WAR IS DECLARED.

NZ Truth, Issue 477, 8 August 1914, Page 7

WAR IS DECLARED.

Then his Excellency paused and with deep gravity said: "I have another telegram to announce which I have received. War has broken out with Germany." Thisannouncement was received with a cheer that displayed the tense emotions of the crowd. /All as one man bared their heads and sang the National Anthem. Hats and hands were raised m the air, but the face was one of strained emotion, Old men on the outskirts of the crowd were seen with tears tracing their cheeks and wom,en with handkerchiefs to their eyes. STATEMENT BY THE PREMIER. The Right Hon. W. F. Massey said that the Empire was face to face with the most serious position, that it had ever been faced with. The British people must stand together, and he was glad to see that the people, not only of New Zealand, but of every part of the Empire were unanimous m their loyalty, and would do their duty as a whole. If they were called upon to

make Macrilices he \v:lk contidont they would be made, individually and eoilecticcly. willingly, and iv :i .spirit that would be m tmeorditnen with the best traditious of the nation to whirh w<: belong. (Applau.se.) "ICeep coo!,.siaud fast, do your duly to your euuntry and your Empire." (Loud cheers.) SIR .IOSEPH WARD ALSO. Sir Joseph Ward then spoke:---"J want to say that f believe lirrnly that out of evil Rood will arise. ICveryone recoKnbie.s tlj« horrors of war. The tlmo arrives m tho affairs of nations as of IndlvlduulH when they must lUtht In tho defoneo of honor and for their oodsteneo, w!'fn the blessiiiKH of peace have :•■ bo u-reKono and all the Krief that liv! Micriiico of human llfo entails has to bo borne with fortitude and resignation. The lus's of troaMuro will bo stui>endous, but that is a secondary consideration. The British Empiro Ks entering upon the greatest crisis In lt« history. Her rulers havo done nothing to provoke op precipitate the war: on the contrary, they havo done all humanly possible to avort it. It wna Impossible, In my opinion, for Groat Britain to stand aside and to let powerful friendly nations go on without her taking "part; to have done so -would have been an act of cowardice, a thins unknown to Britishers. Tho people In all, part* of tho Krnplre at thlH grave juncture will HUind united, and. with undoubted courage and lnllexlble determination, leave nothing xtndono to defeat the enemy, which 1 cnrneatly pray, under the guidance of Divine l'rovldenee. may soon bo J brought about, and that the

outcome of the unprecedented struggle may ensure lasting peace through the centuries to come. My motto is, "For King and Country," and it will be fervently breathed by the loyal people of this Dominion, as it will be throughout our widely-scattered Empire. May God bless and protect the British forces on land and sea and make them victorious, is my earnest prayer. The crowd then sang "God Save the King," followed by "Rule, Britannia."