Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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5 Empire Day Celebrations at Saltus Grammar School To celebrate Empire Day at Saltus Grammar School, a short service was held in the School Hall, attended by Mrs. Edmund Gibbons as official representative of the I.O.D.E., and by Sir Stanley Spurling, who spoke to the School. Sir Stanley Spurling spoke to them as members of a school, which, for the past seventy years, had been training the men who had been very largely responsible for making the laws and carrying on the work of government in Bermuda. The men of the past had built up traditions; the present boys of the school were the men of tomorrow, and to them it would fall to carry on the traditions. What had their predecessors built up? A Bermuda in which the standard of living was in every way much higher than it had been a hundred years ago, and in which a very high degree of freedom was enjoyed. But they had not achieved these things without a struggle. The history of Bermuda was largely the story of a people adapting themselves to changing conditions, which from time to time threatened disaster. In the early days of the colony the island economy was based on tobacco, the staple crop. Deterioration in the leaf brought prices tumbling, and ruined the industry. Berm uda adapted herself to the changed conditions. She turned to ships . . . the building of little ships made from the cedar trees. History did not relate who it was who invented the Bermuda rig, but it was this which enabled the little Bermuda ships to outsail all others and made them famous throughout the world. Bermuda was, he be- lieved, the only colony which built, manned and fought its own ships in the Royal Navy. Eermudians sailed their little ships far and wide in search of trade. Much of this trade was built up on the foundation of the salt pans of Turks Islands. Bermudians cut out the salt pans there, and then traded the salt for salt cod in Newfoundland; then they traded the codfish for cornmeal and other things in the American colonies, and for rum, sugar and molasses from the West Indies; and some of these things they then traded for manufactured goods from England. Another disaster loomed up. When the American War of Inde- pendence broke out, there were over four hundred ships on the Ber-

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Foreword The past year has been a most inspiring one for us who form a part of the British Empire. Early in June of last year, in common with British possessions throughout the world, we celebrated the coronation of our gracious young Queen- In the school this event was marked particularly by a stirring address by the Commander-in-Chief of the North American and West Indies Naval Station, Admiral Sir William Andrewes, and by the planting of a palm tree in the grounds of the school by Lady Andrewes. The boys were also treated to refreshments and given suitable memen- toes of the occasion. This event was followed by an even more interesting and memor- able occasion, to us at least, when we were privileged to see the Queen and her Consort in person during their visit to the Island last November. Boys of the school, as cadets, scouts or as members of the School, greeted Her Majesty vociferously and were thrilled by her simple graciousness and yet at the same time her obvious regality. A great source of pride to the School is the fact that from the School Lectern, loaned for the occasion. Her Majesty addressed the members of the Colonial Parliament. A silver plaque commemorating this event has been placed on the Lectern. A noteworthy project in the School this year was the Dramatic Evening presented by members of the middle school. The first presen- tation was such a success that it was decided to give a repeat per- formance, which was also well attended. Two one-act plays, The Bishop ' s Candlesticks and The Crimson Cocoanut , made up the programme, and our grateful thanks go to Mrs. Hallett for the training of the boys, and to Mr. DeSilva and Mrs. Ingham, helped by some of the boys, for the scenery and lighting effects. It is anti- cipated that further productions will follow shortly. It is with regret that I announce the resignations for personal reasons of Mr. Stevens and Mr. Cornaby at the end of this term. In addition to teaching English, Mr. Stevens has found time to collect together and edit the material for this annual publication, as well as to supervise the School Library, which, by the way, has been reno- vated during the past year. His great enthusiasm for cricket has helped to improve the standard of this game in the School and he will be greatly missed on the School Staff. Mr. Cornaby, our Physical Education master, entered whole-heartedly into the Games programme of the School and has achieved considerable success for the School in its Sporting activities. He also will be a loss to the Staff of the School and our best wishes for their future careers go with both these gentlemen.

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6 muda register. This war crippled the industry, and the War of 1812 finally wiped it out. Bermudians then turned to the cultivation of arrowroot, in some demand for drugs and medicines; this flourished for a time, but eventu- ally bowed to competition from St. Vincent. The export of vegetables was the next mainstay of Bermuda ' s economy. When the United States provided a market, Bermuda used to ship from thirty to fifty thousand crates of vegetables a week, worth to her perhaps one and a half million pounds a year; but a tariff of a hundred per cent imposed by the States virtually killed this trade. But once again Bermuda found a means of survival, this time in the industry which is still her principal one .... the Tourist Trade, which began about 1908. He wished to impress upon them the fact that this trade had been built up by the initiative and efforts of Ber- mudians themselves. He could not say what the future had in store, but no doubt it held problems which would once more tax the adaptiveness and initiative of Bermudians, — of themselves. In facing such problems, let them remem- ber the example set by their predecessors. There was yet another aspect of their life which demanded emphasis on Empire Day .... the fact that, in belonging to the colony of Bermuda, they formed part of the far-fiung Commonwealth of Nations, whose members were accorded the greatest measure of political freedom in the world. Within its framework people of all kinds were en- couraged to develop self-governing institutions. Bermuda itself had the oldest parliament in the Commonwealth outside Britain, and had made its own laws since 1620. These principles of political freedom had been gradually worked out through the centuries in England and then extended throughout the English-speaking world. In conclusion, Sir Stanley said that the original grant of Bermuda by the Virginia Company was made to the Gentlemen Adventurers of the Plantation of Bermuda . Successive generations had lived up to that title, and he asked them to bear it in mind when their ;um came to go out into the world: they should remember that they were the Gentlemen Adventurers of Bermuda. X