Here is where we come to the Navy - and after all, we have a
Navy. Some people seem to forget that we have a Navy. We must
remind them. For the last thirty years I have been concerned in
discussions about the possibilities of oversea invasion, and I
took the responsibility on behalf of the Admiralty, at the
beginning of the last war, of allowing all regular troops to be sent
out of the country. That was a very serious step to take, because
our Territorials had only just been called up and were quite
untrained. Therefore, this Island was for several months
particularly denuded of fighting troops. The Admiralty had
confidence at that time in their ability to prevent a mass invasion
even though at that time the Germans had a magnificent battle
fleet in the proportion of 10 to 16, even though they were capable
of fighting a general engagement every day and any day, whereas
now they have only a couple of heavy ships worth speaking of -
the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau. We are also told that the
Italian Navy is to come out and gain sea superiority in these
waters. If they seriously intend it, I shall only say that we shall be
delighted to offer Signor Mussolini a free and safeguarded
passage through the Strait of Gibraltar in order that he may play
the part to which he aspires. There is a general curiosity in the
British Fleet to find out whether the Italians are
up to the level
they were at in the last war or whether they have fallen off at all.
Analyze the effectiveness of this
excerpt. How does it function within the speech as
a whole? How does the structure of the excerpt help to convey the speech's purpose
and arguments? Support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)
