ANZAC DAY.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17747, 26 April 1923, Page 13

ANZAC DAY.

j TRIBUTES TO THE I. FALLEN. i j I j YESTERDAY'S CEREMONIES Auzuo Day. now a compulsory holiday set aside as a. day of sanctity in commemoration of the undying deeds of New Zealand's soldiers in the Great War and of the sacrifices of the fallen, was observed yesterday in a fitting maimer in the city and in the surrounding districts. Though it is now years since the New Zealand and Australian troops achieved almost the impossible in their memorable landing on tho Gallipoli Peninsula, it was apparent yesterday that their wonderful achievement, far from being forgotten, is fresher in the minds of those who had perforce to stay at homo than ever. Yesterday's ceremonies were the most memorable that have yet been held in Christchurch in connexion with Anzac Day. In the first place, three of the foremost men in tho Dominion, his Excellency the Governor-General, the Prime Minister, and General Sir Andrew Russell, took part in the proceedings, as well as the Minister of -Defence, the Hon, Sir R. tleaton Rhodes. Then, there was a ceremony, the lading of the foundation-stone of the Bridge of Kemombrance, that proved that before long the city's lasting tribute to the thousands who marched out of the Barrncks to fight for the liberty and the ascendancy of tho British race, will be an accomplished fact. Further, the military procession was one of the finest that has ever been seen in Christchurch, and it is a certainty that April 25th, 1923, will long be remembered. A close holiday Avas observed, and flags, flying full mast high, testified to the fact that the day was one of exaltation rather than of depression. Special services, attended by crowded congregations, were held in the Anglican Catlledral throughout the day, in the Roman Catholic Cathedral, and in various other churches, and at night there was a special service in Durham street Methodist Church, while the annual commemoration service in connexion with the Boys' High School was held in the Canterbury College Hall. The citizens' united eeiwiee, conducted in the King Edward. Barracks in the afternoon, was easily the most successful yet held. At the Cathedral, largo crowds walked reverently post the catafalque on which many wreaths had been placed. The weather, though somewhat dull, remained fine for the commemoration of the day oh which New Zealand found its identity in such a glorious manner. , AT ITHE CATHEDRAL. "WE WILL REMEMBER THEM." "With proud thanksgiving, a mother for ler children, England mourns for her deed across the *ea. Fle«h of her flesh they were, spirit of her npirit, _ Fallen in the cause of the froe."' "They shall not grow old, flfl we thftt w# left grow old; Ago shall not weary them, nor the yeara condemn. . At tho going down of the pun ana. in tne morning We will remember them." "As the stars that shall he light when we are dust, . . Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain. As the stars that are starry in the tun# of. our darkness, . , „ To the end, to the end, they remain. The words of Lawrence Binyon and the music of Sir Edward Elgar's noble work "For the Fallen" formed the central part of the memorial service held in the Cathedral yesterday. The glorious singing of the choir and the playing of Dr. J. C. Bradshaw at the organ m-ide the service one of the most beautiful and inspiring ever held in Christchurch. There was a very large congregation, and those present included the Gov-ernor-General and Lady Jellicoe. The choral Communion service was conducted by his Grace Archbishop Julius. The epistle was read by the Itev. 0. A. Fraer, the Gospel by the Rev. F. W. Dunnage, and the preacher was the Rev. E. C. Croese, D.S.O. M.C., M.A. The- introit was the Russiin Contakiou of the Departed: 'Give rest, O Christ,, to Thy servants with Thy Saints where sorrow nnd pain are no more; neither sighing, but life everlasting.'' As tne test of a brief but inspiring seimon, the Rev. E. C. Crosse took verse 16 of the third chapter of th« Gospel according to St. John: "For God bo love6t the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that who«>ever bolieveth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." These words, which came im tne Communion Service, were known as "The Comfortable Words," in the 6ame way as tho Bible was spoken of as "The Book." They preached that God was Love, but with that love was always the spirit of sacrifice. ''l know," said the preacher, "that you come to this Cathedral for comfort —not in the selfish and narrow sense of the word, but in tho widest sense, in order that you may be strong to do what God would have you do. and! in order to understand why God hasr put sorrow upon you." He thought it was true to say that all religion was an attempt to understand the world in which we lived. He had read in "Hie Press" an article on the Maori legends of Waikaremoana. They were, most interesting—an attempt to explain tho origin of things. The Book of Geneaia was just the same.. Though it might now be regarded tfitlwr aa sc»noe or history, we still recognised that an ottonpt to find the We might contrast Genesis most recent explanation —H. G Wells's 'Outline of History.' Which of' the two explained _tlie world most? Let each one read and tee for himself. The problems of sin suid of the nature of God were faced in Genesis but not in Wells, who thus ignored the biggest fact in the world—Sin, and the only

OBSERVANCE IN CHRISTCHURCH.

SOME IMPRESSIVE SERVICES.

suffered most of all, was sinless. Nevertheless, sorrow was largely brought into the world by sin. Though we could still maintain that Gcrnwny led us into war —for we knew it wiia true—the fact remained thai- there was a sin of the world in which we all shared. Mr Arthur Balfour had said many years ago that only a Christian could explain sorrow, and the explanation of this could be found in the Communion service. Tho preacher had found that service the most appropriates immediately before battle and immediately after it. The bodv might be killed, but the soul survived, and wo know that the men who died had gained. They had the spirit of self-sacrifice by which the world was governed, and \vo thanked God for them and i'or their sacrifice. Before the sen-ice Dr. Bradshaw played the "Funeral March on tho Death of a Hero" (Beethoven), "Solemn Melody" (Walfovd Davies), aud "Dirgo in I> Minor" (J. C. Bradshaw), and at ■ the conclusion Harwood's "Requiem /Eternnm." Special hymns wero sung. AT THE BARRACKS. A MEMORABLE SERVICE. SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER. Ihero was a very large attendance at the citizens' united memorial service in the King. Edward Barracks in the afternoon, the bis building being completely filled, and many hundreds being una bio ; to get in. The service was a most impressive one, and one that will long live . in the memory of those who were privileged to hear .it. Shortly after two o'clock the Cliristchuroh Professional Musicians' Orchestra, under Mr Albert JLtidgood, favoured the already largo audienoe with a number of selections, after which the wreath-bearers, all . re- ' turned soldiers, hung their floral burdens round the big platform whioh had) . been erected on the northern side of tho j building. Shortly afterwards, tho ... J Prime Minister arrived, and was folI lowed a iittlo later by Oolonel the Hon. I Sir R. Heaton Rhodes, Minister ot' Defence, Geueral Sir Andrew Russell,, K.CjIM.U., Dominion president of tho Returned Soldiers' Association, and Colonel It: Young, C.li., D.5.0., 0.0. Southern Command. The playing of the National Anthenu greeted the arrival of their Excellencies Lord and Lady Jellicoe, ■who were attondfed by; Captain Mundyi . : ; • lhe service opened with the playing of Chopin's funeral march by the orchestra, after which all joined, in singing the hymn "0 Valient Hearts," to the tune of • "Abide with .Me." A prayer in commemoration of the. fallen i was offered by the Ref. Canon W. S. . Ueah, C.F., and the chairman, Sir An- <> drew Russell, then.gave an address.Xhe Birth of N.Z, 1 Sir Andrew read a letter from his Grace Aitliuishop 0 uiius, who was 'tillable to attend vwough indisposition, and went on to say that they wore CfUiinemorauug tiiui day an event wiucii could be looted on as the birth of the JNew Zealand: nation, and they were also met to dd honour to the: I memory of those who left these shores in 1914 never to return. He liked to ' think that the spirits of those departed ' rriends were present with us in Now, Zealand, and taking part in these services. All that the men had suffered during the war had been justified by after events, and by what they saw going on in the universe to-day. If we thought of the fallen with loving remembrance and deep gratitude we should also show it in our Jives. •Che orchestra then played Foulds's "The Keltip Lament," Mr F. Bate . ('cello) and ex-Sergeant H. G. Glayslier (harp), being th? soloists. The lesson from Revelation 21 1-7 was. read . by hi 9 Excellency the Governor-General and after the. chorus "O Oladsome . Light" by the combined choir with Mr V. C. Peters as conductor, the chief address of the afternoon was given by the Prime Minister. MR MASSEY'S ADDRESS. Mr Massey said that when one looked a round that great hall, when one thought of the crowds in the street, and when one thought that exactly th£ ~ same thing was happening throughout: the length and breadth of New Zealand one could come to no other conclusion but that the Parliament and; pie of New Zealand had done: right < when, with practically no differences of opinion, they had decided toj set apart a day, Anzac Day, to perpetuate the / memory of those who shad given their ; lives in the great war; arid to do Honour to tho women as well as { the men who had assisted directly.or indireotlyto drive back those huge armies which were intended to rob ua of that'liborty and freedom which was dearer to the i»nu>u people uuui wc ltbeu. ill every piuce Wuei'o tne cuil oi the junpire iiau ueeu hearu, tuere iiau been no Hanging uuck, uui chore had been a response mat would never oe forgotten a* long as this world lasted. Our men, the ooys whohad oeen Drought up under tne . southern (Jrosu had justified the faith reposed in them by muny a stubborn struggle on the held of battle; 'i-'hey. had proved themselves worthy of the .• country, and tliey had up .to the advioe given them by their parents that their first duty was to their King, their country and their Empire. Sometimes, Mr Massey continued, he thought that we did not sufficiently appreciate what had been done for us bp the soldiers, the Royal Navy, the Air® Foroe, all who wore the King's uniform, ■ That day we mourned those who had ■ fallen, but our Borrow was mingled ■ with pride, for al lknew that for con- H turies after this T&© British people New Zealanders would read with pnde ■ of the deeds of the men;who had .won,J|| for us the the British flag, especially trr such as this, where we were prmr„M love hath no man tnan tms, tna»-o ■■ H and we must do ours. Therejnost be « no mistake about that. We must HH help to keep intact our great Empire. HN that it might be handed down to those H to come after us greater in strengtbMl nnrl influelnce, 'and likely to more benefit not only to it? /ens, but to humanit^ ; in it lind» been to tins

of the Air Force, arid of the officers and men of the mercantile marine, who had had to face during the war the most serious danger of ail—the submarine. Many thousands of brave men had lost their lives through the submarine, and they had died for us just as truly as those who iiad laid down their lives on the battlefield. Ihe men of the mercantile marine had stuck to their job. When a ship had been torpedoed, its survivors' first thought had been to get another ship, so that they might help to keep the connexion betwen the different parts of the Empire, and that they might keep up an uninterrupted Btream of equipment and supplies to the great armies of the Allies that were dependent oil them. When one read the cables morning after morning, Mr Massey' continued, when one still read of wars, one must come to the conclusion that the millennium was still a long way off. The time was a long way off when men j would beat their swords into ploughshares, when tliey would bend their spears into rcap-liooks and learn the art of no war, but the greatest factor in the world to-day for peace was the Empire to which we belonged. Changes would take place, and he hoped and believed that some day that Empire would be the most prominent factor in bringing about world peace when war would lie no more. He honestly thought that would come, hut in the meantime we must not neglect the defences of the Empire. There were some who were -sviiiirrg to make it a third-class Power, but that must not be tolerated. That was the way to invite, and not to prevent, war. Let us do our part, however small, and leave the rest to the Higher .Power "that watches over Israel ana slumbers not nor sleeps." _ "I can't help thinking that the British Empire is specially protected by a Higher Power, ' said Mr Massey, and he instanced how a hurricane had smashed the Spanish Armada, how the Nile, Trafalgar, and Waterlool had buought Napoleon's power to an end when he had prepared a great army to invade England. Then, coming down through the ages, had been the Great War, in which the German Army had beeu turned away from Paris. Had they got into Paris, it would have been necessary, in his opinion, for most of the Allies to mak& terms with Germany, but again Providence, he thought, had intervened. Then had come the Zeppelins, to con found Britain into making terms, but the explosive bullet had come along, against which the Zeppelins could do nothing. That awful thing, the poison gas, had been met with a preven- . tive by which the Allies were able to hold their own, and then had come the mo3t serious danger of all, the submarines, but they, too, had been met by British inventive powers, directed by the finger of Providence,' and the trouble had been overcome by the hydroplane and depth charge. The official figures at the end of the war showed that 203 German submarines had been sunk. The biggest push of all had come in the spring of 1918, when the Germans nearly got to the great railway from Paris to Bologne, but again the tide of war had turned against them, and they had been driven- back. He could not think of those things without thinking honestly that the British Empire was being pr& served for some great purpose not yet disclosed.. In the last few weeks, Mr Masses proceeded, the cablegrams had referred to the conference between representatives of the new Turks and the British. A question that it was intended to discuss was what was going to be done with the territory that contained British cemeteries on the Gallipoli Peninsula, and he honoured greatly what had been said by the British representative Lord Curzon, who had said, "1 am not prepared to discuss anything regarding the last resting place of • thousands of British soldiers. I won't haggle over it, and I speak with the whole British Empire behind me when I say that where British soldiers are .buried. is British soil, and must be controlled by British subjects." That • was one of the finest things of which Mr Massey had heard. When we were almost on the verge of war with Turkey recently, the New Zealand Government, Mr Massey went on, was prepared to act, and said so when the enquify came from England, and within three days, without a man being asked for by the Government, 14,000 young New Zealanders had registered iheir names as being willing to go to the front if required. That was a splendid thing, and was in itself quite sufficient to niajje us proud of the country to which we belonged ana of the Empire of which we were citizens. "Look what that Empire did during the war," said Mr Massey. "In saying that I am not belittling in any way our Allies. I have the most intense admiration for the French, for instance, and whatever their faults, my sympathies are with them. But eight million men passed through the British ranks, one million gaive their lives, . and two million came from the overseas parts of the -Empire, _and from that great Empire, India, an Empire within an. Empire. I have heard more than one great British statesman say that without those men from overseas it was very doubtful whether the Avar could have been won'. All the financial authorities said at the beginning of the war that it could not last very long. It cost us over eight thousand million, and to-day Britain is the financial centre of the world. . Look 3? what i Britain ■ borrowed from America, not for. herself, But for her AHies 1 Britain, found its own money, but borrowed for its Allies, and its representatives went over to America the other day and made a- satisfactory arrangement with the_ States. , The debt will be paid to the last shilling. It is no wonder that Britain haa the great reputan has 450 minion Subjects, 45 crown colonies or protectorates, the great Empire of .India, and £llL Ul \v iea as the Dominions Anrl t.Ln +V J Jn f lted Kingdom itself! And then think of our own responsibiliTJ S Clt T >S " allow our country and our Empire to go unpr£ t'r „,i vA 3 i ° Ur duty develop this, grand- little country, one of the grandest God ever made, and make it worthy of its people and of the Empire, aiid s» to it that it becomes one of the leading countries of the world." After the singing of the fiymn "The Nameless Graves" (Oxenham) the orchestra played the "Dead March" in Saul, the "Last Post" was sounded by ex-Sergeant-Major F. Fox and exQ.M.S. H. Fox and an "Ave Maria," composed-by Mr R. A. Horne, was uung by Signor A. Notariello, formerly an officer in the Italian Army. Prayer was offered by the Bev. F. T. React", C.F., after which. Kipling's fin© (tHeoessional ' iras. sung, followed hr 'The 6 P e «ally composed by Mr R. A. Horne and dedicated to the memory of all Anzacs, the choir at the same time singing Mr Charles Marns's "Hail to the Heroes." The benediction was pronounced by the Bev. S. Parr, C.F., and a memorable service was brought to a close with the National Anthem. ■ I