ROYAL SOCIETY OF ST. GEORGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21361, 15 June 1931, Page 13

ROYAL SOCIETY OF ST. GEORGE

A NEW ZEALAND BANQUET INTERESTING CEREMONIAL HIGH COMMISSIONER’S SPEECH. (Feoji Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, April 24. Yesterday the usual celebrations of St. George’s Day took place in London and elsewhere. Of special New Zealand interest was the banquet of the Royal Society of St. George at the Trocadero Restaurant in the evening. It was essentially a New Zealand night, and Sir Thomas Wilford wag called upon to reply to the toast of “The Dominion" proposed by the Earl of Onslow. The Royal Society of St. George was founded so recently as 1894 to encourage and strengthen the spirit of patriotism amongst all classes of Englishmen, irrespective of creed and party. Among its activities the society disseminates patriotic literature in book, pamphlet, and leaflet form; it inculcates the necessity for direct teaching of patriotism, in schools of every grade and the founding of chairs of patriotism in the universities; and it publishes the journal,- the English Race. A good deal of pleasant ceremony and display marks the annual festival. Each guest on arrival was presented with a white and a red rose to wear as a buttonhole. The tables were -lavishly decorated with beautiful red and white roses. A guard of honour was formed by the Coldstream Guards. Every man was over 6ft 2in in height. _ The banner bearer was the tallest man in the Guards —6ft Tin. They wore the uniform of 1704, when the Battle of Blenheim was won by the first Duke of Marlborough, ancestor of the present Duke, who presided. Headqfl by the drums and fifes, they escorted the Duke and the other principal guests into the banqueting hall. The drum and fife band appeared in the uniform of the year 1769-70, when New Zealand was circumnavigated for the first time by Captain Cook. ROAST BEEF OP OLD ENGLAND. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding figured, on the menu. Just before this main course the huge joint was, brought into the hall on a decorated borne by four men dressed in the ornate civilian costume of 1700. It was preceded by the drums and fifes, and followed by the stalwart' soldiers. The procession moved in slow step and made a complete circuit of the hall. The wellknown Westminster Singers , provided musical items durinc the evening. A HANDSOME SOUVENIR. Nptable, too, was the programme. The middle pages contained the fare and the list of speeches and musical items, with a portrait of Captain Cook at the top and portraits of Samuel Marsden and Edward Gibbon Wakefield at the bottom. Four enfolding pages were devoted to an historical note on New Zealand. Around the letterpress were various illustrations. At the head of the first page was a re--production of the well-known, picture, “ The Migration of the Maoris.” At the head of the second page was a view of Akaroa. Round the margins of- the two pages were etnaller prints of Maori heads, Maori weapons, and sm'all sketches of British troops in action against the Natives, and of a Maori food store. At the head of the other two pages was a view of Auckland in 1852 and one of Auckland to-day. The interesting marginal sketches illustrated Kemp’s house, the first in New Zealand, a Maori pa, and carved Maori implements. Another tullpage illustration showed Cook’s chart of New Zealand, the result* of the observations during the voyage of the Endeavour. The letterpress was devoted to a brief account of the discovery of the country, the migration of the Maoris, and the chief points of the early history. “ To-day,” the article concluded, ‘ New Zealand holds a proud position among the young nations of the British Empire and of the world, and no higher tribute could be paid her than the pronouncement of the Prince of Wales in his farewell message when leaving her shores in 1920: “New Zealand is one of the greatest monuments to British civilisation in the world.” This interesting brochure was compiled by Mr H. T. B. Drew, publicity officer of the New Zealand Government. Among those at the principal table were the Earl and Countess Jellicoe, the Earl and Countess Liverpool, the, Earl of Onslow, Field-marshal Sir William Birdwood, Lady Birdwood, and Miss Birdwood, Sir Granville and Lady Ryrie, Admiral Sir Frederick Field, and Sir Thomas and Lady Wilford. A toast in memory of those who died in the Great War was honoured silently, save for a roll of drums. Another toast did honour to the memory of Shakespeare and other illustrious Englishmen and women, A message was received from the King and Queen, acknowledging a loyal greeting sent by the chairman on behalf of the •guests. A similar loyal telegram was sent to the Prince of Wales, president of the society. ■ A message from Lord Bledisloe was also read by the chairman. This was: “ Hearty greetings from New Zealand. Times are bad, but the Empire is sound. Let us be co-optimists.” A LONG PULL. A STRONG PULL. The Duke of Marlborough, who proposed the toast of England, compared this country with others in Europe. English people, he said, received better wages than the workers in any country in Europe, and they equalled, if they did not surpass, those paid t in the United States. The question was: Were they likely to keep that position in Europe? The New World had possessed itself of half the gold of the world, and in the Old World the value of silver had been reduced to a very low figure. The moat pressing problem of the Empire at present was the condition and position of the Indian Empire and whether we should be able to maintain our power and authority over that possession. If we fayed to do so, in his opinion, we should sink to the position of a third-rate Power.. Referring to the need for economy, he said we must not be like 24 footballers playing a match while 1000 people looked On. Those who looked on were the people who demanded that the few should ever pay more and more! The nation should rather work together like a tug-of-war team. There must be a long pull, a strong pull, and a junited pull. ' LORD ONSLOW PROPOSES “THE DOMINION.” The Earl of Onslow, in proposing “The Dominion of New Zealand, was very accurate and happy in his reminiscences Although it is 42 years since he was there, his familiarity with places and names, and his perfect pronunciation of many Maori place names, greatly pleased New Zealanders present, and drew a compliment from Sir Thoriias Wilford when he replied. Considering that Lord Onslow was only 13 years of age when he left the country with his family, his memory must be an excellent one. Since then, he said, he had travelled through four continents, but if he were offered a magic carpet the country he would choose to bo transported to would be New Zealand. Lord Onslow took his audience in imagination to Milford Sound, to the southern lakes, Otira Gorge, and the Southern Alps, to Taupo, and the volcanic district, the Hauraki Gulf, finally recalling that Mount Egmont, its perfect know-capped cone rising from tho sea, was the first sight he had of New Zealand —a scene not to be excelled in beauty in any other part of the world. Lord Onslow, continuing, referred to the part New Zealand had played in the South African and in the Great War, and to the status it now holds as one of, the self-governing dominions represented equally with other dominions at the proceedings of the League of Nations. In concluding, he spoke of the earthquake, and in coupling the names of Sir Thomas and Lady Wilford with the toast hs made some happy personal references. The High Commissioner, in thanking Lord Onslow, especially for his kind refer ences to Lady Wilford, said: “If ever you see a successful man, look over his shoulder for his wife. The best things in this world are things you cannot buyhealth, happiness, and love.” On the subject of Governors-General, Sir Thomas continued: “ I want to congratulate the Government of this country, both of to-day and of days gone by, for the wonderfully wise choice they have made on all' occasions when selecting for our Dominion the Governor-General. Up to the present time they have never failed us.” . From this subject the High Commls-