IN MEMORIAM.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144717, 28 June 1915, Page 5

IN MEMORIAM.

OUR FALLEN NEW ZEALANDERS. SERVICE IN ST. MARY’S CHURCH. The evening service at St. Mary’s Church on Sunday took the form of a memorial service for New Zealanders who have fallen in the war. There was a crowded congregation, and the proceedings wove deeply impressive. The Vicar of St. Mary’s (Key. A. H. Colvile) conducted the service, and the sermon was preached by the Archdeacon of Taranaki (Ven. Arch. Evans). The service opened with the hymn, “When our heads are bowed with woe, when our bitter tears o’crllow,” which was sung kneeling. Tho special psalms were were appropriate to tho occasion. After the hymn, “Brief life is hero our portion,” special prayers were offered for our soldiers, and tho hymn, “Let saints on earth in concert sing, with those whoso work is done.” followed. Archdeacon Evans took as tho text of his sermon: “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: but poradventiiro for that which is good some one would even dare to die” tUonmns v., 7). Tho sneaker said:—St. Paul hero contrasts ine love of Jesus Christ with all

mere human affection. Divine love was poured forth without reference to the worthiness or givriludp of tho receivers. Such a manifestation, he says, is unique among men. It is almost impossible to imagine anyone being willing to die for a more upright or punctiliously righteous man. Although it is just conceivable that for a really loving cliarac-

ter, or for some extremely noble cause, some one might be found willing to lay down his life. Now it St. Paul is able, as ho well may be, to look out upon this modern world, he knoas that what ho thought in hi.- day to bo just possible ono man might do, is quite a common thing. For thousands of men, yes, hundreds of thousands, are willing

to give np their most valuable possession, life itself, for a groat and noble cause: the destruction of that power of evil. German militarism, which would, if victorious, wreck civilisation, destroy religion, jeopardise tho holiest things of life, and throw back the world a thousand yoars. Do you realise that every man in tho British Army to-day is a volunteer? Our men. who have gone from this country to do battle at the Dardanelles and in Egypt, have willingly volunteered to do what St. Paul thought so impossible. They are indeed offering up their lives for a noble cause, and by so doing will earn tho eternal gratitude of their fellowcolonists as long as New Zealand exists. No doubt, when tho first clarion call for help came from the dear Home land, in this terrible warfare against tho powers of evil, there were many moved to enlist by tho spirit of adventure: by the natural desire to see life; to discover for themselves the wonders of other lands. But I am confident from what I know of young New Zealanders that, underlying all, was a real powerful desire to do the right thing; i-o play the man ; to show the Mother Country and tho world that New Zealand was a living part of tho Empire, and that her sons wore willing to take their part in carrying that burden of Empire England must ever boar. And wo shall never do our proper share until every man and every woman is undertaking some work for the Fanpire in this its hour of peril. When onr hoys went" into the training camps and began the discipline and work that, more than anything else, tends to n high development of character, they had a sterner and wider outlook, and a deeper understanding of the work they had to do. I saw it in tho faces of the boys when I went to say good-bye. And as they travelled from land to land on their long journey to the,, seat of war, surely they would realise the greatness of the Empire to which they belong and fee! how worthy it was of their best service—worthy, indeed, of their lives, if need he. Then, I daresay, as they passed the little cemeteries in Egypt whore tho great and bravo men who fought there for England lie, they would begjh to understand something of the debt we owe to England—a debt it is impossible to compute, not. only for the protection of her navy, nor for tho beneficent laws she has handed down to ns; not only for tho lovo of freedom and justice she has instilled into her children, but for the sacred dead with which she has sanctified every land under her sway. Around this church there dies this sacred dust of gallant Englishmen, and it should teach us of tho debt wo owe to tho dear Old Land. Tt speaks well for New Zealand that its people have so realised this deep indebtedness, that they are willing, in their turn, to send their dear ones to lay their sacred dust in those far off lands for England. Never in tho world’s history has there been seen so wonderful a sight as is displayed to-day. Thousands of the gallant sons of Empire pressing on from lands divided by leagues of ocean, hailing each other as brothers indeed; a great moving mass of British people coming from East and West and North and South to help to pay tho debt they owe to England. I am suro you were touched, as I was, when reading the notice in the paper about tho death of their only son, by Mr. and Mrs. Keasberry, of Pungarehu. “Dulco et decorum est pro patna _ morl”—“A sweet and proper thing it ’is to die for one’s country.” That is the spirit that pervades tho Empire to-day. That has changed the soul of India, that has moved so tremendously the great Dominion of Canada, and that has touched a chord in hearts right through the Empire that can never cease to vibrate as long as it shaff last. Dust for dust; life for li'i ! Yes, for such a glorious cause as this some have oven dared to die.

I need not delay you by Deferring to the cause of righteousness and freedom in which our boys have been wounded and died, because it is so well known to all of you. It must be quite obvious to all right-minded people that the Allies are fighting on behalf of the integrity of small States; for tho right of smaller nations to exist and to carry on their natural developments in peace and quietness by the side of greater nations. Wo are engaged in warfare of the most terrible kind because we do make our national word our bond, and because we are ready to defend what wo have guaranteed, with our life’s blood if needs be. Yes, rvo arc fighting for a “scrap of paper” with the nation’s name upon it, and every true-hearted Englishman would be sick if wo were not. But, beyond all this, our men have died for the sacrodncss of Homo and all that that hallowed word implies. We all remember reading in our histories of the days of knightly chivalry, when noble "knights won't forth to fight for honour and renown, carrying on their glittering spears pennants worked by gentle hands! In tho dull, practical, utilitarian ago that has succeeded, many thought that heroic chivalry was no more, but in these modern days of stress and danger

there is little doubt that times of noble chivalry have been revived; for our men have gone forth, like knights of old, to fight for the sanctity of home and the purity of women. And so it is fitting that women should have them especially in regard. It is a strange coincidence that our men are fighting within sight of the plains of Troy, where once the famous city stood around which the battles of the Trojan war were fought. There glorious deeds were done, made immortal by the genius of Homer, the stories of which wore repeated and sung by countless generations. Yes, on those narrow plains stood the splendid city of Troy, which was besieged for over ten Jong years by the Grecian heroes, because of the abduction of one fair woman! So our boys have gone forth on behalf of womanhood—mothers, sisters, wives—and surely some poet will make their sacrifices immortal. The preponderance of married men in Kitchener’s Army is so remarkable that it has called forth a. grave censure upon the young unmarried men of England who have not enlisted; who are alluded to as ‘‘skulkers” and “shirkers.” But this is not entirely just. There may be many right and- proper reasons why some single men do not volunteer, although I believe that every able-bodied man. who has no important ties, ought to hand in his name for service, whether lie is accepted or not. But the married men have volunteered because they realise, most of all, the terrible menace to the homo if we go down in this war. They know' the sacredness of home. They know that ; no disaster to any country could he greater than to have the sanctity of its homes destroyed. It is the danger to their own sweet home life that has called them forth, and that has inspired them to protect other men’s homes as well ns-tneir own. Kipling warns us as to what would happen to our home life and to our women if the Germans arc victorious in this war. In burning words ho says;-—“The world would he divided into two sections, ono human beings, aud the other Germans, \\ halevor horrors have been dealt out in Belgium and Poland, Britain’s fate

would be ton times worse. There are special - reasons in the German mind why we should be morally and mentally shamed and dishonoured beyond any other people. If Germany were victorious every refinement of outrage within the compass of tho German imagination, would bo inflicted upon us. 'The present conflict is a war to tho death against the powers of darkness, with whom peace, except on our own terms, would be more horrible than any' war.”

Tho authenticated records of the gross indignities against the home and women by German soldiers are too revolting to bo repeated in public, and it is said that these known coses are as nothing compared with tho unknown or unrecorded. Old women and children, adults and babes, have been the sport of devils in human form, and, as is l>elioved, in strict conformity with the plans and orders of those in authority. iVhat greater cause, then, can over appeal to men than the protection of homes and dear ones' from such a fate as this? Our boys who aro fighting iu tho Dardanelles are engaged in a knightly and chivalrous undertaking; and if they die, they die like knights of old.

I don’t for a moment doubt the presence of angels on the battle-fields; because the cause, of home, and women and children must supreuieiy interest them, as it is tho foundation of so much that is good iu the world, it is a splendid thought that our boys aro fighting on the side blessed by tho pure angels of God. And wo may rejoice in the faith that tho side blessed by tho angels must eventually triumph. When 1 think of the devilish practices of the German soldiers in Belgium and Northern France 1 cannot help feeling chat I should be in danger of losing ray faith in the moral government ot tho Most High if they eventually gained the victory. . Think of what love of homo has done for the splendid Belgians! A hundred years ago, when the Battle of Waterloo was fought, the victory that broke the power of the world menace of that day, tho Belgian soldiers are said to have run away. And yet to-day tiio courage of those men of Belgium is. so remarkable that it can never be forgotten as long as history endures. What makes this difference? Their home life! A hundred years ago their homes were poor and insecure, hardly worth fighting for; certainly there was not that inward feeling that they would rather die for them than llcej But to-day the social life of these wonderful people was secure and beautiful, equal to, if not superior, to our own, in this favoured land, until the powers of hell were loosed among them. Everything has been done in Belgium to make home life secure and happy. A Belgian’s home was his 1 castle, until the German invasion. And each man feels that no sacrifice is too tremendous to make for his homo aud womenfolk. And surely tho effect upon womenkind of such devotion must bo profound. Surely women must now for over take their proud position as the companions and equals of man, uniting with iftan under equal laws in the common cause of the betterment of the world! Women must always fool tho inspiration of that thought, “Men- have died for us.” Yes, for the cause of homo, and gentle womanhood, and little children, some have even dared to die I

And onr Hoys have given their lives, too, for religion and God. If there were ever a Holy War this is one. I don’t think wo realise the extent to which the German people have repudiated the Christian religion. And if they are victorious they will force upon the world the old religion of Thor and Odier. The allies of the unspeakable Turk would not bo likely to show much toleration to Christian people. The conduct of the present war is quite enough to reveal tho extent to which Germany has dropped Christianity. Tho breach of treaties, the rejection of international law, -the destruction of churches, the murder of innocent people, are all acts of man devoid of any knowledge of tho principles of Christianity. And their absurd hatred of England, the glorification of hymns qf hate, tho placarding of walls with prints calling down curses on England all point to a state of mind in which fair judgment, and a sense of justice, which are natural results of Christianity, have been entirely lost ! This is what one of the popular, widely-read German writers has to say about it (from Professor Cratnb’s book); “It is reserved for us to resume in thought that creative role which the whole Teutonic race abandoned fourteen centuries ago. For more than thirty generations sho has struggled and wrestled to sec with eyes that were not her eyes; to worship a God which was not her God; to strive for a heaven that was not her heaven! And what is tho religion which, on the whole, may be characterised as the religion of the most earnest and passionate minds of young Germany? (the religion of uower.) The governing idea of the centuries ... is the wrestle of the German intellect not only against Rome (i.e., the Roman Empire), but against Christianity itself. Must Germany submit to this alien creed derived from an alien country'?” And in mockery of our Lord: “Ye have heard men say ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’ but I say unto you ‘Blessed are tho war

makers, for they shall b© called, if not the children of Jehovah, the children of Odin, who is greater than Jehovah!’ ”

Even from those brief extracts you can see the trend of thought in Germany. So that the present war is indeed a holy war, and perhaps the time has come of which wo read in the Apocalypse; *‘There was war in heaven ; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.” The conflict is between the Creator and the Destroyer—between 1 light and darkness, right and might, Christ and Satan, Calvary and Berlin! "When I w'as at Damascus, a few years ago, I saw a golden wreath on the tomb of Saladin, the slayer of the Crusaders, and the robber of Christians’ sacred spots, placed there by the present Emperor of Germany! He even then proclaimed that ho was the ally of the race whose deeds had fillecl Europe with horror, and have only been eclipsed by the conduct of the Gormans themselves. Is it not therefore a holy crusado in which your sons are fighting? Although no Peter the Hermit has called them to go forth and battle for their religion, the call has come from a greater than that wonderful man! And, if they die in that great crusade, are they not indeed martyrs, and shall not the Most High confer the martyrs’ crown of undying glory upon them? When the war is over their names will be inscribed in indelible characters upon the history of this country; their memory will never die; , but 1 believe their names, too, will be written in the Book of Difo and their deeds eulogised by the angels of God. Yes, for this splendid cause of God and our most holy religion, for righteousness in this poor world, some have even dared to die!

There must be no thought of a premature- peace that will neutralise the sacrifices our men. and their loved ones, are making in this great conflict. The silly, childish “vaponrings” of the little peace party, and the “don’t-hnmiliate-Germany” cries of unbalanced and ignorant egotists, can never alter the tleep determination of England, and her noble allies, to press the war to a satisfactory conclusion. There can be no peace until lasting' peace is assured. There can bo no laying aside of the sword until the world’s menace has been destroyed, and until men are satisfied that their homos, women, children and their religion are safe from the onslaught of the enemies of mankind. Our sons must not die in vain! And have these dear boys, who have thus dared to die, any message for ns? First, a message of comfort tor their dear ones. “Don’t ween too much for us; because we must Have died some day and we have gladly died for a noblo cause.” Commenting upon the bravery of our men in the attack upon Gallipoli, which will go down in history as a wonderful performance, one who took part with them in that historic deed says; “I know that to-day, as I write, many New Zealand homes are mourning the loss of dear ones; but may God give them strength to make their sacrifice as willingly as their boys made it In that fight.” And they have a message, too. for the young, able-bodiod, free-to-go men of this country: During the Aus-tro-Italian war of 1866 an Austrian force occupied an Italian village, in which arms were thought to be concealed, and the commander gathered the villagers into a long lino and decided, with devilish ferocity', to shoot every tenth man in the line, until the villagers would point out where the arms were buried. It happened that a father and son stood ' together in chat line; and as the executions went on the son, glancing along the line, saw that his father would be one of the tenth, and so he whispered "Take my place,” changed places, and thus sacrificed himself ! So it seems to mo that those dear fellows who have so nobly, and with such devotion, dared to die for so holy a cause, are calling down to the ablebodied, the untrammelled, who are still halting, still undecided, still acting the timid and unworthy part. “Take our places, take our places, and if needs bo die as we have died. Take the side of the angels. Help to drive the cruel aggressors from the countries they have desolated and destroyed!” Shall they call in vain?

‘Rise, for the day is passing, Aud you lie dreaming on ;

The others have buckled their armour. And forth to the fight have gone. A place in tho ranks awaits you.

Each man has some part to play ; Tho past and the future are nothing In the face of the stern To-day!” ' —Adelaide Procter. "Shall Britons languish and be men no more? - Since all must life resign. Those sweet rewards that decorate the brave, ’Tis folly to decline, - And steal inglorious to the silent grave.” —Sir William Jones. After the hymn “I could not do without Thee,” the organist (Mr. Renaud) played “The Dead March,” and “The Last Post” was sounded from the end of the church by Bugler Walker; The National Anthem terminated tho service. A retiring collection was made towards the work of the church at Trcutham Camp.