HUSHED EMPIRE LISTENS

Southland Times, Issue 23199, 14 May 1937, Page 5

HUSHED EMPIRE LISTENS

KING’S IMPRESSIVE BROADCAST

DOMINIONS’ NEW STATUS

EMPHASIZED

(United Press Assn. —Telegraph Copyright) LONDON, May 12.

London paused In celebrating the Coronation to sit hushed in homes, neatres and public houses to listen to die moving broadcast in which the Empire paid homage to the King. It was an impressive reminder of the breadth of the Empire as voices from the Dominions responded to the London announcer’s summons.

The greatest moment came after a hush following “God Save the King!” when the King’s clear and deliberate voice pronounced the opening words of his message. The King spoke from his study on the first floor of Buckingham Palace, sitting at a desk on which there were two microphones. The Queen and other members of the Royal Family listened in their private apartments. The King in his broadcast said: “It is with a very full heart that I speak to you tonight. Never before has a newly crowned King been able to talk to all his subjects in their own homes on the day of his Coronation. Never has a ceremony had so wide a significance, for the Dominions are now free and equal partners with an ancient kingdom. I felt this morning tl.ut the whole Empire was, in very truth, gathered within the walls of Westminster Abbey. I rejoice that I can now speak to you all wherever you may be gathering —old friends in distant lands and, I hope, new friends in those parts where it has not yet been my good fortune to go. In this personal way the Queen and I wish health and happiness to you all, and we do not forget at this time of celebration those living under the shadow of sickness and distress, . 'Hieir example of courage and good citizenship is always before us, and to them I would send a special message of sympathy and good cheer. Royal Gratitude “I cannot find words with which to thank you for your love and loyalty to the Queen and myself; your goodwill in the streets today, your countless messages from overseas and from every quarter of these islands have filled our hearts to overflowing. I can only say this: that if in the coming years I can show my gratitude in service to you, that way, above all others, I should choose. “To many millions the Crown is the symbol of unity. By the grace of God and by the will of the free peoples of the British Commonwealth I have assumed that Crown. In me as your King is vested for a time the duty of maintaining its honour and integrity. This is a grave and constant responsibilit but it has given me confidence to see your representatives around me in the Abbey and to know that you, too, were enabled, to join in the infinitely beautiful ceremonial. Its outward f< -ms come down from distant time, but its inner meaning is a message always new. The highest of all distinctions is service to others and to the Ministry of Kingship I have in your hearing dedicated myself, with the Queen at my side, in words o' deepest solemnity. We will, God helping us, faithfully discharge our trust. “Those of you who are children now will, I hope, retain a memory of a day of carefree happiness such as I still have of the day of my grandfather’s Coronation. In the years to come some of you will travel from one part of the

Commonwealth to another and, leaving those within the family circle, will meet many whose thoughts are coloured by the same memories and whose hearts unite in devotion to our common heritage. You will learn, I hope, how much our free association means to us and how much our friendship to each of the other nations on earth could help the cause of peace and progress. The Queen and I will always keep in our hearts the inspiration of this day. Mav we ever be worthy of the goodwill which I am proud to think surrounds us at the outset of my reign. I thank you from my heart, and may God bless you all.” His Majesty sent the following message to the Lord Mayor of London (Sir George Broadbridge): “The Queen and I are deeply grateful to you and all the citizens of London for the kind and loyal sentiments expressed in your message. Please convey to them our heartfelt thanks both for their good wishes and for the wonderful reception given to us in London on our Coronation Day.—George R.L” MR BALDWIN’S DAY OF EMOTIONS MESSAGE FROM DOWNING STREET LONDON, May 12. The Prime Minister (Mr Stanley Baldwin), broadcasting to the Empire, said: “It has been a day of profound emotions. I am now sitting quietly with two or three friends in the Cabinet room in Downing Street, in the heart of London—a room which has been occupied by the Prime Ministers of this country for 200 years. This morning I was in Westminster Abbey, and early this afternoon I was privileged to drive in the procession through miles of London streets. In the Abbey I saw our young King and Queen dedicating their lives to the service of their people and, as I said only the other night in the House of Commons, a service that can be ended only by death. “As I drove through the streets, and saw the crowds eager to see the great and newly crowned King , and Queen, and listened to their ringing cheers—the kindliest people in the whole world —I thought: ‘There is only one way in which we can make permanent that impression of what we have seen and heard this day. Let us dedicate afresh, if need be, ourselves to the service of our fellows —a service to our neighbours, our county, our province and our country, to the Empire and to the world; not only the service of our lips but the service of our lives, as we know well to be the hope of our King and Queen. God ble: them.”

FEALTY OF MAORI AND PAKEHA

MR SAVAGE’S BROADCAST

LONDON, May 12. The Prime Minister of New Zealand (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage), broadcasting to the Empire said: “As a representative of New Zealand at the Coronation it is my great privilege and honour to be the bearer to their Majesties of a sincere message of loyalty and congratulation from the people of New Zealand. Both Maori and pakeha join today with the other British peoples throughout the world in proclaiming allegiance to the King and Queen. We in New Zealand look upon the Crown as a vital element in the life of the British Commonwealth, and the Crown is more than a symbol of Imperial unity for us—it is a cherished part of the common heritage we share with our kinsfolk in other Darts of the Empire.”

AUSTRALIA’S MESSAGE OF LOYALTY

LONDON, May 12. The Prime Minister of Australia (Mr J. A. Lyons), broadcasting, said: <! I speak for all the Australian people when I assure their Majesties that they have our undivided love, respect and loyalty and our best wishes for a long, happy and peaceful reign.”