GEORGE V ON THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 813, 10 May 1910, Page 8

GEORGE V ON THE EMPIRE.

A NOTABLE SPEECH

_ With' the advent of King George V it. is interesting to recall his Empire 6peech—the speech made at the Guildhall on December 5, 1910, when 'the present King and Queen returned from theiri Imperial tour. The Prince, ad-dressing-the Lord Mayor, said: "It may ■ ; interest you to know that we travelled over forty-five thousand miles, thirty-' "-three thousand of which were by sea,. and I think it is a matter on which all j may feel proud that, with the oxoeption '... of Port Said, we never set foot on any , land where tho Union Jack did not fly. . Leaving England in the middle of '■ March, we first touched at Gibraltar and-, Malta, where,, as a sailor, I was : proud 'to. meet our two great Jleets— 1 , the . Channel and tho Mediterranean. Passing through "the Suez Canal—that monument of the genius and courage of a gifted son-of the great friendly nation across the Channel—we entered at Aden .the gateway of tho East, and we 6tayed for a short time to enjoy the unrivalled of Ceylon and. that ; ..of the-Malayan Peninsula, and the gor- [: geous displays of their native races, and j to see in what-happy, contentment these | various peoples live and prosper under . British rule. Perhaps there.was some-' ' thing still more striking in the fact f that tho government, and commerce, ■ and every form of enterprise in these ' countries arp under the leadership and r direction of but a handful of our counV trymen, and we were able to realise the j high qualities of the men who have ; won and who have kept for us that :' Bplendid position. S- "Australia saw the consummation of the great, mission, which was the most immediate object of our journey, and you can imagine the feelings of prido with which I presided over the inauguration of the first Representative Assembly of the new-born Australian Commonwealth, in. whose hands are placed the destinies of that great island- : continent. Duringthe happy stay of many weeks in the different States we were able to gain an insight into the working of the commercial, social, and' political institutions of which they justly boast, and to see something of tho great progress which the country has already ' made and of its capabilities, while at the same time making the acquaintance of many of tho warm-heart-ed and large-minded men to whoso per- — eonality and energy so much of that progress is due. Concerning New Zealand. ' ! 1 "New Zealand afforded us a striking example of a vigorous, .intelligent, and prosperous people, living in the full enjoyment of free and liberal institutions, and where many'interesting social experiments are being put to th© test of : experience. Hero wo also had the satisfaction of meeting large gatherings of tho Maori people, once a bravo and'resoluto foe, now peaceful and devoted subjects of the King. Tasmania, which in natural characteristics and climate reminded us of tho Old Country, was visited when our faces were at length turned homeward. Mauritius, with its beautiful tropical scenery, its classicat, literary and historical'associations, and its population gifted with all the charming characteristics of old France, was our first halting-place on our way to receive in Natal and Cape Colony a ■welcome remarkable in its warmth and enthusiasm, which appeared to bo accentuated by the heavy trial of a long and grievous war under which they hav® Buffered. To Canada was borne tho message, already conveyed to Australia end New Zealand, of the Motherland's loving appreciation of the services ren- . dered by her gallant sons. In a journey from oc«n to ocean, marvellous in its comfort and organisation, we wore enabled to see something of Canada's matchless scenery, the richness of its soil, the boundless possibilities of that and partly explored, territory. We saw too. tho success which has crowned the efforts to weld into one community the peonies of Urns? two great races. 'Our final halting-place was, by the express desire of the Kirt. Newfoundland, the oWf.t pf oiir colonies, and the first visii"'! bv K"? Majerfv in 1800. The hnr'lv rer.Vrinr wnnMiop of this islam! f--v I!? - '-centi-m the cordialitv of wh:eh is, F-lii! frcrfi in our memories. tovslt" ?.rt" !'Nsw.-if I csked to specify any T-vrticular iiEprussion derived from our

journey, I should unhesitatingly place before all., others that of loyalty to the Crown and of attachment to the Old Country. It was, indeed, touching to hear tho invariable references to homo, even from the lips of thoso who never had been or were ever likely to bo in thete islands. And with this loyalty wore unmistakable evidoncos of a consciousness of strength, a consciousness of a true and living membership in tho Empire, and a consciousness of power and readiness to share the burdens and responsibilities ,of that membership. And wero I to'seek for tho causes which have created and fostered this spirit, I should venture to attribute them in a very largo degreo to tho life and' example of our late beloved Sovereign. It would bo difficult to exaggerate tho signs of genuine sorrow for her loss, and of love for her memory, which .we found among all races in the most remote districts which wo visited. Besides this, may we not find another cause—the wise and just policy which in the last half century has been continuously maintained towards our colonies? As a result of tho happy 'relations thus created between the Mother Country and her colonies, we have seen their_ spontaneous rally round the old flag in defence of tho nation's honour in South Africa. I had ample opportunities to form some estimate of the military strength of Australia, New Zealand, and. Canada, having had the privilege of reviewing upwards of sixty "thousand troops. Abundant'and excellent material is available, requiring only that moulding into shape which' can be readily effected by tho hands of capable and experienced officers. I am anxious to refer to an admirable movementwhich has taken strong root in both Australia and New Zealand, and that is the Cadet Corps. On several occasions I had the gratification of seeing march past several thousand cadets, armed and who, at tho expense of their respective Governments, | are able to go through ■a' military course, and in some cases with an annual grant of practice ammunition. I will not presume, in these days of Army reform, to do more than call the attention of my friend the Secretary of State for War to this interesting fact. Old Country Must Wake Up. "To the distinguished representatives of the commercial interests of tho Empire, whom I have the pleasure of meeting here to-day I venture to allude to the impression which seemed generally to prevail among their brethren across the seas, that the Old Country must j ? s ' le intends to maintain ltsr old position of pre-eminence in her oolonial trade against foreign competitors. _ No 0110 who had the privilege of enjoying tho experiences which we had during our tour could fail to be struck with one all-prevailing and pressing demand—the want of population. Even in the oldest of our colonies there were abundant signs of that need, boundless tracts of country yet unexplored, hidden minerar wealth calling for development, vast expanses of virgin soil ready to yield profitable 'crops to the settlers. Aad. all, this can be enjoyed under conditions of healthy living,, liberal la.w«, and free institutions, in exchange for the overcrowded cities and tho almost hopeless struggle for existence which, alas! too often is the lot of in the Old Country. But one condition, ana one only, is made by our colonial brethren, and.that is: 'Send us suitable emigrants.' I would go further, and appeal to my fellow-countrymen at Home to prove the strength of the attachment of the Motherland: to her children by sending to them only of her best. By this means we may still further strengthen, or sit all events pass on unimpaired, that pride" of race that unity of sentiment and purpose that feeling of common loyalty and obligation which knit together and alone can maintain the-integrity, of our Empire.--": ' I'-lllf'i i"-