BURNS’ ANNIVERSARY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 4457, 26 January 1917, Page 5

BURNS’ ANNIVERSARY.

onlv to the people of New Zealand, hot to the British Government In responding, Mr V. D- , said that commercial interests played a great part in the war. to be successful in the war we must have men. monev and mod, and money and foot were brack:fad in commerce He was pleased to me' that the British tiade imports h 1 increased and e that it hr'l been officially stated th the income of Britain was sufficient to pay £s,o' 1,000 per-day tor win pu - almost indefinitely if trade kep sp: There were two duties to he done in New Zealand—to keep up th® sup ply of men for the firing line, and to keep up the food supply. He paid a tribute to the work of - r • • MacDonald, and- declared that ms '■> SS almpst more than one man could accomplish. Press ” the Other toasts were The t ress, rim “Lassies”, “The Chairman and the * “Croupiers” Duringthe evening songs and recitations were gnen by Me s DM. Birr ell, Hilton, Bloorc, H. JGrieve Samson D.' Parker J.mF•Pettie, and R. Johnstone; Archdeacon Packe acting as accompanist. _ Tim S«v brofe up after the sragmg ef “Auld Lang Syne.' __

LAST EVENING’S CELEBRATION,

A very pleasant evening was spent by the members of the Poverty Bay Caledonian Society last night- when tiie anniversary of Robert Burns, was celebrated at a dinner. The President ffche Society, M. R. M. Birrell, presided, and there was a good gathering of members. Apologies for non-atten-dance were received from the Mayor (Mr W. G. Sherratt), and from the Hon. W. D. S. MacDonald (Minister for Agriculture), who was detained by Cabinet meetings and by pressure of work.

After the toast of “The King” loyally honored, Mr W. L. Clayton proposed the toast of the “Army, Navy, and Territorials.’’ He said that the toast had a significance now which, it had never had before. When the colossal war that was going on was considered, and what it meant, people must be filled with enthusiasm for the great British Navy and Army. The Empire was versed in the arts of peace, but now the Empire was the first military nation in the worldThe British nation had stepped into this war for all that was highest, greatest and time, to rescue the smaller ■countries of Europe from the oppressor. The Empire was the mainstay of the Allies, for what would liave happened to France and to Russia if Britain had! not stepped in ? Not onl v had the Empire raised a huge Army and aii organisation which had never been seen in the world before, but it was bearing the financial burden or the Allies. We should be- proud of the Empire, proud that the Almighty had given the Empire the opportunity of doing such great service for the world.

Mr Clayton went on to say that the Empire was sacrificing blood and treasure for no monetary or financial reward, and was fighting with a clear conscience. The Empire’s greatness had been brought about by the united efforts of the people, and after the war the Empire would not only consist of a glorious company of nations, but would be a glorious and strong nation in itself. The peace that Britain was fighting for was not for her own material good, but for the good of the world. He mentioned the good work done bv the Allies and the people of the various nations which composed the Empire had readily responded to the call, and he asked his hearers not to forget them when drinking the toast.

in reply, Lieutenant-Colonel Moir said that the Navy in the war had done work such as had never -been done before and which, he hoped, it would never be called upon to do again. Probably no one would ever know how much the Navy had done, but it was known that the Navy was patrolling almost every sea of the world to make them safe for travellers and trade. It was impossible to do it perfectly, but what was possible for man to do, the Navy was doing. The transport of thousands of men across the sea without the loss of a man in transit due to enemy ships, was evidence of the power of the Navy. The Army was carrying out the job that it had been called to do. The “contemptible little Army” which had been sufficient to bold up the German armies, had grown to millions, how many it was impossible to say. One portion of the Army which was usually forgotten, was the present day armv, the millions of men. women, girls and boys who were doing their best in the munition factories and hospitals and in other spheres; the women who in their spare time were making comforts for the men in the trenches. There were thousands of women working voluntarily in the hospitals without pay. They were doing their share for the Empire as well as the Tommies in the trenches.

In conclusion, he assured his hearers that the men at the front were well worthy of all the praise and encouragement it was possible to gire ■them.

In proposing the toast of the evening, “The Immortal Memory,” the Chairman said that the memory of Burns had glorified all the characteristics of the nations. Everything that Burns touched he glorified. "Burns had been criticised very much for his satires but the time in which he lived must be borne in mind. Some of the things he wrote then applied to some of the people to-day. Burns was a patriot. He was among the first to come forward to defend Ills native country. The time was coming, he felt, when the nations, as Burns had predicted long ago “would be brothers a’ for a’ that.” He hoped that when the war was over, one of the firststatues that would he built in this town would he a statue to the poet of humanity. But it was not in statues of bronze or granite, hut in the carrying out of his ideals for the benefit of humanity that the best monument could be raised to Robert Burns. Air J. B. Leydon said that it gave him great pleasure in proposing the toast of the Parliament of New Zealand. The people should be proud of the members of the Dominion Parliament-. The first thing the members of Parliament did when war broke out- was to drop their bickerings and unite in their efforts to do their best to help the Motherland. Everyone must he proud of the work the National Cabinet had done. It’s legislation had been supported by the great bulk of the people of the Dominion. The Prime Minister and Sir Joseph AVard were at Home assisting in formulating schemes which would be of benefit to the Empire after the warHe felt proud of the local representatives of Parliament and now that Sir Joseph AVard was coining home he suggested that a committee should ?>e set up to give him a hearty welcome. He also paid a tribute to the work of the Hon AV. D. S. MacDonald.

Replying, the Hon. W. Morgan said that in the Parliament of New Zealand there was to-day no party. A National Cabinet was formed and asfar as possible all local politics were dropped, and afT energies directed to wards assisting the war. He considered that Sir James Carroll was one of the best men to send home to represent the Dominion. The taking of men for active service had produced a shortage of labor, But it must be remembered that the times were not normal and we must put <p with the inconvenience. The greatest problem was. what to do with the men when they came back. Thousands would not want to back to their offices and l would desire to go on the land. Others, however, would not be able to take up their occupations and it was for the Government to see that they would not have to depend upon charity. The Parliament- of New Zealand meant to do its duty to those who had sacrificed almost everything and he hoped that the people of New Zealand would' hack them up. In proposing the toast of “Local Bodies,” Mr R. Johnston referred to the hard luck experienced by the Harbor Board: and thought that the Board deserved all the sympathy and support of the people in solving a difficult problem. He described the Borough Council as a good working team, and paid a tribute to the work of the-Mayor (Mr. W. G. Sherratt) In reply, Mr Lawless said that the Borough Council were faced with difficulties which, he thought, very few Councils in the Dominion were experiencing. The country and district were progressing, and prosperous, and progressive men.were required on local bodies. . „ in proposing the toast of ‘Commercial Interests 1 ” Mr G. Jones said ! _ that the prosperity "in commercial circles was due in- the main - part to the action of the Government, and tn© speaker considered that- the people of the Dominion had a great deal to thank the Hon AV.- D. S. MacDonald for in the great work and time he had given to many great problems, the results of which were satisfactory, not