MEMORIAL STONE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 197, 15 May 1920, Page 7

MEMORIAL STONE

——fi ——— ' 10 COMMEMORATE SOLDIER STUDENTS CEREMONY AT VICTORIA COLLEGE Many students and graduates of -Victoria University' College yesterday,, witnessed the laying >of a war memorial • stone to the 'memory of soldier-students in the new wing of the institution now in course of erection. -Those yiesent included His Excellency the GovernorGeneral (who performed the ceremony), , Mr. Clement Watson (Chairman of the College Council), the Mayor (Mr. J;- P.. Luke); Mr.' 11. A'. Wright, M.P., andLady Stout, besides members of Professorial Board; A Great Record. . Mr. Watson, in .referring to the collegians' war., record, said that tlie college authorities had. not. been able yet to get a complete list of ex : students ivho had seen 1 service. As regards lilatriculated students 555 of "their, number went overseas, and-df'these 123 lost their .lives. Two'-Rhodes Scholars .were; among those who had fallen. These' figures represented a tremendous-percen-:tagj of deaths.. While their loss would ■ . always be ■ mourned, those associated' with tho. college were rightly ; proud of ■th* wav tliey had,done their .duty. Their, bodies lay' in far-off lands, but their memory would remain with lis for ever ■ and- would-serve as,-an inspiration-for. V ifutur.y-collegians as to.-tho; part-.- they, ■ should' lake-af evov. sucli a world crisis - nroso agaiiu Under the memorial stone would be placed the names of .all the gallant dead. It. was a right and •fitting thing to hand down through the long ages to come the deeds of these men and ' tho spirit which actuated them. To this end brass tablets- would be erected in' the new library bearing the names of all the collegians w'Ho - ' eervei-at-the war. It . was also pro-_ posed'to-instal-'iii the new wing a me-' '• -mortal window .towards tho cost of which- subscriptions would bo ) eceived from the relatives of the fallen. His Excellency's Address, His. Excellency, in'the course of his address said: "This Will nrobably be one of the last public occasions at which I shall be present before leaving' this 'Dominion, and I am' exceedingl) glad that I have been given the- opportunity of laying this stonq. to the memory of : those old students who went forward when tlie trumpet sounded,'-in order that not only ,wlmt wo call the Empire might be maintained, but that these sea-girt islands in the Southern - Hemisphere might still form part of that • Old Country . which we affectionntely call tho Motherland. To the relatioas. and friends of those who laid down' their lives, we all, I know, to tender our. deepest sympathy. The sacrifice which they so willingly made lias acted as a bond, which has not ■only drawn our Empire closer to-. Kether, but has broken, down many of the barriers which have, acted as. an impediment to knowing each other as wo. ought to do. We have been told many times that one of the chief contributory causes to the success of the system of British education is the fact that our .'learning consists of two nor-' tions—one that seeks to inculcate into tire mind the knowledge which is derived by'the study of books and research and the other which fills the spirit with • the true attributes of manliness, so that the nation may raise lip citizens worthy of tho heritage handed down by those who have suffered much, that our people should live un.der the free institutions which have become the watchword of our race. Men Who Never Forget. "To-day. therefore," continued His Excellency, "we commemorate the work of men who never forgot what they had learnt amid the calm, which the times of peace bring to those who pass their early years in our halls of learning. Tlie younger .universities Ihrough'iut the Enipi'i'3 have'vied with their older sisters in Great Britain in upholding all the best traditions wlich lmvo ever distinguished them, and those who aro still students 'mid the generations which will follow we know-will be imbued with the same principles which have enabled our people to emerge victorious from a struggle which has shaken thefoundations of every civilised country, and which, as the Prince of Wales has lately reminded us, has slill plunged great rations into the. misery of i.itnger and despair. We can well bo thankful that wo haVe been'enabled to find ourselves ii such a fortunate position alter having been compelled to face such a gigantic .upheaval; and though much, remains to he done'before wo can have accomplished our duty towards our own kith and kin and those who need our assistance in their hour of adversity, there is no doubt that we shall emerge triumphant, if we-make up our minds to meet our difficulties in the same Bpirit as the men who composed our armies at the front, faced all tho hardship? which . surrounded the battlefield,, whether oh land' or sea. • A Good Combination. "Work iiard and pla.v hard," added tho Governor-General, "is a good, combination. Leave out one and the other becomes abortive. 'Their joint union jreans the, birth of that comradeship, which has been so apparent during the . years of war, and . which is even moro necessary if wo are to overcome iho period of unrest and difficulty - which tho struggle has forced upon the world. What appeared to be impossible has been essayed, and found not to be unattainable. We - are .called upon to 'carry forward an easier task than those who have maintained' our freedom, and I am sure we: shall never-rest content until. we have played our part, . and proved worthy of the sacrifice which our sailor.;.and soldiers made in the.ca.use . of freedom and righteousness, ' • His Excellency then . 'declared. .' ".Iho . filoiH laid arid' tho cetemony was .it nil end.