The North Otago Times. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1916. THE OLD YEAR AND THE NEW

North Otago Times, Volume CIV, Issue 13766, 30 December 1916, Page 4

The North Otago Times. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1916. THE OLD YEAR AND THE NEW

The dawn of 1917 finds the great nations of Hlle earth still deep in the tremendous conflict which 1 Great Britain and her Allies have been waging for twenty-nine months, The year that is closing has been a year of searching trial to our race throughout the world. Sadly we relate that it has brought to some scores of millions amongst the belligerents calamities of a magnitude miapproached in the story of civilised mankind. If our gallant Navy and our guardian seas have saved the Empire from- the more- terrible afflictions that have visited too many of our Allies, it has exacted a toll from the Empire far heavier than the British race has ever paid in war. Some, days ago, in a splendid tribute., to--the valorous deeds ofi the; JBritish Army, aiu], Nayy ); .Lord 'Sydenham,remarked.that the British Navy has accomplished more than, even extremists'of the Blue •Water School dared to expect, It has shown resourcefulness beyond .all"..praise. Our,young commanders ..of., submarines, have seized every opportunity which-offered, with skill and daring worthy of the • traditions- that Nelson bequeathed, and nothing has" miscarried that has been left to the discretion of the service afloat. Silence fell upon the Grand Fleet when war began, and landsmen in the Allied countries may not yet realise that it is the firm base upon which our and their operations securely rest. The old, solid, highly-trained Army, which helped to save France at the great crisis of the war in August and September, 1914, has almost passed away; but millions of citizens have Ifreely responded'to the call of patriotic duty, and the. annals of no country can show such a record. The raising, training, and supply tff"these"m'asscs of men constitute' an achievement for which the War Office .deserves full credit. Of: the stormers of Badajos, in the second siege Sir. John Jones wrote:'"The efforts, of British troops occasionally set all calculations at defiance,, and when a few years shall have swept away the eye-witnesses of their achievements of this night, they will not be credited." This may, with equal justice, be said of "the heroes who forced' the landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula, and whether in Flanders, Gallipoli, Macedonia, Egypt, or on the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates, British and Indian troops have endured.trials far exceeding those of. the. Peninsular War. |N T o improvised army has ever been called upon to undergo more searching ordealsj and none has shown greater aptitude and devotion. Canadian and Australasian troops, newly raised, have given proofs of- valour never excelled. Britons—always warlike, if unmilitary—have displayed fighting powers never approached in scale, or exceeded in quality,; injhe. stormiest periods of their long history. The Dominions, lightly knit to the Mother Country in time, of peace, but inspired by devotion to.one-Sovereign, to! one flag, and shared ideals, rose instantly to meet a common peril, and now stand grimly determined to throw their all into the scales of war. The Princes and Chiefs of India have given lavishly of their men and treasure to the great cause which they feel to be their own, all this and more we have reason for supreme thankfulness as we look back through the war-swept vista of twentynine' months. So far the Valcula-

tions of thcGcrmaii.'Great General Staff and of the affiliated. Professors have been-falsified/'.'Eng-' land4ias ;i sh6wn whatshe 'can, do wheti- she; is'v aroused;, 5 aiul the Empire is aroused' witH her. To shatter that Empire before it became an organic whole has been the chief aim of Germany's: " v world policy" since she began !to : build her Meet.' By this war Germany has done more.to. knit the British Empire together than the .nation could have-hopci to accomplish in, a generation of peace. Although the successes we had hoped would" come during 1916 have not fully materialised, arid dark' clouds still roll across the horizon, the rich tribute of love and loyalty to the highest ideals of our race have not been wasted-far from ; it. When the war is done there will assuredly spring the new and closer union of all the British 'people's.. That will be. one great result of the war -perhaps, for manhood the greatest of all, for it, will mean more certainly than any'other the abiding triumph of righteousness, of liberty, and of law. For the sake j of the inany thousands of gallant lives tliat have fallen, and of the bitter sorrows and sufferings that remain; we must enter; on the New. Year with resolutions' strongly forged in the fierce fires of war. Heavy sacrifices have come to us in 1916, but also-inspiring memories of devotion, cheerful,endurance, and true patriotism among all classes. It is to rausom our children and our 'children's children in all climes from the perpetual menace 'of the German yoke that'we fight on. The work Great Britain and'her -Allies' have -hi hand must be done once for all. They shall leave no part of it for after generations to do again. The Allies have the power and the will to do it now. The Entente's resources are immense; we know, that our Allies are faithful and strong; we know, above all, that the quarrel is just and England once again "the bulwark of the cause of men.'" 'For this cause we will fight to the last, and in this cause we have an assured faith that-we. shall conquer. Thus we face the coming year with calm confidence actuated by the inflexible determination to fight on "until the day break and the shadows flee away." in the dawn of victory and the light of peace.