ANZAC MESSAGE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 124, 24 April 1940, Page 11

ANZAC MESSAGE

PRESENT SIGNIFICANCE. CALL FOeTcOURAGE. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, April 23. On the occasion of the commemoration of Anzac Day the Governor-Gen-eral (Viscount Galway) has associated himself with Ministers of the Crown and other representative citizens in giving to the people a message outlining those ideals appropriately associated with the spirit of Anzac for which the nation is fighting. The message has been signed by His Excellency, all the members of Cabinet, the Leader and other prominent members of the Opposition, the Chief Justice, representatives of the Native race, the Mayors of the four principal cities, representatives of several religious denominations, the Chancellor of the University, and representatives of organisations such as the Returned Soldiers’ Association, the Labour Party, the Municipal Association. the Counties Association, the Labour Party, the Municipal Association, the Counties’ Association, the Farmers’ Union, the Associated Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Labour and the Employers’ Federation. The full text of the message is as follows:—-

“Twenty-five years ago to-morrow the Anzacs landed on Ggllipoli. Their sacrifice and the sacrifice of those who went later were made to build a better world from which war would bo abolished. Theirs was an essential no less than an heroic sacrifice in order that the foundations of a new world order might be securely laid in peaceful associations between the nations. But to-day we are again at war. Today our young men are facing the same sacrifice in the same spirit and to the same end as those who gave their all twenty-five years ago. “The men of 1914-18 did their job and did it magnificently, hut the moral and spiritual laws which should influence hifman life and action have been given no adequate place in the relations that have subsequently emerged between the nations. Truth, justice, tolerance: These have been denied, and in their stoaci doctrines of force, dictatorship and aggression have in later years been openly espoused. “To free the world from this menace we are again at war. The memories of determination, courage, and sacrifice which to-morrow’s anniversary calls forth sprve as both an inspiration and a challenge in this present grave hour of crisis. But Anzac brings more than reverence for the memories of those who have passed on. It brings also a realisation of responsibilities to those who are left. PRESENT RESPONSIBILITY. “Our responsibility in the, present conflict is clear. It is- not merely our own security which is endangered, nor merely the future of the British Commonwealth which is in the balance. It is not only our political institutions and democratic forms Of government which are threatened. It is those very principles which have made civilisation possible, which give value and meaning to life itself, that are at stake. The rule of law, the search for truth, the protection of the weak against the strong: These are vital issues. On such issues there can be no compromise. From the defence of those principles there can be no turning back.

“The task we have set ourselves may be fraught with tremendous difficulties and may require heavy sacrifices. The immediate struggle will be arduous. It may be long, and it Certainly will demand from our nation that it should withhold nothing that may contribute to our strength. We shall gather that strength only as we live, work, think, and act constructively, collectively and unitedly, submerging with willing cheerfulness individual, sectional and national prejudices not only for the sake of New Zealand but for the whole of humanity. “However the war develops, one thing is certain. Its outcome will depend upon the determination of the peoples of all nations, including our own, to unite in one common purpose to bring into being a spirit of love, honesty and unselfishness, which alone can provide the basis for a lasting peace.”