The Daily News. SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 1922. THE EMPIRE SPIRIT.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 April 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 1922. THE EMPIRE SPIRIT.

Citizens of the great British Empire have been accustomed during the last decade to hear much about the part the Dominions play in maintaining the enviable position to which, by their help, the Empire has attained. Yet another display of that deeply-rooted spirit of Imperialism was recently given in London by the Premier of South Australia (Hon. H. N. Harwell), whose speech at the Lord Mayor’s banquet was conceived most fittingly, and reflected with marked fidelity the sentiments that animate the people of the vast federation of units which composes the Empire. The keynote of this pronouncement was the interdependence of the branches and the main stem for maintaining and increasing the vitality of the whole. “You cannot,” said Mr. Barwell, “maintain your position without us, and we certainly could not maintain ours without you.” This is just what the Empire should be, a union and cooperation for mutual strength, protection and material benefit. As producing countries the Dominions can supply food and raw materials for clothing, while the Motherland can. in return, furnish manufactured goods and other commodities that the Dominions need. Hence the need for the Empire being self-contained and self-supporting if it is to retain the commercial supremacy on which its greatness has been founded. It is worthy of note that the American Ambassador (Mr. George Harvey), who so worthily represents his country in Britain, when speaking at the dinner tendered to Mr. A. J. Balfour (as he then was) on his return from the Washington Conference, referred to what King George said, at the opening of Parliament, relative to President Harding, as follows: “From a wholly true King to a very real President went forth, as from one great liberty-loving people to another, a message of faith and fidelity such as I doubt ever before issued from that place of highest honor.” These were no mere high-sounding or empty phrases; they rung true, for the simple reason that they were unimpeachable. There are. two outstanding gems of thought and conviction to be founcl in Mr. Harvey’s speech. One is the recognition of Britain as- a nation of “great liberty-loving people/’ and the other is a tribute to their faith and fidelity. If these sentiments are applied to and linked up with the views expressed by Mr. Barwell they shed an added lustre on that animating spirit, of Imperialism which binds the Empire together in bonds of ever-in-creasing strength. I here are in Australia, as well as in all the other Dominions, a small section of irresponsible people whose only hope of obtaining momentary notoriety is to denounce good government, capitalists, and everything that makes for true happiness, security and prosperity. The existence of these irreconcilables is not. the outcome of modern conditions of life, but has always been known. ■ and the ancient Greek authors of plays made good use of it. Mr. Barwell is quite right in stating that these malcontents are often given undue prominence by the Press, and it would be all the better for the lawabiding section of every community if such blatant trouble-makers were not flattered by that publicity which to them is the breath of life. Happily, though they do their utmost to smother the spirit of Empire and every other con-

structive force, yet the fact remains that they rather act as a stimulative by bracing up the sane portion of the community to a closer co-operation and unity, particularly as regards Empire affairs. Never in the history of the world has been previously seen such an Empire as that of Britain. It, is not merely as a mighty federation of liberty-loving units that the British Empire will be known to future generations, hut as an object lesson of indomitable courage, resourcefulness and determination, and of magnetic power of cohesion that will stand the test of the most crucial nature and emerge therefrom as a giant refreshed.