Leading Articles in the Reviews. 



193 



TRIBUTE TO MR. CHIRCUILL. 



Mr. .Vi.an H. Burgoynk. editor of the Navy League 

 Annual, writing as a pronouncecl political opponent of 

 Mr. Churrfiill, contributes to the l.mulnn Magazine fur 

 August a glowing panegyric on Mr. Winston Churchill 

 at the Admiralty. He declares that there are two Mr. 

 Churchills— one is the politician, and the other is the 

 First Lord. In none of the many offices which he had 

 filled, Mr. Burgoyne asserts, did he attain even a 

 semfjlance of popularity, either amongst his associates 

 or in the country at large. 



APPREHENSIONS. 



In some quarters it was anticipated that if Mr. 

 Churchill became First Lord, half the Navy would 

 resign and the nation go into mourning. I5ut there was 

 a great surprise :— 



Mr. Churcfiill went to Whitehall listening — also with eyes 

 wide open. The new Y\t%\ I.onl was iliscovcrecl to be a very 

 silent man — he spoke in public but seldom. His day was very 

 strenuous. He spent ei^ht hours at the .\dmiralty, eight hours 

 in the dockyards, and the remaining eight hours travelling from 

 the former to the latter, sleeping and eating when convenient, 

 and, if possible, on Sundays. 



DISARMED. 



He cared nothing for his political opponents. He 

 disarmed the na\-al extremists by convincing them that 

 their unique ability and exceptional merit had been 

 appreciated by a very penetrating eye. The realK- 

 keen, earnest students of naval 

 affairs, who loved the Navy, he 

 consulted. .Mr. Burgo)Tie says : — 



Once your true interest in progress, 

 unalloyecl with any ulterior motive, i- 

 iccognised and accepted, there are no 

 secrets at Whitehall. This is .as the law 

 of the Medcs and Persians ; it has been 

 BO through all lime, and is the reason why 

 this, of all Governhient departments, is 

 least trammelled with vcxaliou-s and hide- 

 bound regulations. Vet, 1 believe, in the 

 result (and as the result) there is more true 

 secrecy in matters of Adminilty intention 

 than anywhere else. 



I.ct me here make a statement of fad, 

 lilunt, blatant and blessed I Mr. Winsiun 

 Churchill is not only admire<l and respecte<l 

 by his whole staff and the Na>7 at large, 

 he is even liht/l He is genial to all who 

 conic to him (I speak of the Service, now, 

 Ijoth civil anil naval), and has a glad-eye 

 for lx)th odice-boy anil admiral. I vc seen 

 it many times — so I know. 



NAVAi, WAR STAFF AND FLEET 

 'iRCAMSATION. 



Mr. llurgoync reports : — 



Mr. I'huri hill asked mc, early in liis 

 rjgimt, what I thought of a naval war sl.dT. 

 I guess he asked that question of hundred; 

 who had made naval administration .1 

 hobby. The? greati-sl quality in man is 

 sufcly that of knowing how best to make 

 H«; of the brains of others ; even the vilLage 

 idiot can direct you to the inn. 



That Naval War Staff was the first big cliani;i'. or so the 

 public thought. 



Then came the new l'"leel Organisation, which was a 

 business arrangement that .ships of the same class 

 should act together instead of being a collection of 

 samples. 



niS RESTLESS ACTIVITY. 



Of his personal activities Jlr. Burgo\Tie says : — 



Let us turn for a moment to his personal activities. He has 

 made himself familiar with every kind and class of ship in the 

 Navy List. He voy.iged in a submarine — has done so more 

 than once — and came away a fount of speedily acquired know- 

 ledge on the type. Armoured cruisers, scouts, destroyers, 

 Iwttlcships, hospital and repair ships have all been, not visited, 

 but investigated from truck to keelson, whatever that is in the 

 modern vessel. 



When on board the Enchantress, the Admiralty yacht, he 

 seldom if ever dines without signalling a number of officers to 

 join him ; one night it will be captains, the ne.\t midshipmen, 

 and the third officers from the submarine depot. To each and 

 all he is the same ; he lets them talk into the small hours, and, 

 being sailor-men, they talk that in which the heart delights — 

 shop. 1 walked with one of these after such a gathering, and 

 he said, " liy gad ! He plays the First Lord devilish well ! " 

 Which, as spoken, implied a coniplinient beyond mere words. 



One Sunday afternoon he set off, in a deuce of a storm, to 

 inspect any ship that struck his fancy, just to see what they were 

 like when quite unprepared for their master. He did four, 

 which is seeing the Navy as it really is, and came aw.ay well 

 content with an afternoon of pure enjoyment. He is a tiger for 

 work ; just note this as an example. He speaks "Navy "all 

 day, and confesses to dreaming " Navy" at night. His restless 

 energy is killing his secretaries, but they love it. 



Mr. Winston Churchill and Sir Francis Drake. 

 Armada Day at Earl's Court. 



