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SIR JOHN MONASH.

In London recently the Maccabeans gave a dinner in honour of Lieut. Gen. Sir John JMonash, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., V.D., 'the. first Jew in the British Army to obtain the rank of general.' Lieut.-CoL S. J. Solo mon presided, and remarked that their guest was cot only a brilliant loader of men, but he had had a notable career as an engineer and a lawyer. The general had alwars been a great student of military his tory, and on the outbreak of war was ap pointed censor in Australia. 'The censor, ' explained the Chairman, ''is the man who keeps the people's tail up by burying its head in the sand.' The work and_ genius of Gen. Monash at the head of lus divi sion at Messines, in the Ypres salient, at Amiens, at Viilers Bretonneux, and' Mont St. Quentin were well known. Leaders of men such as the Australians needed in tellectual forces of a high order. No one possessed these in greater degree thaji their guest, who was fitted to take his place in history with Josiah, David, and Judas Maccabeus. (Applause.) Gen. Monaeh, in reply, said lie had to condemn and disclaim most of what the Chairman had said in eulogy of him, because he claimed to etaind there as the spokesman and representative of tlie magnificent troops it had been his honour to command. It was due to them, and to them alone, that 'he stood where he did. He had found that since his arrival in England, and, in deed, before, he lad been the object oi nfmsiderable curiosity to a considerable

number of people, partly by reason ot tne fact that he belonged to the Jewish faith, and that before the war he a«i not belong to the profession of arms. It had 'been suggested in many quarters that at was remarkable that a man poBsossing sucn. at tributes ehould find himself in the position he occupied that day. But he thought there was nothing remarkable in it at all. He was only the product of his own en vironment. First let him tell them of that aspect which dealt with the race to which, he belonged. He supposed they knew that in his native country such a thing as re ligious discriminatio'n was unknown. (Ap plause.) He could assure them there had never been in his recollection any obstacle of any kind placed in the way of any Jew in regard to careers in hi3 country. They had in their --public life representative Jews who were Judges and leaders in all. the professions. Was it any wonder, was it at all surprising that, remembering the suf ferings and hardships of their race in other lands and in other times, that he, in com mon with eo many other -Jews of Austra lia, ehould have been ready when the call came to 'lace their services at the dis Dosal of the country. In xegard to his

military qualifications, the newspapers in England on several occasions had been, pleased to refer to himself and to his esteemed comrade of the Cairadian Army Corps, Gen. Currie, ae civiians. (Laugh ter.) He had no doubt the term was in tended as a compliment. He had no doubt it served those journals very excellently, and lent point to the argument which they advanced at the time, but if war was some thing more than a mere matter of tactics, that argument wholly failed. He had been soldiering for a great many years for Aus tralia, and always had an instinct for war, an instinct which he had thoroughly proved. When the concluding .-Dhases of Australian effort in the war came to be analysed, he thought it would be found that the one fundamental cause of Austra lian success was the way they succeeded in establishing the habit of making their plans definitely and not altering an iota, under any temptation, however great. He stood before them primarily as an Aus tralian with the pride of an Australian for the part they had played in the war.

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