VICTORIA LEAGUE

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17221, 11 August 1921, Page 10

VICTORIA LEAGUE

MASS MEETING AT GUILDHALL. ; j; VISCOUNT BOLNEE'S SPEECH. ] \ * i (FBOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) j LONDON, June 21. Added interest was given to the an- ; '■''•' nual maa3 meeting of the Victoria . Leagud to-day by the fact that the Prince of Wales occupied the chair. .-' The historic Guildhall was crowded, , '■■•■ even the balconies at the: rear of the , hall and at the sides being occupied. •- In one of these immediately overlooking , the platform were the overseas dele- , gates, the New Zealanders included among them being Mr and Mrs Napier" " (Auckland), Mrs Tripp (Wellington), , ■':■ Mr and Mrs Carey Hill (Ohristchurcn), ; .. and Miss Bnrt CDunedin). Among some , fifty or more well-known people on the platform were Viscount and Viscountess ■■>■ Sfilner, Ssr James and Lady Allen, the ; Countess of Liverpool, Sir 1 Fabian and { . Lady Ware, Mrs Massey . and Miss . •iMaseey, Sir Robert and Lady Stout, ■ .;« and Lieutenant-Colonel Aniery. Other ( -: New Zealanders amongst the audience ; included Mrs P. R. Sargood and her two , • daughters, Mrs Walter Young, Mrs de Castro, and MrsSeoular. i ■ The Prince inspected a guard of hon- , our of Boy Scouts before entering the , hall. On his arrival Dame Clara Butt sang two verses of the National An- < them, and tba audience repeated the j first verse "I am quite sure," said the Prince in. ( his opening speech, "that every Bri-| tisher who knows the purpose of the [ work of the Victoria League will be ( anxious to give his or her support, for | < . the object of Hhe League is a closer • 'unity between the British subjects in| different parts of the world. I think i j this meeting is of special interest in I j view of the fact that we have in the , Old Country at the present moment the , jErime Ministers of the Dominions. We : -are very sorry tihat they are not with ' ( .its this morning, but they are busy dis- ( cussing what can be done for the'gen- ] oral good of.the Empire aa a whole. /.During my visit to Australia and New >< fZealand I met, both individually and Collectively, members of the Victoria 'f League, and I can testify to what they 7jare doing alk these thousands of niiles t*:away7 iWOtdbVlikOfto express my hope ( "this twentieth year of wie s .League its membership may be doubled, this splendid Association * e ' be placed on a really firm and solid foundation." , President's Address; ' The Dowager Countess of Jersey, 'president of the League, recalled the « fact that twenty years ago she was ( , with < the fate Mr Joseph Chamn , 1 Jjerlam.. Asj she ,came into the room 1 > Tie- B&idi/fPerhaps yon can tell us what , f isf?'> ,Por twenly , t 3-ieart sh«>Tiad .been .answering that j T ffluesiion. *But the answer was always , ( 'e;^Hanging,' K for,-the* work of the League , and fresh inter- , *'lesJis\>arose. ..Perhaps Mr Rudyard Kip- , explained it in the, phrase: "It was l&ftneTfirst attempt to organise sympathy." ( were'many answers, but perhaps So'|liejfkin3eßfc'came from' one of the Do- ( ljl^angeur.ir^^lliey > were secret soand.theyi; could not claim so far'as that, were a band of'people that there was a p£ggtor/des| 4of>human A nature about. they, were aware that the nation founded on ; iSkO1 I ,tof the soldier, and the constiftframed by the knowthe. lawyer, the Em,men and women, S^um**«s,*'*W l hold together abetter knowledge of f^onfefitpother/^nd'better mutual affecwere .bringing the people overseas in people in {his country, %^ndShb3i r ri«plefewho*left England to X-riytsii ? were brought * into gtMtfchbtvKtK the' people jot' those councould, not have done been forihe ready reP%ri^rf^O'Dominions, 1 who had in every part of the were trying, and she tfe.',belieVed r fWOcessfully,.to carry out this they could not extend many openings that they 'had a still -g^h^t»wey, t wanted to emphasise to-day* of Empire. then proposed the fol<l*at in the "this' meeting the practical &H s &or^ihel'Empire deserves- the hearty British peorfe." The %'■ rLeigue began, Baid Lord Milner, at a ™. 'liufe.'of .trouble for the Empire, y : \ wheri there "was and not only s" / .division »but war T within its borders. It Of; fad Continued its efforts for many years i JS 6f peace. It had a-recognised place, I jjrj'w.arid special, function m the M Vaetwork of eoonomio, social, and moral I^ v schemes whichheld toe countries under flag together. Its special § " migjifc appear a ImmUe one liy tfiejsiae, of more, ambitions efforts to &\\ promote 'Empire unity, but it was &■ %Fv.ery "useful work all the same. For LfS-'Cwrooherion of the Empire was large*k'.J&. a, matter of feeling, then surely it supreme importance that men §C Jaii women going from,one part of the to another should not feel as to a foreign oonn|&jtry.\Tbie most'ambitious hopes of the |v\ mostV«3ent Imperialist would be &v\aclisreJ9sif all the subjects of his Maf^w>3esJy^could f v feel at homo in any of his "wherever, citixens of the ||%^piretmayr.be that the Victoria, Bf&fcwgoeV existed. While it wisely' in the common sense I nevertheless was of poli- ' highest 'sente of the Bought 1$ achieve i j|^t&jßmect.'in > two ways. Vlt sought to f^^Bjgr| , M>knoji?ledge of Empire, to r %e'f«d l condita>w'and inter*' people in one.'part of it people in* other parts. the educational, side. But W&. another miii ., The League scattered |g% > It'sought to en;,pre, ihat..every ttan and woman passthe hand of welhim or her.* It might

be understood what a great work the League has undertaken. But it was nothing compared to the work that rei mained. His Royal Highness referred 1 to the fact that the present was a very favourable moment to stimulate the interest in the work of the League. There were met that day all the Prime Ministers of all the self-governing States of the Empire. Their labours had prevented them from being present at the Victoria League meeting, but he was certain they must all realise that the League was one of the agencies which was laying the foundations upon which alone they could surely .build. The closer they came to grips with tne Empire problem the more they must all realise that it-is in the mam a moral, a human problem and that especially to-day when the Empire is bo loosely connected with hardly any common institutions except the Crown, effective unity was only possible if the majority of the people in every one of j selfgoverning States thought and felt on the big vital questions alike. "It is on mutual knowledge and sympathy that we must rely," Lord Milner concluded. "They have not served us so badly in the past. We must look to them to eerve us still better in.the future. They will in time create new institutions. I think to the discerning eye the beginning of such institutions are alreadv visible. I should say the Empire tree has shed its hark, but it is growing a new one. It matters not how far the branches may extend and stretch out in different directions to all the winds of heaven, so long as the roots-are sound. It is the work of this Association to protect and nourish the roots." Other speakers were the Lord Mayor, Sir Edgar Walton (High Commissioner for South Africa), Sir George Perley (High Commissioner for Canada). Sir James Allen moved a vote of thanks to the speakers, and to the Court of Common Council for the u«e of the Guildhall. It was a great privilege, he said, for them to meet in such aa historic place, with all its associations and traditions—traditions which the people far removed from the great centre of the British Empire did not forget, and claimed equally as their own with the people of this country. He would com,mend the speakers who had been 'gracious enough to assist in the proceedings to follow the example of his Royal Highness and visit the Empire, and he hoped to see them all in New ■Zealand Wore very long. i *

Annual Beport. The 'annual report of the League states that the normal work in its first complete year of-restoration shows considerable expansion as compared with 1913-14. This' is particularly noticeable in the reports of the Education and Settlers' Tjvelcome Sub-com-mittees. The formalities in the matter of the Incorporation of the Lef gue have been long drawn out, and the actual registration will only date from May, 1921. This step has been taken by the .committee on legal advice, in order: to 'secure, for," the League a corporate existence, recognised by law, which it did not possess before. Without incorporation, the League Was incapable, as a body, of holding -property, of receiving legacies, or of entering into closer relations (if such were at any time desired), with other societies and organisations.' ' ....'' i 'The Hospitality Committee has welcomed hundreds of oversea members, and-their friends, this year. Many personal introductions and invitations have heen arranged, and the regular '.'office teas" at 22 Eccleston square, begun, as an experiment, have become an institution equally pooular, as it seems, with hosts and guests. Another experiment took the form of co-operation with the Selbprne Society, which has kindly made special arrangements for orereea members of the League to join its "rambles" in and near London. These certainly met the desires of a large number of members. The supplemented the Selborne programmes, with special expeditions of its own; Through the help of Dr. A. P. Newr ton Rhodes Professor in London University, it has been possible to get into, touch with a considerable number of the students from different parts of the Empire now working in London Colleges and medical, architectural,, and other schools. Many are post-gradu-ates doing research work. Invitations both' to Victoria L«gue parties and from individual members, have heen welcomed by many of these, and it is hoped to see much more of them during the coming year. .„,"■' The sdheme for exchange of school exhibitions has received a good deal of attention since last year. Its practical ' difficulties are considerable, and progress hasj therefore, been alow. The first exhibition is, however, about to he despatched to New Zealand. It ahowa. through a variety of specimens, the different stages of cotton manufacture, and. has been collected and housed in a specially made "exhibition box" by the bovs of, Henshaw's B'uecpat School, Oldham, on the initiative and under'the supervision of Mr Holland, Governor of the. school. . ■ -. Invitations.-to. become hon. vicepresidents of the League have been accepted during the year by Colonel the Hon. Sir James Allen, K. 0.8.. High Commissioner for New Zealand, Sir William Meyer, GCIE, K.C-S.L, Hish Commissioner for.lnd'a; and H.E. the" Earl of Reading/ P.C., C.G.8., G.C.M.G., Viceroy of India.