THE LATE LORD KITCHENER

Lake County Press, Issue 2636, 15 June 1916, Page 5

THE LATE LORD KITCHENER

Church Parade in Arrow. Special services were held in the ' local churches on Sunday last in connection with the death of Lord Kitohener. The territorials, cadets, returned soldiers, and members of the National Reserve fell in at the Garrison Hall, and marched to the Presbyterian Church, where divine service was conducted by the Rev. C. A. Kennedy. The procession was marshalled by Sergeant J. Butel, and there was a fair muster of all ranks. Presbyterian Church. There was a very large congregation at the Presbyterian Church. The pulpit was draped in black, and appropriate hymns and anthems were sung. In the course o£ an impressive address in reference to the late Lord Kitchener the Rev. C. A. Kennedy said " Lord Kitchener dead ! and not a nation only, or even an Empire, but a world, mourns his loss. Even the enemy seemed stunned by the pathos and tragic suddenness of his death. There were no rejoicings in Berlin and the news was discussed with strange gravity. Lord Kitchener was a great man, somewhat ascetic. He had no love for society, but he had a kindly heart and an ear for everybody's «rievance. He was a great soldier.

I General Gordon called him ' one of the few first-class officers in the British army.' He had a keen sense of duty—- ' If I can I. ought, if I ought I must.' When ho saw his duty dear he never flinched. He set his face like a flint and went through with it- He was a great personality, a born military leader. He possessed not only the power of doing great things, but also the powor of choosing the right men to help him. Ido not intend to speak at length of him alone, or to sketch his career. You can find that in the press. I do say he has rendered great service to the Empire and not the least of it has been during the past two year 3, when he has raised Britain's status as a military power so enormously. Under his guidance and leadership he saw the army grow from a few hundred thousand to several millions. He had his critics —every good man has—but he enjoyed the confidence of Parliament, of the nation, and of the Empire. Our loss to-day is unspeakable. We wonder why he should have been called aw.iy so suddenly, and are iuclined to say that his death is untimely ; if only he had been spared to finish his task. If we recognise the over-ruling of an all-wise Providence, his task was finished. ' There are no mysteries with God, and hence no mistakes.' Such a life of virtue and honor cannot end so suddenly, the faithful herowarrior has been called to higher service. We come to lay a tribute of love on his watery grave, m spirit we would leave there a bunch of flowers. A nation which reveres and enthusiastically loves Nelson, Wellington, and Gordon cannot withhold one iota of that love for Kitchener of Khartoum. I want to associate with the name of Lord Kitchener those gallant sailors who willingly and fearlessly faced death in a noble cause on 81st May. They have ' fallen where Blake and mighty Nelson fell.' They lie in a watery grave. They have "bequeathed to us their memory and glory. We may well pay them a last tribute and sound their praise." During the service Miss Jopp sang " Fierce raged the tempest," and at the close the organist (Miss G. Stevenson) played the "Dead March in Saul." St. Paul's Church. The memorial service was held in St. Paul's Church in the evening, when the Rev. W. Uphill preached to a large congregation. The altar was draped in black, and the proceedings throughout were characterised by befitting solemnity. Speaking from St. John xiv, 26, "The Comforter," the preacher said these times of trouble reminded us of those experienced by the Apoßtles in olden times. To think of the events of the past week he felt he would not be wrong in saying that through all the course of the war no events have been so staggering and so productive of an atmosphere of anxiety, and misgiving, and distress, as those of the great naval battle and the death of Lord Kitchener. The first news of the great naval battle gave them very little on the other side to modify the sense of shock at our grievous losses. They had grown accustomed to such implicit faith in their navy that the suddenness of the loss of 13 ships and of so many thousand of highly trained men took almost the shape of an overwhelming disaster. And scarcely had they time to realise that these losses were the costly price of substantial victory, when there came the stunning tidings that Kitchener was deed. He was the one leader who seemed beyond all others fixed and certain—the man who in the face of hard and bitter criticism in some quarters, still held in a striking degree the absolute confidence and trust of the people—and for him to be suddenly swallowed up in death seemed the heaviest blow of all. A great man had passed away at a moment when he seemed most needed, one who in many lands of our farflung Empire had carved his name undyingly on the scroll of our Imperial history. In him was found the power of seeing distantly with the eye of the statesman together with the decision of the soldier, of marking out a course to the desired goal and then applying himself with untiring energy to remove the obstacles, though they were as mountains ' that stood in the way. Lord Kitchener wa= essentially a man of deeds, not words. He would say then, all honor to the brave and gallant Briton—one who had lived his life in undeviating service to his King and Empire, and in glorious service

h6 died. His w >rk would remain strong, firm ami bv atitiful in the fabr c of Empire until year 3 have ceased to roll. However, Uiey could lift up their heads and takn comfort. The same country that could produce a Kitchener aould give them a successor. Those four or five thousand sailors who fought to the last and then went down to their graves will call forth 5000 others with the same indomitable courage and devotion to duty. They were doing disservice to their cause, they wore nol playing their part, if they allowed the feeling" of despondency and gloon over their temporary blows to smothei their faith in the unconquerable epiri that lives wilhin the Empire. At the close of the Bervice th " Dead March in Saul" was played b; the organist, followed by a verse of th National Anthem.