THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1923. “THE GREAT SILENCE.”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19015, 10 November 1923, Page 8

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1923. “THE GREAT SILENCE.”

Armistice Day falls ou Sunday this year for the first time.- This circumstance does not materially affect the significance of the occasion, though some slight modification of arrangement is necessary as regards the 'momentary silence at eleven o'clock, which is the time at Which the church services usually commence. Tne quietude of the weekly Day of Rest should promote a serious obseTva.nce of the commemorative festi- . val, though one impressive feature—the temporary cessation of business activity ■ —will be missed. Five years have gone by since the “Cease Firing - ’ order was given, and the world-wide intensive conflict came to an end, to the unspeakable relief of millions of wounded and anxious hearts. A year later the felicitous institution of “the great silence” was inaugurated, and ou the second anniversary the -Unknown Warrior, symbolic ■ of the colossal sacrifice of the British race, was buried in Westminster Abbey. “In the great awful silence that’ fell upon London’s streets yesterday,” wrote an observer in 1920, “there was a glimpse into the soul of the Nation. There was silence deep as death, And' the boldest held his breath For a time. One hardly knew whether the two minutes appeared short or long. Time ami space were obliterated. ,1a an interval of seconds, men must have revisited the torn and blasted fields of France, the ridges of Flanders, the beaches of Gallipoli, and many a cemetery where long rows of wooden crosses mark the resting place of those who fell.” No doubt the passage of time tends gradually to dull alike the poignancy of the memories of the great conflict and the gladness of the memory of the great relief ; but it, will be many and many a year ibefore Armistice Day entirely Joses its quality of vivid interest. The peace which dates from five years age to-day has had some features of disillusionment, but it should never be forgotten that the primary purpose of the war—deliverance from an awful menace —was achieved; and thanksgiving for this deliverance should have a conspicuous place in the annual observance. Private sentiment abides in surefidelity; people to whom the tragic events of 1914-18 brought bereavement do not forget; but as time goes on there is undoubtedly a danger lest the corporate recognition of the community regarding the vital import of the, historic ordeal shoulcl show signs of. weakening.

Indeed, the Soldiers’ Memorial woaW not have hung fire so disappointingly if all, or even a majority of, the residents of this city were in the habit of reflecting with sober conscientiousness upon the sinister perils, the fate, from which British liberty was safeguarded at such portentous cost, only yesterday as it were. It is salutary to ponder the thought of bow near we came to losing the war in 1917, when the German submarine activity was at its height, and to try to picture the state of virtual servitude in which Jvew Zealand, in common with other parts of the Empire, would be to-day if fortune had been adverse. It is superfluous to say that our emotions of thanksgiving will be associated with grateful, admiring, and reverent thoughts of the brave men who gave or risked their lives in order to compass our security. It is a familiar theme, but unchangeably charged'with the most sacred quality of human sentiment;