EMPIRE DAY. CELEBRATED BY CASHMERE SCHOOL. ADDRESS BY COLONEL ANDREW.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14985, 4 June 1914, Page 14

EMPIRE DAY. CELEBRATED BY CASHMERE SCHOOL. ADDRESS BY COLONEL ANDREW.

MEANING OF EMPIRE DAY

— ♦ CELEBRATED BY CASHMERE SCHOOL. ADDRESS-BY! COLOXEL ANDREW.

There was a largo attendance .f the '' scholar-; attending tho bashmcro Hills school yesterday to take part in tho ceremonies comiect_d with the celebration of Empire Day, in conjunction with those appropriate to the King's Birthday. There was also an excellent muster of parents, guardians and friends. Tho proceedings throughout were marked by much enthusiasm.

Outside the school the scholars wero drawn up under their teachers, the flag was du'y hoisted and saluted, and tho National Anthem was sung. An adjournment was then made inside the school,' where the proceedings opened with tbe saying of the Lord's by the children. 'The chairman of tho School Committee briefly introduced Colonel A. W Andrew, officer commanding the 114tb -Mahrattas, and commented on the fact that Colonel Andrew is a New Zoalander, and was formerly a teacher in the Sydenham school.

COLONEL ANDREW'S ADDRESS. Colonel Andrew, who was received with applause, said that he had como from 'a distant part of tho British Empire ; from a place but little known to Europeans, from a locality whero three Empires meet. Ho and those with him were thero to keep the trade routes open 'to"'Central- Asia. ■ Oh their left were the Tibet, in front a part of China where" '.scarcely a whito man had been, and en their right was Burmah. All around them were savage tribes —people who went •about almost naked-and who,lived on dogs and donkeys—{laughter)—people who. fired' theif poisoned arrows. •' -from theY jungle fastnesses in which they lived. Behind them Was the British portion of A'sam, where the people Were perfectly.happy in following their occupations .and lived ■ without any eop.cern regarding their safety, becanse he (Colonel Andrew) and 'those with him were "there to keep the peace: in that part of the Empire.

OBSERVY.TION OF EMPIRE DAY. It gave' him very ' great' pleasure, Colonel Andicw continued, as p. soldier and as au old New Zoalander,' to be E resent, and to take part in the -deration of Empire Day. He regretted to find; from what he had "seen in different parts of the Empire, that Empire Day" was not' the" &uccess that its promoter- anticipated. , It was, inaugurated with great eclat and rejoicing ; n dillerent rarts of the Empire, and especially in India, but it had not flourished —in fact, it showed outward and vuible signs of decline and decay. Broadly speaking, this - might be attributed" cause.. First, the apathy. pF tho, British population of tho Empire j-.secoivdjy, that the celebration of the day necessitated an extra Jioli,t_y, which- s business people disliked ; _""" tlio i- T nor!i r, c'e*amon<-:j!fc the British.peoi-le pf what the-day stood for A: to the first, thov bad to admit tbo apathy of the people. It seeme'l to bo.a natural and immutable law in human affairs that, however worthy tho object midit be. there we.re many who wero untot-fherd-by tho ideals and sentiments sought to be empbp«is<»d. As to_ tho, second cause, he was' ""'ad to see that cho.'Cashmere-Hills School Committee" had-got" oyer, tho di-T-culty by jmal<__amatii*c the' colehratibn of the King's Birthday with that of Empiro Day -.- They yvevc. to be _ongra+ula*pd jpon their solution of tho difficulty. ..efcrrrnc; "to tho third cause. Colonel

Avdrew said that tho School Commi*teu and directors of public instruction in the Dominion were to be congraculated upon the steps taken to inculcate a knowledge of tho lessons of Empiro Day.

It was right that at regular and rccniring intervals they should hear tho life story of that noble lady who 101 so many years presided over the Empire with such wisdom, with such love, and with such a perfect sense of justice. Judging by tho enthusiasm shown by tho scholars at the Cashmere Hiil:. School, the boys and girls must havo been well trained by tho rommittee and by the teachers in their appreciation of tho life and work of Queen Victoria. They would be better men and women as the result of their knowledge of Imperial affairs. In the poet's words: — "For while the tired waves, vainly breaking, . Seem here no painful inch to gam, Far back, through creeks and inlets

making , „ Comes, silent, flooding in, tho mainIt was right that tbe boys and girls of the Dominion should prow up inspired by Queen Victoria's noble example, her exalted character, the simplicity of her life, her unselfish devotion to others, however exalted or humble, and her Christian life. THE DOMINIONS' DEBT TO GREAT BRITAIN.

Though they were young in years, h. tnougnt that tney should be ieniindea Irom timo to timo—"lest wo fOl get"—of the groat obligations that t'.e° British dominions—Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and otiier dominions I — a.c under to the Mother Country and to the great and noble Queen Victoria. It was during Victoria's reign that New Zealand, as a British possession, actually came into being, and Victoria, with motherly pride, saw it grow and watched over it with a mother's care, nursing it from infancy to adolescence, 'nat was sometimes forgot ben was i tnat during the youth of New Zea- ! land, the Mother Country protected it with her soldiers and sailors, and never charged the people of New Zealand for that protection. Consequently, during its infancy, tho Dominion was able to devote its revenues and resources to tho promotion of its own social and economic welfare. That was a fact, and a very significant.one, that should not be overlooked. He w___ sure that the people of .the Dominion very generally recognised it. -That protection enabled the people of tho Dominion to devote their revenues to the making of roads, railways, and bridges, to open up the country, to promote the welfare ,of its inhabitants,, to promote its resources, and to found the grand .wstemYdfedu'-ation which 'tho youth of the' Dominion;: enjoy. ; : (Applause.) ' Tbe great and noble. Queen Victoria exacted no tribute such' as Snn in exacted from . her colonies, ' and such as Rotne exacted. Victoria gave | them this,fair land, wholly and unreser.vedlv, to develop as they, thought i fit. " . '. ..." ...

THE LARGER VISION. It was tne ia.ger vision of the justice and iree-iow ior w_-ictt Empire l jj-ay stands tnat should inspire Hem wi.ii liope tor tiie lutiire. Ii tno unti_a Empue weie to perish to-monow ho tiiougat they need have no tear as to wane its epitapn -would bo. need not be ashamed of the Empire: it had done its duty, and when it came to be judged at the bar of history ne ' b.lievea tnat the Judgment would be in the Empire's favour. He believed that the Empire had done its duty nobly to Australia, Canada. .Sow I Zealand, and above all, to the i 250,030,000 in India. (Applause). In i doing so it bad fully justified its mission to mankind, Ihey must not ad- ,. Mit that the Empire's end' was near or was coming—its wo-k is righteous wiM endure. (Applause.) After tho children had snng "The Red, White, and Blue," the head- | master, Mr W. A. Stout, gave an adi dress of a patriotic character, in which he described how the Empiro obi tnined its flag. He concluded by ro» 1 citing "The Flag Goes By," written by Henry Halcomb Bennett. The proceedings closed with the singing of "O God,"our help in ages past."