BRITISH EMPIRE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 27 April 1923, Page 5

BRITISH EMPIRE

GREATEST FACTOR FOR PEACE PRIME ,MINISTER’S ANZAC DAY SPEECH (United Press Association). CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. In his Anzac Day speech Mr Massey said the milleuium was still a long way off. The time was a long way off when men would beat their swords into ploughshares, when they would bend their spears into reap hooks and learn the art of no war, hut the greatest factor in the world to-day for peace was the Empire to which we belonged. Changes would take place and be hoped arid believed that some day the Empire would he the most prominent factor in bringing about- world peace, when war would be no more. He honestly thought that would come, but in the meantime we must not neglect the defences of the Empire. There were some who were willing to make it a third class power, hut that must not, be tolerated. That was the only way to invite and not to prevent war. Lei, us do our part, however small, and leave the rest to the Higher Power “that watches over Israel and slumbers not nor sleeps.’ . “I can’t help thinking that the British Empire is specially protected hv a Higher ‘Power,” said Mr Massey, and lie instanced how a hurricane had smashed the Spanish Armada, how the Nile, Trafalgar and Waterloo hart brought Napoleon’s power to an end, when he had prepared a great army to> invade England. Theif coming down through the' ages had been the Great War, in which the German Army had been turned away from Paris. Had they got into Paris, it would have been necessary, in his opinion, for most of the Allies to make terms with Germany, but again Providence, he thought, had intervened. Then had come the Zeppelins to coniouiul Britain into making terms, but the explosive bullet had come along, against which the Zeppelins could do nothing. That awful thing, the poison gas, had been met with a preventative by which the Allies were able to hold their own, and then bad come the most serious danger of all. the submarines, but they tcoy had been met bv British inventive powers directed by the Finger of 1 rovidence and the trouble bad been overcome bv the hydroplane and depth charge. ‘ The biggest push of all had come in the Spring of 1918, when the Germans got. to the great railway from Paris to Bologne, but again the tide of war had turned against, them and they had been driven back. He could not think of those things without, thinking honestly, that the British Empire was being preserved for some great purpose not, yet disclosed. In the last few weeks, Mr ’Massey preceded, cablegrams had referred to the conference between representatives of the new Turks and the British. A question that it was intended to discuss was what was going to be done with the territory that contained the British cemeteries on Galipoh I enmsula and he honoured greatly what had been sai dby the British representative, Lord Guram, who had said:- 1 am not prepared to discuss anything re ' garding the last resting place of, thousands of British soldiers. I won t, haggle over it, and I speak with the whole British Empire behind me, when I say that where British soldiers are buried, is British soil and must he controlled bv British subjects.” That was one of the finest tilings of winch Mr Massev had heard. 7