AN EMPIRE MISSION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 259, 29 July 1919, Page 7

AN EMPIRE MISSION

THE. PRINCIPLE OF THE COMMONWEAL

A NEW ZEALANDER'S CAMPAIGN

Mr. Pcrcival Witherby—tho founder and general secretary of tho Empire Service League, a. movement which was started in New Zealand tivo years ago, and . which has made great progress in that country—recently arrived in England from New Zealand on a special mission connected with his association. In hn interview ho said:—'

"I have come to England in the hope of organising, or rattier in the hope of assisting ill the organisation of, an Empire Mission.to make ft tour of tho selfgoverning dominions, and possibly the whole British Commonwealth, for ' the purpose of delivering addresses on the renl meaning of tho Commonwealth system of government—both for tho individual anil- the State—and on tli.o outstanding lessons of the war. A number of people in New Zealand, with whom I am associated—and, judging ■ from my correspondence there are a great number in Canada, Australia, and South Africa also —feel intensely that while tlio. immediate necessity of the war was.thc downing of Prussiauisni, the enormous sacrifices made, and still being made ill this direction, will ultimately be vain unless tin* underlying fundamental principles for which the'war has been fought are thrown into .the limelight, in such a way that tho .individual, social, and. industrial life of the several peoples composing tjie British or Pan-Anglo community sees .the issue to. the extent that if influences individual and collective action. I cannot at present speak definitely or in detail of ibis mission,, but I am satisfied (1) that the psychological moment has comb for it, iind (2) that provided the right men—representative not of one class or section of t'lio community,' but of all sections—calf be persuaded to take part in it. minor difficulties will -be overcome." , Work in tho Dominions. Would the mission include men from tho dominions? the interviewer asked. ''Possibly," Mr. Witherby replied. "I think it would do an immense amount of gopd if New Zealand speakers spoke in Canada, for instance, and Canadian lecturers joined up and went to Australia, and so on. The nucleus of the mission, however, must obviougiy be formed here at Home, partly because the United Kingdom is the 'heart of the Empire? and partly because if prominent, well-known men from that country compose the backbone of it, there is a greater chance of prominent men in the dominions linking up with it. You must also remember that the available material for such, platform work as we havo in mind is much less in comparatively new countries than it is in an old-established fully populated country- such as the Homeland."

Is it proposed to include or exclude tho United. Kingdom in the mission's work?" Mr. Witherby was asked. Well, it has been suggested to nie that it should be included, and (hat you in this country need lectiues and general platfornr work of tho kind wo have in,.mind, as much as we in New Zealand do. But on this point I am-no judge. With a brief interval I liavo been in either Canada, Australia, or New Zealand for the last eight years, and all I .can say at'present is that an Empire mission of this nature is essential if tlioso .who have-siven their all for us in this w.ar for- right-are not to havo died in vain. Tha tiling .is of sujreuie importance. It- touches every single one of us. Tho whole Empire has voluntarily fought as one nation for its Commonweal against the Hun. But, in Heaven's name, what is the -good of spending millions of lives and billions of pounds to crush- Prussianism if tho reasons which have impelled us to do this do-not impel us also to apply the law of the Commonwealth—which is really tho fundamental law of mutual aid without .which Jdfe must.-be a continual war—to'our social and industrial life?---Strength in- Unity.- . "It seems to me that the great mass ot p'eoplo have yet to learn tlut at bottom our interests are really one; tliat what one man docs, for good'' or ill affects the other fellow,- that the welfare of one scction of the community depends on tho welfare of- the other; and that these principles which/apply to the i' ll' ai'Ply with far greater force to the nation. I say'; it is of supreme importance that this—('he outstanding lesson of the war—bo understood of the people; and it can only be understood through" the medium of free 'public lectures of such v. a kind tho,t the people Will see the issue and think about it. When this is done, the greatest obstacle is overcome. Por democracy at heart is sound as a-bell. "Those*who sav otherwise lie. Get democracy to seo and thiAk <m these lines and indubitably its thought will affect its action. - - i

Personally, I regard the war r.s about half over.- AH classes, all sects, all tho peoples of the Dominion, India, and the colonies, rich ■ and' poor alike-all have been involved in the first half.- Few things are more certain that that we ili 1 evolved/in the secondwhether the second brings victory or de-