ANZAC DAY'S REVIEW.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 96, 24 April 1926, Page 8

ANZAC DAY'S REVIEW.

MARCH OF THE UNDYING Hos{

(By ALFK. w.KRBBS.)

They hare mustered in their «, '' sands—in their tens of VvT tholl, from rocky cliff-side,VcL 8 £» and dreary desert, f rom „££*s?* and snow-covered height, from IX vale and mountain-side the wM Wd ov er> they have assemWed for £ Anzac Day review. Officered w* *' who were first - oyer I &J? ing forward with the rhvthni and !!• f loseness that ever attends L r a £ 8 I a well trained army, the miehtv^ ° f ing host of Britain's dead StkL^ 7 ' tion for the yearly march SJttJiSj ing base of General Memory. Ut " Soon the parade will be complin the great review will be carried 3j thatho stwhichgathers .-edau^nd on but one sacred occasion in S year will disband, each unit to rSK again to the hallowed place it poj= s , p ! in some fond heart and home. ' As we stand beside the marching, rant, of the deathless host we *j≥ vainly for the pleasant noise of trZ en route; there are no bands, no w£ no drums; where memory would S the "zripp, znpp, zr ip p » J feet rising and falling in unison, Ser is only silence as the army coca nn we hear nothing of the laughter Zl light-hearted banter known soldiers "march at ease." SiWsilence that enwraps this host of a whol. Emp,re-and always the parade mov . on soundless and without pause n Army of the Dead is on its annual re view; that splendid host which can never die is marching steadily past. i The Scope of Anzac Day.

One of the grandest aspects of th* Anzac Day commemoration is that it i« not parochial—the day and what it stands for sweeps into its embrace not only our own little country' and her sister across the Tasman—for both of whom the 25th of April holds a special significance—but the whole of our great Empire; for, from every corner of that world-encircling realm, the unite of the , undying host are gathered; and it is to honour, to remember, those' who passes west, that Anzac Day has become an institution in our national life. It signifies, not a particular land, not just a great event, not merely a wonder, ful martial achievement, but the weav. ing together of the threads which form , a nation's memory; and in answer to the insistent call of that memory, it pays the homage due in love and'hon'onr for men who gave cheerfully and bravelj their best and their all in an Empire's cause.

Anzac Day Is Big, bigger ; than' its name; for it opens out and upholds to our view, all that is greatest and noblest in the British character. Anzac Cove was but a battleground among many battlegrounds; the first Anzac struggle was merely a mighty episode among many terrible encounters. Anzac Dar as we know it is something above all that is gone. It is above war, above the bitterness of strife; a - hallowed yearly meeting with those Mβ"sleep beneath the Flag. ; r Anzac Day and Polities^

We might deeply wish, with those ffho stand aside dim-eyed and watch tie great march past of the dead, that Anzac Day should be kept above the region of party politics. Those who feel the significance of what the occasion represents turn aside in pain' from the distressing remarks which are often heard in some quarters regarding the observance of this holy occasion. 'It ie well that any political party should view its policy with a single eye; but it is inconceivable that the best elements of such a party could willingly accede to any rude trampling on of the feelings of the many thousands who' come at this time to mourn for the nation's loved ones who have gone before. The argument that the observance of /Anzae Day is a glorification of war reveals an understanding of the subject that falls far short of what it should be. It signifies a deliberate—to grasp the bigness, the greatness, of tie term "personal sacrifice." Very probably someone will twist that phrase te another meaning and endeavour to bm it as a weapon against mc, in the form of "sacrifice to the God of War.? That is not the meaning I would give till words. Anzac Day does not glorify Var, nor does it glorify militarism. It bring! again to the Empire's memory "the sacrifice of life arid love and purpoie for the good of a people. Anzac Day to itself has nothing to do with , tie cause! of war, be they good or bad. ■■ Its 'message, its customs, its observance, to greater than the clash and the Tack of contending armies; for it symbolises the noblest form of eelf-sacrifice, that" form which had its greatest Example on » blood-soaked cross at Calvary'

Is the Vision Fading?

It is sometimes said that the observance of Anzac Day is losing its significance—that the vision of what it stands for is fading from our sight. Undoubtedly much is becoming dimmer, but it v questionable if we lose anything thereby. The cruel realism, the poignant. sharpness, the battle-ground atmosphere oj the first Anzac Days does not surround the present commemoration of the ol * a ' sion. It is better so, for the gentler, , broader spirit that wields sp much pow* over the nation's heart can now be disclosed to our perception. We read deeply into the Anzac motif, and wist we read is good. • 17 . A reverent Legislature has set we -25th day of April aside as a holy dayan extra Sunday in each year. It « W occasion that should call forth the teal that is in us as individuals and as* people. It is a pause during which tne cares—yes. and the dross—of everyday life rna-v be put aside while noble teaings and loving memories can mouw their influences into our hearts—influences that we unconsciously carry wit us through the rear. That a section oi the eommunitv sees in Anzac Day non of these things, but merely another °P portunity for sport and pleasure, IS no evidence that the vision is fading. Jindifference and lack of finer feelings such people exhibit was found in w» main portion of the crowd at G ol S°s"* nineteen hundred years ago. < "„ n lived through the centuries, and win 8 on doing so; yet the great days in ou nation's history have not faded- "« sight. , t. Anzae Day and what it stands lor no fading vision. It will live, and* dead but undying host will march pa» in yearly review as each April 2o com and goes in the passage of time, ir gar Day is officially recognised -ai many decades because it ensured a g deliverance, and represented a H""* ' victory for British arms. A "^ c t tj" B will live in still warmer regard Ic * remembering of it is iounded on j»° ideals, '-'-—"