HOME AND THE WAR.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14244, 12 March 1917, Page 8

HOME AND THE WAR.

BRITAIN" SOBER, SERIOUS. AND

DETERMINED.

LECTURE BY DR. NEWMAN": M.P

Dr/ A. L K. Newman, )!:?<•' for Wellington East, gave a chatty and interesting lecture at_the Town Hall, Wellington, on his t-i'ip Home and the war.

The Mayor, who presided over a large audience, heartily welcomed Dr Xewman back to New Zealand.

The lecturer said that he went Home with, two objects in view, (1) to see his son. perhaps for the last time; and (2) to find out all he could about the war, how long it ™ likely to last, and so on. Ho had seen nis son, who was now at Bridgewateiy drilling troops, instructing them in artillery. He had been asked by a good many people since he got hack whether he had had a good time in England. But it was impossible to have a good time in England now, when one constantly met relatives and friends who had lost only sons, or second, or third sons, or more, in this war. The people afe Home had grown very sober and very .serious over the war;- but very few* women were "to be seen hf mourning, the idea being that if all the women in a country ware in moui'ning it had a very depressing effect. There was very little entertaining, or anything of that sort, the people were all simply grimly determined, just to win the war. (Applause.) Dr Xewman said that on the way over to America they saw the German flag flying on n" German cruiser and on a German gunboat at Honolulu ; but the breechblocks had been taken out of their guns and they were interned. At other neutral porta they saw <.levm.an steamers interned, but none on the high seas, though the British flag was on every sea. and at the British seaports the number of vessels coming and going was so great that one would hardly know that there : was a war on oV any such things as sub. marines. They crossed from America to England in the" "'Baltic, 24.000 tons, "loaded up to the muzzle with munitions arid food." He hadvbeeii in. London dur» ing Zeppelin raids, but -his pulse never rose/a beat in consequence. Vln. fact." he asked, "what is a Zeppelin raid in London? A bomb might drop here, say at Hataitai or -without you in Wellington hiring or seeing anything of it;' yet both would be within the bounds of, London." $ OUR SPLENDID BOYS. v

The first aviator to. attack the raid* ing Zeppelins with success was a Wel-lington-bred boy (Mr* , Brail don), who also had other brave deeds to his credits (Applause.). He had been to the NewZealand hospitals at Walton, Bonohurch, Hornchurch, and Codfprd^and was very pleased with the great care that was j being taken of their "boys. (Applause.) Many New Zealand ladies and gentle- i men were helping_in the yrork q{ caring j for and entertaining the sick and wounded, and amoHgsfc-them he had met Mrs Martin, widpw~of Dt A. .A. Martin, of PaJmerstonJNorth, who had died bravely at the front, saying to the surgeons and nurses'. "Oh, .don't look, after me. l!mj gone. Go and look after the. othtejr bpys. v (Applause.) ISew' Zealand boys,\he had been proud to fifid, had a splendid name everywhere, and not only for courage in* the trenches.. One officer at headquarters had said "to him, "I love these boys. X love 4hea«rl»oys. .^Tli^.are so brave and so wellbehaved." And another had asked him - ' 'Are all your .feoys gentler men?" They^were •gentlemen, lie rfslied, and if- any of them did anything that wasn't quite what it ought to be, the others .would go to In' m, and say, "Come, now, cut it put," aivd. he cus it out. Their New Zealand 'bpys ha^ » creed and a motto, and tney afcteq up to it in Egypt, in GalHpoli, and \n France. That motto wa^. "What we Jfew Zealanders take we hold." (Applause.) On the Somme tiiey were told to, take 90 yards ofjtjeuch; and they took and held 2700 yards; and when their supports) came up to hejp they, were surprised to find thenV already in the trenches. (Applausel)'. When' he went over to France to see them he found them very fit and well. , At a foqtbjall match the .TKew Zealanders had just beaten the British by 75 to 3. * (Laughter and applause.) THE G|IEAT PUSg;. GOKU^O. Dr Newman paid a !high tribute to the bravery of the French, soldiers and the French people generally, especially the women, and to the dogged determination that they showed' *to figh.t out the war to • the bitter end. In bayonet fighting the New Zealanders, the British, and the French had' shown a marked ascendancy over the Germane, he said; and if the New Zealand boys, or the British, or the French got into, a trench with the Germans, the Germans always retired. (Applause.) It was "sheer piffle" General Hindenburg talking about wanting his men to meet them iii the open. (Applause.) "Our boys," added Dr Newman, "are willing to fight again the battle of Waterloo on the plain ( of Waterloo, and they know who will win." (Applause.) <„.: , -

"The great push," he continued, "will probably come in April, ,or whenever the fine weather comes, if. you can tell me when. JWhen the mud won't interfere and the rain won't fall, then we are going to push and pttsh right through the summer, months-*— from May to October. Wei Have plenty of men and plenty of guns and ammunition, and we are going to see if we can't push our way through,; and then it is th^t we here shall have our hearts wrung with anxiety for our brave boys. It is all piffle to talk about the decision coming-in the Balkans, or at Riga, or in Italy. The decision is coming on the Western front, where our boys, are fighting, If our front can't w^n, then C}ermaj^ wi^? the lot. If we win. then what happens elsewhere can't 'Help Germany at all. The

conquest of Rumania doesn't matter a - bit. It was a pity that Jtumanja ca^me into it. From the sea, to tKe£ firing* hn,e the French arid ourselves have construct, ed. 4000 miles of railway lines, (Applause.) They pulled op 600 miles of rails and sleepers in Canada . and shipped them over there. (Applause.), And the supply o£. guns end munitions pi every kind js^imply colossal. The guna that the Germans had a% Vertfyn ". are mere child's play to the fire we are gotng to put on the Germans this summer." (Applanse.)' THE CONCLUSION OF THE 7 MATTER, While stating plainly, that they must not hope- anywiing^from Germany running short bl" Tn"oney, nor from starvation, nor from revolution in Germany; that the submarine menace was a very serious one, and that many of the wisest admirals and generals at Home feared that Germany, as a last desperate gambler's throw might endeavor to invade, England and land. 50,000 to 100,000 men there; and that, owing to the huge number of men fighting ■: and 1 manufacturing munitions of war, there is real danger of a wprtd-sKortage of food, Dr Newman declared: "My conclusion is that, while nobody in the Army will tell you that the war is coming to, an end this year, there are many who hayo hopes of itr" There is a considerable possibility of it. But, on the other hand, of *c6urseTT*e~wai? may take yews. Ultimately, however, we shall wjui. There is no serious danger of the conquest of England. Some thousands of men may be landad,^but they will be readily disposed of. But there is the danger that the enemy may offer specially favorable terms to our Allies and try

to win them over. And for tin's reason Mr Lloyd (leorge and those with him are making desperate efforts to win the war this year. We, with sons fighting a4, the frorit, want them to win it as soon as possible. (Applause.) .... We must only hop© that the God of ttattles will bless <> ur sons, and protect them, and bring them safe home again." (Loud applause.) - __