The Dominion. MONDAY, MAY 25, 1908. THE FLAG AND THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 206, 25 May 1908, Page 6

The Dominion. MONDAY, MAY 25, 1908. THE FLAG AND THE EMPIRE.

___$ _ v . A. cable message from London which we published in our'last issue reported that to-day nearly six and a half million children in various parts' of the Empire would 'parade .to salute tho flag.. In ordinary circumstances it would be sufficient to note with' satisfaction the great success of the movement to bring home the spirit of Empire to the children who may one day be called upon" to defend their inheritance. To make Empire Day the text for an annual .discussion of the meaning of Empiro and the significant of the flag is not a practice that appeals to the It would savour of the. ■" flag-flapping " that-is just- as'.abhorrent to the true Imperialist as' to the separatists, who still exist, although they must be a very small faction by now. Unfortunately, however, tho celebration of the day has been ntarrcd by an outbreak, of bitter .feeling' amongst the British politicians, and' everybody will regret that the controversy over Mn. Asquith's refusal to vary " the. practice of his predecessors," in the matter of official recognition of Empiro Day, has culminated in a provocative motion by an Irish Unionist. Nothing could be more ill-advised than, the bellicose Captain Craig's proposal to' secure, by statutory compulsion that the flag shall be hoisted on the national schools in Ireland. This jarring note, coming on an occasion when there was never less, reason for importing .political feuds into an Imperial festival, will be everywhere regretted, but it will assuredly' not for a moment disturb the. serenity of ; . the Imperial public's conviction" that the Empiro has grown too great to be .affected any longer by outworn prejudices or the newer animosities of contemporary politics. ' 1: / To New Zealanders the saluting of the flag is no more than a grave and decent confession of faith, ,a simple .act of re\ spect. There are, we know, a good many well-intentioned peoplo who dislike tho parading, of children to salute the Union' Jack, on the score that it fosters militarism—surely the most gratuitous of fears—that it involves the children somehow in politics, or that it breeds a spirit of vainglory and boastfulness in the young heart. They who aro earnest in such objections to the ceremony, cither do not recognise what children are, or what the flag is. Nor is there more force in the contention that if the flag is worthy of such deep honour and respect 'it will get itself respected and honoured by the conduct of its followers in tho widespread domains' ovor which it flics. As one English writer has acutely observed : " W° do not believe that this proccss [of untaught respect] is automatic in the minds of children. We should like to see them taught respect for the flag as they are, or ought to be, taught respcct for their parents, which is not by any means a natural instinct. There is an odious absence of respectfulness for overybody and everything to-day, because it appears to be seriously believed that rcspect is 1 a surrender of Bclf-reßpect."'

To those who would like to find some " practical " benefit in the early introduction of our children to the meaning of the flag, wo commend a perusal of the admirable speech by Lord Rosebeby, which wo reprint in another column. It is a speech that must strike the imagination of any child, and although designedly childlike in its freshness and simplicity, it has lessons for the grown-ups who have lost the sublime ardour early years. The note of unity struck by Lord Hosebery has been well sounded on several recent occasions. The British subject, wrapped round as by the atmosphere with a' frecdcim and safety that is singular in the history of the earth's peoples, is prone to forget what the flag means for. him. It is his safe-conduct through the."world. The Englishman's home is his castlc, perhaps, but while the flag flies the world is his homo as it is the home, in so full a sense, of no other

There is one- special virtue in parading the children ito salute 1 the Union Jack which must be pointed out, not merely because it supplied another good reason for such ceremonies,. but becausc it emphasises a fact that is of the greatest moment to the grown citizens of the Empire. Unless they, are made to associate the flag only, or chiefly, with the military and naval -triumphs of Great Britain—and it is surely easy to suppress the occasional Jingo who still survives here and there, and who alone would so abuse the ceremony—the idea of Empire with which the children grow up cannot but be a pure and kindly one. What the future holds can only be guessed at, but the most, elementary prudence directs that the children of to-day should develop into-the citizens of,to-morrow with the sense of Imperial unity strong and overmastering. That spirit can bo assured by. getting our boys to dream to the top of their bent of the Empire that pleases them, to feed their generous fancy .that the Empire is an Empire, based on mutual self-sacrifice and . high affection.. The Empire of the boyish imagination is the only Empire that will endure. Now the important fact which all . this emphasises is the, necessity for the most rigid observance, on the part of politicians and the Press, of the rule that no part of the 'Empire should make any reference of a polemical character to the affairs of any other part. Some Imperialists, in the fierceness of their, regard for the Empire, and the heat of their, conviction that they can set.it right, aro inclined to a sharpness of utterance that can only inflict injury on the object of their devotion. It is far better •to be silent, with the patience of faith, even when things go temporarily a little wrong.