IN THE COUNTRY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 23 June 1911, Page 6

IN THE COUNTRY.

AT RICHMOND. CURTAILED PROGRAMME BUT MUCH ENTHUSIASM. UNITED RELIGIOUS SERVICEGATHERING OF THE CHILDREN. (From Our Own Correspondent). The Coronation celebrations in Richmond, although much curtailed owing to the unfavourable weather, wore carried oait in an enthusiastic manner, the prominent feature •being the entec tainmenl of the children. At 10.30 the local school child.ren were assembled at the school, and the ceremony c-f saluting the flag perfemned undo' the direction- of Mr Boycc. after which cheers were given for the King..

The children then marched' to the Oddfellows' Hall to attend the united service. There was/ an excellent attendance of the public, the accon:Qix>datii.Ji being ta.xed to the utmost. The Anglican minister. Rev. A. J. Can*, presided-, and also conducted the singing of the special hymns selected for the occasion, one of which was «un< r by the chil'dfcn alone. M.r Can* referred to the gh-cat ceremony in London and ;read a description of the prcccecl.in,g.ss which woi'.'d be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Rev. C. Eaton delivered' a stirring address, and Mr S. Fittall. of the Baptist Church, also appropriately addjrossod the gathering. At the conclusion: the National Anthem was sung, and the (gathering returned to the school, where the children .and also parents and friends, were regaled' with an excellent lunch, the preparations for which were ably carried out by a committee of energetic ladies-, who had' spared no pains to make' the children's day a success. Previous to the lunch. his Worship the Mayor. M.r James Hunt, ad'ire.'a-cd the ohiidirem. each of whom was then presented with a Coronation •roedal.

Although the arrangements had' been largely altered, yet the proceedings were heartily carried out, and undoubtedly will impress on th.o minds- of the young people cf Richmond this national event.

WAIMEA WEST. SCHOOL CHILDREN'S TREAT! A school children's, treat was held at Waimca West, when the Coronation medals were distributed by the Chairman of the School Committee, the flag wa.s saluted, and the children were rcigale.d with the edibles which, were to have formed, the district's contribution- to the fare at. the abandoned' Richmond gathering.

THE SPEECHES. By the tinio lite procession had arrived :it the C'liu.ivh Sti ps, ;i. very l.art>i> number ul' people had assembled m the vk-iivity of !tho Mu,iuVi|taL (.'lwuu'bers, . from lilt; balcony of which the speeches weer to lie made. "|'h'" -Mayor. Al.j- T. A. 11. l'iekl, was tho lirsl. !<> speak. They were, he said, to conclude* this local ce.'.ebrat inn oi tin, C<H'(iruit lor of 1 heir -Majesties King CSuorge the Fifth and Queen .Mary. That day. throughout the length and breadth o*f tiho globe, following the noon-day sun, British guns were thundering and British •colours Hying in .honour of this historic:;! e\eut. The unity—unity in diversity--I'or so vast was the Empire that whi.e at this moment they were concluding their celebi-ation in the darkness ot a mkL-winte.r evening, .in the heart of the Empire th.e- millions of sightseers m London, were pouring into the streets in the early mid-summer's morning, ■eagerly looking forward to the pageant yet to take place. Such diversified unity in Hide t h'tiin realise the va-stness of that Empire on which, the- sun novai' set —the greatest the world had ever known ; an Empire for which their forefathers pioneered, lab owed, audi fought, and for which each of us in. his or her own way was .labouring, and. if needs be. they would fight to preserve these liberties and that- freedom that the Empire represented to them—a priceless heritage that they hoped to hand down in their turn, in its integrity, to their children and children's children. It had been their lot to witness in one decade the celebration of the coronations of two British Sovereigns. There were some who had' witnessed three —King CJ-corge V., his father, King Edward VII., and his grandmother, Queen Victoria. In such a one's life time, how marvellous had ueen the Empire's advancement. The Victorian age witnessed the introduction of steam, railways, steamships, electric, telegraphs, Jioe|> sea cables, antiseptic treatment, anesthetics, vaccination. and the great increase of wealth ■chie to machinery. All. th-e-s-e were surpassed in the Edwardian era of less than ten years—the expansion, of electricity, telephones, cinematographs, wireless telegraphy, the turbine engine, submarines, and the discovery of radio-activity, revolutionising scientific ideas. They stood that- night on the threshold of the Georgian epoch. How different from the former Georgian epochs of English history —gazing" at tlie beginning of mail's greatest conquest—the conquest of the air—w.hich meant the conquest- of space, the infancy of the- science of aviation. But. there "had been advancement not 1 oiv.y in inventions and discoveries,, but in | ideas. It was the lot of his. Majesty King GecTge- the Fifth to ascend the I throne dairing the progress of a gjreat 1 silent political revolution. Centuries ! ago the power passed from the King to the nobles: hundreds of years later from the nobles to the mid die. classes. | and to-day it is passing silently and j swiftly into the hands of the people as a ! whole. Since the days of \\ iiliam IV. this had. been recognised by English Sovereigns who had been content to reign constitutionally and to let the people govern'. Some might have felt dismay, at the spread, of deniiocnaicy ; there might be mistakes in the future, as | there hail/ been ixi the past ; but the aim j of democracy was the motto, "The greati est good for the greatest number" ; or, ' in Abraham Lincoln's immortal words, i "Government off the people., by the I people, for the people." It- was .a sign !of the stability of the sentiment on i which, the British Throne rested that the ! most democratic; corner of the Empire. ■ this Dominion of New Zealand, priaed j itself also on being the most loyal to the i throne.

i In conclusion, when they look-ad ; abroad t-liey saw much that was rea.ssur- ': ing the international Peace Conferences j iieid from time to time ; itnd stealing i through the armed camps* from nation tu ' nation and ccaitinent to continent the, 1 wnisper of the- brotherhood of man. { But we must never forget that . the i p-rice of libca-ty was eternal vigilance. In ; bhis eastern, Hemisphere they had wit'i nessed the startling unprecedented- rise ■ of Japan to a first-class naval, Power ; 1 and they were witnessing the awakening ; of the "countless multitude® of China. i The balance of international diplomacy

I] was swinging, from the West to the ,: East; and' -from-, being distant spectators ' iof the arena they anight suddenly find %' themselves in Australasia plunged into

the vortex of events. ' In these .circum--i stances they saw the ••'wisdom of the deI fence scheme—the training of their i young nation the use of arms of pi;e<:ision, so that they might have the power as well as the will- to defend their nomes and liberties—their motto, "Defeuioe, mot aggression." Mayor conclud-ed with the words: —"May- God .!-bless, their Gracious Majesties

I George t.he Fifth and Queen Mary, j whose coronations we acclaim to-day ; '' may the Empire prosper during His Majesty's -reign-;- may. -education, and true religion spread; in-ay His statesmen so legislate that there may be work for all; that 'idleness and vice may disappear ; and the disgrace -and misery of abject poverty be banished from the Empire. May peace with honour be file brightest jewel m his Majesty's sceptre, and the guiding star of his Minister's policy ; and long, may he reign." (Applause.) Bishop Mules foil-owed the Mayor, and dwelt at some length upon the significance and purpose of the Coronation. Why was the King, crowned? He became King immediately uponi the death of 'his father, and- why was- the Coronation so important a -ceremony 1 It was in order that the King might rule his subjects effectively. He needed a strength not his. own. The Coronation was largely a religious ceremony. It had a big history at the back of it. It was inaugurated at the time of the Conquest, and had been enacted ever since. The anointing of the King, which was part of the service, .practically illustrated the religious significance of the vow, and the recognition on his part of the need of Divine help, without which" no King could adequately reign ; and no I people effectively obey. Bishop Mules then went on to. refer to the progress tlhat had been made. The Old Country bore many marks of the gradual development; but in no place were these more prominent than in London itself. He dwelt at some length upon the historic interest of Westminster -A.bb-ejy, in which a hundred Kings and Queens had been crowned, and then when their worldly pomp and ; majesty hud passed' away, -they had been laid there. In- addition miahy distinguished statesmen, poets, soldiers, sailors, and divines were also i lying there, giving if a striking signficance; The" second reflection he reminded them of was that the coronation was a prophecy. History -showed -therm how earthly kingdoms rose and fell, and whilst they prayed that the fall of their o-w.m kingdom might bo far distant, they ! were reminded) by the coronation that I its rise or fall depended upon what use thoy ina.de of God's Kingdom, Father Gogg-an said "Cod Save the Kiim" was the song that was on all I English lips that clay. George V.. King <-,f Great Britain and Ireland. Emperor of India, and of the Oversea Dominions. Commonwealth. ; and Colonies, was crowned that day. Thev were his subjects, and were proud of it. for dotted all over the world, on sea and on land.

over races of many colours, over people of many tongues, there w;iv«l the L' niini .kirk, flue emblem ol' the British Km , pile.' Tlia.L (la 14 in the eyes of the n,:i - tions stood' for freedom-, lib-eity. en 11:11 rights, and religious tolera.neo, and it waved nver the greatest, the wealthiest, the most, law-abiding democracy the world IwiUvprn'en, Krr the 'im never .set. upon the British Empire : y» every human being could claim- the protection of the British flag. In. oh! IJoinan days (he greatest. -honour was to lie a Roman citizen. Today the greatest, hononr was to be a. subject, of t'ho British Empire. Eur them .the people of Now Zea.ld.nd. the last li«.>rn of the peoples of the Empire, t hey wore honoured by their .rep-re-sontatives at the ■Overseas Con fere nee evolving a scheme that knit into a. Constitutional body the scattered portions of this great Empire. The Unite would come when thi.s germ thought was an accomplished fact. The honour recently comferred upon their ropresentative was an honour, he took it, conferred upon the people of New' Zealand, he.cause they thought Imperially. But it was not -enough to think. They should be ready to act. It was not- enough for them to love New Zealand. They should be ready to defend it. They, of the city of Nelson, would' he unworthy of that great nam© if every man i.n it was not prepared to do his daity. As a Catholic priest, and a representative of the Catholics-, ho was proud to stand there and attest their loyalty to the State—(applause)—and there was no work for the good of the Empire in which they were not ready to tak© part. It was his prayer that Cod would bless Queen Mary and King George. and might they live long, a.nd their reign be marked by liberty, peace, and prosperity. Cod save the King ! (Applause). Mr A. T. Maiginnity. in the course of his remarks, said they stood there in thisremote corner of the Empire second to none in their loyalty to the Throne and to the King. All would join heartily in singing that night the noble anthem. "God Save the King." and whilst they prayed' that it would be a long and glorious one. they were justified in ass'Uiming it would be so. as King George came in direct succession of Queen Victoria, who guided the ship of State with marked ability and marvellous discretion, and his illustrious father, whose reign had left its impress on the history of the world, and' whose .name would go down to posterity as Edward the Peacemaker. It was well that they should have such occasions to bring them tog-ether. It enabled them; to forget their small differences in domestic life as they stood there on common ground, of equal status, working hand in hand for a common' object. He prayed God' that the reign would' be a. long a.nd peaceful one.