THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1923. AUCKLAND'S WAR MEMORIAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18566, 26 November 1923, Page 8

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1923. AUCKLAND'S WAR MEMORIAL.

Because gratitude is forgetful, memorials of human heroism are desirable beyond estimation. Without them, great names are but written in water and critical events fade into the haze of the past. The. lessons of other days are easily lost, even by the men nearest in their inheritance and, unless handed down with care, fail to enable generations following to profit by the experiences of their predecessors. So aids to memory have been invented and perfected with the progress of the centuries. The notched sticks by which genealogies are reckoned, the stones of memorial set by the wayside and over the remains of the dead, the pictures graven upon rock, the chronicles written with laborious patience, and all the modern devices of recollection, grown more detailed as memory has become more dependent upon their aid, betoken both man's anxiety to re- | member and his distrust of unsupported recollection. More particularly, when he desires to perpetuate the memory of heroic deeds, for the emulation of his children's children, he sets about establishing some per- ! manent and venerable reminder, j That is Auckland's purpose in the project, long since designed, now being submitted to its citizens for final practical endorsement. It is well that this effort has not been any longer delayed. The -footfalls of the men gone west are - being already lost in the distance, and we forget our debt to" the dead. They never dun us for payment of that debt. It was not for this they fought and died. They did their duty, and in its doing they laid us under obligation but it was not to get this claim upon our gratitude that they sacrificed themselves. They made no bargain with us. For all that, we have incurred a debt, and fain would pay it.

What is it that we seek to commemorate? A triumph over a foe Not that. No vainglorious motive moves us to erect a reminder of the struggle that dominates the records of this/ century's earlier years. There was a victory, without doubt; but a reverent view of it will lead us self-deprecatingly to say—" Not unto us, not unto v< 1" Nor do we boast the prowess of those by whom the victory was won. We are glad and proud of their achievement but it is because they were brave rather than that they were triumphant, self-sacrificing rather than self-assertive. We would have been at least as eager to keep them in memory had they been beaten but still courageous. So long as they did not fail us by reluctance or cowardice in the struggle, they are worthy to be had in lasting remembrance. The war's passion days are no less vital to memory than its episodes of gain. Gallipoli, had it been a scene of easy conquest, would, indeed, have meant much less than it does by reason of its splendid endurance of a fiery ordeal that baffled but could not crush our men. There was a gallant retreat from Mons to the Marne that was really one of the most magnificent exploits of the war. Belgium's attempt to prove itself ! a country and riot a road for highI waymen makes a sad story; but its

telling, even if it stumble over broken sobs, will quicken many a brave endeavour in days to come. In the war's memories those things count for most. It takes but a shallow heart to hold the wine of victory. Plaudits elicit easy echoes from thin, metallic souls. But the nature that is deepened by the patience of trial can comprehend the gains of defeat, and know death as the price and pledge of exalted life. It is for such things, with their enduring appeal to human reverence, that the war memorial is to stand. It will be inevitably reminiscent of victory and of a marvellous escape from a menacing tyranny; but it is expressly designed to keep alive memories of duty and courage and sacrifice.

It is on this ground that a wide appeal is made lor contributions to complete the sum required for the erection of the memorial. Nobody, whatever the measure of his personal gain from the war's winning, i can be reasonably indifferent to this aspect of the matter. On the V ground of victory's gift of renewed

security of life and property and all the gains of a restored tranquillity, there might be base*, an appeal of a meanly commercial order: the exploits of the valiant dead won these material boons for us, and we have a direct opportunity of making acknowledgment and discharging the debt by contributions towards the perpetuation of their memory. But there is much more in the project than that. It is no mere quid pro quo, calculated on a basis of payment. The real reason lies deeper. Those whose names are held in honour have given to all an example of heroic endeavour and endurance. To keep alive r the memory of their heroism, not to make a payment for value received, is the desire of every seriousminded citizen. The spiritual life of the whole nation has been enriched in a way no material test can even roughly estimate, ana gratitude for that enrichment cad its future influence may well express itself in a permanent public acknowledgment. Some may be tempted to stand superciliously aside and protest against the devo-. tion of so large a sum to this object. They have not caught the spirit of the memorial any more than the mni who tries to ilculate how much the winning of the war put or kept in his pocket, and to limit his contribution accordingly. It *is an occasion for high-spirited giving, in recognition of the fact that no carefully measured contribution can accurately represent the amount of indebtedness each citizen has to do something to discharge. We, no less than those who counted not' their lives dear unto them and did not begrudge the sacrifice they made, cannot with self-respect meet imperious need, with a dole.