These are stirring times for us all and we are watching the exploits of the British Navy with deep admiration. We are confident in the strength of our magnificent ships and we know the courage, the daring and the skill of the crews that man them. We know that they, officers and ratings alike, will do all that is in their power to bring victory to our cause. We know that they will never hesitate at any sacrifice that is demanded of them. We know that they will do their duty.
But itis of the French Navy that I wish to tell you something here. The French Navy doesn't advertise its activities, it goes about its job so modestly and so quietly that the public—not only the British public, but the French too—has little notion either of its strength or of the splendid work it has done since war broke out. It is extremely efficient, it is powerful, and it is modern. At present the French Navy consists of six battleships of the most modern type. Several ships of 35,000 tons are under construction and one of these is nearly ready. It has besides seven big cruisers, ten smaller cruisers, and thirty of 3,000 tons. It has 50 destroyers and 80 submarines. You see this is a formidable power.
The French Navy has acted in close cooperation with the British Navy and to show how close this ce-operation is I may tell you that at the moment when the British Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean needed more ships he applied to the French Admiralty for the loan of such as he wanted and these were immediately lent to him. In association with our ships French ships escorted British troops across the Channel and escorted troops from Canada and Australia. All this the French Navy has done in association with the British Navy, but it has had its own special tasks to perform. As things are it has made the Mediterranean as safe as the Lake of Lucerne, safer in present circumstances, as safe let me say as Lake Michigan or Lake Superior It has protected the great Atlantic ports of France (south of Dunkirk) and Morocco and has transported several hundred thousand men from the French colonies to France. It has enabled supplies of every description to be brought to France in perfect safety.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.