HONOUR TO THE BRAVE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2755, 26 April 1916, Page 6

HONOUR TO THE BRAVE

A PATBIOTIC MEETING

GREAT GALLIPOLI

SPEECHES BY LEADING CITIZENS

WARNINGS OF COMPULSION

The patriotic meeting in the evening was a very enthusiastic gathering, highspirited and demonstrative. The attendance was about 2000, including an imposing parade of returned, soldiers, Captain Donald Simson in command. The returned. men were cheered again and again as they came into the hall, and filed into their places in the tows of seats assigned to them. Most of them are, of course, Anzac men. ;Tho Mayor welcomed the returned soldiers, and his welcomo was endorsed by the applause of the audience. He hoped that they .would all have, a speedy recovery, and soon get' well enough to take up arms again should this be necessary. He said he did not beliove that any section of the people should stand by enjoy- ■ ing the comforts of liberty and freedom while others fought to defend them. If young men were asked, therefore, fo take up r.rins, they were not being 'asked- to do more than their duty. (Applause.) Ho hoped that all the men necessary would be obtained by the ■ voluntary system, with the aid, perhaps, of returned' soldiers and; the women of the country as Tooruiting agents. Ho failed to see'why the services of returned soldiers should not' be acecpted for this work.' For llio men of New Zealand who had come bock from the war, the people could not do enough. (Applause.) He believed ttat in this regard the New Zealand peuple would discharge their obligations faithful]v, truly,land generously. (Applause.) Thß Mayor's Resolution. He then moved the following resolution, stating that he would: not accept any amendment to it:— "On this;: the firßt anniversary of the landing of the Australasian troops on Gallipoli, this meeting of citizens of Wellington emphasises • their unswerving loyalty to the Throne and Empire of nis Gracious ■ Blajesty the ICing, and pledges their . determination to maintain the partnership of national sacrifice which ■ hns been sealed already by the'blood Australasia's bravest sons. "This meetimr nxnresses admiration

«f the magnificent heroism, selfsacrifice,, and endurance of the soldier patriots of New Zealand and Australia, antl all parts of the Empire, who, on tho. first Aiizac Day, and during the subsequent long battle siege of Gallipoli in the great war for tho maintenance of justice, liberty, and fieedom, shed immortal lustre on tho name of their country. "This meeting voices heartfelt sympathy with those whoso loved onta laid down their lives Tor tho Empire, and assures tho bereaved, and tho soldierß who have suffered of the undying gratitude of the' people who, through that sacrifice, retain tho blessings of liberty, enhanced by a fuller sense of nationhood and closer and stionger union with tho other portions of the British Dominions.

.."This meeting urges upon all who are eligible the imperative duty of following -.tho example of those heroes whoso names will be honoured so long as history endures." '

, The Heritage, of Freedom. I The Hon. T. W. Hislop seconded tho resolution, which, he said, probably expressed tho sentiments ot every person in 'the . room. Very few of our citizens realised how very fortunate they were to be subjects of the British* Empire. Wo had here a pure democracy. Those who were our rulers were , also our. servants, who were engaged at the will of tho people from tare© years to threo rears. We had abolished privilege of all kinds. But. we all were loyal to our King, who was revered and loved by all good subjects. We had' been blessed with two great nionarchs in the late King Edward and King George, whose only thought ■had been for the good of tlieir people. They had no vaulting ambition to lib patified at the expense of their people's happiness and peace. Our enemy tho Kaiser .' was ruled by passions ot creed and pernicious ambition, and he had for forty years been sowing the seed which had brought forth this' war. These doctrines preached by the ruler of Germany and his apostles were destructive of all the principles of morality, fortunately the Kaiser had made some mistakes in his calculations. He despised the little British Army, and he thought that the Dominions. would 'break otf from cho Mother England. .First of all, the Kaiser found that the "contemptible little , army" of General French was capable 01 brave deeds, and this little .army, especi- , oily at La Catena,.; had proved their metal in conflict with the Kaiser's legions. The answer of the Dominion? , to the Empire's call ,for aid had been spontaneous, and help, had been given / freely. Our best men.took up arms,, and in their first battle on Anzac Beach ; they upheld the best, traditions of British ; arms. Indeed, it was said by some who were competent to judge that their valour had almost excelled anything ever pre- 1 vjously done by British, soldiers.; (Applause.) And they had fought in a ■ glorious cause—the cause of freedom, the right to live as a. free citizen in a free democratically-governed country. "Who, having enjoyed the inestimable blessing of freedom, would be content. with tbe rule of a despot, "however beneficent? Mr. Hislop concluded by quoting Abraham ' Lincoln's remarks after the victory of. Gettysburg. . 1 •• ' The Glorious Failure. Mr. A. B. Atkinson, in speaking •to the resolution, thought that from the mere recital of it the audience would be able to grasp the object the' promoters of the meeting, had in view. Referring to the military aspect of the Gallipoli campaign, he declared that the fact that it had been without result emphasised the® valour of the troops engaged;in it. . General 'jMunro's report alone, describing the difficulties of the task, which: confronted the troops, was- a striking tribute to. the. hien who had effected the landing on the Peninsula. \ While the colonial troops were still in . Egypt, the Germans had expressed the 1 opinion that they were of no military value, and had also spoken of them, as the' riff-raff of the community, the offspring of criminals. The Germans were qualified to judge of crime, because it must be admitted that they knew something about it. (Laughter.) Since the commencement of the war they had been guilty of-almost every loathsome crime in the calendar. But before the Allied long been on the Gallipoli Peninsula, our m.en had shattered the German theory of the worthlessness of the colonial troops. (Applause.) , They had also. shattered other theories, • notably the'inability of soldiers'to fight when they had lost a cer.tain percentage of their effectives. ■ "While on the subject, Mr. Atkinson paid a tribute to the valour of the Home .forces, who had earned their full share' of the honours ! . of the campaign. (Applause.) Any mili- ; lary. expert referring to the campaign, while giving full credit to the troops for the landing, would admit that it was'llo-. ; thing 'to. the", work- accomplished by our , troops-in hanging on to the positions won for months afterwards. After touching upon Sir lan Hamilton's praise of the t colonials, and the tributes paid'by othej leading men, to the valour of our troops, ; Mr. Atkinson quoteS opinions, as to their modesty, which, he was pleased to'say, ! still remained as characteristic of the [ New Zealand soldier. He' concluded by . a reference to the political value of ' Anzac, Which, eyen.if it -wtfre without L military value, would, be a striking epoch . in British history. % j Honour to the Failen. | ' The Bight Hon. !\V. I l '. Jlassey said he rose to support the resolution, but lie did I not propose to discuss the question of : whetner blunders had been made at Gal- : lipoli v Their purpose'should be to' do : /honour to the men who had fallen, figlu- > iiig .for. their native land and for the 1 Empire. (Applause.) The memory of those ; men would never be forgotten while the Southern Cross shone on 1 these . lands. (Applause.) Perhaps the greatest trial to which our men were subjected was ill the' j long munths of waiting after the landing until' the evacuation. Yet our men-en-dured hardship without a murmur of complaint"for ,all, those' long months, showing more stern heroism than even in the landing. They' had grumbleu more about the evacuation —an . operation perfectly' carried out—than about anything else that they liad been-asked to do. However,: he *hoped, that the work begun on Gallipoli would cne day bo as wo would' wish.' "Those little white trusses in Che lone valleys and on the'bleak hillsides of .Gallipoli,"' .said Mr. Massey, "mark' the. gravcs.'Vpf some of tho best ' and bravest of the pioneer stock that settled, ,in - these southern lands. On those rugged hillsides lie the bones of many a gallant lad who refused to turn his back on the enemy of his country. AVo should be humiliated if the Hoe and the stranger are allowed to leave, tlieir footprints on tho graves ov our heroic boys. (Applause.) Such a thing, to me, would be nothing short of desecration. I don't know—nobody can tell, when peace will come, or what the peace proposals will bo,. but I sincerely hope that one of the conditions will be that Anzac will be preserved for the An/.acs/' (Applause.) He added that he! believed that we would yet comI mand the, Dardanelles, and with the Dar- | danelles went Gallipoli.

The 29th Division. Ho was triad to do honour to- tlie .soldiers of Britain who fouffht with' oui-imen at Crallipoii. (Applause.) Heading Sir lan Hamilton's account of what those men. anil especially the 29th Division did, one could net hut feci slad that lie was a British subject,' and that it was his risht to call those-men . fellow-,-.itizons. (Applause.) Nothing'' better had ever been written of any soldiers in the world. He was plad to 'say that there was present a representative of the:'29th Division. (Cheers.) A voice: Put. him on the platform':-. The soldier did not mine forward, however, in spite of his friends' promptings, and Mr.. Massey remarked: "1 am afraid, ladies and gentlemen, that ho is like the British soldier; modesty is his chief characteristic. Ho would sooiinr face the jjiiiis of the enemy than the eyes of this audience." When the history of the war eame to ,V written it would form a bond which make thp Empire inseparable for all time. In some respects the war, bad as it was, would'do a »r«it deal of rood. In the past we had been careless and in- [ different about what n;as for the nation's good. but tile war had taught us our shortcomings, lie-believed that after the war a new and 'better Empire would develop. We would take more heed tor the national welfare, and would have a slronßer determination to make sure that I from a military or naval point of view

the Empire was prepared for any emergency that might coino along. (Applause.) A Message from the Anzacs. Mr. llassey said he. had received from General Godley this message: "Greetings from tho Second Anzac Corps to Now Zealand Oil Anzac Day we honour tho memory of our • fallen comrades.—Godley." "This telegram," said Mr* Massey , "showed that our boys had not forgotten us, for they asked to be allowed to join with us ill honouring men whose names' would never be forgotten by tho people of this Dominion." Affairs at l-lome. Ho referred to the political crisis at Home, saying that it was a matter for congratulation that the danger was over. It would be a crime to force a general election in Britain now. These party differences and party squabbles would give tho greatest encouragement to our enemies. It must bo admitted that tho British Government had had very difficult tasks to perform. Early in the war the Navy was ready for war, ana our lot would have been a sorry one if that had not been so. A huge army had been raided, fit to try conclusions with the army of any European nation. There had been miich said at Home about Zep. pelin raids. He did not think we should imitate tho tactics of the baby killers. Rather, he hoped wo might be able to finish this war without anything :of tho sort. The British had no Zeppelins, but w'e had numerous aeroplanes. He would like to see the British aeroplanes not waiting for the enemy to. come to England, but going out to meet the enemy in the air. (Applause.) One of the most successful of bur aviators was one of our own fellow-oitizeus, Lieutenant Bran, don. (Applause.) He hoped that Britain, now in undisputed command of the sea, would yet become supreme ih the air. "Lately we have heard talk of peace," said Mr. Massey. "I say we sliould not even talk of peace -until we have driven the Germans back into their own conntry. And I believe we can do it, an«J then we shall be able to impose such terms as will ensure the peace o'f the world for many generations to come."

The Only Alternative. . Mr. Massey, referring to i/ecruiting, said that he "believed recruits would be offering after the .Easter holidays. It was .easy to (Understand why men would not volunteer before a holiday season. "But when the voluntary system fails, if it' ever does fail," said-Mr. Massey, "then it must bo replaced by some form of compulsion. Now, there is no getting away from that. (Loud and general applause.) We must have one or the other. Parliament will meet a fortnight to-day, and Parliament will bo asked 'to.agree to a measure providing: for compulsion. (Applause.) There is a certain number of men, somewhat noisy individuals, who spend most of their time denouncing compulsion. If these men afe sincere, then the proper hing for. them ,to do, if they wish to avoid compulsion, is to enlist under the voluntary system. (Applause.) I want to . 6ay this—l knsw, as my colleagues knowthat there are many young fellows who can't get away, but there i are tens of thousands of young men ( who can go and who;won't go-- To them, I say that they will never forgive themselves if they don't take, advantage of the voluntary system while it lasts." • A. soldier: A bob a day for conscripts. (Laughter.) Mr. Massey: There is no middle course.' Tou have, either got ,to come forward under the voluntary, system, 1 to decide for, your King, or, by doing nothing, decide for the Kaiser. Mr'. Massey, before sitting down, told the audience the news of the. capture of the traitor Casement, saying that he hated a. traitor., worse than any other enemy. He hoped that Casement would never get away , again until lie:"received' the punishment he deserved, and if the audience were asked to say what that punishment should be he thought he knew ■ what their decision would be. (Applause.) Our Feelinu to the Anzacs, ■ Sir Joseph Ward, in his opening remarks, asked why were we commemorating Anzac Day? It was because our hearts were lull of pride, of gratitude, and of sympathy. We weTe proud of the mil wliose names were so famous in connection with Anzac, and it was-duo to them that the day was being celebrated all over the Empire. We wero grateful to those men for the part they- had taken in strengthening the bonds of Empire— the men who would in future be' known as the Anzacs. .The names of the .Maoris Tvould indelibly be 'associated with the campaign. (Applause.) .Our sympathy went out to .those who ■ had lost loved ones in the fight, and so he said our hearts were full of pride and gratitude on this day. Until the end of the war no one would be able to speak of the military value of the fighting on Gallipoli, and we could pass from that to the Navy. The Navy's Part. Had anyone forgotten that the Kavy first commenced the attack upon .the Dar'duiielles? ' Throughout,. the war,, the Navy had been "doing splendid work, and it was a matter l'or congratulation that our ships in the North. Sea to-day had 1160,000 more men than were numbered in the.Navy at the .start of the war. (Applause.) Talk of unpreparedness!- Could It be said the British Navy, was unprepared at the beginning of the war, when one considered the immense amount of work it had accomplished, in the transport of troops and 'in the care of our trade routes? Meantime the German Navy wa9 safely locked up in the Kiel Canal, and would remain! there. Alter further reference to the work of the Navy, Sir Joseph. Ward spoke again of | the 'Anzacs, and heartily endorsed the [resolution submitted to'the meoting. In regard to tho prosecution of the war, he .expressed himself as in favour of the j voluntary system, and hoped that the : country would not have the smudge of conscription placed upon it. If necessary, however, he was determined to supIport compulsion, in order to find the required number of reinforcements to send I after the fifty-fivo thousand men who Iliad voluntarily offered their services for the front. (Applause.) | The resolution was carried by acclamation. Men With Responsibilities. Captain Donald Simson finally delivered a brief address. He was received with applause by the public, and he acknov.-- ' ledged it as a compliment to the returned soldiers. Tho Prime Minister had referred to a threat made iecently by way of a joke: "God help Bill Massey .if lie paid the conscript as much as- the volunteer." He would like .to carry the joke [ a little further—be knew Mr. Massey ! would take it in good, part—and say: J "God help Bill Massey if he neglected the ; returned soldiers." In further remarks, I ho declared that 'the voluntary S3'stem . in New Ze.ilmd need not fail if it were • properly worked, for. there wero_ from ' 10,000 to -20,000 men in the country, who [ were physically fit and ready to volunl t-eer if their dependents were provided . for. (Applause.) Madam Anderson sang two soncs— . "The Mncsregors* Gathering" and a ditty in which the soldiers joined—and the soldiers also sang a hymn for the day, composed by JUiv Charles Normnn. The meeting concluded with the National Anthem and cheers. Then Mr. Massev called for cheers for.the Anzac?! and Hie cheers came very heartily. A soldier retorted by calling for cheers for "Old Bill," and those cheers wero forthcoming also. j—,