ABOUT THE WAR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16980, 17 April 1917, Page 6

ABOUT THE WAR

A TRAVELLING MJEVS IMPRESSIONS,

ÜBOTURE BY DR A. K. NEWMAN.

Dr A. K Newman, M.P., of Wellington, lectured to a large audiouee in tho hums •tLali last night on the subject of " What I Learned About tho War During my Recent Visit to the Front." Dr Newman was ono of the parliamentary party that recently visited tho scene of operations in l''rance, and he took full advantage of tiic special opportunities then afforded him for seeing waat is actually happening. -The proceeds of the meeting were dovoted to tho funds of the Women's Patriotic Association, and a busy band of young ladies sold lollies about the hall for the same worthy object The Mayor (Mr J. J - Clark) presided, and in introducing'tho speaker referred to tho marvellous way in wiiich tho women of the JLmpiro had adapted thomsehles to the altered circumstances arising out of the war. We in Dunedin were exceedingly proud of tho way in wiiich tho women of our city had rallied round tho Empire and worked so hard for the men iightiug for us: Of all the patriotic organisations in our city there was none that could bo so illspared as the Otago Women's Patriotic Association. They wero under a deep debt of gratitude to Dr Nowman, not only for his lecture, but for giving up so much of his tune and coining down specially from Wellington to speak to them. Prior to the lecture vocal items were contributed by Mrs S. C. Wilson, who sang Homeland," and Miss Marjorie Lemon, who sang -What -Wo Have We'll Hold," both vocalists gaining a very cordial reception.

L>r Newman commenced a chatty informal and informative address, lightened with many touches of humour, by saying he had not come down to earn gratitude, but to earn a bit of money for tho boys. England he found to be a very, very sad country, and it was no good talking about "having a good time" under present conditions. He went Home via Honolulu, and there saw the German ships that dared not show themselves anywhere on the Pacific. Ho described the voyage on the Baltic across tne Atlantic, and quaintly remarked concerning a patent air / waistcoat now much worn on board ship, "There you are in the water—perfectly safe until you die of the cold! Our New Zoaland boys, he said, were thoroughly well looked after in the big hospitals at Walton, Codford, and elsewhere. They felt they were in heaven, having clean slieots and three regular meals a day after what they had had to put up with. He had looked into it with a doctor's eye, and bo could assure them that these hospitals were very well run. Many of our boys were working their way forward in lalestmo at the present time, and would shortly have captured tho Holy Land. He did not know what would become of the Holy Land. It was said that the Jews would, go back there, but he believed that many of the Jews would still be quite satisfied to live in Dunedin.—(Laughter.) He described the work of tho New Zealand Association and the New Zealand Club in London, where there'is accommodation for as many as 280 boys on leave. They suffered a great deal from coughs and colds owing to the English climate. The New Zealand lads behaved excellently, and he had been proud to find the high esteem in. which they wore held everywhere. Ho told of his visit to Brigadier-general Russell at Armentieres, where he went within 70 yards of tho German trenches, and spoke enthusiastically of the arrangements made for tho care and comfort, i entertainment, and convenience of our boys. Extraordinary precautions wero takeii against diseaso in this war, and this was the best-fed, best-clothed, best-nursed, and best-looked-after army that the world had over seen. The New Zealanders were great athletes, and their knowledge of football proved of the greatest service in making them quick and active. They had tho repu-tation.-of never having gone back from any position they had won until they wero told He had been told by high authorities 'that the ultimate thing in this war was tho bravery of the man with tho bayonet who would "go into" the other man. The Maoris wero splendid in bayonet fighting, and they enjoyed it. The boys were all breaking their necks" to get back to home and New Zealand, and they suffered a great deal from homesickness. It was a fact, he said, that we had mastered the Zeppelins, and as a means of warfare they were proved no good. Physical size in this wa- did not count as much as it used to Ho told of one officer in the Black Watch 6b llin in height. "You would imagine," ha said, "that a big man like that would soon be hit, and he was. He was hit in tho left foot."—(Laughter.) Ho gave a vivid description of tho vast scale on which artillery preparation was undertaken, and told how the rails of Highland railways and from branch lines in Canada had been torn up to build railways behind the lines in h ranee, to keep tho artillery supplied. Ho illustrated the immense nature of the problem of water supply by stating that at the bomme three 16in mains had been laid on for our army. Ho assured his audience that the submarine menace waa a very serious thing, tho most serious that , England had had to face. The German game was to hang out till next October, and if she could do that she would bo able to go on again till the following April, for little eoulcf be done with tho heavy guns in the winter months. In his opinion nothing really mattered but tho western front. To Mr Lloyd Georgo he gave the highest praise as the boss and ablest man in all England, to whom the whole nation was looking as the one man who could win the war. There was no "swank," but*the whole nation was absolutely grimly determined to win through at any cost. He did not think we were going to get much good out of the Americans. They might lend us some monev, and that would be useful; but they said their army would not be ready for a year, and they would keep thoir navy chiefly about their own coasts. One good suggestion he had heard was that the Allies should make peace now and leave Germany and the United States to fight it out. Ho showed that undoubtedly everything depended on Britain, and that if wo drew out all tho other Allies must collapse. In closing, he pointed out how much could and ought to bo done for returned soldiers and then- dependents through personal individual effort and tactful thoughtfulness. Ho trusted that we would come out of this fiery furnace purer and nobler than we went into it, and that wo might achieve through this suffering that righteousness that exaltcth a nation.

Dr Newman was accorded a hearty vote of thanks by acclamation, and the meeting closed with the National Anthem.