked than in the previous reigns, for the sea, on which our ships and men struggled so hard, called forth this highest qualities in the indivilnal. The eea. called for and demanded of men patience, sobriety, bravery darin" skilfulncss. resourcefulness, untiring watchfulness, self-control self-sacrifice. enero-y and deliberation, all these and more. Without doubt the times of Elizabeth were strenuous times, for our struggle with bpam was long and arduous, but we came out of it a better and a stronger nation possessing what we have never since lost —the supremacy of the seas. Our security from invasion being assured after our famous victory over the Armada in 1588, Englishmen began to turn their eyes towards the new lands, and to make plans for their development, for it is always during times of great maritime activity that there is made the most progress in civilisation. In this "spirit England became a commercial and a. colonizing country, now founding colonies in America, and now opening up trade with India and other Asiatic countries but all the time pushing steadily forward over the great seas that shut her off from the world. " And so the sea, which, according to Virgil, divided the poor 'Britons utterly from the world, proved to be the ring of marriage with all nations."—Emerson During the centuries which have since passed with their long, tedious wars, with their moments of supreme peril, and their years of fruitful peace, the lessons learned from the sea and the characteristics inherited from our Anglo-Saxon and Viking fathers.—our indomitable pluck, our failure to perceive when we were beaten, and our spirit of maritime daring and en-terprise—-have."many a, t&me helped us through some serious crisis, and have always influenced our national r character. After each war, • whether favourable to us or not, we would • sail away undaunted to fresh lands, taking with us everywhere that

spirit of liberty, of freedom, and of justice to all men which has always been characteristic of the British race. And still England was being protected and helped by the sea that surrounded her, for while the other European Powers were constantly striving against one another. England had opportunities for becoming the first commercial and' manufacturing country of the world, for passing liberal and progressive legislation (notably during the time when the younger Pitt was Prime Minister), and for opening up and extending her colonial Empire. The influence of the §ea-spirit, standing for personal liberty, for lieedom, and lor justice, may clearly be seen in such measures as the uxpedilioii sent in "1816 under Lord Exmouth to put down slavery in the north of Africa. in the Catholic Emancipation Bill of 1829, and in the Abolition of Slavery Bills of 1807 and 1834-. Thus once again is it proved that " the character of a great people breaks through or shapes its government" (Mahan). Perhaps the reason of Great Britain's success as a colonising nation has been the largo amount of freedom and of responsible government she has allowed to each colony, ex eepting only the American colonies (th"e United States of America). Great Britain has seen the wisdom of allowing her children what she has always insisted on possessing, and therein lies her success. Previous great empires, such as those of Rome and of Spain, ware not successful as colonisers, for they held their colonies only as a means of obtaining wealth. Contact with the sea. too. has made the British race cosmopolitan, or able to adapt itself to existing conditions in any place. This faculty wc inherit from our ancestors, who had u> iidapt themselves to the varying conditions of sea-life, and consequently native ingenuity and resourcefulness are more highly Developed in the British race than m other iraeea. Again, contact with the sea has helped in every way to make the British raw have progressive and liberal ideas and opinions, and has helped to make the British pc:j;,k- an enlightened and wide-minded people. For the sea-girt countries can be in constant communication with all parts of tho world much more readily than can be tho inland countries. Centuries have passed since the Angles, Saxons, and Vikingß came to Britain, and so the blood of such of them as settled down or left descendants may have become so intermingled that it cannot be said to run in the veins of most, of the inhabitants of the British Isles. " Yet it is assuredly the case that the Viking spirit of maritime daring a.nd enterprise has for manv generations been a conspicuous characteristic of the race, else it would not have been possible for Tennyson to boast that

We sailed wherever ship could sail. Wo founded many a mighty State. England, for so many ages past the leading country of Europe, the great temple of religion and the bulwark of law, could never hav9 risen to her present exalted position,, nor could she ever have been anything but the dependency of. some other nation had not Nature placed around her the sea to act as a protecting wall, and yet to be a broad common highway over which her eons might pass in all directions. Though there are many seas, yet all form one great mass of water, arc disturbed by the same causes, and are formed of the same elements. So. too, we who form so many parts of one great Empire should learn this lesson from the sea, on the supreme command 1 of which rests our very existence—to be as united as the seas on all questions affecting the life of our Empire. Nearly five hundred year ago were written the following lines, which still go to the root of the matter: Keep then the sea about in special, Which of England is the town wall, As though England were likened to a city, And the wall environ were the sea.

Keep then the sea that is the wall of England,

And then is England kept by God's hand 1 That, as for any thing that is without, England were at ease witbouten doubt.