TALK TO CHILDREN

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 112, 13 May 1937, Page 20

TALK TO CHILDREN

THE BRITISH MONARCHY

The significance of the Coronation was the theme of an address broadcast to New Zealand school children yesterday by the Minister of Education (the Hon. P. Fraser). "There have been Kings in Britain for 1500 years," said the Minister, "and a single Crown for more than 300 years. In that time the flag of Britain has been carried to the ends of the earth, and in the most distant lands British people have settled and built up nations which have long governed themselves, but still they pay heartfelt homage to the Kings and Queens of the Motherland. King George will be crowned today in the same way as our Kings have been crowned for many centuries. Normans, Plantagenets, Tudors, Stuarts, Hanoverians, and now the House of Windsor—nearly all have been crowned in the same place, Westminster Abbey, and with the same kind of service. So you see we are in touch today with something that is very old, something that is rooted deeply in the soil from which we or our parents have sprung. . "You know that the King reigns but does not govern. He rules only through his Ministers, who are chosen by the people, and he must take the advice of these Ministers. But he is King and Emperor; it is in his name that the Government of Britain and New Zea : land is carried on. He stands above party and class as a father who cares for all his people. While one Minister* succeeds another, the King _ continues to reign. And he is a living link between the Motherland and every part of the British Commonwealth or Empire. By means of the radio to which you are now listening, the' most distant p3rts, such as New Zealand, can actually hear the, King,and Queen being crowned in the Abbey. "We hope his Majesty's reign will be long- and happy. We express this thought in the National Anthem. We know that he comes to the Throne •in very difficult times. When we say 'happy' we have in mind not only the personal happiness of their Majesties, but the happiness of all their peoples. This includes you boys and girls of New Zealand. We hope that all British peoples will enjoy peace and prosperity, that they will all have the best chances possible of living a good life, and that the spirit of human brotherhood will be strengthened, both inside and beyond the realms over which his 'Majesty reigns."