RUNNYMEDE AND MAGNA CHARTA DAY FROM AN AMERICAN POINT OF
VIEW.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR-PI Sin,—As an American visiting England this summer I wish to express my warm interest in the proposal so ably advocated by the Spectator to secure the historic meadow of Runnymede as a heritage in perpetuity for all the English-speaking peoples. To all educated Americans Magna Charts is a potent talisman. It is justly regarded by them as the foundation of liberty and constitutional government in their own country as well as in England, and they welcome the prospect that Englishmen may in some tangible form recognize the common interest in the hallowed ground on the banks of the Thames. It is interesting to note that the supplementary plan to celebrate Magna Charts Day in all countries of Anglo-Saxon origin developed almost simultaneously in England and in the United States. In England, about a year and a half ago, it was first advocated in the Land- mark, the periodical of the English-Speaking Union, and in the columns of the Spectator, while in America the credit for inau gurating the movement, at quite as early a date, belongs to Mr. J. W. Hamilton, an American citizen residing at St. Paul, Minnesota. Under his leadership was formed the Magna Charta Day Association, of which President Harding is the honorary president. Mr. Hamilton's earnest advocacy enlisted the support of various organizations, whose aim is to strengthen the bonds of understanding and friendship between the English-speaking countries. Among these organizations are the Sulgrave Institute, the Society of the Pilgrims, the American English-Speaking Union, and the American Committee of Good Will. The last-mentioned society was organized under the leadership of Mrs. Richard Aldrich, of New York, to secure a liaison between various patriotic and ancestral societies which, while having other primary ends in view, are united in the desire to promote friendship and good will between the peoples of the United States and of the British Empire. Under its auspices was held, on June 15th, 1921, in the hall of the New York Port Society, one of the first public meetings in the United States to celebrate Magna Charta Day. This year, under the same auspices, a larger and very enthusiastic meeting was held, to which President Harding sent the following message : " Thank you for calling my attention to the commemoration which your organi- zation is to give to the anniversary of Magna Charta Day. It would be a pleasure to me, were it possible, to signalize my hearty approval of what you are doing by participating on that occasion." To the same meeting the British Ambassador wrote : "We cannot afford to let Runnymede be lost in the mists of antiquity, and I wish every success to those who are to-day keeping alive the memory of a great constitutional event"-
Notable addresses were also delivered on this year's anniversary at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York and in other churches in various parts of the United States. If next year similar observances are held in England, particularly at Runnymede itself, an inspiring cause, already well launched, will be greatly strengthened.—I am, Sir, &c.,
Previous page
