TOWN HALL SERVICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19620, 26 April 1927, Page 15

TOWN HALL SERVICE.

AN IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY.

ADDRESS BY ARCHBISHOP. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DAY. The service in the Town Hall "was an impressive one. The hall was decorated with laurel wreaths, and across the front of the organ the word "Anzac" was formed in large letters of laurel leaves. The scarlet robes of the Mayor stood out in striking contrast to the khakj and blue uniforms on the platform, yet beyond a purple dfaping on the lectern no sign of mourning was shown. Over 2000 people who were unable to gain admission listened to the addresses and hymns broadcast by a loud speaker erected outside. The service opened with the National Anthem, and then followed "O, God Oar Help in Ages Past," "The Nameless Graves," Kipling's "Recessional" and, lastly, "For All the Saints." Archbishop Averill recalled the sacrifice of the men whose memory they were honouring, and said he was convinced the present generation of New Zealandefs, many of whom had been born sine© the war, would not allow Anzac Day fo become a mere public holiday, suitable for the holding of picnics and sports meetings. The need for Anzac Day seemed to bo greater than ever, and ho could not imagine that the people would ever lose sight of the religious side of its observance. It was not only New Zealand's great national day, but also her great sacred national day. As long as the soldiers continued to remain a bodyguard around the memory of those who fell, Anz&e Day would never lose its j great significance. | "We have all been disappointed with | the results and aftermath of the war, and we have been inclined to think sometimes that our boys gave their lives in vain," the Primate said. "I think it is as well that we have been disappointed, becau.'ie we have been forced to two great • conclusions. One is that war and victory of themselves cannot produce a lasting peace, and the second is that if peace is to iast there must be a suitable atmosphere and conditions before it can thrive. "We thought it was a war to end war, and our boys went out to die in the hope that they were making a contribution to that end. Unfortunately, -we cannot be so optimistic to-day. We are driven to the; conclusion that there cannot be a lasting peace until there is a new spirit. If we are to carry on the work these heroes started and avenge their deaths, ■we must play our part in securing conditions in which peace can livo, thrive and be consolidated. "After the lapse of years we have had time for a dispassionate survey of the part we as a nation and Empire took tithe war. I am bound to say it could not have been otherwise, and if the same set of circumstances existed to day we should do the same again. I still believe with all my heart that the men who died did so for a noble purpose. They sacrificed themselves for a suppression of tyranny and to uphold the honour and integrity of the Empire. I will not believe they died in vain.. "It behoves us to do a great deal more than we have done, to sacrifice ourselves for peace, as we worked and sacrificed for war and victory. The world is daily becoming more circumscribed as the result of scientific invention, and nations are jostling one another as never in the past. They must get rid of that h&tred. envy and jealousy, which is the forerunner of all wars,- and we should all play our part in bringing that about." In conclusion, Archbishop Averill said he was perfectly satisfied that Britain was light in defending the lives of her people in China. China was passing through a great struggle for the realisation of herself, and the movement there to-day constituted the birth pangs of a new awakening. The greatest possible admiration was due to the splendid forbearance of the men of the Army and Navy in the difficult work with which they were faced. "A brief address was also given by the Rev. D. C. Herron, M.O.