THE COMMONWEALTH ODE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 9036, 3 January 1901, Page 1

THE COMMONWEALTH ODE.

The adjudicators appointed by the Premier of New South Wales to decide who was entitled to the prize of 50 guineas oSered for the best ode composed, for Commonwealth Day were Mr Justice Owen, Mr E. Dv Faur (President of the Art Gallery), and Mr Alexander Oliver, B.A. (President of the Land Appeal Court). After a careful perusal of a large number of compositions, they unhesitatingly selected an ode sent m by Mr George Esßex Evans of Toowoomba, but asked the author to make three amendments. Curiously enough, Mr Evans an- 1 ticipated the wishes of the adjudicators by forwarding another copy of the ode with the very alterations made therein as j suggested. The odo is as follows : 5 Awake ! Arise ! The wingg of dawn Ate beating at the Gates of Day ! The morning star has been withdrawn, The silver vapors melt away ! Rise royally, 0 sun, and crown The shoreward billow, streaming white, The forelands, and%he mountains brown, With crested light ; Flood with, soft beams the valleys wide, The mighty plains, the desert "sand, Till the New Day has won for bride This Austral land ! Freeborn of Nations, virgin white, Not won by blood, nor ringed with steel, Tby throne is on a loftier height, Deep-rooted m the Commonweal! 0 tltou, for whom the strong have wrought, And. poets sung with souls aflame, Born of loag hope and patient thought, A mighty name — We pledge thee faith that shall not swerve, Our Land, our Lady, breathing high The thought that makes it love to serve, And life to dia ! Nor are thy maidens linked m love Who ers^t have striven for pride of place ; Lifted all meaner thoughts above, They greet thee one m heart and race ; She m whose sunlit coves of peace The navies of the world may rest, And bear her wealth of snowy nsece, Northward and west, Acd She whose corn and rock-hewn gold Built that Queen City of the Souta, Where the lone billow "Wept of old Her harbor mouth. Come, too, thou Sun-maid, m whose veins For ever burns the tropic fire — Whose, cattle roam a thousand plains — Come with thy gold and pearls for tire; And that sweet Harvester who twines The tender vine and binds the sheaf ; And She, the Western Queen, who mines The desert reef; And Thou, against whose flowery throne And orchards green the wave is hurled— Australia cjainis you ; ye are one Before the world ! Crown her, most worthy to be praised, With eyes lifted to the morn; For on this day a flag is raised, A triumph won, a nation born ! And ye, vast Army of the Dead, From mine and city, plain and sea, Who fought and dared, who toiled and bled, That this might be — Draw round us m this hour of fate — This golden harvest of thy hand— With unseen lips, Oh concentrate And bless the land! Eternal Power, Benign, Supreme, Who weigh'st the nations upon earth, Without, whose aid the Empire-dream And pride of States is nothing worth — From shameless speech and vengeful deed, From license veiled m freedom's name, From greed of gold and scorn of creed, Guard Thou our fame! In stress of days, that yet may be, When hope shall rest upon the sword, In Welfare and Adversity, Be with us Lord ! GEORGE ESSEX EVANS. Toowoomba, Queensland, Oct. 1, 1900. The news that the Duke of York will travel to Australia m the merchant ship Ophir (says the, London Daily Chronicle) has caused much dissatisfaction m naval circles at Portsmouth. There is a strong feeling that, as the Dnke is a naval officer he should have travelled m one of her Majesty's ships. It has been frequently remarked that the selection of a merchant liner m place of the Ariadne or some other warship is a direct insult to the navy, unless it is to be accepted us an official acknowledgement that there are not enough men to commission an extra ship. B is felt to be a humiliating state of affairs for the navy. A CARD OF THANKS. I wish to say that I feel under lasting obligations for what Chamberlain's Cough Remedy has done for our family. We have used it m so many cases of coughs lung troubles and whooping cough, and it has always given the most perfect satisfaction, we feel greatly indebted to. the manufacturers ol this remedy and wish them to please accept our hearty thanks. —Respectfully, Mrs S Doty, Des Moines, lowa. For sale by E. D. Smith, price U 6d, big size 3«.— Advt.