The Dominion. THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1944. EMPIRE DAY IN 1944

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 203, 25 May 1944, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1944. EMPIRE DAY IN 1944

The celebration of Empire Day, following so closely upon an Imperial Conference which demonstrated with imptessive emphasis the unity of sentiment and aims among the British Empire count; tes, provides an appropriate occasion for some thoughtful stocktaking The material for this has been opportunely provided in the admirable address delivered, by Mr. G. G. G. Watson at yesterdays conimetnoi ation ceremony in Wellington. The speaker, after dwelling upon the growth of the Enfpire, and the outstanding events which propagated its outcrops in new territories over so many parts of the world, uttered a timely warning of the danger to its strength and high purpose, of certain latter-day tendencies. One of these, as leaders may recall was the habit that developed before the war in certain circles of the so-called intelligentsia, of belittling the Empire, and besmirching Imperial aims and policies. These elements, described by the speaker as- “a vociferous minority of pedantic intellectuals, of rebellious adolescents, and of muddle-headed visionaries,” were not “conscious betrayers of our great heritage,” but there can be little doubt that their activities played into the hands of our enemies, and encouraged them to believe that their voices were the voices of the multitude of British people instead of a very small group. The lesson of Empire Day is not only that British peoples should be proud of their Empire, proud of the deeds that made it, proud of its civilizing power and influence, and proud of its free institutions, its concept of justice, law and order as an indispensable factor in the world peace to come. It is also that the Empire peoples should strive by every means in their power, and by taking due thought on the matter, to preserve and strengthen the virtues that nourished its growth. The present war, as Mr. Watson pointed out, showed how these virtues had been, almost miraculously, rekindled when the fate of the Empire literally hung by a thread. It was, as history will record, the most remarkable and impressive renascence of national vigour and warlike determination the world had ever witnessed. It was a renascence of those virtues of courage, enterprise, self-reliance, and fair dealing that built up the Empire, pioneering the democratic destinies of future self-governing Dominions, including our own. The talisman is writ large in British history. It is “love of freedom,” a condition terribly hard to win, and tragically easy to lose if its inheritance is taken too much for granted. Hence the challenging questions voiced by Mr. Watson in his address.

Are we one and all (he asked, among other questions) going .to stand on our own feet and work and contend for all that is right and good in life, or are we going to allow our lives to be ordered and regimented and planned by others who only too often have no qualification for such a task other than either a blind zeal for regimentation or the lust for the power which the planner has over the planned? Are we going to insist on leading our own lives in our own way, true to those virtues, or are we going to fall into a clamorous mob, demanding rights and forgetting duties? Are we going to look to the State as the universal provider of all benefits, or are we going to rely on our own enterprise to ensure not only our own welfare, but also to provide the help that is necessary for the weak, the helpless and the afflicted, but which is not necessary for the strong, the virile and the self-reliant?

These are pertinent questions for the times. They strike at the very roots of British character, which in all its history has been inspired by the positive virtues of courageous, independent activity emphasized in the foregoing quotation. The alternatives of a regimented existence, an enfeebling State paternalism undermining, individuality, are too serious to be disregarded, for that way Imperial decadence and progressive national anaemia in our country inevitably lies.