332 OUR HERITAGE THE SEA 



with the enemy in the gate effectively. But for our 

 Australian colonies I have the greatest fears. I do 

 not see how, when to Oriental ability, patience, endur- 

 ance, and thrift is super-added Western skill and 

 knowledge, it will be possible for our well-paid, well- 

 fed, and luxury-giving countrymen down under to 

 compete with it. It will certainly soon be impossible 

 to enforce the exclusive laws already obtaining, and 

 once Australasia is open as an emigration field to 

 China and Japan, the deluge is upon them. I hope I 

 am taking far too gloomy a view of the future, but 

 I feel sadly that I am not. 



One thing, however, I would like to insist upon 

 and hammer away at with all my might, caring nothing 

 for the risk of being voted a nuisance. It is that steps 

 should at once be taken to impress upon all our citizens 

 the absolute (by no means relative) importance of the 

 ocean to us. It is our natural highway, the only place 

 outside of our own dominions where we are free to go 

 and come untaxed, and if by any succession of untoward 

 events we should lose our right to range the ocean 

 freely, we should then have to ask leave to live at all. 

 A matter so vital to us all should certainly be taught 

 at the earliest possible age in our schools, and large 

 maps, similar to the Navy League map, be hung in all 

 schoolrooms for the youngsters to look at, while half 

 an hour or so every day should be devoted to homely 

 lessons, impressing upon the scholars what our position 

 really is, and how entirely dependent we are upon the 

 sea for our life. Is this being a faddist ? I think not ; 

 but if it be considered so, I will gladly be called a 

 faddist if allowed to uphold it. Another point which 

 I earnestly wish to see taken up is that our great 



