PROMOTING ‘NATIONAL GOODWILL.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 July 1921, Page 4

PROMOTING ‘NATIONAL GOODWILL.

In history, King Edward VII. will be known as “The Peacemaker,” and his son, our present Sovereign, when unveiling the statue of his father, ip Waterloo Plaee, wisely emphaeised the fact that King 'Edward’s work of conciliation had not been wasted. At no time in the history of Europe "were international affairs in such a state of secret plotting and intrigue as during King Edward’s reign. It is extremely probable that he was more or Jess cognisant of the trend of the ex-Kaieer’s ambitions, and had a premonition of the trouble that was brewing. It is also probable that in was in the endeavor to prevent the inevitable that his constant aim to promote friendship and a better understanding between the nations was directed. Though his great efforts in the cause of peace were eventually frustrated by the machinations of the vain and headstrong ruler of Germany, they were a live force in healing ancient quarrels and in cementing bonds of close friendship with former rivals, hence, as King George so aptly demonstrated: “We owe it largely to his influence that when the great conflagration broke out, we were not an isolated nation.” All that was possible for mortal man to do in an endeavor to prevent war was done by King Edward, the “great lover of peace,” and a worthy tribute to those efforts was fittingly , paid by King George, whose fate it has been to see the Continent torn and shattered by the greatest and most unjust war of all times. The storm which ■ was gathering in King Edward’s time burst with unprecedented fury after he had passed away. Even now are beard the distant mutterings, but in time the international atmosphere will clear and peace will reign. The influence of Edward the Peacemaker is still in evidence, and long may it remain. King George could not have better phrased the moral supplied by the warthan when he said: “The war, which seemed to mark the negation of

his (King Edward’s) efforts, may prove a purification of the thoughts and minds of men, and the forerunner of that goodwill between nations, which King Edward desired and labored to create.” That is the right viewpoint to take, and the time will come when this forecast may be fully justified.