APPEALS FROM FINANCE MISISTER AND PREMIER.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14392, 3 September 1917, Page 3

APPEALS FROM FINANCE MISISTER AND PREMIER.

\ (Special to the v Herald.) WELLINGTON, last nighj>. , Following is a final appeal by Sir Joseph Wa-rd for subscriptions to the War Loan : Fellow Citizens. — On this, the last day for subscribing to the largest and most important loan ever raised by NeV Zealand, {. make a final. appeal to the. people .pf." our .Dominion fbivtheir^ .whole-hearted arid practical assistance. Were the life of! some dear one dependent on. our money, which, of us /would hesitate a mpj^ent to spen.d : out . last pound or to inpi^r future liability in order to- avert thje. calamity? Which of us woqld see a [loved mother or wife or child suffer oai die and continue to hoard up the gold whioh would save them? How much mbrie ihen, should we «pai*e neither effort, nor; money, nor the pledging of propcai.y, .to hasten the. coming, victory and so Jcurtail -to the utmost of our power the future of the lives of pur beloved fatlieys, ihiisbands, brothers And soils' who,ar« ©nduring the coiLsequences of the fearful conflict now raging. Should they fail through lack of oivr support, there is & -faa* ivorse fate awaiting us than- sickness or death, llemember Belgitim! • Remember the Lusitan : a! Remtmber Nurse Cavell ! Ramember the murdered women and babies of ■ England ! la. any saorificoof money adequate toward off such inexpressible horrors? It is not alone our possessions that we must preserve. It is our fi'eedom— that those we hold most dear KhoiUd never foe ground under the iron heel of the barbarous conqueirers of Belgium. Whether you can lend £1 or. £10 or £1000 ox- even £10,COOj I urge you to lend it in the same sp:a;i ; t in which you would' part with every earthly (possession to save your I dear ones and your country. You, canI not" afford to until our army is in i wa,nt. You ca'iniot afford to wait until thie. enemy is at our gates, Now is, the time to act. Let the amount be ever so small it is needled in this hour of our great national trial. Tlte total of many small sums will reach millions.

' 'The . loan will . , officially. . close at 5 p.m. : Sufficient grace will be given to enable societies, companies, and trustees to complete their arrangements after the legislation has been passed by Parliament legalising their action. I wish evfiiyone to personally participate in this great effort to finance our 1 troops to victory. There is no cause greater than freedpm, and w© , must all be prepared- to; pay the price however great." — ■■ Joseph George Ward, September 1, 1917.

The Primo -Minister in his appeal states : •'•

, "I wish to endorse most warmly the several appeals which the Minister for* Finance has made 'to you. The three prjmo. necessities are men, munitions and; money. 'We liavo found the first in 75,006 soldiers who cheerfully offered-; themselves for service at the front arid in tho thousands of others who are loyally responding to the call of duty. It is now. our business and duty to see that the. men wlio are fighting for us are adequately provided f or, that, the neoes-, saly food, clothing, equipment and munitions are forthcoming on their be-: hailf. -That all means money, more moneyi and still more money. The war, caanaot go on without it and the money required must be raised from amongst; ourselves •:. to help the M>therland and ottr allies most effectually. We must be self-reliant,,', resojwrcejul... jand ..independ^ enfc Britain has already raised! nearly 4ve ; thousand millions .sterling for the, purposes of the war and light-thinking., citizens agree that it -would not -only be improper but extremely iinfair on our: part were we to> look to her for the. i m<*o,ey -we , can. .and. should* obtain, fromour own citizens. Our duty in this mat. ter is., clear. We must make it our buslnes^ A tp provide the + (n(eciessarv, sinews of war -for the requirements of the men who we have sent and are sending to the front so that the success of their operations may be in no wise impaired by any. la4k.,Oj£ effort on pur pari. v , i Such .failure, oh our part would undo much of the work • oiuv gallaoit,, troops. .vhava, already accomplished. We cannot, must not and witt.n'not. -fail, them.. Money v is now. our 'first, most vital, and all pressing; consideration.. Without it the. war cannot go on'.' The $A miuioiis required to cover j oui* war, expenditujie dui'lng the next 12---montti s t ■mustv.be.' 'forthcoming. Granted ' that the task is one of great magnitude,:, it is not greater than that faced by our kinsmen in Great Britain this year, when^j they subscribed the magnificent, total of one thousand millions sterling for their ; Victory War Loan. On the per capita basis our loan is about' equal to that; effort. We should be able to better it. ... . What if contributing to the WariLoan does involve some self-denial or sacrifice, on the part of the citizen? Can any sacrifice the stay-at-homes make even begin to compare, with the sublime, heroism and self-sacrifice of those of ouiv fellow-citkens who have gone forth to the war on our. behalf,, esteeming not their lives dear unto, themselves if happily they may preserve for u s who remain, , security and peace, freedom of conscience, and that independence of speech and thought which we have ever enjoyed under the British flag? • • • It is our duty, not -only to the livmg, but to the dead, to carry oji the warV We must continue the^stmiggJe m the, interests of civilisation and humanity. If w.e all bear a hand in the business, we siiallonce again demonstrate to the world the earnestness ., with which New. Zealand stands unitedly together m battling for , King, ..Country, , and . Empire.

' ' , (Per Press., Asßooiftt^pn,) AUOKLAND, this day. Auckl&n'd'si subscriptions to the war loan will largely exceed the million and a-half aimed at. ' WANGANUT, this day. The Wanganui Harbor 1 Board is investing £4000, all the available sinking fund moneys, in the War 'Loan. The Cosmo- > politani 'Club is investing £2000.