Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 23, 1905. “EMPIRE DAY.”

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 3525, 23 May 1905, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 23, 1905. “EMPIRE DAY.”

——— ! —& ■- To-morrow, May 24th, the anniversary so long familiar to British people the world over as “ Queen’s Birthday," should be invested with more than usual interest. As a means of perpetuating the memory of one who by a noble life added much lustre to her position as one of the leading personalities of the world the date ot the late Queen Victoria’s birthday has been chosen tor "mark “ Empire Day ” —a day the observance of which should tend, not to vain imaginings of power, but to a proper conception of/the privilege's and responsibilities of the ;British nation in the making of fhe world's history. So far as the Antipodes arc concerned New Zealand wss one of the first colonies to agree to observe “ Empire E>ay," but the Commonwealth has now embraced the movement, and to morrow’s celebrations throughout the Australian Continent may be expected to give a distinct impetus to the “ For Empire ’* sentiment of which a good deal is heard in these days. The influence of the particular occasion under .mention, however, we trust, will prove more solid and lasting than any that can be bought by considerations of commercial advantages. While agreeing that it may be reasonable to expect perferentiai treatment among peoples of a cnimoo stock we do not place much value upon arguments that -this will promote Imperial sentiment. It may tend to assist in that direction, it is true ; but the instilling of a real spirit of Imperialism must go deeper than this. A sentiment inculcated in the minds of the rising generation may be expected to prove more enduring than any based on mere questions of material gain, potent though that be in these de* generate days, as some will describe them, and therefore we welcome a programme suggested by Lord Meath, who has taken a prominent part in the Empire Day ” movement, in a letter to the editor of the “ New Zealand Times." This includes the hoisting of the Union Jack, the ceiemony of “ Saluting the Flag,” an address on the duties and responsibilities. attaching to British citizenship, a short lecture on the Empire, the recitation of Kipling’s “ Recessional," and the singing of the National Anthem. Lord Meath stated that it had been suggested that “ the national flag be hoisted on May 2 |th on churches, chapels, places of worship, public buildings, schools, and private dwellings throughout the Empire, and that the clergy of all demoninations be invited

to impress upon their congregations that righteousness alone' exalteth a nation, that no empty boastings should enter into the programme of the day, but that every effort should be made to quicken the public sense of Imperial, of National, of civil, and of private duty.” We do not know of any programme for to-morrow locally, but we trust that even in Foxton the significance of the day will not be overlooked, and that residents wiij show a due seu: ; e of appreciation of their position as part of the great Anglo-Saxon race now known by the world-wide term “ Britishers."