The Brisbane Courier, Tuesday, 21 April 1891, p. 5
THE DEFENCE COMMISSION BANQUET AT THURSDAY ISLAND
OUR COMMONWEALTH SPEECH BY THE HON. JOHN DOUGLAS
THURSDAY ISLAND, April 20.
The members of the Defence Commission were banqueted at the
Grand Hotel on Saturday evening, about fifty gentlemen being present. The Hon.
John Douglas presided, and proposed the health of “The Queen,” and afterwards
the toast of “The Commonwealth.” He said:—
“The toast that I have to propose to you is a new one, and
has certainly never been proposed here before. Yet, coming so immediately as it
does after the health of her Majesty, it may be said to claim royal honours. In
the times that are to come I hope it may stimulate our patriotism, and rouse
within us a love for our country and our homes. If rightly interpreted and
understood, what nobler sentiment could there be than the Commonwealth. It
means, as I interpret it, stability and united effort for the benefit of the
people as a whole. What, after all, is the best possession, as fellow-citizens,
which we can have, and the most valuable? It is the honour of our country and
the acquired interest we each have in what has been won by our united efforts
as a people. Whether our possessions be great or small, we are rich, indeed, if
we have the right to enjoy the benefits of our Commonwealth.
“Well, we know that during the last few weeks an assemblage
of Australian representative men has been sitting in convention in Sydney to
devise a plan, or charter, or constitution, or treaty of union, by which the
several States of Australia may be knit together in one indissoluble whole. If
by God’s blessing and by the will of the people of Australia these efforts are
crowned with success, the combination thus effected will henceforth be known as
the Commonwealth of Australia. Whoever suggested this designation deserves, I
think, to be recognised as a public benefactor. Some may say—it has often been
said—what is in a name; it is a name and nothing more. But if a name rouses our
sense of patriotism, and if it bids our pulse beat with quickened hope, then I
say there is much in a name, and to me the very name of Commonwealth is
inspiring.
“To me it means stability. To me it means a recognition of
that spirit of sacrifice and surrender for the attainment of high aims, without
which nothing great or permanently good can be accomplished. It means that
those who advisedly adopt it are prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder to
support one another, bound together to resist the danger of destruction, from
whatever quarter those menaces may come, whether from external attack or from
internal disorganisation. It is in this spirit that I ask you to drink the
toast of ‘The Commonwealth,’—
“There is a sense in which we may say that we belong to a
still greater Commonwealth, and that Commonwealth is nothing less than the
British Empire. Go to what part of the world we may, we find that great
Commonwealth extending its influence and watching over the interests of those
who owe to it a common allegiance. For myself, I believe that the Commonwealth
I now speak of is the most beneficent and the most splendid which has ever
existed, and that it still figures as the most conspicuous monument of greatness
in the pages of history.
“We of the English speaking race are proud, I hope, of that
history, and we rejoice, I say, from the bottom of our hearts that the
Commonwealth of the British Empire is extending its influence in every quarter
of the globe. Gentlemen, when we speak of the Commonwealth our minds
involuntarily revert to that period of English history when the Commonwealth
was a reality. There never was a time when England held a prouder position in
the councils of Europe. We do not wish to reproduce those times, and we could not
do so if we wished. The Stuarts are gone, and Oliver Cromwell has gone. We
shall never see, and we should never wish to see another Oliver Cromwell. We
shall never see again, though we might wish to see, another John Milton, who
was one of Oliver Cromwell’s principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
But we trust that under our Commonwealth, if it comes into existence, we shall
have men as great as Oliver Cromwell and as grand as John Milton.
“After all, what high aims those men had and how jealous
they were for the honour of their country. But as I have said, those times are
passed—passed, as we hope, never to return. We hope for happier times than
those unhappy times of old. The Commonwealth is this Australia of ours, and we
know that outside it there is a great Commonwealth indeed, even though the
members of it do not all own allegiance to the same Sovereign—a Commonwealth
which includes all who speak our English tongue, and who are united in this
respect, and who hold laws founded upon the principles of common right and
common justice. Gentlemen, I ask you to drink a bumper to ‘The Commonwealth.’”
The speaker was vociferously cheered at various times
throughout his speech.
The toast of “The Guests” was proposed by Mr. V. R. Bowen,
and responded to by Major-General Downes, who spoke in very kind terms of the
exceedingly warm reception which the commission had met. He stated that
telegrams had been already sent from them, setting forth their recommendations,
and he predicted that the fortifications would be completed within twelve
months. He considered Thursday Island to be the Singapore of Australia. He
concluded his speech by proposing the toast of the new military and naval station
at Thursday Island.
Dr. Salter proposed “Our Parliament,” stating that at no
time since separation had the toast deserved to be drunk more fervently than at
present, when a body of misguided men had shown disloyalty and threatened to
overthrow the Parliament.
Mr. W. Campbell proposed “The Army and Navy, and the Defence
Forces,” which was responded to by Captain Moore, R.N., and Major Druitt.
Mr. Perry, during a long and able speech, referred to the
telegrams which had been received with reference to the unfitness of the
cruisers intended for the Australian Auxiliary Squadron. He asserted that they
were misleading, and should not be accepted as showing any indifference by the
home authorities, who had proved their determination to give the cruisers a
thoroughly severe test before sending them out. The faults were trivial, and
would be rectified immediately. He was struck with the work carried out towards
defence in the colonies, and could not imagine a more perfect system of defence
than that of the partially paid Volunteers in the colonies.
Major Druitt expressed the intention of staying some time on
the island, and also hoped to see a garrison of thirty or forty men stationed
here shortly.
The toast of the maritime industries of Torres Straits was
proposed by Mr. E. J. Hennessy in a long and forcible speech, showing that the
district was self-supporting and improving in trade prospects, and predicting
that there would be a time when fishing and agriculture would be worked
hand-in-hand upon the islands in the Straits.
Mr. Frank Summers, vice-chairman, responded in a long and
jocular speech, reviewing the various primitive efforts made towards defending
this place by the Government. He also spoke of the unjust tariff which forced
the pearlshellers to purchase their goods in Queensland when no gain could
possibly result to them.
Mr. Bowen also responded, dwelling upon the apathy of the
Government in passing a law for the protection of the shelling industry from
ruination by the capture of young shell, and also the absurdity of the New
Guinea natives being debarred from working in the fisheries outside their own
area, as it imprisoned the labourers to their disadvantage, while hampering
local industries.
Mr. George Smith proposed the “Commercial interests of
Thursday Island,” remarking upon the wonderful improvements he had perceived
after an absence of several years in the North-west.
Messrs. John Tetley and P. J. Doyle responded for the mining
industry, and expressed the conviction that mining would yet be of paramount
importance in this district. Although all the workings had been abandoned, one
reef had since been taken up, and paid the men good wages. Mr. Doyle dwelt on
the trade possibilities with New Guinea being opened up.
Sub-inspector Savage proposed the toast of “The Press,”
remarking upon the success achieved by the local paper in such a small
community. Mr. Fred. C. Hodel responded, and the gathering then dispersed, the
time being nearly midnight.
It is understood that the commission will place an
observatory on the top of Rosehill, with a battery on the top of Vaccination
Hill, but no posts on Goode Island at present.
The steamer Taiyuan sailed for Port Darwin yesterday at 3 p.m. Captain Moore, R.N., and Major Druitt remained here, while the other officers of the commission went on to Port Darwin.
