BRITAIN AND BELGIUM.

Hokitika Guardian, 11 May 1922, Page 2

BRITAIN AND BELGIUM.

BRUSSELS, May 9. At a State banquet in honour of King George, King Albert of Belgium, said that Belgium wa s touched by the promptitude with which the King and Queen of England had returned the visit he and his consort paid to London a year ago. -‘Belgium,” he said, cannot forget how the British 'Empire threw itself into the war with all its forces to fulfil the pledge which entered into with Belgium. Never was there a higher lesson in honour and respect for treaties given to the world' than this engagement which was consecrated by the courage and sufferings of many heroes, of whom large numbers came from the Dominions and distant colonies.” The Belgians would always remember the fraternal care with which their wounded were treated on British soil, and the hospitality extended to the refugees. ‘“I drink,” he added, ‘‘to the health of the British Royal Family, and of the prosperity and glory of the British Empire.” King George, in replying, recalled his visits to Belgium during the war. “But happier far,” he said, “is the enjoyment of this hospitality, now that the Belgian sovereigns are restored to the throne which they never lost, surrounded by the devotion of their admiring and grateful people. Of all who fought in the war, it cannot be doubted that the Belgian nation have, with their industry and their national spirit which are a stimulus to the world, advanced most rapidly on the road to a recovery of their national prosperity. In the future of Belgium, all the sympathies of the British Empire are enlisted.