WAR MEMORIALS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17630, 21 May 1919, Page 4

WAR MEMORIALS

HONOURING DEAD SOLDIERS.

AN IMPERIAL SCHEME.

(Pes Ukited Pbkbr Association.) WELLINGTON, May 20. 1 roposals for the erection of war memorials on foreign fields of battle were referred to by Sir Jas. Allen at the Townplanning Conference to-day. He said he hoped to have before the Cabinet that day proposals for tho acquisition of land in four or five places in France, possibly in Gallipoli, and possibly in Palestine. These sites werd being acquired so that if they decider to piae;; memorials of the deeds' of our men m I'ranee, Gallipoli, and Palestino they would huve the land on which to do so. The Mother Country and the other dominions wort- securing these plots of land, and they advised New Zealand to do so. He thought it right that they should. It was proposed' that they should have four memorials in the fields of France. There was no difficulty about that. Memorials would be placed in the country of their ally in memory of the'men who fought to help that ally, but there might be difficulty about Palestine and Gallipoli. It would bo different if they owned Gallipoli, but they had to consider -whether they should place memorials in the hands of tho Tjjrks, in the territory of those they fought against, to commemorate the fact that they had fought against them. Then there was the question of memorials in foreign cemeteries of the world where our men' were buried. Tho Graves Commission was laying out cemeteries with the advice t>f the best horticultural experts and the best . Ihey proposed to "spend £1,500,000 in this work of laying out cemeteries, roading, planting, etc. New Zealand was joining [n, and her share of the expenditure was, he thought, £28',000 for a year. * They did not hesitate to provide their share of .this great national work. It was proposed that on plot covering each New Zealand - soldier there should be a simple headstone, giving Ins name and regiment. They had; the right to select their own design within certain limits of size, and he would be g.ad if the conference would appoint a committee to see models that had been prepared. One that commended itself to him was a, marble stone with a simple cross, and the letters "N.Z.E.F." in the angles of the cross. It' appeared to him to be the most enduring and artistic design submitted. The Imperial War Graves Commission was gathering together individual solcuers who had been buried in out-of-way ' places, and was endeavouring to have them collected in cemeteries where they could have memorials—not of what New Zealand had-done and had lost,, but, as these would be Empire cemeteries, of what the Empire had done. Two memorials were proposed—• one a -plain fiat stone erected upon magnificent steps representing the altar on which, tho men laid down their lives, and the other a beautiful cross. Sir James Allen asked them to consider what they would do in New Zealand in memory of the sacrifices triat had been made during the war. He knew that manjr favoured utilitarian schemes, such as hospitals, universities, etc., but no oiiilding of tnat kind would represent to him what the lessons of the tfar had taught him. He was certain that artistio memorials, representing the principles that the men had fought and died for, had a large part in influencing nations and national character. He knew the influence that the Nelson jiionumenfc in. Trafalgar Square had upon him. He had not time to allude to monuments in other countries, but ho asked General Pau if tho ' monuments in France had had an efiect on the French character. General Pau replied that they had made France what she was to day. They could have hospitals and universities in ordinary times, but these were extraordinary times, and something extraordinary was required in the way of memorials—something to pass on to future generations, and something to represent what had been passed through and which they trusted God to protect them from in the future. It meant duty done,' sacrifices mad-3, and liberty and freedom won. They could put into stone or bronze principles making those who came after them realise what it was to sacrifice themselves for the good of the whole.—(Applause.) The Hon. Mr Russell asked Sir James Allen to put in writing suggestions for war memorials for the consideration, of the conference.

"Die Mayor of Wellington said that in this city they had already established a scheme for paying a fitting tribute to the dead who were buried in the city. A committee of ladies was now assisting, in conjunction with the City Council, and they would also erect a fitting memorial.