On 'Thursday afternoon Lord Charles Beresford, 0.B., visited the promises of the Mercantile Marine Officers' Association, North Soochow Road, and was most eordilly received by the secretary, Mr. T. Mitchell, and a largo number of members, The popular Admiral, looking: remarkably well after his trip up north, was conducted through the various rooms of the building and expressed himself highly surprised that such a complete institution of its kind could exist in Shanghsi, Subsequently the company gathered in one of the larger rooms and the health of his lordship was toasted in felicitous terms by Captain Knights, and enthusiastically honoured.
Lord Charles Beresford in responding to the same said': Gentlemen, I have to return you my hearty thanks for your kindness in having asked me to look over your Club, anc allow me to congratulate you very warmly on the possession of one of the very best clubs I have ever been into of a similar character. Being a seaman myself I know how nice it is for a seaman to get ashore, write his letters comfortably, have his yarn, his tot of grog, or whatever else he wants when ho gets ashore. As Iam here T may say that for many years I have worked in and out of Parliament to get a better sort nf feeling between the Royal Navy and the other great service, the Mercantile Marine. We are two great services. On you depends the trade of the country, and as most of our trade is water-borne, upon the Nacy depends the defence of that) water-borne trade. In old days there was not quite that sentiment which should exist between seamen and parsicelurly between seamen of these two grent serviess. I understand that this Clab is quite cosmopolitan and that seamen of all nations—thouch British seamen predominate—are gladly received. After all seamen of all nations are brothers. We know the difficulties we have to encounte> and we know how we have to assist each other when the time comes. As far as the British Mercantile Murine is concerned it has now reached a most important stage in national defence, If we
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.