FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 1976
5
QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH DAY MESSAGE
******
THE QUEEN IN HER COMMONWEALTH DAY MESSAGE THIS YEAR, CALLED ON COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES TO WORK TOGETHER TO IMPROVE THE STANDARD OF LIFE.
+WE MUST PERSIST, SHE SAID, +ESPECIALLY IN THE STRUGGLE TO BRING DOWN THE NUMBERS SUFFERING FROM STARVATION IN THE WORLD, AND PARTICULARLY THE CHILDREN.
+THE TASK IS ENORMOUS BUT IT IS ONE IN WHICH THE WHOLE COMMONWEALTH HAS A SPECIAL PART TO PLAY,+ SHE ADDED.
FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THE QUEEN'S MESSAGE:
+WE-LIVE IN A WORLD STRIVING TO FIND WAYS FOR MEN AND WOMEN TO IMPROVE THEIR STANDARD OF LIFE AND, AT THE VERY LEAST, TO ACHIEVE ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS - FREEDOM FROM WANT.
+MANY OF US, INDIVIDUALLY, TEND TO LOSE HEART AS ONE OBSTACLE AFTER ANOTHER →→ MAN-MADE AND NATURAL - MAKES PROGRESS SLOW. BUT THE COMMONWEALTH HAS NEVER LOST HEART, FOR IT HAS THE STRENGTH OF BEING A GREAT INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, BROADLY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION, WITH THIRTY-FIVE INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES, DRAWN TOGETHER OF THEIR OWN FREE CHOICE FROM EVERY PART OF THE WORLD.
+FIVE YEARS AGO COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENTS JOINED IN A DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES, WHICH INCLUDED THESE WORDS:
+WE BELIEVE THAT THE WIDE DISPARITIES IN WEALTH NOW EXISTING BETWEEN DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF MANKIND ARE TOO GREAT TO BE TOLERATED. THEY ALSO CREATE WORLD TENSIONS. OUR AIM IS THEIR PROGRESSIVE REMOVAL. WE THEREFORE SEEK TO USE OUR EFFORTS TO OVERCOME POVERTY, IGNORANCE AND DISEASE, IN RAISING STANDARDS OF LIFE AND ACHIEVING A MORE EQUITABLE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY.+
+THE COMMONWEALTH IS NEVER LIKELY TO LOSE SIGHT OF THIS GOAL AND AT LAST YEAR'S MEETING OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT IN JAMAICA, IT DID SOMETHING WHICH PROBABLY ONLY THE COMMONWEALTH COULD DO. IT INVITED A GROUP OF EXPERTS FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES TO STUDY THIS PROBLEM. THEIR WORK HAS BEEN A POSITIVE COMMONWEALTH CONTRIBUTION TO BROADER DISCUSSIONS NOW TAKING PLACE IN THE UNITED NATIONS.
+THIS INITIATIVE BY THE COMMONWEALTH CAN GIVE US NEW HEART. WE MUST PERSIST ESPECIALLY IN THE STRUGGLE TO BRING DOWN THE NUMBERS SUFFERING FROM STARVATION IN THE WORLD, AND PARTICULARLY THE CHILDREN. THE TASK IS ENORMOUS BUT IT IS ONE IN WHICH THE WHOLE COMMONWEALTH HAS A SPECIAL PART TO PLAY.+
16 ...***