EMPIRE DAY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 6, 26 May 1914, Page 2

EMPIRE DAY.

AT THE CENTRAL SCHOOL. Yesterday was observed as Empire Day by the children of the Central School, and tihe occasion wag marked in an especially interesting manner. For some time past the children, in accordance with a scheme for drawing closer together tho schools of the Empire, have been corresponding with tlia children of tihe Eegftnt Street School, Plymouth, and it had been arranged" that the two schools should exchange flags and on Etoipire Day should each unfurl the gift of the other. The Union Jack from England duly came to hand, but unfortunately, owing to a defect in the para- ! phernalia of tho flagstaff, it could not bo unfurled, and the ceremony had to take place in spirit only. At % p.m. the children were assembled for a brief address by the Rev. T. H. Roseveare, the vice-chairman of ibhe School Committee, after which they were dismissed for the day. Mr. Roseveare as hia subject, "Some Things the British Flag Stands for." He prefaced Ihis remarks by pointing out how important certain flag signals were—the flag half-mast meant that somo person of note had died; the white flag, by common consent, was a sign of truce; the yellow flag indicated quarantine, and the red flag meeting, and so on. The importance of the flag was seen from the demand of the United States that Huerta should salute their flag. It might seen a trifling matter, but the flag stood for the honor of the country. Tho Union Jack it was wo cheered and cheered again. Bult why? Because of what it stood for. It was the symbol of our British nation, and we were proud of it because we were proud of our nation. It stood for honor —not merely such honor as arose out of rank, but honor that meant excellence of character. And if the young members of the nation wished our nation to be held in high esteem it would be by preserving that nobility and truthfulness of character that had brought us to the position we now held. The flag also stands for unity. On it were the combined emblems of the I'-nglish, the Scotch and the Irish showing that our whole nation was bound together as one; and ho sincerely trusted that though the Home-Rule for Ireland question was an exceedingly difficult one, noffiiing; would be done to violate the principle of unity. And even in this distant corner of the globe they were bound closely by the ties of , fellowship with those at home. An evidence of this was seen in the communications -with the Plymouth School, of which this flag reminded them. But the flag also stood for peace. They were commemorating the visit of the warship H.M.S. Mew Zealand. The existence of such might not, to some, look much like peace. Perhaps it might seem more becoming that the Walkure should be the connecting link with the old land speaking to us of commerce and the peaceful arts. Bat it was probable that the visit of the Walkure, and other such trading ships, would ,be impossible were it not for the existence of battleships, tho policemen of the seas. It was to be hoped these warships may never be needed for war, and it was a significant fact that our modern navy ilnul never been called upon to engage in war, illustrating the proverb that "prevention is better than cure."