THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 June 1919, Page 2

THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD.

To the Editor. Sir,—We have all heard of the "Seven Wonders of the World"; but that to which I deslro to draw public attention is not one of those usually Included in that category. Nevertheless, this particular thing is greater than any of those ancient wonders; greater than all of them put together. It Is not the motor car, nor the flying machine, nor moving pictures, nor the telephone, nor wireless telegraphy. These are all great and wonderful discoveries and inventions; but this thing of which I write is greater and nobler than any and all of these, and is to a great extent the parent of them all What, then, is the greatest thing in the world to-day ? The greatest thing in the world today, or that has ever been in the past, so far as the well-being and progress of human beings is concerned, Is the British Empire. How easy to slur, and slight, and run down Great Britain, and to speak of her people as "English Swine"; but a little Impartial thought bestowed on the past and present history of the world will convince any honest-minded person that Great Britain Is the Queen of Nations. Never in the history of the globe has there been anything like her, and in the present we look in vain for her etu&l. Never since the world began has any race of human beings come near to accomplishing what has been accomplished by the heads, hearts and hands of the victorious sons and daughters of Great Britain. From the North Pole to that of the South, and from the most far East to the most far West, her magnificent Empire Is scattered over the surface of the whole globe. Her language also is spoken in every land, and is the most familiar sound on the seas of the earth. The tJn'tod States Is her only rival, and she Is the eldest daughter of this Mother of Nations. Canada Is ours, and Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand belong to us. Ours also is the greater part of Africa; Ceylon, and India with its three hundred millions of Inhabitants are Included in our Empire. The ancient land of Egypt, Mesopotamia (the cradle of the human race), and Palestine (the land of the Bible and birthplace of Christianity), are now within the confines of the British Empire and under "the flag that braved a thousand years, the battle and the breeze". Three cheers for the greatest thing in the world! Three cheers for every man, woman and child who has lived and died to build and maintain it 11 And three more cheers for every brave Briton who glories in the British Empire, and in her protestant King George Vlll—l am, etc., J. O. TAYLOR. Lepperton, 2nd June, 1919.