f events and their significance.

An international organization is in process of being brought into
existence which, if it does not entirely prevent a recurrence of the
horrors of the four and a half years of war, will, it is hoped, at least
minimize the chances of the repetition of such an experience as that
through which the world has so recently passed. But the League of
Nations is still only a skeleton to be clothed with authority and
supported by the public opinion of the world if it is to be a success.
It is in its infancy, and so far the most optimistic have not advanced
beyond hopes in its efficiency; and if the lessons of the past are
correctly interpreted, as they were interpreted by our forefathers in
their day, those upon whom responsibility lies in future years for the
safety and prosperity of the Empire will see to it that, so far as lies
in their power, whatever else may be left undone, the security of the
sea communications of the Empire is ensured. Not one of us but must have
realized during the war, if he did not realize it before, that the
all-important thing upon which we must set our minds is the ability to
use the sea communications of the far-flung Empire, which is only united
by the seas so long as we can use them. But while governments may
realize their duty in this matter, and set out with good intentions, it
is, after all, upon the people who elect governments that the final
responsibility lies, and therefore it is to them that it is so necessary
to bring home in season and out of season the dangers that confront us
if our sea communications are imperilled.

The danger which confronted the British peoples was never so great in
any previous period as it was during the year 1917 when the submarine
menace was at its height, and it may be hoped that the lessons to be
learned from the history of those months will never be forgotten. The
British Empire differs from any other nation or empire which has ever
existed. Our sea communications are our very life-blood, and it is not
greatly exaggerating the case to say that the safety of those
communications is the one consideration of first-class importance. Upon
a solid sense of their security depends not only our prosperity, but
also the actual lives of a large proportion of the inhabitants. There is
no other nation in the world which is situated as the people of these
islands are situated; therefore there is no other nation to whom sea
power is in the