Finally, it struck the Committee though the declared object of the new league was the provision of a ship, or ships, yet they all hoped that' in happier days to come the League might embrace other and wider purposes of national good and become the focus of the far flung outposts of our race (Hear hear). As to the suggestion that His Majesty's Government would, or might, reduce their estimates of the Na needs by any amount which might be subscribed by the new league, he trusted they would not believe any more than himeelf that the stern discipline of war had so far failed to unite the British that we need worry our minds about ideas like that (Applause).
This was a great crisis in our history and England required all the support of all her sons (Applause). And since they could not suppose that any contribution would be diverted to other than national ends, it was for us to contribute our mite, though it be an imperceptible fraction, towards the burden of the war taxes resting upon our brothers at home (Applause).
The Shanghai branch of the Navy League saw nothing antagonistic in this new league, and they therefore felt it their duty to further, so far as in them lay, the formation of the Shanghai branch of the Patriotic league of Britons Over-secs. (Applause). In this effort, they were encouraged by the eager support of all local work which had, since the war began, dispelled the lukewarm spirit, he would not say apathy, with which they had hitherto had to struggle (hear hear) an apathy against which was 475 set the enthusiasm of our chief rival.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.