A STRONG EMPIRE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 22, 23 December 1944, Page 4

A STRONG EMPIRE.

There is a section of people in this Dominion which prefers to frown upon the term, "British Empire." Thinking internationally it has little time for titles which it regards as old-fashion-ed. To the vast majority of New Zenlanders, however, there is an attraction in the commanding title of "British Empire" which arrests their thoughts and binds them to its use, for to them it is something more than a Commonwealth of Nations—it is a force of the greatest good and service in the world, in the promotion of its prosperity and in inculcating .the ideals of peace which have been sadly lacking in recent years, and which are profoundly a part of the Christmas season. On this page today we publish a Christmas message from the Empire News, a journal which is devoting itself to the promotion of Empire strength, Empire unity, and Empire progress. All three will be vital in' the post-war years, when the need will be paramount for everyone to work towards restoring the Empire's fortunes which the war has brought to so critical a stage. The heart of the Empire was never sounder; the Colonies and Dominions have shown their abiding loyalty to the Motherland in its greatest crisis, and if all the nations which comprise the world's greatest Empire strive boldly the "spirit_ which brought us from adversity to triumph will bring us prosperity and lasting peace." The stronger the British Empire, the more potent its influence for good in the world.