I have listened in my life — more, of course, on the radio than directly — to many memorable speeches by famous people. Yet none of those speeched became as entrenched in my memory as three speeches I have heard in Australia.

One of those speeches was held on one of the anniversaries of mass deportations of 1941 which the Baltic people in the free world commemorate every year. The speaker was a retired general who indulged in his address in descriptions of the life in the Soviet Union of which he was a complete ignoramus. Telling his audience consisting mostly of Baltic migrants what the life in the Soviet Union was like, the general said, among some other blunders, that one of its characteristics was, as it was known from the official Soviet information, a complete absence of crime which was actually nothing to wonder at because people in the Soviet Union had no identity. The latter had been taken away from them by the Government. And if people had no identity they could not, in all truth, commit crimes because a crime supposes that its perpetrator has an identity.

The other memorable speech occured during the Baltic Week the people of Baltic origin had arranged in one of the capital cities of Australia. One of the events of the Week was an exhibition of Baltic food. To open this exhibition the wife of an important politician was invited and she seemingly was pleased to accept the invitation.

When she mounted the rostrum to open the exhibition she began with commending the high culture of the Baltic Nations.

The cultural richness of Baltic Nations had a certain geographical reason, she said, for they were flanked by England and France, being open, because of a close proximity, to their cultural influence.

Then she went over to describing the economy of Baltic Nations, but could not get too far in this. "You produce in the Baltic States," said she letting her eyes slide over the tables which were richly covered with food, "rye bread ... fish ... and ... (she looked in a lost way at the dishes on the tables and suddenly beamed happily) ... and ducks" she said triumphantly for she noted a fried duck on a nearby table.

"And now I declare the exhibition opened" she said with charming smile and getting a stormy applause.

The third memorable speech was held in a Speech Club where one of my Australian acquaintances, who was its member, invited me to hear him holding a speech.

According to the club rules every member had to hold a number of speeches yearly on themes which were not disclosed beforehand, but were told a few minutes before mounting the rostrum. The aim of such a method was to teach the members to talk impromtu. Every speech was followed by a critiical remarks by the listeners.

When the theme was announced, it became known that my acquaintance had to speak about Albert Schweitzer.

My acquaintance went boldly to the rostrum and declared that he knew Albert Sviser well because this was a bulldog of one of his friends inspire of its terrible appearance it was quite a friendly representative of the canine family. And he spoke of this bulldog exactly five minutes during, which some members smiled ironically but most of them listened to the speech in a deadly serious manner.

No need to say that I never went to listen to the speeches of my acquaintance any more.