precious to them. They have borne their griefs with unrepining fortitude, knowing that the sacrifice was made. for our dear country and for a righteous cause. May they find consolation in the thought that the sacrifice has not been made in vain! These brave men died for right and for humanity. Both have been vindicated.

In all these ways, and through all these years, there has been made manifest the unconquered and unconquerable spirit of our race, nourished on the glorious traditions of many centuries of freedom. This spirit, conscious of its strength, bore the trials and disappointments of these years with a fortitude that was never shaken and a confidence that never failed. It knew its motives to be pure, and it held fast to its faith that Divine Providence would not suffer injustice and oppression to prevail.

In this great struggle, which we hope will determine for good the future of the world, it is a matter of ceaseless pride to us that we have been associated with Allies whose spirit has been identical with our own, and who amid sufferings that have in so many cases greatly exceeded ours, have devoted their united strength to the vindication of righteousness and freedom; France, whose final deliverance, achieved by one of the greatest of Commanders, Marshal Foch, has been the reward of a sacrifice and endurance almost beyond compare; Belgium, devastated and held in bondage for nigh upon five years, but now restored to her liberty and her King; Italy, whose lofty spirit has at length found its national fulfilment; and our remaining Allies, upon whose horizon, till lately so dark, the light of emancipation already dawns.

During the last one and a half years we are also proud to have been directly associated with the great sister Commonwealth across the ocean, the United States of America, whose resources and valour have exercised so powerful an influence in the attainment of those high ideals which were her single aim.

Now that the clouds of war are being swept from the sky, new tasks arise before us. We see more clearly some duties that have been neglected, some weaknesses that may retard our onward march. Liberal provision must be made for those whose exertions by land and sea have saved us. have to create a better Britain, to bestow more care on the health and well-being of the people, and to ameliorate further the conditions of labour.

We

May not the losses of war be repaired by a better organisation of industry, and by avoiding the waste which industrial disputes involve? Cannot a spirit of reciprocal trust and 20-ordination of effort be diffused among all classes? May we not, by raising the standard of education, turn to fuller [1917-18. cxI.]

P

account the natural aptitudes of our people and open wider the sources of intellectual enjoyment?

We have also, in conjunction with our Allies and other peace-loving States, to devise machinery by which the risk of international strife shall be averted and the crushing burdens of naval and military armaments be reduced. The doctrine that force shall rule the world has been disproved and destroyed. Let us enthrone the rule of justice and international right.

In what spirit shall we approach these great problems? How shall we seek to achieve the victories of peace? Can we do better than remember the lessons which the years of war have taught, and retain the spirit which they instilled? In these years Britain and her traditions have come to mean more to us than they had ever meant before. It became a privilege to serve her in whatever way we could; and we were all drawn by the sacredness of the cause into a comradeship which fired our zeal and nerved our efforts. This is the spirit we must try to preserve. It is on a sense of brotherhood and mutual goodwill, on a common devotion to the common interests of the nation as a whole, that its future prosperity and strength must be built up. The sacrifices

made, the sufferings endured, the memory of the heroes who have died that Britain may live, ought surely to ennoble our thoughts and attune our hearts to a higher sense of individual and national duty, and to a fuller realisation of what the English-speaking race, dwelling upon the shores of all the oceans, may yet accomplish for mankind.

For centuries past Britain has led the world along the path of ordered freedom. Leadership may still be hers among the peoples who are seeking to follow that path. God grant to their efforts such wisdom and perseverance as shall ensure stability for the days to come.

May goodwill and concord at home strengthen our influence for concord abroad. May the morning star of peace which is now rising over a war-worn world be here and everywhere the herald of a better day, in which the storms of strife shall have died down and the rays of an enduring peace be shed upon all the nations.

ACT of the British Parliament to make provision for determining the date of the Termination of the present War, and for purposes connected therewith.

[8 & 9 Geo. V, c. 59.]

[November 21, 1918 j

Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament. assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1.-(1.) His Majesty in Council may declare what date is to be treated as the date of the termination of the present war, and the present war shall be treated as having continued to, and as having ended on that date for the purposes of any provision in any Act of Parliament, Order in Council, or Proclamation, and, except where the context otherwise requires, of any provision in any contract, deed, or other instrument referring, expressly or impliedly, and in whatever form of words, to the present war or the present hostilities:

Provided that in the case of any such Act conferring powers on any Government Department, or any officer of any Government Department, exercisable during the continuance of the present war, if it appears to His Majesty that it is expedient that the powers shall cease before the date so fixed as aforesaid, His Majesty in Council may fix some earlier date for the termination of those powers.

(2.) The date so declared shall be as nearly as may be the date of the exchange or deposit of ratifications of the Treaty or Treaties of Peace:

Provided that, notwithstanding anything in this provision, the date declared as aforesaid shall be conclusive for all purposes of this Act.

(3.) His Majesty in Council may also similarly declare what date is to be treated as the date of the termination of war between His Majesty and any particular State.

2. This Act may be cited as Present War (Definition) Act, 1918."

The Termination of the

BRITISH ORDER IN COUNCIL further postponing the operation of "The Merchant Shipping (Convention) Act, 1914."--London, December 18, 1918.*

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 18th day of
December, 1918.

PRESENT: THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY IN COUNCIL.

WHEREAS on the 20th day of January, 1914, an International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, and for purposes incidental thereto, was duly entered into by His Majesty and the other signatory Powers more especially referred to and set out in the said Convention;

And whereas a Statute, 4 & 5 Geo. V, c. 50, intituled "An Act to make such amendments of the law relating to Merchant Shipping as are necessary or expedient to give effect to an International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea" (being the Convention above referred to) was passed on the 10th day of August, 1914, the short title of which is "The Merchant Shipping (Convention) Act, 1914 ";‡

And whereas by section 29, sub-section 5, of the said Act it was provided as follows:

:

This Act shall come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1915:

Provided that His Majesty may, by Order in Council, from time to time postpone the coming into operation of this Act for such period, not exceeding on any occasion of postponement one year, as may be specified in the Order;

And whereas by divers Orders in Council the coming into operation of the said Act has been from time to time postponed, and now stands postponed, by virtue of an Order in Council of the 16th day of January, 1918, § for a period of one year from the 1st day of January, 1918;

And whereas His Majesty deems it expedient, owing to conditions arising from a state of war, that the provisions of the said Act should be further postponed:

Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice of his Privy Council, in pursuance of the powers vested in him by the above-recited provision, and of all other powers him thereunto enabling, doth order, and it is hereby ordered, that

"London Gazette," December 20, 1918. + Vol. CVIII, page 283. § Page 138,

Vol. CVIII, page 23,

the provisions of "The Merchant Shipping (Convention) Act, 1914," shall be postponed from coming into operation until the 1st day of July, 1919.

ALMERIC FITZROY.

ACT of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia to amend "The Naturalisation Act, 1903."*

[Assented to September 20, 1917.]

(No. 25.] Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:

1.-(1.) This Act may be cited as The Naturalisation Act, 1917."

(2.) The Naturalisation Act, 1903," is in this Act. referred to as the Principal Act.

(3.) The Principal Act, as amended by this Act, may be cited as The Naturalisation Act, 1903-1917.”

2. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting. from the definition of The Minister" the words External Affairs" and inserting in their stead the words "Home and Territories.'

3. Section 4 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section inserted in its stead: :

4. A person who was before the passing of this Act naturalised in a State or in a Colony which has become a State shall be deemed to be naturalised.'

4. Section 6 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following sections inserted in its stead:

:

"6.—(1.) An applicant under paragraph (a) of the preceding section shall produce in support of his application his own statutory declaration stating his name, age, birthplace, occupation, and residence, the length of his residence in Australia, and such other particulars as are prescribed, and that he intends to settle in the Commonwealth.

"(2.) An applicant under paragraph (b) of the preceding section shall produce in support of his application

"(a.) His certificate or letters of naturalisation; and

(b.) His own statutory declaration that he is the person named in the certificate or letters, that he obtained the certificate or letters without any fraud or intentional false statement, that the signature and seal (if any) thereto are to the best of his knowledge and belief genuine, and

• Vol. XCVI, page 825.