THE ANZACS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3066, 30 April 1917, Page 6

THE ANZACS

PATRIOTIC SOCIETY'S DINNER STIRRING SPEECHES For tke seoond time the Wellington Patriotic Society entertained the returned, soldiers at an Anzao dinner on. Saturday night. The chairman of the Patriotic Society, Mr. T. M. , Wilford, M.1 , ., presided l . There were about two hundred soldiers present, and also a number of naval ratings. Among the other guests were the Chief Justice (Sir Eobert Stout), Sir John Denniston,: Mr. Justice Cooper, Hon. G. W. Russell, Hon. A. M. Myers, the Mayor of. Wellington (Mr. J.- P.. Luke), Mr. L. 0. H. Tripp (chairman of the War Relief Association), Colonel Tate (Ad-jutant-General), and Colonel G. F. 0. Campbell (Wellington Coast Defence Commander), and a'number of city councillors). The chairman read apologies from the Hon: A. L. Herdman, the Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald, SurgeonGeneral Henderson, and Mr. G. Shirtoliife.

' The entertainment section of the programme was provided by a party of artists From Fullers' Vaudeville Company, Mr. Fred. Arthur, Mr. Dan Crew, Mr. Walter Emerson, and Lieu,t. Gordon. Mr. Wilford also rontributed an item, singing the American Battle Hymn,- in the chorus of which the company joined with a good will. The soldiers had a few choruses of their own, too, all of them Well-known old favourites. A Free People. The Hou. G. W. Russell proposed the toast of "The Empire." After a general reference to the great extent and the great wealth and power of the British Empire, he claimed that the Empire owed its greatness to the love of freedom, which was the first article in the political faith of the British,.and which had always directed our policy in dealing with our own people and with alien races whose destinies are entrusted to our care. Britain had given to her colonies powers of selfgovernment, a right such as Germany had never given to any' colonies sne had ever tried to establish. Britain had entered this war totally unprepared for such a Titanic conflict, but in less than three years she had put into the field an army superior in quality to the best of the legions of Germany, and of such numerical strength, that the Kaiser could not again speak of Britain s contemptible little army, as he had done before the war. The struggle could only have one end; he was, not going to prophecy as to when the end would come, but he was sure that in the end a peace would be concluded which would be dictated by Britain and her Allies, after tho complete defeat of the enemy. (Applause.)

Thermopylae and Anzac. Sir Robert-Stout, proposing the toast of "Tho Allies," paid a glowing tribute to the men who fought at Anzac. "This Anzao fight will be forever renowned," he said. ' "Let me direct your attention to a battle fought 2400_ years ago not very far from Gallipoli. A Persian horde was attacking Greece, and in those days, even as there are now, there were traitors in Greece. The Persians had passed Thermopylae, and there they were met by Leonidas. That day Leonidas had with him only 300 Spartans,' 700- Thesbians, and a considerable number of Thebans. These Thebans were, in the language of today, shirkers and pacifists. Instead of going into battle with the warlike Spartans, -they laid down their arms, and Leonidas and his thousand men left to give battle to tho enormous Persian armv, were every one of them slain. But" that fight at Thermopylae passed into-fistory. and became an inspiration not only to tho Greeks, but to the whole world, whilst the name Thebans has become a by-word and a reproach. A great battle, nobly fought, becomes an inheritance and an everlasting inspiration to the nation; the story of the battle is not a record of mere historical fact. It is not alone the New Zealnnders, the Australians, and the 29th Division who fought on Gallipoli who will cherish the memory of the brave deeds done there, for the heroic acts are incorporated in the soul of the nation, they become the heritage of the nation, a heritage more precious than gold. Thoy give the nation an ideal of courage, _ of selfsacrifice, of Mobility; Poor indeed is tho nation that has no soul, no past history that will inspire its citizens. The A'uzacs Have''given to us this insmration; they have laid up for us this crown of glory. Just as the deeds of Leonidas and bis email army have inspired the whole world, so long as the English language endures, this story of Anzac will go ringing down the ages, inspiring future generations of our. race. This is what tho Anzacs have done, for us."

The toast, was supndrted by Sir John , Denniston and the Hon. A. M. Myers.

The Anzacs. Thti toast of the evening, "The Anssacs," was proposed by the chairman. Mr. Wilford paid a most generous tribute to the heroism of the men of Anzac, and invited the people in the galleries to help the other civilians to honoiir the toast ,in a fitting manner. The invitation was accepted, and the toast was received with proper enthusiasm.

Colonel Hughes, when he rose to respond, was jzreeted with a perfect storm of cheering, and moat of- it came from tho Anzacs themselves. "Best man that ever landed there!" called one of the men. Colonel Hughes showed that ho, too, thought something of the men who were acclaiming him so generously. In tho plain direct speech that soldiers acquire, lie told with manifest pride and sincerity now well the New Zealandm-s deserve of their country. As to their ability to fight, he said no more than that this was taken for granted. What lie did emphasise was that the men knew how to live well, and how to die well. Ho was most emphatic -in his declaration that the New Zealand people ought to be proud of their soldiers for the manner in which they had lived when so far away from here. Thev had been a credit to- Now Zealand. And as an instance of the way New Zealariders die, he told of thr fight on Rhododendron Bidce, afterwards called Canterburv Ridge, ffter his battalion, in which 300 men of. the battalion were hit in twenty minutes in a space not much higgpr than the hall in which they were sitting. In that dreadful time he never heard a whimper or a sound from the men; there was nothing to indicate that the men had suffered this very severe punishment. He told other stories, too,and the hurden of all save one, which was. a joke at his own expense, was that New Zealand ought to be very proud of her soldiers.

Returned soldiers' Problems, Mr. Seymour, secretary of the Returned Soldiers' Association, spoke of the problems facing the country in dealing .with returned soldiers. ■ His general contention was that the present system, by which the Government gave a certnin amount by way of pension, and referred the soldier or his dependants to the patriotic societies if he required more than the statutory amount, was incomplete and would not stand the test of time. For the present soldiers were beuig well treated, but he feared that after the war, when the patriotic sentiment died down, as it surely would, the soldiers would not be able to rely with surety on the generosity of the public. If this echeme

were to be continued even now., he urged that it should bo modified in some degree. At present it could happen that a soldier from Invercargill would get different treatment from the patriotic societies than a soldier from, say, Wellington. This should not be, he urged, and it should bo the duty of someone to establish some scheme of uniformity. These problems, ho said, should be faced now, and not left until they had beccmie acute, as they would become after the wa3 wfts over.

Mr. J.. I. Fox, in responding to the toast, acknowledged very gracefully the many kindnesses of the people'to tho soldiers who were fighting. Not a man who had beei; on Gallipoli would ever forget the generosity and thoughtfulness of the people of this country. The majority of the men present in the room were, true Anzace and were proud of the name. And should this country again require their services, ho ventured'to predict that the men who faced tho enemy on the rocky shores of Gallipoli would respond to the call of their country again. (Applause.) He thought he could also say on behalf of returned soldiers —at least ho could say it about the men here— that when the Firet Division was exhausted, and the time came for calling upon the Second Division, the returned soldiere' would step into the breach. (Applause.) Referring to the subject mentioned by Mr. Seymour, he said that it was freely admitted that ithe patriotic societies had done noble work, but the time would come when the problem of dealing with the returned soldier wojild be so, immense, so acute, and so intricate, that only the Government could deal with it, and he thought the Government should , take the matter in hand now. They were not asking for this for themselves, because most of them were able to earn their own living, but it was the country's duty to provide- for the disabled men, and for the relatives of the men who had died. (Applause.) Other toasts honoured were. "The Navy," proposed by Mr. J. B. Harcourt, and responded by Commander Keilly, R.N.R., and "The ®>js at the Front," proposed by the Mayor. The hour was already late, ar.d speeches on these toasts were brief.

Last of all Mr. Russell proposed the health of the chairman, and in doing so referred to the speeches ni&de by members of the Returned Soldiers' Association on the treatment of soldiers. Hβ assured the speakers that so long as the present Government remained in office, there would be no lack of recognition of the rights of returned soldiers. He remindejj,them a l so that the Parliament : and the Government were the expression of the people's will, and that the soldiers would be in a position to compel recognition of their claims. . Mr. Wilford took advantage, of his response to thank'the people who had in some particular way been responsible for carrying out the arrangements for the dinner. Ho specially mentioned the ladies who had waited at table for the- soldiers, and, Mr. Walter Fuller and his entertainers, also Messrs, J. Myers and Co., Aldous and Go., the Central Olub, and the Misses Cooper, jSlurray, and Poole. . ■

Tho company dispersed after singing "Auld Lang Syne" and the, National Anthem.