The Dominion. TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1936. THE KING’S BIRTHDAY

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 228, 23 June 1936, Page 8

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1936. THE KING’S BIRTHDAY

The King’s forty-second birthday, which we honour to-day, is his first as Sovereign. Hitherto he has been known and loved by the peoples of his Empire as their Prince. In the many parts of Bntain-Beyond-the-Seas they retain indelible impressions of his.visits. His life since his accession has necessarily been detached and reserved by the period of mourning for his late father; after the Coronation next year, when he will assume the full plumage of his royal office, he will fill the public eye to a much greater extent than he does at present. In the meantime, however, he has been actively interested behind the scenes in the affairs of the nation. Like his father before him he has assumed the mantle of kingship at a time of great uncertainty in international affairs. When King George V came to the throne the Irish crisis was becoming acute, there was serious industrial, unrest ip the United Kingdom, and the premonitory symptoms of the Great War were beginning to cause concern. The domestic scene that faced King Edward VIII was propitious. The a nation was steadily working itself free from the chaos of the Great Depression, industry was recovering, unemployment was diminishing, and elaborate schemes of social welfare were emerging from the phase of planning and beginning to take practical shape. But the international outlook was grave, and still is. The outlook for the British people is full of uncertainty, and at this stage of their history it is vitally necessary that they should have a _ rallying point. The sanctions question has raised divisions of opinion in the Old Country and in the Dominions. United in a common faith in our racial qualities and traditions, and a common purpose, the Commonwealth should stand strong and impregnable. Divided, it will assuredly disintegrate. The rallying point is the Throne, and the common purpose might well be defined as.the service of humanity. There are critical years ahead, and there could be no worthier or more inspiring motto for the times than that which many a British father has given his son on his setting out on the great adventure of life: “Fear God, and honour the King.”