SALUTING THE FLAG

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 41, 16 August 1941, Page 8

SALUTING THE FLAG

,(To the Editor.) Sir, —I would like to congratulate you on your timely sub-leader on this subject and, if you will permit, mention some 'aspects which seem to me to be important. During the 20 years between the wars there have been innumerable books written in which the principal aim has been to deride everything which tends to make for pride in our Empire" and what it has done for the world. In some cases the effect of such reading has been purely destructive because the readers have not had sufficient knowledge of British history and world history to perceive that the faults attributed to' Britain are far j outweighed by the benefits to the world which have resulted from the extension of British co-operative rule over such a large area of the world. Let us consider only a few of these items —items which do not arouse controversy. Due tb the strength of the Fleet, piracy, which had made international sea-borne trade a hazardous undertaking in many parts of the world, disappeared, slave trading was suppressed, and the oceans of the world have been charted. No other nation undertook this magnificent work to such an extent. Our merchant ileet has been the chief cause of the enormous strides in international trading without which the standard of living of the peoples of the world would be much lower than it is. British literature has been, and will continue to remain, one of the great works that man has produced; and the spoken language, although reputed to be difficult to learn, is spoken in more places than any other. These adverse critics seem to imply that when the Empire was being built up, some mysterious plan had been laid down, whereas, in actual fact, the Empire grew because individual Britons were able to bring under the flag many parts of the world irrespective of, and often in direct op- j position to, the desires of those in power in England. Personally I believe that without the British Empire or Commonwealth of Nations (it is both in one) the world would not be as civilised as it is and we would not have Parliaments where men can say what they like, but that is apparently an opinion not shared j by some people who like to retain the I privileges and benefits obtaining under J our flag without the simple but sincere act of recognising it as the symbol of everything which we are at present fighting for —the right to live our own lives, British justice, and fair play.—l am, etc., F. H. GREENAWAY.