FOR FREEDOM'S CAUSE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2971, 8 January 1917, Page 8

FOR FREEDOM'S CAUSE

A STIRRING APPEAL

A stirring appeal for unity of front and endeavour 'in the gteat_ fight for freedom was made by Sir Robert Stout (Chief Justice) in an address delivered at the Unitarian Church last evening. Concluding an interesting survey of the causes and the general aspects oi tlie issues of contention, tho speaker said: "Our young men have done nobly —they have been true To show you tho heroic spirit displayed by some of our 'New Zealand boys,' may I be permitted to ' give. you a short extract from a. letter from one- who lost his life in France. Tho letter was written just before he left for his last attack on the German trenches:— 'To-morrow night we go forward to the brink, and the next morning at dawn we hop over the parapet on one of the most difficult tasks ever given to a- division. There can bo only one result —every man will do his clean British bit, a'nd there will be very very many who will never como back. We all know what we are up against; we have heard again and again of the pitiful handful of men who have returned broken out of whole battalions who have gone forward to push back the Hun. We have thp ground over which such battalions have fought, and the heaps of dead they have been unable to burj; but, thank God, thero is not one singlo man of us New Zealandi>rs who does not welcome this longawaited chance to do our bit. A wee bit frightened some of us may be: I am a bit afraid myself, and will be more so on the day; but it is our chance, our chance to give one big blow to Germany for all you dear ones back in New Zealand; for you who have given up your sons, who have given -up your money, who lmvo suffered deep anxiety and pain for our sakes—our chanco to show that once the old Mother Lion is threatened the young cubs are ready to jump to her help, and show 'the strength of their newly-won manhood—our first chance, and we are going to take it. If we win through, it's going to be a big day in the history of New Zealand; if, we fail, it will not be through any lack of dash, of go, of willingness, of heart in the.individual men. But wo aro one and all determined to win through, cost what it may—the thought of failure has no place in our minds. Now, Dad, I may be one of tho unfortunates. Hence this letter. But I'd like you to know that I'm not frightened of whatever may_ come my way. In one way I am frightened—for I defy any man to say that fear does not grip Ms heart when something big is doing. But I'm not frightened of a wound, , and I am not' frightened to die. Death must como sooner or later, and death on tho battlefield is without a shadow of doubt the most glorious of all ends. For myself, it means nothing more than a snuff of tho candle, but for you, and for mother, and for the kiddies it means more. Moro than ever do I wish that I had not a single soul to worry about me, not a soul to mourn my death. A peculiar wish, perhaps; but you will understand how I feel. For myself, tho worries of what might happen to me arc insignificant; but for you, at homo, going into hot action means one of tho most heartfelt worries I've over had to face. " 'But whatever happens, I'm going to do my duty. I have' my boys to think of—men who havo seen me tested in other hot corners, and who have como to place upon my leadership a confidence that I cannot betray. I have my country to think of, and I am determined to prove that I havo tho blood of a. Briton in mo.' "We shall Lave, however, to do much more than we have done," said Sir Robert Stout. "We do not yet fully realise that we are at war. Our pleas-ures-have not been lessened. Useless and wasteful expenditure still goes on. Wo ought to-be saving our means to help the oppressed, and to help our Motherland. As far as I can ascertain, we havo given up few, if any, of our pleasures. Our newspapers aro full of the details of race meetings, of theatres, of sports, and useless expenditure on various, things has not been lessened. Can it then bo suggested that wo have yet risen to the conception of what this world war is,- and that we have done what it is our duty to do for the brotherhood of humanity? We outrlit'to sink all our political and other differences, and fight for this one aim, tho salvation of our Empire, and of our. people, and for the onpressed amongst the nations. If we do so we shall he doing something for something for justice, .something for freedom, and hasten the coming of the day."