SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 121, 24 May 1932, Page 3

SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE.

PRIME MINISTER'S MESSAGE. renewing empire values. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Monday. The Prime Minister, the Right Hon. G. W. Forbes, has issued the following Empire Day message: ""At a time when closer co-operation in the ordering of the economic life of the British Commonwealth is recognised as beinn- of the greatest importance, the observance of Empire Day must have special significance. Tt is on this day that one pauses to give heed to the vears of toil, foresight and initiative that have been combined in building tlio Empire as we of our generation know it. , "It is not to be regarded as an empty symbol; the day must mark a definite occasion. It must be used for one thing —to construct Empire values anew. It must serve as a milestone at which we should strive to reach a truer understanding of Empire history a:i.l adjust the ever-changing conditions to the new order of things. _ "To-day the nations of the Britisii Commonwealth are on the threshold of what many hope will be a new era. The Empire Economic Conference to be held

at Ottawa may open the way for a revival of lagging trade and. a period of much closer commcrcial relationship between the nations of the commonwealth. For the conference to succeed, the peoples of the Empire must show a will to work for the common good, and determination to show that spirit of co-operation which will be implied in the letter of any agreement that may be reached in Canada. "Thus, on this day we must bo prepared to tako stock of Empire values. Overseas trade, which is the lifeblood of this Dominion, cannot be built indefinitely by any one unit of the Empire independent of the rest. Our interests are too closely knit to allow complete singleness of purpose at a time when modern life is sweeping away the old insularity and replacing it with a world wherein the repercussions of an event in London may be felt very definitely in the furthest outpost of the Empire. The day bears special interest for us during this critical time of our history, and this interest cannot be overlooked in view of the importance that is being attached to events to take place during the • coming months."