Three of the bloodiest6 years in the world's history lie behind us; but these years of agony and self-sacrifice, of heroic achievements, of indomitable purpose and unswerving loyalty7 to an ideal, are surely three of the most tremendous in the annals of the British Empire.
I am to tell something of what Britain has accomplished8 during these awful three years, of the mighty9 changes she has wrought10 in this short time, of how, with her every thought and effort bent11 in the one direction, she has armed and equipped herself and many of her allies; of the armies she has raised, the vast sums she has expended12 and the munitions13 and armaments she has amassed15.
[Pg 111]
To this end it is my privilege to lay before the reader certain facts and figures, so I propose to set them forth16 as clearly and briefly17 as may be, leaving them to speak for themselves.
For truly Britain has given and is giving much—her men and women, her money, her very self; the soul of Britain and her Empire is in this conflict, a soul that grows but the more steadfast18 and determined19 as the struggle waxes more deadly and grim. Faint hearts and fanatics20 there are, of course, who, regardless of the future, would fain make peace with the foe unbeaten, a foe lost to all shame and honourable21 dealing22, but the heart of the Empire beats true to the old war-cry of "Freedom or Death." In proof of which, if proof be needed, let us to our figures and facts.
Take first her fighting men; in three short years her little army has grown until to-day seven million of her sons are under arms, and of these (most glorious fact!) nearly five million were volunteers. Surely since first this world was cursed by war, surely never did such a host march forth voluntarily to face its blasting horrors. They are fighting on many battle fronts, these citizen-soldiers, in France, Macedonia, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Western Egypt and German East Africa, and behind them, here in the homeland, are the women, working as their men fight, with a grim and tireless determination. To-day the land hums with munition14 factories and huge works whose countless23 wheels whirr[Pg 112] day and night, factories that have sprung up where the grass grew so lately. The terrible, yet glorious, days of Mons and the retreat, when her little army, out-gunned and out-manned, held up the rushing might of the German advance so long as life and ammunition24 lasted, that black time is past, for now in France and Flanders our countless guns crash in ceaseless concert, so that here in England one may hear their ominous25 muttering all day long and through the hush26 of night; and hearkening to that continuous stammering27 murmur28 one thanks God for the women of Britain.
Two years ago, in June, 1915, the Ministry29 of Munitions was formed under Mr. David Lloyd George; as to its achievements, here are figures shall speak plainer than any words.
In the time of Mons the army was equipped and supplied by three Government factories and a very few auxiliary30 firms; to-day gigantic national factories, with miles of railroads to serve them, are in full swing, beside which, thousands of private factories are controlled by the Government. As a result the output of explosives in March, 1917, was over four times that of March, 1916, and twenty-eight times that of March, 1915, and so enormous has been the production of shells that in the first nine weeks of the summer offensive of 1917 the stock decreased by only 7 per cent. despite the appalling31 quantity used.
[Pg 113]
The making of machine guns to-day as compared with 1915 has increased twenty-fold, while the supply of small-arm ammunition has become so abundant that the necessity for importation has ceased altogether. In one Government factory alone the making of rifles has increased ten-fold, and the employees at Woolwich Arsenal32 have increased from a little less than 11,000 to nearly 74,000, of whom 25,000 are women.
Production of steel, before the war, was roughly 7 million tons, it is now 10 million tons and still increasing, so much so that it is expected the pre-war output will be doubled by the end of 1918; while the cost of steel plates here is now less than half the cost in the U.S.A. Since May, 1917, the output of aeroplanes has been quadrupled and is rapidly increasing; an enormous programme of construction has been laid down and plans drawn33 up for its complete realisation.
With this vast increase in the production of munitions the cost of each article has been substantially reduced by systematic34 examination of actual cost, resulting in a saving of ￡43,000,000 over the previous year's prices.
Figures are a dry subject in themselves, and yet such figures as these are, I venture to think, of interest, among other reasons for the difficulty the human brain has to appreciate their full meaning. Thus: the number of articles handled weekly by the Stores Departments is several hundreds of[Pg 114] thousands above 50 million: or again, I read that the munition workers themselves have contributed ￡40,187,381 towards various war loans. It is all very easy to write, but who can form any just idea of such uncountable numbers?
And now, writing of the sums of money Britain has already expended, I for one am immediately lost, out of my depth and plunged35 ten thousand fathoms36 deep, for now I come upon the following:
"The total national expenditure37 for the three years to August 4th, 1917, is approximately ￡5,150,000,000, of which ￡1,250,000,000 is already provided for by taxation38 and ￡1,171,000,000 has been lent to our colonies and allies, which may be regarded as an investment." Having written which I lay down my pen to think, and, giving it up, hasten to record the next fact.
"The normal pre-war taxation amounted to approximately ￡200,000,000, but for the current financial year (1917/18) a revenue of ￡638,000,000 has been budgeted for, but this is expected to produce between ￡650,000,000 and ￡700,000,000." Now, remembering that the cost of necessaries has risen to an unprecedented39 extent, these figures of the extra taxation and the amounts raised by the various war loans speak louder and more eloquently40 than any words how manfully Britain has shouldered her burden and of her determination to see this great struggle through to the only possible[Pg 115] conclusion—the end, for all time, of autocratic government.
I have before me so many documents and so much data bearing on this vast subject that I might set down very much more; I might descant41 on marvels42 of enterprise and organisation43 and of almost insuperable difficulties overcome. But, lest I weary the reader, and since I would have these lines read, I will hasten on to the last of my facts and figures.
As regards ships, Britain has already placed 600 vessels44 at the disposal of France and 400 have been lent to Italy, the combined tonnage of these thousand ships being estimated at 2,000,000.
Then, despite her drafts to Army and Navy she has still a million men employed in her coal mines and is supplying coal to Italy, France, and Russia. Moreover, she is sending to France one quarter of her total production of steel, munitions of all kinds to Russia and guns and gunners to Italy.
As for her Navy—the German battle squadrons lie inactive, while in one single month the vessels of the British Navy steamed over one million miles; German trading ships have been swept from the seas and the U boat menace is but a menace still. Meantime, British shipyards are busy night and day; 1,000,000 tons of craft for the Navy alone were launched during the first year of the war, and the programme of new naval45 construction for 1917[Pg 116] runs into hundreds of thousands of tons. In peace time the building of new merchant ships was just under 2,000,000 tons yearly, and despite the shortage of labour and difficulty of obtaining materials, 1,100,000 tons will be built by the end of 1917, and 4,000,000 tons in 1918.
The British Mercantile Marine46 (to whom be all honour!) has transported during the war, the following:—
13,000,000 men,
25,000,000 tons of war material,
1,000,000 sick and wounded,
51,000,000 tons of coal and oil fuel,
100,000,000 hundredweights of wheat,
7,000,000 tons of iron ore,
and, beyond this, has exported goods to the value of ￡500,000,000.
Here ends my list of figures and here this chapter should end also; but, before I close, I would give, very briefly and in plain language, three examples of the spirit animating48 this Empire that to-day is greater and more worthy49 by reason of these last three blood-smirched years.
No. I.
There came from Australia at his own expense, one Thomas Harper, an old man of seventy-four, to help in a British munition[Pg 117] factory. He laboured hard, doing the work of two men, and more than once fainted with fatigue50, but refused to go home because he "couldn't rest while he thought his country needed shells."
No. II.
There is a certain small fishing village whose men were nearly all employed in fishing for mines. But there dawned a black day when news came that forty of their number had perished together and in the same hour. Now surely one would think that this little village, plunged in grief for the loss of its young manhood, had done its duty to the uttermost for Britain and their fellows! But these heroic fisher-folk thought otherwise, for immediately fifty of the remaining seventy-five men (all over military age) volunteered and sailed away to fill the places of their dead sons and brothers.
No. III.
Glancing idly through a local magazine some days since, my eye was arrested by this:
"In proud and loving memory of our loved and loving son ... who fell in France ... with his only brother, 'On Higher Service.' There is no death."
Thus then I conclude my list of facts and figures, a record of achievement such as this world has[Pg 118] never known before, a record to be proud of, because it is the outward and visible sign of a people, strong, virile51, abounding52 in energy, but above all, a people clean of soul to whom Right and Justice are worth fighting for, suffering for, labouring for. It is the sign of a people which is willing to endure much for its ideals that the world may be a better world, wherein those who shall come hereafter may reap, in peace and contentment, the harvest this generation has sowed in sorrow, anguish53, and great travail54.
Pike's Fine Art Press, 47-8, Gloster Road, Brighton.
The End
The End
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1
autocracy
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| n.独裁政治，独裁政府 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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ignoble
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| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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atrocities
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| n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪 | |
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bloodiest
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| adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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12
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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munitions
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| n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品 | |
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munition
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| n.军火；军需品；v.给某部门提供军火 | |
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amassed
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| v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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fanatics
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| 狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 ) | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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stammering
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的现在分词 ) | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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auxiliary
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| adj.辅助的，备用的 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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arsenal
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| n.兵工厂，军械库 | |
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33
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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systematic
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| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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36
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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taxation
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| n.征税，税收，税金 | |
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unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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eloquently
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| adv. 雄辩地(有口才地, 富于表情地) | |
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descant
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| v.详论，絮说；n.高音部 | |
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42
marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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animating
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| v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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travail
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| n.阵痛；努力 | |
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