SPIRIT OF EMPIRE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22142, 22 June 1935, Page 10

SPIRIT OF EMPIRE

CANADIAN SENTIMENTS 'AFFECTION FOR THE KING STRIKING EVIDENCES [from OTTR OWN correspondent] VANCOUVER. May 22 ' ■ Here, at. the cross-roads of the Empire, an observer, who has dwelt in the four major Dominions, is able to interpret, with reasonable accuracy, the reaction of Canada and Canadians to the spirit of Empire and the tradition of' the British race, so faithfully fostered and maintained by His Majesty the King. For long it has been elsewhere under the flag, that that' spirit and tradition have not been so well nourished and have not thrived so vigorously in Canada as in other parts of the King's domain. A traveller, "unrepentantlv British," to quote the description applied by tbo Prince of Wales, would have had all his fears allayed had he passed through this country during the past month. He would have seen and heard abundant''evidence of real and abiding loyalty to His Majesty in the multiple forms of celebration of his Silver Jubilee. "The King is an inspiration to Canada," would have been his considered judgment. Loyalty ol Canadians For example, here is a country in which titles and decorations awarded by the Crown have not been regarded with favour. To commemorate the historic occasion. His Majesty personally indicated some thousands of Canadians as recipients of his Jubilee Medal. They comprised representatives of the people, through every walk of lifeeven to leaders of the Indian and Eskimo communities. Yet it is learned that the Dominion Government has been swamped with protests against the* paucity of the awards. Another, example of the plac© the King holds in the affection of Canadians is shown by their reaction to Communist parades held simultaneously in Canada and the Homeland. [While the leaders of these revolutionary groups were being apprehended in Canada, they were greeted with tolerant smiles when they paraded in Hyde Park on Jubilee Day and commented, on their banners, on the relative remuneration of "King George and George King." The incident enhanced immeasurably His Majesty's prestige with his Canadian subjects. The King on the Air "Did you hear the King on the air?" The question was asked in many 1 tongues, from the ice-locked harbours of .Labrador to the slopes of the Pacific Coast, lapped by the warm waters of the Japanese current; from the St. Lawrence, north, among the habitants and voyageurs of Old Quebec; from the Great Lakes to the shores of the Polar Sea, where, presently, the sun will.not set,for thirteen days; from the 49th parallel to Yukon, and the North-west Territories. Down in the silent Arctic, every airman was grounded. Eskimos had been herded by "nrukluk telegraph" to trading posts and police cabins, to hear the voice of "The Big Boss" —who had only .a few months ago sent them a warm, friendly, solicitous message, from his igloo in London, "many sleeps away," as he expressed it. Every driver of His Majesty's Dog Mail had -r halted at the nearest trapper's cabin. In these remote places, where wireless is the only link with civilisation, it would be difficult to find one who had not heard the voice of his Sovereign, of whom Mr. llamsay Mac Donald has said; "Out of a nation and an empire you have made a household."