England, Canada and the Great WarDesjardins, L. G. (Louis Georges)
History
England, Canada and the Great War
Desjardins, L. G. (Louis Georges)
Great Britain -- Colonies -- Canada; Imperialism; World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918 -- Canada
Another argument widely used by our "Nationalist" School to influence
the opinion of the French Canadians against Canada's participation in
the war, was that Great Britain herself was not doing what she ought to
win the victory. I have personally heard this false objection repeated
by many--unconsciously of course--who were influenced in so saying by
the "Nationalist" press.
No more unfair charge could have been made against England. I could not
help being indignant at reading it, knowing as I did, by daily acquired
information what an immense effort the United Kingdom had been making,
from the very beginning of the hostilities, to play its powerful part in
the great war into which it had nobly decided to enter to avenge its
honour, to defend the Empire and the whole world against German
barbarous militarism.
I have already commented on the immense service guaranteed to the Allied
nations by the British fleet. To illustrate the wonderful and admirable
military effort of Great Britain, I will quote some very important
figures from the most interesting Report of the British War Cabinet, for
the year 1917, presented to Parliament by Command of His Majesty.
Under the title "_Construction and Supply_" the Report says:--
During the past year the Naval Service has undergone continual
expansion in order to enable it to meet every demand made upon
it, not only in the seas surrounding these islands, but in the
Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Arctic Ocean,
the Pacific, and the Atlantic, where it has co-operated with the
Naval forces of the Allies. The displacement tonnage of the
Royal Navy in 1914 was 2,400,000 tons. To-day it has increased
by 75 per cent.--=(making a total of 4,200,000 tons--)=. The
ships and vessels of all kinds employed in the Naval Service in
September, 1914, after the whole of the mobilisation had been
completed, had a tonnage of just over 4 million; now the figure
is well over 6 million. Transports, fleet attendants and
overseas oilers and similar auxiliary vessels at the outbreak of
war numbered 23; the Admiralty to-day control nearly 700 such
craft. The strength of the personnel, which was 145,000, has
been increased to 420,000.
From these brief particulars regarding the ships and their
manning, an estimate can be formed of the expansions that have
been made in the auxiliary services, such as guns, torpedoes,
munitions, and stores of all kinds, anti-submarine apparatus,
mines, &c., and some idea is gained of the demands that have
been made upon the great army of workers on shore, the men in
the Royal dockyards and arsenals, in the shipyards, the engine
shops, and the factories, without whose help the Fleet could not
be maintained as a fighting force.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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