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Tag: 1957

  • Queen Elizabeth II – 1957 Christmas Broadcast

    Queen Elizabeth II – 1957 Christmas Broadcast

    The Christmas Broadcast made by HM Queen Elizabeth II on 25 December 1957.

    Happy Christmas.

    Twenty-five years ago my grandfather broadcast the first of these Christmas messages. Today is another landmark because television has made it possible for many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day. My own family often gather round to watch television as they are this moment, and that is how I imagine you now.

    I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct.

    It is inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you. A successor to the Kings and Queens of history; someone whose face may be familiar in newspapers and films but who never really touches your personal lives. But now at least for a few minutes I welcome you to the peace of my own home.

    That it is possible for some of you to see me today is just another example of the speed at which things are changing all around us. Because of these changes I am not surprised that many people feel lost and unable to decide what to hold on to and what to discard. How to take advantage of the new life without losing the best of the old.

    But it is not the new inventions which are the difficulty. The trouble is caused by unthinking people who carelessly throw away ageless ideals as if they were old and outworn machinery.

    They would have religion thrown aside, morality in personal and public life made meaningless, honesty counted as foolishness and self-interest set up in place of self-restraint.

    At this critical moment in our history we will certainly lose the trust and respect of the world if we just abandon those fundamental principles which guided the men and women who built the greatness of this country and Commonwealth.

    Today we need a special kind of courage, not the kind needed in battle but a kind which makes us stand up for everything that we know is right, everything that is true and honest. We need the kind of courage that can withstand the subtle corruption of the cynics so that we can show the world that we are not afraid of the future.

    It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult. That is why we can take a pride in the new Commonwealth we are building.

    This year Ghana and Malaya joined our brotherhood. Both these countries are now entirely self-governing. Both achieved their new status amicably and peacefully.

    This advance is a wonderful tribute to the efforts of men of goodwill who have worked together as friends, and I welcome these two countries with all my heart.

    Last October I opened the new Canadian Parliament, and as you know this was the first time that any Sovereign had done so in Ottawa. Once again I was overwhelmed by the loyalty and enthusiasm of my Canadian people.

    Also during 1957 my husband and I paid visits to Portugal, France, Denmark and the United States of America. In each case the arrangements and formalities were managed with great skill but no one could have ‘managed’ the welcome we received from the people.

    In each country I was welcomed as Head of the Commonwealth and as your representative. These nations are our friends largely because we have always tried to do our best to be honest and kindly and because we have tried to stand up for what we believe to be right.

    In the old days the monarch led his soldiers on the battlefield and his leadership at all times was close and personal.

    Today things are very different. I cannot lead you into battle, I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else, I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.

    I believe in our qualities and in our strength, I believe that together we can set an example to the world which will encourage upright people everywhere.

    I would like to read you a few lines from ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’, because I am sure we can say with Mr Valiant for Truth, these words:

    “Though with great difficulty I am got hither, yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have been at to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought his battles who now will be my rewarder.”

    I hope that 1958 may bring you God’s blessing and all the things you long for.

    And so I wish you all, young and old, wherever you may be, all the fun and enjoyment, and the peace of a very happy Christmas.

  • Queen Elizabeth II – 1957 Queen’s Speech

    queenelizabethii

    Below is the text of the speech made by HM Queen Elizabeth II in the House of Lords on 5 November 1957.

    My Lords and Members of the House of Commons.

    I look forward with much pleasure to the visit which His Excellency the President of the Italian Republic and Signora Gronchi will pay to this country next May.

    I and My Dear Husband have been most profoundly moved by our recent stay in Canada and our visit to the United States of America. The warmth of the welcome which greeted us wherever we went was spontaneous evidence of the bond of common sympathy which unites the peoples of the Commonwealth and the English-speaking world. It will be the constant endeavour of My Government to foster this unity of sentiment and purpose among the free peoples, that they may be confirmed in their resolve to defend the right and to sustain those values on which our civilisation is founded. My Government have recently held discussions in Washington with the United States Government, the results of which, they confidently believe, will greatly further the achievement of this aim.

    My Government will seek to strengthen the United Nations in the task of maintaining justice and peace throughout the world. They will pursue their endeavours to achieve an agreement on disarmament, mindful that, at this momentous time, the advance of science into the unknown should be inspired by the hopes, and not retarded by the fears, of mankind.

    In accordance with their belief in responsible self-government by free peoples My Ministers will continue to promote the economic and constitutional development of the territories overseas which are in their care. They will introduce legislation to give effect to certain recommendations of the Conference held in April 1957 about the future Constitution of Singapore. They will endeavour, in agreement with the Government of Malta, to further the plans for the closer association of Malta with the United Kingdom. They will continue to seek a just and enduring solution of the problems of Cyprus, in conformity both with the interests of the local communities and with those of this country and our Allies.

    Members of the House of Commons.

    Estimates for the public services will be laid before you in due course.

    My Lords and Members of the House of Commons.

    My Ministers are resolved to take all steps necessary to maintain the value of our money, to preserve the economic basis of full employment by restraining inflation, to strengthen our balance of payments and to fortify our reserves, upon which depends the strength of sterling and hence the strength of the sterling area as a whole. My Government believe that these are purposes which should command the support of all sections of the nation.

    My Government welcome the recommendation, made by the recent meeting of Commonwealth Finance Ministers in Canada, that a Commonwealth Trade and Economic Conference should be held in 1958. They consider that this would provide a valuable opportunity to reinforce still further the economic ties between the members of the Commonwealth. My Government also welcome the recent declaration by the Council of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation of their determination to promote the establishment of a European Free Trade Area. It is the firm purpose of My Ministers to seek to bring these negotiations to a successful conclusion, and so to strengthen the resources of the free world.

    A Bill will be introduced to revise and codify existing legislation relating to import duties.

    My Ministers will continue to give support to agriculture and fishing. Legislation will be introduced to amend certain provisions of the Agriculture and Agricultural Holdings Acts and to improve agricultural drainage in Scotland. My Government have completed a comprehensive review of the emergency powers relating to land. They will propose the repeal of certain of these powers and their replacement, so far as necessary, by statutory provisions.

    A measure will be laid before you to establish a Conservancy Authority for Milford Haven to regulate the increased maritime traffic which should result from the projected development of this important harbour.

    My Ministers will seek to promote the progressive development of the institutions of government in this country, to enlarge the opportunities for public service and to foster the sense of shared responsibility for the efficient discharge of the manifold functions of government.

    Thus legislation will be laid before you to establish machinery for the reorganisation of local government in England and Wales. This measure will also make adjustments in the rating system and in the system of Exchequer grants to local authorities. Separate legislation will be introduced for these two purposes in Scotland.

    You will also be invited to approve a measure to permit the creation of life Peerages for men and women, carrying the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords.

    My Government have considered with care the report of the Committee on Administrative Tribunals and Enquiries and will introduce legislation to give effect to certain of the recommendations of that Committee.

    My Ministers will continue to promote the social welfare of My people. A Bill will be introduced to improve the arrangements for the industrial rehabilitation, training and resettlement of disabled persons. War pensions will be increased; legislation will be introduced to authorise increases in retirement and other benefits, and in contributions, under the National Insurance and Industrial Injuries schemes; and My Government will continue to study the wider problems of provision for old age. They will also introduce legislation amending the law relating to the adoption of children and providing for the supervision of those who take children into their care for payment. They will continue to pay particular attention to penal reform and the treatment of offenders, and they will develop improvements in the prison system in the light of an imaginative programme of research.

    Other measures will be laid before you in due course.

    My Lords and Members of the House of Commons.

    Three weeks ago I opened the Parliament of Canada. Today, I open Parliament at Westminster, where our forefathers, many centuries ago, laid the first foundations of those institutions of Parliamentary democracy which peoples throughout the world have adopted as the guardian of their rights, their liberties and their hopes. From the New World I have brought a message of firm fellowship and the assurance of a common faith.

    Bearing in My heart the inspiration of that message, I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your counsels.