THE SPIRIT OF EMPIRE

Hokitika Guardian, 5 February 1929, Page 8

THE SPIRIT OF EMPIRE

(By SIR, CHARLES CHEERS WAKE FIELD, lit., C.B.E. LL.D.) Life becomes ever more complicated Tlie luxuries of one {Generation are' tie. necessities of the next. There was r time when our food and our elothinj. were home grown and made. Tin housewife was a Jane of all trades! Now we have arrived at a poitu where, in any English household, ther is scarcely a part <:>f. the globe or ; tyjje of modern machine productior which has not contributed to its sus tenance and comfort. For good or ill. tin' old conception of home as a sort of domestic stronghold, factory ant workshop in one is rapidly going, flu* Englishman’s home is no longer his castle; it might he described as his base. Letters will find him there, but most of the time he is elsewhere, feed ing himsel'f or taking his pleasure in the twentieth century manner. Similarly, when the Englishman surveys the world his thoughts do not liow in quite the simple and guileless way that sufficed two or three generations ago. It is instructive to study our attitude towards our overseas partners in times gone hy. At the height of the dominance of the Manchester school of political thought, in the middle of last century the eventual separation of the self-governing Colonies ironi the Motherland appears to have been an idea accepted with equanimity! Inday. we do realise in a vague way that the question of our relationship 'tb the now adult nations overseas should he paramount in the national councils. AX IMPERIAL BROTHERHOOD. The problem affecting the welfare <>i j the British Empire are no doubt practical, but in a sense they are largely psychological. Their solution, that is, depends in some measure upon the de gree of “ awareness ” of the Empire, its achievements and possibilities. | which can he induced amongst its citi- I xons. We have amongst us to-day a , network of propaganda, educational j and news-providing agencies, hut the | ignorance of our people upon Imperial j matters is even now far 'from dispelled, j It needed no less a calamity than the j Great War to arouse in us a sense of Imnerial unity. .When the history of our times comes tn he recorded in its true # perspective, ihe judgment of the wise men of the .idlure may well be that the most iasti r!l benefit to the British people from that tragic struggle was that their I consciousness of a. world-wide hrot-liei-li'ood under the Union Jack lor the first time became clear and universal. The geographical position of Great Britain and her natural pre-occupa-tion with European -problems made it easy, formerly, for those ol her people interested in'world politics to become European rather than Imperial in their outlook. This limited vision was only partially affected hy the “ little wars" which marked the concluding decades of the- last century. The South African War marked the beginning °>i n bettor understanding of the fellowship of Empire. The generous loyalty of our brothem overseas was then so splendidly demonstrated. Even in that case, however, the reactions nearer home gave our policy a strong European bias and to some extent obscured the significance of the voluntary cooperation of the other Dominions in the prosecution of the war. With the coining cf the twentieth century. Chamberlain, Kipling: and Rhodes—among others began to draw our vision towards wider horizons, and a growing consciousness oi the’greatness of the British Empire as a commonwealth of free nations blazed into patriotic fevour in the crisis of 1014. WAR MEMORIES NOT ENOUGH. This week wo celebrate the tenth nni niversary of the Armistice. In reI membering with mingled pride and sor- | row the heroism and sell-sacrifices ol jour gallant dead we shall renew our grateful recollection of the insignificant comradeship of the Imperial forces drawn from every portion of the Empire bv no other motive than the desire to share with us the fight lor 'freedom. War memories, however, must in the nature of all things human gradually recede until, at last, a generation arises for which the great struggle is a matter of history rather than of poig mint experience. War memories, therefore, although they renew our faith in the underlying soundness ol the men of our race, are not the sole or the best foundations lor tiie progress of the British Empire in a world which, in time of peace, is perhaps more complex than when at war. We must realise in the peaceful daily iiie ol Great Britain and the overseas L'omin- ! i,ms the full potentiality of ties the i firmness of which was so dramatically I made manifest in the years Bil l to If) 18.

buy LMPKI’I ALLY. The two main agencies which make for Imperial unity are trade within the Umpire and the conscious cultivation „f what may be termed Imperial self-respect-—the psychological element in the problem. 's to the former, the post-war derule which is now nenrimi its close has seen remarkable developments. Greatprogress has been made in the volume of actual goods exchanged between (treat Britain and the Dominions. .Moreover, the splendidly enlightened work of tlm Empire Marketing Boar' 1 during the past year gives promise of great things in the near iulure, lhe

Board’s exhibits were the outstanding ’c.ituro (A the recently held Canadian National Exhibition, for its activities are carried on throughout the Empire.

An appeal is being made to the popular imagination, and the success which has already been achieved in increasing the demand for Empire goods proves that publicity ol this kind has enormous practical value. The innumcrible products oi tho Empire, naturally and manufactured, are increasingly ia miliar objects in cur shops and in the domestic larder. We •”’e rcalisising to day that trade does not merely 'foil >w the Flag; it is the Flag. Active and progressive trade ex pressed and ratitifies the connection which exists between kindred peoples separated by thousands of miles of ocean and desert. That affection, in fact, cannot he better expressed in any oilier material way under the normal conditions of peace between nations. To foster inter-imperial trade is the modern form of Empire-building. And now as to the psychological aspect df the problem. We need to pay more attention to, the creation of a proper pride in imperial achievement. As all who have travelled must know, in formal observance of Empire Day and other anniversaries, the Overseas Dominions far surpass the .Motherland. That is not- in itself surprising, and. fortunately, the younger generation at homo is being taught to take more in torest in imperial affairs, which prom isos well for the future. Nevertheless, there is every reason why we in England should year hy year show bv a. truly national celebration our pride in the British Empire. Mby should not. .Empire Day be a universal holiday throughout the Empire? “TELL THE WOULD.” Apart, however, from loyal observances. Great Britain could give a much clearer lead to the rest ol the J'mpiie and to the world, if only more capita! were made of our achievements in every department of life. Me lack the showman’s genius, and in a way that is a very good thing; hut our modesty is overdone and must he over come i.f we are to express and embody the ideas of a united Empire. An exnnipo of our lack ol imagination which lias most serious consequences, I believe, is in regard to aviation. Without in any way decrying t!:e achievements of other nations, we are entitled to point out that as far hack ns 1019 British pilots had crossed the Atlantic in both types of machine. There was a fever oil' pratieal enthusiasm for British aviation just- about then which we have somehow failed to develop to full advantage. We seem in danger of lorgctting the wonderful work of Aleock, .hawker, Ross h'inith ; and in other times it has happened that service pilots have ie mined from truly remarkable flying tmirs and have crept hack home almost without recognition. Such men should he honoured, not merely or primarily for their own sake but because in that, way only can faith and enthusiasm be crystallised and practical progress made possible. We must, to an extent, be prepared to “ tell the world.” “ A great eniniro and little minds go ill together.” and the greatest gifts of imaginative genius and vital energy can worthily he employed to promote the welfare of the Empire and its constituent nations.