GENERAL BIRDWOOD'S TOUR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17234, 9 August 1919, Page 8

GENERAL BIRDWOOD'S TOUR.

It need hardly be said that the public of New Zealand will be intensely disappointed if General Birdwood's proposed tour of Australia is.not extended to include the Dominion. The cable suggests that the New Zealand* 1 Government has not yet been officially informed of the visit, but no formal consideration of this kind should be allowed to stand in the way of extending to General Birdwood an immediate and pressing invitation to these shores. Formality is foreign to the nature of this great soldier. The anecdotes which have passed from tongue to tongue in the New Zealand Division show how intimate and cordial are the relations he established with his men, and there would be something incongruous in delaying an offer of hospitality till , official advice of his visit to Australia had been received. No commander in the great war is nearer the hearts of those who served under him than General Birdwood. He was the friend of every New Zealand soldier, therefore he is the friend of every New Zealander. We know him, although' we have not seen him, but we should like to meet him face to face and analyse for our- i selves those indefinable . qualities which have endeared him to all. General Birdwood is more than a gallant soldier and a successful general. He has been one of the few leaders who inspired confidence and enthusiasm under the impersonal conditions of modern warfare. His name is a household word in the Dominion, and soldiers and civilians will anticipate his visit with very great pleasure.