Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1911. ST. GEORGE'S DAY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10220, 22 April 1911, Page 4

Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1911. ST. GEORGE'S DAY.

A great many people are anxious to know just who St. George might have ■been, that 'his name should be perpetuated 'by Banks and Government offices in New Zealand and elsewhere. ' What has he done for the world, and for Britishers in particular? His name has been associated with a dragon and with that of the good King Efarry, and] it is reported that the bowmen at Agin court shouted out his name as they shot their arrows. But beyond that, books of reference do not seem to go. As a matter of fact, St. George was born at Lydda about A.D. 270, of noble parents* it is said. He became a trusted captain in the Imperial Army of Rome under Diocletian and Galerius Dariaaras, being mfErtyred fey the latter at Nicomedia in A-'D- 303. According to this traditkm, 'he attained to the earthly years of 'Christ; and it is added, moreover, that he died uttering a prayer for his murderers. It is a mere legend, although accepted by some who have made examination, of th& matter, that he visited

England on a mission from Diocletian, and; that upon this occasion lie met Helena, tlie wife of Constantius (Jlilorus, he who subsequently became Emperor of tlie West. Helena, who, according to one legend, was of British birth, was the mother of Oonstantine the Great, who was proclaimed his father's successor at York just before Ms father's death there in A.D. 306. It is considered possible that in his earlier days this Oonstantine was a comrade in arms of-St. George; but, anyhow, after his conversion to Christianity, Oonstantine dedicated 110 fewer than a hundred and six churches to him. It does, therefore, appear that it was he, the first Christian Emperor, who introduced the cult of his favourite saint into his native land. Oonstantine declared him to be "Champion of Christendom." This, at anyrate, was the full extent of St. George's association with England. Perhaps one should not 'be too critical of patron saints, or expect much past service of them; but then, as a well-known writer recently said, "these are materialistic times, when every man, be he saint or sinner,' is judged according to his worth."' By the same token, why are the public offices to be closed in Masterton on Monday?