Evening star., 1940-01-09
BY the Associated Press.


Before coming to the subject o
my address this afternoon. I shoult
like, first of all. my Lord Mayor, t<
thank you very sincerely for th'
kind and appreciative words tina
you have said about my city.
The burden of q Prime Minister tr
peacetime has been enough to breal
up many Of my predecessors.
In wartime they are necessarily
even more exacting. I had hopee
that IN my time, at any rate. wal
might have been averted. But since
that day when war was declared my
sole thought and all my actions have
been directed to one purpose only
namely. to do all I could in thu
closest conjunction with our stanch.
est French allies to bring this wal
to a successful conclusion. To thai
purpose, I have subordinated every.
thing else, all thought or rest OF
relaxation, both casual affections. tt
use the words of daily prayer ir
the House of Commons, and all per.
sonal feelings and consideration.
whatsoever.
From that purpose. so long as
hold my present office and unit
the war comes to an end, I will moi
be detected. Nor will I shirk my
inevitable responsibility in what
feel to be right, no matter how
difficult or even disagreeable they
may be.
Empire Aiding Battle.
My lord mayor, it seems appro-
pirate that my first public utter
ance in this new year should be
made here in the very heart of the
empire. which is every day gath
tring its strength to battle for the
cause which has united us all as we
were never united before-the cause
of liberty and justice for all man.
kind.
Once again, as rs years ago, the
historic buildings and the ancient
streets of Britain are looking upon
the faces of the Kings subjects who
are come here from all parts of the
world of their own free will. far
away from their homes and their
families, to take their part side by
side with us in the great struggle
that is before us.
Their presence here, and the pro-
found conviction of the necessity OF
putting an end to the German policy
of constant aggression which alone
could have induced them to under
take such sacrifices, has brought tc
the aid of the allies not only most
welcome addition to their fighting
strength, but, what is perhaps ever
more valuable, the moral support OF
their unanimous approval of oul
cause
This new. year, which will prob
ably be a fateful one in the history
of the world, has opened quietly
but it is the quiet of the calm be.
fore the storm. We are at war, anc
vast numbers of men, armed with
the most powerful weapons of de-
struction that science can devise, are
watching one another from behind
their defenses. From time to time
we hear the sound of guns, but as
yet there is no general engagement
Action Only Preliminary.
We do not know how long thai
will last. In the air there is greater
activity. There are individual com.
bats which bear full witness to the
gallantry and the daring OF those
young men who take part in them
There are daily reconnaisances fal
out over the sea into the enemy's
territory or territorial waters, run.
ming the gantlet of fire from the
ground or of aerial attacks, ano
those expeditions are a high test Of
courage and endurance. But in the
air, as on the land, we know that
what Is happening is merely the pre-
liminary to the main struggle.
1t is only on the sea that the wal
may be said to be in full operation
And it is on the sea that We can dis
Germ most clearly the trend of hos
LlllJlcS III CIlc lIoV Aoul HiOAieAAo VI
the war.
Well, If we take survey I think
we shall find that the result is moi
unsatisfactory. The oceans OF the
world have been swept clear of Ger.
man shipping. The German fleet
which at the beginning of the wal
was less than quarter Of our own
has lost by capture. by sinking and
above all, by scuttling 228,000 tons
And most of it is either bottled up
in foreign ports or is confined to
the Baltic.
On the other side, attacks upon
our fleets, which, of course, present
much more extensive target
whether by U-boat, by mine or by
raider, have produced but meager
results.
Sea Command Unimpaired.
If we subtract from our losses by
enemy action or by the ordinary
marine casualties. our gains, by cap
lures from the enemy, by new ships
or by transfers from foreign flags
we have lost up to date $4,000 tons,
less than l per cent of the merchant
fleet that we possess. And every
day, every day now, there are pass
ing to and fro upon the several
oceans of the world no less than
II 900, 900 tons Of British shipping
In this period we've lost two large
warships, the Royal Oak and the
Courageous, and certain number
of smaller vessels.
What is much more serious, more
painful, is that we have also lost q
number of valuable lives-in the
royal navy, in the mercantile navy
in unarmed and defenseless com.
mercial vessels.
And yet, ladies and gentlemen. oul
command of the seas is unimpaired
and the defeat of the Graf Spec, ir
one of the finest naval actions in al
our history, followed by her self.
destruction rather than face re.
newal Of the fight, has not only
cleared the South Atlantic of thar
raider, but 1t has inflicted irrepar.
able damage upon German nava
prestige throughout the world.
Meantime. inexOrable pressure O.