to sail forth and give battle according to the recognized rules of the game, and test once more, and for ever, whether the British sailor is not still entitled to consider himself the lord of the sea. [Cheers.]
When it comes to the day of reckoning—and it is a heavy reckoning which this enemy has to look to—it will be for us, the people, to consider what that reckoning shall be. It may, after all, be for the best that this Fleet is remaining intact as it is doing, because it may facilitate the settlement when the time comes. And on that point I want to say this: in the name of Heaven, make up your minds, that, just as this is your war and my war, the settlement is to be ours, and is not to be a hole-and-corner affair of the Party politicians in any Cabinet chamber. [Loud and prolonged cheers.] After the Battle of Waterloo, when it came to the terms of settlement, we did not go to the politicians. We sent out to the conference a great soldier. Lord Wellington; and I am going to suggest that we follow that example and that, when it comes to discussing the terms of peace, we give the politicians a temporary rest and say to Lord Kitchener—[cheers, and a voice: "Lord Fisher"]—and, as my friend says, Lord Fisher, or Admiral Jellicoe, the men who have done the work, and say: "You have finished the job; now go over for us and reap the fruit." [Cheers.] We can easily all agree upon the main points of the settlement. Politicians will wrangle and argue about them, but to my mind they are fairly apparent and obvious. I think one or two heads will represent the minimum of the public demand. One of the first things we want to do is to get rid finally of Turkey out of Europe. [Cheers.] We have had this sick man in the family too long—[laughter]—and now the time has come to give him his quietus or send him to more congenial soil. German and Austrian Poland must be added to the new Kingdom of Poland. We will have a composite Poland with an opportunity of building up a national existence and life for itself. Hungary and Bohemia must again be separate States; they hate Germany and are only longing for an opportunity to break away. They must be given their independence and liberty. Germany and Prussia must go back to the position they were in in 1870—a collection of small and harmless States, infinitely happier than they are to-day, many of them yearning to get back into their peaceful avocations, and to be freed from the military dominance which is to-day crushing them almost to the ground. Italy, if she will only do the right thing—and I think she will
