THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 1929. “ WHAT MEAN YE BY THIS SERVICE?”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20701, 26 April 1929, Page 10

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 1929. “ WHAT MEAN YE BY THIS SERVICE?”

Anzac Day is a Dominion day rather than a personal and family day. There are other days connected with the Great War that speak more to the hearts of persons and families than Anzac Day does. Such days,' for example, are that on which a son or 'a brother sailed, or the day on which he was reported “missing”— a word of torturing hope and desolating fear—or “killed,” a word at the sight and sound of which a light vanished from the earth that, for some persons, has never returned. ’Anzac Day is a Dominion day, because on it, when her sons landed on the beaches of Gallipoli, New Zealand, after months of preparation, had her first real experience of the Great War. As time passes, and generations come and go, the emotional appeal of bygone events naturally and inevitably diminishes and eventually ceases altogether. With the passing of emotion, memory also passes; the events that led to the consecration of certain days and ceremonies tend to be forgotten, and the days are deflected from their original purpose to other uses. This is a tendency which at times should be resisted, and, therefore, men and nations have adopted means to keep the past alive. They have set apart special days of commemoration, instituted services, and erected monuments—things that naturally provoke children to ask: “ What mean ye by these stones?,” “ What mean ye by this service?” Thus the past is not allowed to die, but is kept fresh and influential in the speech and conduct of -the people; It is for this purpose that our land has- been filled with memorial stones^ —columns, statues,, and tablets—aiid for this purpose memorial trees have been planted in our gardens and along our highways. For this reason we keep Anzac Day.

A nation cut off from its past is like a tree cut off from its roots. The life of a nation should strike its' roots deeply into its past—its past successes and its past failures. The proverb that “ experience teaches fools ” is not true; but experience does teach wise men and understanding peoples. History is not merely a record of the past; it is also a source of instruction, warning, and inspiration. History is didactic as well as narrative and descriptive. This is true of the History of Thucydides and of ’ Tacitus; it is especially true of Hebrew history. The so-called “ Fifth Book of Moses,” consists of his speeches, which a literary critic has compared for oratorical power to the speeches of Demosthenes and of Burke. They contain laws and history, but the history is not a record of the past merely; it is an appeal to inspire and a warning to enforce obedience to the laws. “ Remember ” is. one of the recurrent words of the speeches, and “ Lest ye forget ” one of their repeated phrases. Kipling’s great Recessional Ode also is an incitement to national conduct inspired by the remembrance of the past. “ Lest we forget is the refrain, of the ode, and its thought and sentiment , are the same, in modern terms, as those of the speeches of the old Hebrew leader; God of our fathers, known of old Lord of our far-flung battle line. Beneath whose awful hand we hold

Dominion over palm and pine— Lord God of hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget—lest we forget. Tennyson also recognised the relation of the present and the future to the past; the past should be the inspiration of love, and, when transfused by the powers of thought, it should be the guide of life. Love thou thy land, with love far brought From out the storied past, and used Within the present, but transfused Thro’ time by power of thought. The great event in their history to which the Hebrews turned again and again for instruction and inspiration was their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. By that experience the tribes had been welded into one, and the nation was bom. Appeal is made to the fact that they had been bondmen in Egypt and had been delivered in order to enforce the command that they should treat other people with humanity. By the reminder of their deliverance their courage is inspired and sustained when they arc confronted by foes stronger and more numerous than themselves. Anzac Day was not the birthday of our nation, but it was for us the beginning of a period when we realised, with a vividness that we had never known before, the unity and solidarity of the Empire. During the period between Anzac Day and Armistice Day, the widely scattered Commonwealth of Nations, which we call the British Empire, was compacted into one as it had. never been before. That unity was wrought by service and sacrifice of time and substance and life, in which women, according to their opportunity,, shared equally with men. By that unity and solidarity our nation was saved from damage, perhaps destruction, at the hands of our enemies. Anyone who beeps Anzac Day thoughtfully will leai’n that one meaning of Anzac Day and its services is, “ United we stand, divided we fall.” He will find, ini’ that lesson of the past, guidance for his present national duty amid the disruptive social, industrial, and moral forces that exist amongst us. As he thinks of the sorrow and loss that began on Anzac Day and continued through the following years : he will find that they raise for him the question, What can 1 do to prevent a repetition of Anzac Day? A wise man who loves his nation, and wishes to do his duty, to her, will observe Anzac Day and ask, What mean ye by this day, by this service, by these stones?

LABOUR AND THE MAYORALTY, The protagonists of Labour like to make it appear that they have but one voice and ono approach with reference to questions of civic moment. It is of interest to come across an outstanding instance to the contrary as affecting the municipal elections. From the Labour point of view Christchurch is the model city in New Zealand, and its administration under the Labour regime of the last few years is held up by Labour candidates for municipal honours.in Dunedin as presenting a pattern that should be widely imitated. Some of these candidates may, however, find certain observations in a speech this week by Mr J. K. Archer, who is seeking re-election to the Christchurch mayoralty, a trifle disturbing. Mr Archer said he had been criticised for expressing surprise at the choice made by the Citizens’ Association in Christchurch of an opponent to . himself and explained that it was his contention that any man who aspired to the high and jomewhat difficult office of mayor should first of all serve an apprenticeship on the City Council. “ I myself, would not have dared to stand,’’. declared Mr Archer, “had I not been on the Council,” These observations bear pertinently, of course, upon the candidature of Mr Jones for the Dunedin mayoralty. Labour representatives in Dunedin may not appreciate their utterance at this juncture, for they are naturally desirous of making 'the candidature of their nominee appear in the best light possible. But the Labour Mayor of Christchurch, who should know what is required of the occupant of the mayoral office, has ruled dead against them in a ease which is parallel to that of the appearance of the Labour candidate in the field as an aspirant for the Dunedin mayoralty. Will his colleagues of the Labour Party say that Mr Archer is wrong and that his judgment on such a question is superfluous and erroneous? Mr Archer has been speaking, be it noted, less in a critical spirit than in the role of guide and philosopher. For the Christchurch mayoral candidate who is being put forward without experience in municipal affairs he expresses a kindly solicitude, coupled with the suggestion that he should offer up every night till the elections the prayer, “ from our friends.’” There is appropriate matter here for ; the assimilation of those in Dunedin who have' encouraged Mr Jones to offer himself as a candidate. It is perhaps a case for a little prayerfulness, all round.