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But there was more. Holland proper may have been lost for the time being, but when these crucial
decisions had to be taken one province in the south still showed hope of being able to hold out for
some time.
My Navy, with its proud traditions remained intact, ready to join battle wherever needed, and,
most important of all, an Empire scattered over the surface of the globe and counting sixty-five
million inhabitants, remained free, part and parcel of that nation of free men that will not and cannot
perish from the earth.
Was all this to be cast adrift on a wildly turbulent sea without leadership or authority? Duty,
responsibility and far-sighted statemanship lay elsewhere.
To keep the voice and the symbol of Holland alive, as an inspiration and a rallying point for those
of our Army, our Fleet and our countless Empire subjects, nay, for Dutch men and women all over
the world who will give their all for the resurrection of the dearly beloved Motherland.
Tho keep the banner aloft, unseen and yetever present for those who have lost their voice but not
their hope nor their vision.
To speak for Holland to the world, not of the Tightness of its cause, which needs no advocacy in
the eyes of honest men, nor of the unspeakable horrors or the infamous tricks inflicted on its gallant
army and its innocent population, but of the values, the ideals, the Christian civilisation that Holland
at the side of its Allies is helping to defend against the onslaught of barbarism.
To remain true to the motto of the House of Orange, of Holland of all that immense part of the
world that is fighting for what is-infinitely more precious than lifeJe Maintiendrai. I shall maintain.
