THE NAVY LEAGUE AND ITS DUTY.
[TO THE Ronan. or Tam "eracrsro,a']
Sin,—Amongst your readers very many assuredly sympathise deeply with the viewswhich you have powerfully expressed during the last few months regarding the reduction of our naval strength. And amongst these most be included, as I venture to hope and to believe, a considerable number of members of the Navy League. To such members I ask, with much deference, your permission to address an appeal, and this appeal is that if by any means they can make attendance possible, they will be present at the League's annual meeting, which is to be held on Wednesday next, the 15th inst., at 3 p.m., in the Royal United Service Institution, Whitehall. This is, in England, an age of mandates. Without a mandate no Government nowadays appears to dare to take soy important legislative decision ; and it must be clear to all that without some indication at least of the views of the general body of their members, the authorities of the Navy League would experience great difficulty in taking any forward step, for upon the question of the effect of recent naval changes experts differ and opinions clash. Both inside and outside the League, men to whom an equal degree of solicitude for the safety of the country must be attributed are diametrically opposed on this point, though perhaps amongst those in any degree in touch with the prevailing feeling in the Navy itself conviction of a lessening national security is widely diffused. In presence, however, of this divergence, the need for a reference by the League to its members is plain, and on Wednesday that reference is to be made. An amendment to the resolution proposing the adoption of the annual report will be moved by myself, seconded by Mr. L. G. Horton- Smith, and have the immense advantage of the support of Mr. L. J. Masse and of Mr. H. W. Wilson. The views expressed in the amendment are based on specific facts, and our case is cumulative. One circumstance, at any rate, stands out with a glaring force that only the blind can refuse to perceive, andlhat is the reduction of the Naval Estimates by £6,400,000 within three years, indeed, the real reduction is greater still. Let him believe who can that this great with- drawal of the substance of the nation from the support of its Fleet has been accomplished without diminution of fighting strength. To those less credulous I appeal, with all the earnestness that can be put into words, to attend the meeting next week. All members and associates of the League are invited to be present, though the former alone have the right
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