CITIZENSHIP.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 83, 10 April 1922, Page 4

CITIZENSHIP.

FMPEPOAL OR DOMHXIOX. "I am proud to be a New Zeilander, proud to be a -Scot, and more proud to be a citizen of the Empire," said Mr. J. W. Shaw in prefacing his address on ""Citizenship, Imperial or Dominion," delivered to members of the Auckland Rotary Club to-day. Mr. Shaw went on to say that true Imperial pride in the pact, loyalty iv the present, and faith in the future was the spirit that made the Empire grow. The Empire was practically the body which the British spirit formed for itself, and so was a complete expression of British character. It was not manufactured but grew, and, therefore, was not a ramshackle affair which could be easily shaken to pieces. The Empire stood practically for faith in the fundamental decency of things and the supreme disaster to the world would be its overthrow. Danger from outside was negligible, and from within there was little danger of revolution because ot the commonsense of t'iie public. However, on occasions, ideas became prevalent and assumptions were made and allowed to go undisputed that were liable to do more damage than enemies from outside the Empire could do. There could be no New Zealand citizenship apart from Imperial citizenship when given its true meaning and value. The future of the Empire depended on the integrity of its citizenship. Mr. Shaw went on to deal with ttie Pacific, and said that New Zealand - only chance in the fight to come in the Pacific lay in her Imperial backing.