THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 1913. ENGLAND'S PATRON SAINT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 23 April 1913, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 1913. ENGLAND'S PATRON SAINT.

The Festival of »St. .George is being celebrated to-day. The Banks a-nd public offices in JS r evv Zealand are closed, and everybody else will go about his business quite oblivious of the fact that this is the anniversary of the martyrdom of England's Patron Saint. In view of this circumstance, dt might not be out of place to give a few particulars concerning the origin of the Festival. St. George of Lydda must not be confounded with George the infamous Arian Bishop of Alexandria who was justly killed, A.D., 362. St. George of Lydda was martyred on April 23rd (Good Friday) A.D. 303. It was in the reign of Richard the Lion-hearted that the virtues of St. George were proclaimed anew to British subjects, and his image wa6 borne upon the victorious banners of Prince Arthur. But it was .not until the reign of King Edward HI., in 1347, when the Order of the Garter (the blue ribbon' of chivalry) was instituted, and dedicated to St. George, that the latter became the recognised "Patron of the Realm of England." For years' .past

the festival of St. George has been observed in a very half-hearted manner. An effort Ims recently been made, however, to rehabilitate him an the affectionate regard of Englishmen, with the object of stimulating the patriotism of those of English descent, whether at Home or abroad, and to cause them to remember the glorious past, and the responsibilities devolving upon tlieni as the fortunate citizens of the best of. all countries and the greatest of all Empires. It is urged that, wherever possible, Englishmen should to-day wear, a rose (red or white) as an emblem of an historic eve int. It was under the banner of St. 'George that the glorious victories of Cressy, Poictiers, and Agincotirt. weiv won, and our immortal countryman Shakespeare (who was born and died on St. George's | Day), represents Henry V. as saying, "Cry, God for Harry, England and St, George!"- We in Now Zealand, far removed from the birthplace of our ancestors, hardly appreciate the- noble sacrifices that were made to secure for us our present priceless heritage. Whi-ii we look back upon the pages of history and read of the stirring deeds of Drake, of Ralgem., of Sir Richard Grenville, and of Blake, we- cannot but feel' a deep sense of reverence for those who bore the flag of freedom so often to victory. It was Blake who, defeating the Dutch, compiled the maritime powers of Europe to again acknowledge England "Mistress of the Seas," in token of which, to this day, the whip-lash pennant, with St. George's Cross at the head, is borne by all His Majesty's ships in commission; and the banner of St. George remains the Admiral's Flag, of which the poet Campbell sang:

"Ye Mariners of England That guard our native seas, Whose Flag has braved a thousand years The' Battle and the Breeze." Ireland, Scotland and Wales do not neglect the day of their patron Saints, but England and th> dominions have allowed St. George to become the merest fragment erf an unretentive memory. Thanks to the efforts of the St. George Society, interest in the national festival is being revived. Last year, in England, dinners were held; bells were tolled, the flag fluttered in the breeze from public build:ngs, and red and white roses were very generally worn. It is hoped that every festival will witness an increased revival of patriotic sentiment and feeling, and that Englishmen throughout the world will be made to realise the better that—"'Tis a glorious charter, deny it who can, That's breathed in the words: 'l'm an Englishman.' "