Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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TH E VOYAGE UR 21 the regal robes which he wears. Throughout his reign he has identified himself with the best interests of all his people, and in this fact we rejoice. Man is made for loyalty, and the celebrations this year are a natural and worthy expression of that quality. Man craves some object or ideal which he can revere and admire-to which he can commit himself unreservedly. Like all man's powers, however, this deep feeling may be used for unworthy ends. It is a truism to remind my readers that war makes its appeal, not to the baser instincts of human life, but to the highest idealisms of youthgto man's regard for love, honour and justice. Recently many older people were shocked by the result of the debate in the Oxford Union on the subject of fighting for King and Country. It was sugf gested that modern youth was disloyal. This expression is not disloyalty, but it illustrates rather a conflict between two loyalties. Whenever two loyalties conflict it is necessary that man should cleave to the higher. The Founder of Christianity answered that question by saying that we should render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is Gods In Trafalgar Square there stands a monument to Edith Cavell. On that monument one message stands clear. It is the sentence uttered by the nurse on the eve of her death. Patriotism is not enough. There is a higher loyalty than any owed to an earthly sovereign, no matter how worthy. It is the loyalty that is owing to those ideals,-to those deathless values that alone give enduring greatness to any civilization. In spite of the glories of the present reign we cannot be oblivious to the curse of war, poverty and unemf ployment. We all have our responsibility to wipe out those curses from our common life and we respect the leadership that His Majesty has given in worthf while and humanitarian causes such as the housing campaign. To abolish these curses from human life requires our deepest loyalty. It may necessitate the facing of radical changes in our present social and economic order. It will certainly require sacrifice and courage, but if we are to be true to the highest loyalties of which man is capable, we must be ready to exercise that courage and face the sacriice. Vv'e are happy in the British Commonwealth of Nations to be able to say that we gladly render to Caesar what is Caesars, but if our Commonf wealth is to endure, it must be on a basis of its respect for a loyalty which is always higher. Build me a House, Said God, Not of cedarfwood or stone, Where at some altarfplace Men for their sins atone. To me, your only sin Is to build my House too small, Let there he no dome To shut out the sky, Let there be no cumbering wall. Build me a House, a Home, In the hearts of hungering men! Hungering for the bread of hope, Thirsting for faith, yearning for love, In a world of grief and pain. Build me a House!

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20 'TH E VOYAGE UR The Higher Patriotism Jos. McCulley IN YEARS PAST it has been my custom to contribute to The Voyageur an article dealing with some phase of current educational thought. In view, however, of the fact that 1935 is the twentyffifth anniversary of the accession of Their Majesties, King George V, and Queen Mary to the Throne, it seems appropriate to diverge from this custom and to offer a few comments inspired by this occasion. A few days ago I had a letter from one of our students who happens to be having the privilege of travelling in the British Isles this spring. He was fortunate enough to witness the jubilee Procession. Throughout his letter, descriptive of the details of that event, runs a thread of pride in his heritage as a Britisherf' One is moved to ask, What is this heritage in which all of us feel this same pride? ' While we still use the term British Empire, it should be pointed out that the aggregation of nations referred to in that term is more properly described as the British Commonwealth of Nations, a group of autonomous states in no way subordinate to each other. We have witnessed the development of an entirely new conception of empire. In the past, empires have been built on fear. Superior force has commanded allegiance. This was true of the Roman Empire, it was true of the Napoleonic Empire. These, however, have passed away and left in their wake hatreds and enmities which still color man's thinking. An empire may be built on self interest. The German Empire of prefwar days had its origin in the Zollverein or Customs Union, and even that materialf istic basis necessitated superior force to bring it to a completion. The idea of a Commonwealth as the basis of empire is essentially the concepf tion of sharing, based on mutual regard by each part for the other. The concepf tion is not yet fully understood even by ourselves. This is evidenced by the prob' lem created on the matter of India selffgovernment. It is also evidenced in the difficulty that we are having in working out any agreed policy of defence within the Empire. The outside world understands it even less than we do. Many nations are fearful of the preponderate influence that may be exercised by the British Empire in the League of Nations, in view of the independent membership of the selffgoverning dominions. In spite of such difficulties and misunderstandings, how' ever, we rejoice in the conception which is the present basis of our Empire. At such a time we may well pause to give expression to that rejoicing at those things which have come to pass but we should also consider the responsibilities that are thereby thrown upon us and pray that they may be nobly discharged. The King is a symbol of the unity of this Commonwealth-a focus for the hopes and aspirations of the individual units which comprise it. He is also a symbol of the historical continuity of which the Empire is the result. We take a natural, human and legitimate pride in the fact that through the centuries old customs and institutions have been infused with new meaning throughout succesf sive generations. Our pride at this time, however, is more than merely pride in a symbol. We can be justifiably proud of the personal character of the present occupant of the Throne. His character is of a sort that is more resplendent than

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22 TH E VOYAGE UR Build me a Vxforld, Said God, Not with a navy's strife, Nor with a host in arms, Compassing death, not life. Build me a World, said God, Out of man's fairest dreams, Heaven must be its dome Lighted by prophet-gleamsg Justice shall be the stones On which my world shall rise: Truth and Love its arches, Gripping my ageless skies. Out of dreams, on the earthly sod, Build me a World, Said God. Special Speakers . During the year the School has heen fortunate in having many outside speakers of note, including: Prof. Willson Woodside-on An Outsiders View of Germany. Victor Lange, Lecturer in German at University of Toronto, and Fritz Winter, exchange student from Germany, hoth spoke on their native country. Prof. Cano, of the University of Toronto, talked on Spain.'l Prof. N. A. Mackenzie+on Present Wtirld Conditions Miss Emily Guest addressed the school on her visit to Russia. Miss jenny Brown fhy courtesy of the National Council of Education spoke on 'kThe Shetland Islands, the lecture heing heautifully illustrated by her own films. Also hy arrangement with the National Council of Education we had the privif lege of an illustrated lecture on England hy Capt. A. Wilson, M.C. Mr. V. Soames spoke on conditions in Canadian Penitentiaries. Mr. Merwyn Marks discussed Left Political lvlovementsll