Mar. 15.
WE have received a copy of a circular which the Shanghai branch of the Navy League is sending to all British firms in anticipation of to-day's annual meeting. It is interesting to notice that the income of the branch from subscriptions and donations Jast year was only $1479.09, which, at an individual annual subscription of but five dollars does not suggest as big a membership as there should be. The demand that every British subject who can afford should be a member of the Navy League is very real and well-founded. Throughout the Empire the League exists to keep the paramount claims of the British Navy to the fore and to counteract the malign influence of the "Little Englander" and ''Little Navy" politician. In this respect the League has done great work in the past and the need of its advocacy is specially apparent today. A century ago, the Napoletonic Wars being ended, the politicians set to work to scrap the Navy as fast as they could, and the reconstruction of it was long and difficult. To-day they are trying to do the same thing, with far less excuse in the general state of the world than our forebears had, and it is the business of the Navy League to see that Britain does not lose the naval supremacy which is a matter of life and death to her.
That ideal must be preserved irrespective of disarmament conferences and international limitation agreements. For Britain lives on and by the sea as no other Power in the world does and the only concern that she can afford to. have with the naval programmes of other nations is to make sure that her sea-power is not taken from her. There is no menace to others in that attitude, no jingoism, but simple obedience to the lessons of history and in order that those lessons may not be forgotten, it behoves all Britons to join the Navy. League in order that its work may be backed by the moral force of great numbers.
Coming to the question of local activities, it seems advisable to remind readers that the Shanghai branch has special powers to use its funds for the benefit of naval men visiting the port, and that for such efforts there is a very
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.