THE MESSAGE 0E EMPIRE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17634, 26 May 1919, Page 6

THE MESSAGE 0E EMPIRE DAY

At Trinity Methodist Church the Rev. M. A. Rugby Pratt made special reference to Empire i)ay in the course of an address on "/Imperial Greatness*" He pointed out that Britain's flag floated under every , sky and that the Empire dominated the highways of commerce and held the gateways of tiie world. Britain ruled over 11 £ million square miles of territory, with a population of nearly 500 millions. Nine-tenths of her expansion had been secured without bloodshed. The Empire had. passed through a sobering struggle in defence of the principles which had made her great. Britain entered the war because she ap-preciated-moral values. No unworthy aims inspired her. No malignity was in our hearts and no hymn, of hate upon our lipe. The unmeasured sacrifices we had made for moral considerations had touched our national life with undying splendour. Empire Day was not meant to foster jingoistic patriotism, nor to promote an arrogant scorn of the people' or ideals of other nations. The watchwords of the day were duty and responsibility. The day served to exalt the great qualities of discipline, fortitude, self-suppression, and self-sacrifice, These qualities stood for character. Upon character alone could be' built an enduring national name. Our destiny hinged upon our ideals and moral stamina, not on naval, power and military prowess, nor on. the vastness of our territory or the bigness of our population. Given godly character, we should never crumble before the tests of trial or the changes of time. These were times, Mr Rugby Pratt said, of perplexity and difficulty. Life was storm-swept and passion-tossed. Success in war had laid new burdens upon lis, and Empire Day bade us take up our task. We had fulfilled the task of demonstrating the . fundamental falsity of the German philosophy, which teaches that "Might is Right." We laid hold of that task to show that the mightiest forces are not physical, but moral and spiritual. But other tasks confronted us, tasks that should stir our hearts like the bugle-call to a great campaign. Shadows lay athwart our splendour'. War had flashed a revealing light on many grave defects in national life and character. There had been a growth of great national evil. There was a frantic pursuit of pleasure, a callous extravagance, a debasing use of wealth, an inordinate love of luxury. These betokened a lack of seriousness and earnestness. Around us worked the forces of ignorance, error, apathy, and . sin. We tolerated abuses that unmade men and involved moral weaklings in collapse. Our hearts had thrilled at the call to arms. Let them respond to the challenge to fight this harder battle against things that sully our national glory. We had inherited great traditions and were designated for a lofty vocation. It was ours to vindicate human rights, to defend the interests of the weak, to uphold the cause of the oppressed, to succour the helpless, and to emancipate' the enslaved. We must maintain our fight so long as tyranny remains, or wrong endures, or victims fall broken from the wheel of oppression. But our wider task was appallingly great. The nations were swept by passions of barfa ario hate. The lust of conquest and l power burned fiercely. Our problems had been created by selfishness, jealousy, and suspicion. : They could only be solved by accepting Christ's ideals of righteousness, brotherhood, and goodwill. Only Christ could allay racial antagonisms, still warring passions, and create mutual sympathy. Only He could give the unifying touch that would fuse the nations into a noble unity. Christ was ' challenging the Empire to a stupendous enterprise. But what was the Empire? It was a multitude of individual lives: _ Every unit counted in determining its policy and destiny. Each man's responsibility was equal to his knowledge, ability, position, and power. God and Empire claimed our service, and' great movements hung upon our willingness to do our bit. The doing of it demanded sacrifice, but sacrifice lay at the root of all patriotism. Our very flag was a token of sacrifice with the cross at ite heart and centre. That flag spoke of tlie splendour that arose from countless conflicts and conquests. It bade us not to be callously indifferent to the fate of others. It challenged us to pay the price to fashion for ourselves a fairer nationhood.

We longed for an Empire, Mr Rugby Pratt said,_ into which should be gathered up the fruits of all the aspirations, hopes, and strivings of our fathers and ourselves' an Empire from which should be cast out all that offends and defiles and destroys.That was a noble ideal. But it should inspire moral energy. We must be worthy of our cause, strong in face of trying ordeals, resolute amid difficulty, steadfast in sacrifice, faithful to God and right. One day there would emerge from the welter and confusion of warring factions'an ampler and a purer life. A new world would be born out of the pangs and struggles. The golden ago would come in which' Christ would have mastery in the realm of morals monarchy over the kingdom of the intellect', and supremacy in the sphere of society! Might it be ours to speed the day! The service opened with the National Anthem and concluded with the "Hallelujah Chorus." The choir, under Mr S. Lawn, rendered Handel's ehorus " O Father Whose Mighty Power," and Miss Madge Torrance contributed Mendelssohn's recitative and air," But tie -Lord is Mindful. " Miss E. Hartley presided at the organ, and played appropriate voluntaries.

— A brigadier-general humorously defended the British soldier in his club recently when others were deploring the slackness in saluting that has become so apparent in the crowded streets. "Don't tell me there is any slackness," he said x JL?: d ?y 1 "talked from tho Strand to Whitehall and passed thousands of Tommies. Every cm© of them punctiliously satated. Of course. I was carrying two big bundles of papers, one under each arm, winch every man seemed to observe. I; can t sa_y what would have happened' had I not had the papers." A certain difference of opinion appears to exist as to which is tho most beasxtifal street in tho world. Among those "in the' running" may be mentioned: • Princes street Edinburgh, from which the city received the nickname of tho " Athens of the North"the Via XX September, Genoa; Sackville street. Dublin; the Avenida Callao and the Plazo Mayo, both in Buenos Aires; the High street. Belfast; and the Unter den Linden, Berlin.

Tho longest pipe lure for the conveyance of minoral oil is the one which connects tho now war-famous town of Baku, on the Caspian Sea. with Bafbum, on tho Black Sea, both of whioh towns are now under Allied control. This pipe line was completed just before the war, tho oil ha vine formerlv been conveyed in groat tanlcs by rail. It. is 550 miles in lensrth. and has a carrying capacrty of 400.000.000_ gallons per aimum. 1 "Necessity makes inches of miles—mole hills of mountains."—Storms. 'Way over in Sydrwy a lady tried to get Baxter's Limg Preserver, but, failing, wrote as follows: "I am enclosing £2 for some Baxter's Lung Preserver. One bottle , :> rlicl mo snch a lot of good in New Zealand that I want more." Get Baxter's yourself; 2s-6d a big bottle. Adyfc.