Silence as an Empire's Shrine

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 509, 12 November 1928, Page 12

Silence as an Empire's Shrine

ARMISTICE day celebrated

Spiritual Services Observed

WITH the eleventh day of the eleventh month falling this; year on a Sunday, Armistice Day, 1928, had purely a spiritual character.

I In all city and suburban churches iArmistice Day sE‘l‘ViC‘Es were held and] fsermons appropriate [0 the occasionl l preached. In the morning :1 signal gun at Albert Park drew attention to the historic nlonient. All tram cars stopped tom the two minutes. and. with few exceptions. what trafi‘ic there was in the city streets was silent. l The special commemoratix'e service at the Town Hall in the afternoon was held under the auspices of the Leaguel of Nations Union. the Council ofE iChristian congregations. and other, [bodies The Mayor. Mr. G. Buildon. ‘l)resided over a fairly large audience.l ‘Memhers of the City Council and rel presentativos of various denominations} i were also present. l l l PEACE THROUGH GOODWILL i i “I am not one of thOse who believc the time has coinc- tu disband the . great police force of the Empire. the Navy,” said Archdeacon .\[achurray in making an eloquent uppeal for an ; even greater realisation of the truth that peace can be_ secured on earth only through the fostering of :1 spirit of goodwill. At the same time he considered the Navy was a great factor in preserving the peace of the world. Alan was u fighting animal. and he had fought his way through the ages, a. fact of which every pacifist had to take account. The survival of the fittest was a law of nature which could not be ignored, and any conception of life which did so would surely fail. As long as there were nations inflamed with the tiger spirit we were justified in having weapons for defence and in using them it necessary. It would be fatal to overlook the spirit of the jungle which still stirred within the heart of man. The great object, he said. was to redirect the fighting qualities in man to peaceful pursuits guided by the overruling government of God. WOMEN’S IDEAL “The real reason why women are concerned in the business of getting the world in order is that they have an instinctive feeling there is a, more abundant life ahead of us if we can live in a. more orderly fashion with the nations of the world." said Miss Jean Begg, secretary of the Y.W.C.A.. in seconding a resolution by Mr. E. C. Cutten. ,S.M.. pledging support to the Government in all its efforts to promote peace based on international friendship and co-operation. Mr. T. Bloodworth said it was the duty of everyone to make the business of the soldier both unnecessary and, impossible, and all talk of social re—form was useless unless this were aimed at. It had been stated that should the same circumstances arise; as in August. 1914; they would proh—l iably act in the same way. It wasl ipossible they would. but the fact re"l alnclined that should similar circum— Jstances arise every man and Womanl would be a traitor to the 9.000.000 men; lwho fell in the war. They could not change human nature. but they could so organise it that the old instincts, would be over—ridden and made subject to the demands of modern civilisation. The resolution proposed by M'r. Cutten, on behalf of the Auckland branch of the League of Nations Union. was then carried amid applause. The Rev. W. Lawson Marsh also spoke. Appropriate hymns were sung. I i I QUEEN s SYMPATHY I WOMEN OF THE EMPIRE l I I , l i PRINCE S LOFTY TRIBUTE I

1 rvruilcd P,A.~F}u Telea-raph—CopyriyhU ’ i ‘ Times Cable. J ' LONDON. Saturday. ‘ The “Evening standard" publishesi; the following Armistice Day message[ from Queen Mary to the women of the 1’; Empirez— ’ . “Alli who have visited the Wit? 1: cemeteries must have been moved to the heart, as I was. by the Solénm“ ‘beauty and the reverent care with: ‘Which they are tended. \Ve know,‘l 1 too, that the War Graves Commission . [surrounds them with the same care, ‘ ‘wherever they may be. . 4 “In these cemeteries rest many of 1 the fearless and devoted women who 1 gave their lives while they were serv— 1 ing as armv. volunteer-or territorial : nurses in the Women's Auxiliary ( Army Corps. and in Queen Llary's Corps. Yet those \i'ho fell. are not 1 alone in having sacrificed all that life 1 has to offer. Every man of our mil- 1 lion dead may have been dearer than 5 anything on earth to some woman, I and in every Dart of the Empire to- 1 day are fivomen who go on living with ( wounds in their hearts which time ] cannot heal. ' “I wish my voice could reach each one with a word of loving sympathy.“ . ! Appeal for the Living 3 The Prince of Wales contributes 2' signed article to a special war graves ; number of “The Times" issued to com- ; memorate the tenth anniversary of the . Armistice. His Royal Highnesss l extols the work of the ‘Var Graves“ Commission. and says:——— 1 ' “It is not easy to grasp the mean- i 1112‘ of the words. ‘A million dead.’ but. l when one remembers what splendidi. fellows they were. and What hopes ‘ and affections clung to each. one be- ' gins to have some concention of the 1 sacrifice the Empire made. We can i feel no other sentiment than gratitude 1 and pride. . “All over the world our dead lie, : but .whether they lie solitary or in ‘ company. and regardless of their rank 1 or what portion of the Empire they 1 came from. all are treated with the j same reverence and tender care.‘and 1 the same type of headstone is over I them. They gave their lives in the service of the Empire. In that. as in 1 death. all are equal. ‘ “It. is impossible not to be specially 4 touched by the thought of the missing. ] It is almost an extra patent of :al- J lantry to be among the missing. The race has not weakened. These mil- !1 lion dead are a silent witness to that. I "In honourin: our (lend. let us mm M forget the living. \Ve do not yet do I.

5 justice to the late Earl Haig’s greatness. He gave all his heart to the welfare of the men who fought with him. In his name, and in the name of these million dead, I appeal for help to make the lot of all soldiers richer in the things that are worth while.” MAKING FOR PEACE BISHOP CLEARY’S FAITH IN LEAGUE GOOD OUT OF EVIL War was an evil, but the Church of God knew there were worse evils than those attaching to war, | and she did not condemn a war in which the true Christian warrior i fought a righteous war in a righteous way. In the Church’s calendar of saints were many great warriors, including Joan of Arc. Although deploring the carnage of war. Bishop Cleary, in an eloquent sermon at St. Patrick’s Cathedral yesterday showed how out of evil came good.' how the conflict of war had brought men to the full height of their manhood. “There were no backsliders and no atheists in the firing-line. Many men had not before the war the spirit of self-sacrifice our faith demanded. They had not had a chance in life. But in the front line they were taken on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd, and brought by Him home.” Men picked from the streets, the farm, the shop, the office and the factory had .shown themselves to be possessed of a magnificent courage and a magnificent chivalry. “And we may take pride,” he declared, “in the fact that our own Expeditionary Forces stood pre-eminent among all the oversea forces in the general excellence of their conduct. FROM WAR DELIVER US The history of the past twenty years and more had clearly shown that the great competition in armaments and the grouping of nations against nations had been the chief cause of war which devastated Europe and the East. “Thank God the time has come when co-operation between the nations is following the right lines,” said. Bishop Cleary. “If another war comes, we know it will be a war of extermination. We have to thank God that there is such a thing as the League of Nations, making for peace and disarmament, growing up among the nations. We pray God to strengthen the hands of the league, and, in the words of one of our beautiful Masses we say: From pestilence, from famine- and from war. j deliver us. oh Lord.’ ” STEP TOWARD PEACE ARCHBISHOP REFERS TO KELLOGG PACT SOLEMN REMEMBRANCE “The “Kellogg Peace pact' is one of the greatest steps toward real peace which the world has ever known,” said Archbishop Averill last evening, at the Armistice celebration in King’s College memorial chapel. “I cannot claim to be a pessimist, neither do I claim to be a foolish optimist in respect to this move as expressed in the peace pact.” he said. "It is a move for which Christians should thank God. But should we live in a fool’s paradise and imagine that peace pacts alone will settle every thing?” It was easy for armchair moralists ! who owe their freedom to the sacrifice I of others to denounce war and ignore j the great distinction between war for war’s sake and war for the defence of everything dear to us, he said. Armistice day. first anu foremost, was a dav of solemn remembrance, ancl it was also a day of subdued thanksgiving for the cessation of hostilities. So long as the world's ethicai and spiritual standards remained as they were war could be a necessary evil to prevent worse evils. Force could not achieve finality. We should not forget that those who had given their lives had conscientiously believed they were fighting to end war for all time. It was not sufficiently merely to honour them for their valour and regard Armistice Day as a sop to sentiment. “There is danger in trying to set peace too cheaply,” said the Archbishop. "The Empire has suffered in the past through expecting victory too cheaply. We will have to be on our guard lest we lose the blessing of peace through believing we can muddle through. We must not accuse the nations of hypocrisy, but God forbid that we should put our trust in pacts alone. We must drop some of our superior airs and the veiled contempt for the so-called foreigner.” Addressing himself to youth in particular. His Grace concluded: “You must grow to regard this matter free from cant and humbug, and in the spirit of St. George of England you must help to slay this monster and remove from the world the lurking suspicion that nations are merely talking peace when there is no peace.” REMEMBRANCE EMBLEM WREATH FROM GT. BRITAIN EARL HAIG’S SUGGESTION i Press Association WELLINGTON. Sunday. “To-day on behalf of the people of j New Zealand, I accept this emblem of remembrance. I sincerely hope the memories it recalls will be kept so green that never again will it be the lot of the nations to come into conflict. with the resultant loss and wastage,” said the Prime Minister, Mr. Coates, when receiving at the steps of Parliament House to-day the wreath forwarded to New Zealand through the R-eturned Soldiers’ Association by the British Empire Service League. The handing over ceremony was simple, brief, and impressive. Following the morning service at the Salvation Army citadel, the parade of returned soldiers—headed by the Citadel Band—marched to the" Parliamentary grounds, where a fairly large number of people had assembled. Speaking on behalf of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association. Mr. W. Perry said the wreath had been forwarded in accordance with the wish of the late Earl Haig that a wreath

"—"" I should be placed on the national memorial ln“* Vdlin^non" decided to hand the emblem o\rr . • the Prime Minister at the stens 'r Parliament House.” p | At a crowded peace demonstration meeting m the Town Halt, the follow I ing resolution was carried una,,' ! mouslv; On this day of grateful r ; membrunce. we citizens of ' i declare our detestation of our earnest desire for permunent'pelSf based on international friendship S on general disarmament.” * an< * LESSONS OF WAR SERVICE AT SYNAGOGUE There was a large congregation in the Jewish Synagogue yesterday morn ing, when a special couuneriioration service was conducted by the Rev s A. Goldstein. Mr. Goldstein tracS' the work of the League of Xationa stating its scope was extending m cover more than international politico disputes, and moral and social good was to be looked for from its deliber ations. “Whether peace is permanent or not depends upon all nations taking to heart the lessons which the war has driven home.” Mr. Goldstein said "if God is behind it. it will last If God is absent, it must crumble to pieces Peace without God becomes only a truce, a respite to sharpen anew ' th« sword and prepare for furthe. struggle.” SOLDIERS’ GRAVES In addition to special services in tlie churches, a service was also he'd at O’Neil's Point Cemetery, under the auspices of the Victoria League. The service was conducted by Canon E j McFarland and the Rev. S. J. Atkins " Flowers were placed on the 300 graves of returned soldiers at Waiku mete Cemetery by 12 members of the league, who received great quantities of flowers for the occasion. In addi tion. Lieutenant-Colonel T. H. Daw™ president of the Auckland branch of the Returned Soldiers' Association, and Mr. E. H. Sharp, secretary, * laid • wreaths on the soldiers’ memorial.