THE GREATEST WORK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15650, 2 July 1914, Page 10

THE GREATEST WORK.

BINDING THE EMPIRE. [from OUR OWN correspondent.] • London, May 29. Lord Curzox, at the annual meeting of the Victoria League, moved That, in the opinion of this meeting, the work done j by the Victoria League in the service of! the Empire deserves the hearty support of j all British people." He said that ho had! never read a more fascinating or inspiring narrative than the annual report. It was a' record of excellent and unobstrusive work in one of the noblest of causes, and was full of hopo for the future. He be-1 lieved that the league was, under the eye of Providence, attempting to do work greater than that of Parliaments, armies, or fleets, in binding together the majestic but loosely scattered units that went to make up the British Empire. They existed to enable the Empire to understand itself and the citizens of the Empire to understand' each other.' They might depend upon it that in the last resort it would only be because the various States composing the Empire realised the nature and value of the ties by which they were united andbccaflsethe individual mombors of the various States entertained towards each other a warm fellow-feeling that they would be able to escape those disintegrating influences that had brought other great empires to the ground. If our Empire succeeded in attaining that object, it would bo an unprecedented feat in the history of tho world. Continuing, Lord Curaon said ho had often a&'sed himself what was the force that was going to keep these scattered fragments together. Sonw people would tell them that it would be the Crown, and assuredly tho Crown was tho foremost symbol of Imperial union and an institution in whioh every fellow-subject had a share. People would tell them that the conception of monarchy was changing and no doubt that was true. The old divinity that hedged a king and the old autocratio powers had dwindled and disappeared, but the sense of public property by all citizens in the Crown had grown and was growing in proportion. Ho sometimes saw the phrase that the King was going to inspect his soldiers, his fleet, his dominions, and no doubt it was of value because it indicated the close nature of tho tie that connected them, but he would like to turn it the other way about and say that the troops, or the fleet, or tho dominions, were being visited bv their King. This sense of a share in the monarchy was one of the most potent, precious and valuable of the links of Empire.