INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 157, 6 July 1931, Page 5

INDEPENDENCE DAY.

AUCKLAND COMMEMORATION.

AMERICAN CONSUL'S

LUNCHEON.

MUTUAL TRIBUTES VOICED.

A gathering representative of every branch of public life in Auckland assembled on Saturday at a luncheon given by the American Consul, Mr. W. l< , . Boyle, and Mrs. Boyle, in celebration of the anniversary of the Declaration of American Independence. The function was held in the reception hall of Milne and Choyce, Ltd. Those present included the Mayor, Mr. G. W. Hutchison, Archbishop Averill, Mr. Justice Smith, Mr. C. M. Croft, Canadian Trade Commissioner, members of the Consular Corps, representatives of the naval and military forces, local authorities, religious bodies, financial institutions and the business and professional communities, and American residents, including Mr. L. A. Bachclder, honorary vice-consul. The hall was decorated with the national flags of the United States and New Zealand, together with the Union Jack, and the menu was a happy choice of American and New Zealand dishes. Specchmaking was brief, and an appropriate choice of American items was made for the musical programme. Mr. Len Barnes sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and Mr. Eiji Kurosawa, a Japanese student at Auckland University College, played "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The Mayor eaid they had met as men and women were meeting in probably every city in the world where there was an official representative of the United States, to convey to the American nation felicitations upon the 155 th anniversary of its independence. The American President must surely be pleased to receive cordial messages from all parts of the world on such an occasion, and those which gave him the most satisfaction must surely be from British countries, for the heartburnings associated with tho commemoration had now passed even from memory. Close Ties. The American Constitution was a document on which a great democracy had been built, and its influence was not confined to the United States. The causes which produced it lost Great Britain an empire, but by applying its principles and learning its lessons the British people had built a world empire, bound by indivisible bonds. The British and American peoples, speaking one tongue, stood not for the domination of the world, but for right, freedom and peace. It was difficult to imagine what ties could knit them more closely, but if there were any, one must surely be the magnanimous offer of Mr. Hoover to give other countries some respite from their post-war burdens. (Applause.) He wished Mr. and Mrs. Boyle every happiness, and expressed the hope that they would long serve their country in Auckland.

Mrs. Boyle, who addressed the gathering at her'husband's request, said she was pleased and privileged to state how happy she and her husband had been during their six years' stay in Auckland. They both hoped that the Government would keep them in Auckland, where they had made so many friends. American Tendencies. Mr. Boyle said the American nation was, by European standards, still in its infancy, but by that of New Zealand's youth it seemed quite grown-up. The "eagle-bird" was old and wise enough to realise that almost the most important, if not the most important, thing was cordial relationship between the two great English-speaking peoples. "In the past," added Mr. Boyle, "wo have patted ourselves on the back and shaken ourselves by the hand." (Laughter.) "To-day we are perhaps more disposed to cross-examine ourselves and take stock of our faults and imperfections. There is no better time than this for both of us to trim and fill with oil the lamps that shall light us to the future."