A SOLDIER'S LETTER.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 15 May 1918, Page 4

A SOLDIER'S LETTER.

MAJOR BISHOP IN BELGIUM

+«I^/r thtTCourse of an interasting letter - from Maj-°r S^**' hope to meet him soon. I watery glad toicnowhe had received ho^lSly arms T im c especially arms I will get into toucn with the people who are responsible for the custody of such things a s are available i should like to do something fo? Hawera ' Some day I ho Pc to get back and Se our town and its people. These nlacSt Zk 10™1*and the ™«*y fj*+l r^ d as° ut *¥ sorts of associations wlr Wha^ d* SOClal "f-kfos after the W at 1S- Wanted is to first win! that iS, &T?h m?> Wmst ~eoS_ta_S. tions 4 after the war" is necessary tat. sfoullt fS* L SJ^ ngly ' lhat effort should be directed to obtain an early victory Each nation should go £%. win by its own effort instead of expect , £ r I**™* *<*. its Allies to do^ thing to help it. I have always feuH this way, and a s far as in my power lies, have earned it out in my lifV- being _alway s a believer in the ,^%h_t. actions speak louder than words." Words without deeds are of no aval Do your best to spread about this truth that nothing but the very best and most continuous effort wiU suffioo. _h* G.A. has us all in His keeping and oTlU" hour ther * afe rays. 1 i&!\ thlß ».£!_* b-T any means. i ™ ail _est hour* Th« times call for , "Jen, and our nation has nobly respond-* ed, but not fetter than it should do centering the stakes, freedom of TcZ > tion, and justice and fair dealings, amongst the nations.. W e hav e had Ba. most extraordinary winter. True, there has been cold weather, but on the. whole the weather has been very fine! this month exceptionally so, almost lik* May weather, feveryone oi us is work-- ' mg hard, for we can see Fritz and some of his works. We ar e watching, and: our fellows will not be found wanting hi I SJf-, *\T° f *S ali come when or how it may New Zealanders, or any other , branch of the good old rac e wfll carry ,on like good men and true. We art *ft man for man we are better than Fritz. He is a good artillery-,* ; "Jan. -and has plenty of it, and plays, 1* I the devil with i t sometimes. I 'have seen what is termed a good artillery preparation, and cannot describe it but Will, only state that if Hawera were subjected to on e there would only be a few heaps of bricks left, and between the heaps shell holes fg*>m 6 to 20 feet m diameter and from 3 to 9 or 10 feet &o ?°M may guess, wkat happens *»- flesh and blood at such times: also why so many are "missing." Nothing I know fiL nff tanli 1? l odern heavy artillery fire Often all the outside world knows ot tnese preparations is that "fire is in_ • T 3.-, OlJ, ce. r*ain sectors. When all is ready the infantry go over the top, and it's like walking into a bush fire! , If things don't go right, they disappear ias faggots would. It is wonderful what' I men are capable of, especially trained men. As one of our generals said* "I want men who will and can do the imI possible." This is the sort of thingmodern war is, and already the air is becoming ahv e with wasps, whose stine; is death or mutilation. Well let them all come^ pur fellows can stand it as. well as Fritz. Th e senselessness of the wfiole thing is, however, such that every g^,_man an.d woman in the worldshould pray for "peace," and should do all m their power when peace comes to make future wars impossible Theman who has seen war and talks' of itsglory is mad. The way to war is theway to hell. _. Our Order has a g*eat; part to play in the affairs of mankind' and may it never lower its standard