ROYAL EMPIRE SOCIETY

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 42, 17 August 1935, Page 14

ROYAL EMPIRE SOCIETY

A NEW BUILDING

FOUNDATION-STONE LAID IN LONDON

The foundation-stone of the Royal Empire Society's/ ne.w building in Northumberland; Avenue was laid by H.R:H. the" Prince of .Wales' on June 3,: 'the'7oth anniversary 'of ; his Majesty the King's birthday, states "United Empirei" the journal of the : Hoyal: Empire Society. 'The weather an hour before the ceremony was unpromising. Heavy rain fell, but true to its reputation where the Royal- Family is concerned; the sun; shone brightly during the proceedings. To his Royal Highness, .therefore, *the society and the company .were doubly indebted: 'first for. undertaking to see the stone -well and truly laid,' second for ensuring by his presence that it was laid in genial atmospheric conditions. .It: would- indeed have been /a peculiarly inausr picious' occasion 'for Old Sol !tb '.'fail in his; traditional .loyalty, at so important a function in the history: of; a society ; dedicated to 'the:- unity of the Empire on which proverbially he never sets.'-'-.; ■■■ ■■','• ','. ■■' :■■ :'.'.■-'.'■ ■.■ ■.-■. ';.■, ■.;■■. ■;.-. '■':".,- ■;'• Sir Archibald .'■ Weigall, '; before asking his Royal' Highness to perform the ceremony^of laying the foundationstone,- referred; with deep regret and sympathy to the death of -Sir' John Sandeman' Allen, M.P., a former chairman and a great friend of the society, and asked the company'to stand for one minute -in': silent tribute to^ ; his 'memory. -''• / ':',.v':'--;!:.:;:!;::;:\'.: '-"■■'A '.-*'" Sir Archibald;theri; announced that he had received messages ;of congratulation and/good wishes from- :the president, ; H.R.H. the "Duke of ';■ Cori-. naught, from the Prime-Minister of the United Kingdom, the Prime-Miri-isters of the Dominions, the/Viceroy of India, and others. .Sir' Archibald continued:-— ;. .:;;\;;. /;'' N .;■';■ '■!/-■ ;■'■/ f.:' ;; ..V. A. REAL KEJUVENATION.; ?■• : "It is now; my privilege to welcome with pride ■ arid gratitude his Royal Highness .the; Prince 'of Wales. - It. -is: peculiarly, appropriate that his; Royal Highness should lay.' .pur ~ foundationstone, appropriate by'reason both; of his position' and his achievements. \, In the first place'he is heir to that.Throne which'has welded the varying units of the Empire; into, a family-.of free; peoples and: holds it; secure, in bonds of love arid loyalty. In; the. second,! there is 'hardly 1 al'corner of 'the' Empire \he' has not' visited and ;in.;;.which he.;has not leftva'trail of lasting affection;'and respectij^l ; usevthe word 'lasting' ad- ; visedlyjbepause 15: years, ago I hadithe privilegei'inVAustralia -of^'receiving'..his Royal Highness and ;6f-seeing the. lasting .effectsofshis visit on .the'^natiorial consciousness that great Dominion. His ■visit; to..us!todayVmeansVa^^; rear rejuvenation;, for; Hhe.: society }: after'■ 67: years of yarie.d activity. ;It.inaugurates for; us -a-.new...era., At,long last, our; unique,, library, j which-;is ', a storehbuse .of-"lmperial- i knowledge, will,; be -. adequately .housed. The; whole i of:the' first floor '■■ of : , this: building ;will be de-' ,yoted to \thisiniagnificent library;; of 250,00Q \ a. law .library;; newspaper arid map rooms!.;.'ln : addition to an 'assembly 'hall, iwhich will rnodate^ %QXa^meetings, : ■; eyery ft'social arhenity,will be;catered for.;:-All tWs ■will; of course^ involve very/.cqnsidgr-able"To'utlay/an'd^'it-.isXriecessary;};if;:tlie' society's: operations .are'riot^to. be, han'-, dicapped,. to niakeVari; appeal for, fun^ds not only; to our, fellows but jto : ;.the general public.^;: We cannot, lose; sight of :the: fact! \that ;h6weyer ■'• important material accommodatibn'"may; be,'the really, vital factor; is how: : it..'is! to.f.be''. used and .what will;be the atriio'sphere created. !Statesmen; arid-politicians,!of course; can: make1 a great contribution to; the co-operation of the.various parts of the Empire, and though; they; are by the; very nature! of; things' restricted by. official regulations,; they can- even make the: Australian ! Lyons lie/ down with -the. New Zealand jlamb. my -visit to. 'Australia1'; last!/ winter I had the 'opportunity of discussing with" our:friends a new,unit withinithe.'SOr ci'ety,■ t a youth sectiony which -1: hope' will 'give us a fresh jum'pirig-off v ground iin/our; Erripire- work; V What we have |tp; ido! is to .create; in iam; atriiospliere iot hospitality / and sportsmanship real under standing' arid" sympathy towards each other's outlook; to provide a centre:,tQ Ayhich all keen-minded lovers} of our,-great;■herifagfcVi'ah^'gravitate'yjfor; inspiration, . erilightenment, and-; companionship, '■ and to give: to the world the: example and the benefits of our united'free'democracies. I; will now a|k ;:his Royal v' Highness! to •• lay ■■. thve^ fouridatiori-stoiie; of. our: new home.";; ; :-'K;\--;:,.;-;THE' : :^MNCE's:;SPEEci-:: •,-■■;.;;;•;-; :i:''l;think.!it; is .indeed fitting'■.'.that this "day,, the King's seventieth:birthday* in the silver jubilee of' his reigri, should have been "chosen for the laying of the | foundation-stone of * the; new home of the Royal Eiiipire Society, whose ser- j vice for 67/ years! has'been' consecrated: to 'j the •'. unity v! of the Erripir c, in whose | welfare /his -Majesty,, "aV'-ybirv. know, takes;so deep, and;unceasing an inter'fist.,-■•."'-;"■'■■".■.' :;;: ; ;<; P- V!//-;\!!: -!:>;:--;..' : -.- ; ..•';■•:':?;

■V- "Muctiihas*happened since I became a member»of; the Royal,: Colonial Institute; 14 years.'ago," v .continued' the Prince; of; Wales/: ;"It has;: changed^its name to theVspciety's present title of the;; Royal. Empire^Society; '£■'• I';- think that title "is: a tribute! tovthe advance in status madeby. the leading members of;the British; Commonwealth of Nations.- ; The activities of the -society; have ; been .increased ; enormously, and lh'tHis-jubilee'yearl can only regarcl it.; as amonglthe; striking coincidences that: the v rebuilding >of the ; society's headquarters: should occur Exactly 25 years •:after what; was called the; Great Reform', movement,.' inaugurated•,'' in 1910, wKich "marked .an .abnormal 'adVance in the membership of the, society.\: So .that.'in a way. I am laying this.foundation-stone in v^hat the Royal Empire' Society •! might well regard as its owri jubilee year, of--progress. :,;--. '■':. ;\ 'The 'purposes::6f'the society'■'■■ are two-fold. / JFirst. of! all; dt provides; ar home'for "the countless visitors who, come from: oversea every year to the Old" Country.^: Those of us who have travelled-rwho know..the <far-flung out' posts' of:.the Empire arid of the Dominions,; wliohavetasted; the wonder--ful hospitality that; people, from Great Britain invariably receive .when .they visit any of ;tHe great;cities,or districts "of British countries overseas—will feel it quite wrong that many oversea vis-' itors should find -themselves somewhat lost and somewhat lonely in' London.' TheI'society vis ; doing ■ a great. work in putting bright -what .;all ..will agree is a -wrong.':: v ■:"-■': '~.' •';•; .'•;■:•'•■■• ■■...'.•.'■ •^ "Then the Society "has-another, side. Under its charter it is a learned society, and for two-thirds of a centuryit has provided a platform from which the; leading men in the Empire's service have imparted'knowledge of what the .Empire mean's- and what it stands for. .The society has a magnificent library -of i 250,000 : volumes, which for the first.time will find really adequate accommodation in this new building. .It;,.will be; at-the disposal ot students not only from every part of the Empire but from' every foreign ■■country.-.'---.;---. ;■■■.•.; . ' .'• ~" -- ■■.-:.-• : .^"The. new,:b'uilding -will cost a. con-

siderable sum of money, and as the Royal Empire Society has never sought a State grant in carrying on its valuable work it has to rely upon the generous contributions of all who have the welfare of the Empire ■at heart. If it is true, as many believe, that the Empire is only at the beginning-of its real mission in the world, then there can be no doubt that the part to' be played by, the ■ society in the future will be an important one. All will welcome • the contribution which the society can>rpake to that understanding^ of peoples which is nowhere so well exemplified as within the boundaries of the British: Empire." ■ ■■■■ The Prince then declared well and

truly laid the foundation-stone which bears the inscription:— EDWARD Prince of Wales: Laid This Stone in the 25th Year of the Reign of KING .GEORGE V. The Bishop of Salisbury gave his blessing to _■ the stone, the company sang the National Anthem, and three cheers were given for the Prince of Wales,

Results of the British iEmpire miniallre rifle shooung competitions for the King's Trophy, and the Imperial Challenge Shields; and, .Trophies, wwlch took Place in 1934 are tabulated in a bulletin issued by'the' National Rifle Association of England. ■ .•'■'-. -'<■'•■■ The Challenge Trophy Was - presented by the King, in: 1925 for competition

between teams as far as possible.representative of the full strength of the youth of England and each of the larger Dominions. The national representative teams of not less than 3000 are selected from the best teams after all units have fired, and there is no limit to the number of boys or units that may fire m any country. The number of competitors throughout the Empire in 1934 was 27,625, a decrease of 6600 compared with the total for 1933. The principal decrease (6840) was shown by Canada, this was

due to "the reorganisation'of the cadet services .:. during^*, the':: : year. >■:■'.South Africa's ;numb"ersvvere' nearly;-;' 1000 i less,' but both New Zealand,and<Great| Brit^n-':fcpntributed','-:ihcreas^.'''.;v':VAus:': tralia's i entry was j the •■■ smallest J.everJ received from the-Dornitiipns;pbpulat- ] ed by British: stock; and. was most dis-j appointing: in view ;of^:the.. Common-' wealth's 'performances: in; past',":«.years, and of her high-reputation for. marks-' nianship.The figures for each.country \yere:—New. Zealand, • 10,015; South Africa, '8311; Great Britain; 6005; ■ Can-' ada, 2819; Australia,'• 346;' India'ahd the' nest, 138.^ y:i ■:;::; :ii; '-yT^:l-Y: :£;.'{'■. ■ The youth!'of. South)Xfrica^won;.tKe King's Trophy"; with. an ..;ayeragel: of

81 435 for their national team „ 3000 strong, and though 2 5 points less than Canada's winning 'score, last- year, it was a fine achievement and 1 5 points higher than their own scqre in 1933

"The boys (and girls) of the Unio/i are to be heartily congratulated upon this their fifth success in this event,'" says the bulletin "Their and excellent performances in this match reflect the greatest credit upon all, concerned i One of the Imperial trophies, the Earl Haig's Sword, is also won by a South African unit. For the

! reason -given- abpyenCanada^was ?uni;* kable.- to : , compete^for^ttie7- trophyMsi also were .Australia^and In&a?36q(rbg?* ingthe.minimum.strerigttf-ota natiohalf team:. '?;.-• ■; --■jv.;o;^;i-%. _^ : -^ ; ■ *:^V.-;s^rs^y-^ ?" ■ :£?**■ ''• Bri^nv.ta^t^nii^Spiacel wi(h; an ..average' of 77.76,' and; Nev^keail is,third ; with 75;23^ih bbthKcases? 4j points ..better, toaii Jlast^year/th'e^ ini^ provenient:being largelyc attribu^blef to the institution of Jan allowancefof 5!1 points to units 'Syhich/fire witH'Govern^ ment rifles and, atnmuhitioh;;to com^ pensate for; any; disadvantage^ they niayS SUu?u ■-- Uiosel whichaare«pi;oviaed:#ithi target wea^S P()nsvof^priyate;inanufacture,aperture^ sights,vand>:match ; It is satisfactory^to^hbte^thatKtheVgenerail standard . of; marksmansnip;; after the^ allowance^has;-.been ';'■ made ■:for this? handicap.by which; sbrheso-60;per;cent;J of the .boys benefit- "shows anr encouf ag-t mg improvement;;? Of ; the; five imperial? troph l es,4Great_ ; Britain: has rbeen^uc^ cessfulin winning four; the Senior'lmi* PeP?l Shield, Earl. JelUcoe's Sword- the? ;Mi^erf Trophy, -and prbvideViftany 'bf-S the junner&oip," \';,. : r r-t:'.:- %&x; :/v <V>>; i pertomanee* ,of;all ;the: units on the;Empifg-ma'y ; considered -Jto; ,be \ that >. of sthe^ ■■' Royal: Nay^ w Traming;:Establishme£tv?H;MUr Ganges:;nbaess:^i^^4B^re<i^hr^gli I these v ;cdmp^titions.^;AUowmgyforyth!e^ short; period ;>vMable; fprr; rifle1' train-? ing- and;;limited range, accommodation^ the',results:.obtained.'furnish "an"excel-v: :^fecyef^l!^structidn.?;?

A car driveway w'lth bank.tellers in attendance is, provided by a. bank in the west of US/ so motorists can make1 deposits without L getting out of theircars. - i