The Pahiatua Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 1936. A SIMPLE CEREMONY.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13164, 24 January 1936, Page 4

The Pahiatua Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 1936. A SIMPLE CEREMONY.

Tli© Proclamation ceremony at the town flagstaff yesterday whereat the Mayor, Mr J. D. Wilson, read aloud the official intimation of the succession of his Majesty, King Edward VIJLJL., was not the glamorous function that some people expected it to be, and there is really no reason why it should have been, for his late Majesty King George V. lies yet unburied, and even were it not for the precedent established by tradition, which ordains such matters, it would not be seemly to attempt any form of show. The Mayor made no attempt to refer sepera.tefy to the late King cither iii death or in life—for such expressions may well be left for the funeral commemoration service next week. Neither did he extoll ilie virtues of the new King, which do not require to be emphasised on such an occasion. The TuuctTon, shorn as it was of any superfluous utterances, typified the simplicity of the occasion, and detracted not one whit I'rour* significance of the announcement. 'HTere was one detail at fault however, and it was not common to the occasion—the singing of the Natloiirfli In this country there Is a marked tendency for people to stand in silence while the music of this wonderful hymn is being played, and yesterday, when we could have expected with confidence that every man and woman present would have joined “with heart and voice” in a strong chorus, the response was weak. It may have been that the setting of the music wa.s a trifle high for some, but nevertheless it is a fact that the Anthem was poorly responded to—not. we lee*! sure, duo to any lack of patriotism, but just through sheer selfconsciousness. Let us show that the words of the National Anthem mean more than empty phrases, and give a full measure of our patriotism whenever we make our praises to our gracious King, Edward VIII.