"FIGHT ON."

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXII, Issue LXXII, 13 January 1917, Page 7

"FIGHT ON."

OUR DEBT TO THE DEAD

There was an interesting sight at ■Berowra, New South Wales, when Mr Joseph Cook unveiled an honor roll to 25 soldiers who had gone from the little township 3vhich nestles on the Northern Line. The number on the board is not great (says the Sydney Daily Telegraph), but it represents nearly every eligible man in the whole district. Mr Cook congratulated the people on the spirit of patriotism which prompted the erection of^that board, and on the fact also that nearly every one of the number present had relatives at the front. It was appropriate also that the ceremony took place at this festive season of the year. This was a time for peace and goodwill. But, looking up and down the world they could find hardly a trace of it. The world was convulsed with violence, unrest, and tragedy. And yet he ventured to say that the spirit of the "honor roll" movement was the spirit of the season also, j The causes for which the conflict was i waged were the causes for which the \ Christinas festivities stood —the ushering in of the a-eign of justice and peace and righteousness. He firmly believed that the only way to peace was through to the end —the bitter end —of the present convulsion. They had read lately of peace notes and those unrepentant people who believed that the proposals of the Kaiser were a mockery and a delusion, and as such should be firmly put aside. The time for peace was not yet. The fight must go on in the interests of future peace. They would be cravens to think of a truce, while the enemy was roughriding over the Roumanian and Belgian and Serbian nations. These peoples had the same moral rights as the larger ones, and until they had been recognised and restored there could be no honorable peace. Let them put the | matter in this way. If the Germans '■ were in this country and made the proposal to us, woukl we treat with them on our own soil if we thought we could , drive them out of the invaded- coun- j tries, and we must do so before we dis- ! cussed terms foir the future. This was j a struggle for the great basic liberties j of the whole human race. And he could not help thinking that if President Wilson had realised this he would hav e refrained for the present from sending on his Note in the way he had. What would the boys whose names were on the roll think of those pro- ! posals? Mr Cook asked. And, after i all, they had to be considered. Some of them had made the great sacrifice— had gone over "to where beyond these voices there is peace." We "owed it to the dead to fight on until peace could come with both honor and security -for the future. There were too many of these weak, sentimental propagandists here in our midst. After all, the views of men had altered but little in the last century. Exactly a hundred years ago their belove"d Wordsworth had written of the flabby peacemongers in Napoleon's day as follows:—"Through the whole course- of the late war the party out of power blushed not to behave as if they had been x-etained by Bonaparte for his advocates. .." My whole soul was with" those who resolved to fight it out with Bonaparte, and my heart of hearts set against those who had so little confidence in the power of justice as to be ready at any momenb to accept of such a truce as "under the name of peace he might.condescend to bestow." Let us, like Wordsworth, set our heart of hearts against those who would make terms at present and let us "fight it out" with the Kaiser. Only in this way could a lasting peace break once more upon the world wfth j any prospect of continuing. . I A new recruiting crusade would begin m the new year, and. Mr Cook urs;ed all of them very earnestly to gird "up their loins and enter heartily into the eF or*- oys lvhose names were on the board needed help, and it must be sent. If this were done, then they might hope that when another Christmas dawned it would dawn upon a world at peace, with every principle and tradi- ; tioii of their race held dear vindicated and 'sanctified. ]