IMPERIAL UNITY

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 95, 16 January 1935, Page 8

IMPERIAL UNITY

Work of Royal Empire Society REPRESENTATIVE’S VISIT Representing a world-wide organisation that not only does much to strengthen Imperial bonds, but also provides more material facilities for citizens of the British Empire, Commander R. M. Reynolds, R.N.R., Travelling Commissioner of the Royal Empire Society, arrived at Wellington from Christchurch yesterday morning. He is touring through Australia and New Zealand with a view to getting the work of the society more widely known and enrolling new members. The fostering of a spirit of Empire unity is briefly the abject of the society, which since its inception in IS6B has a membership which has increased from about 200 to 16,000, of whom 13,000 are overseas members. Branches of the society are established not only throughout the Empire, but in most of the important countries of the world. New Zealand’s membership stands between 400 and 500, while there are 900 members in Sydney. To the New Zealander who travels, and in Commander Reynolds’s opinion there are many of these, the Royal Empire Society will fulfil a great need. The hand of hospitality is extended to visitors to the blub at the society’s headquarters in London, where well-appoint-ed lounges and rooms are available for their use. At present board in London can be booked by members of the society on stating their requirements to the headquarters, but when the present reconstruction of the club rooms is completed they will ■be fully residential, containing 70 bedrooms. The wellknown architect, Sir Herbert Baker, is designing the reconstruction work. In addition to providing the visitor to England with every item and. detail of information in its power, the society organises visits to public functions, such as the Military Tattoo at Aidershot, and visits to commercial organisations for those interested in the industrial side of English life. Headquarters is expecting a busy time this year, on the occasion of the King’s Silver Jubilee. Then again the society possesses the largest library of Empire literature in existence, with a total of 250,000 volumes, while in the reading rooms there are 1000 papers, magazines and periodicals from every part of the Empire. “I am struck by the loyalty in this part of the world in connection with the Royal Empire Society,” said Commander Reynolds. “For those who have no prospect of travelling the inducements which the society can offer are comparatively few, and yet everywhere people are joining purely because of their loyalty to the Empire. Although so far from England they are extremely patriotic, and appreciated the fact that members of the Empire belonged to one large family; they seem to realise that if a country breaks away from the Empire it will perish.” Everywhere he had met with good feeling, and had found trade improving, while people in Australia and New Zealand were displaying a spirit of optimism. One impression that the commander had received in New Zealand was the similarity of the country’ to England: everywhere he went here he met with the same trees and flowers as in the Old Country, the only difference being that they existed under improved climatic conditions. Some of the country landscapes in the South Island also resembled the English countryside.