ANZAC DAY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16723, 26 April 1920, Page 4

ANZAC DAY.

COMMEMORATION SKIT.VICES. Anzac Day was observed in New Plymouth by special commemorative services in all the churches. There were good congregations and suitable reference was made by the various preachers to the glorious deeds performed ou the shores of Gallipoli on April 2d, 1915, when so many Now Zealanders, together with soldiers and sailors from other parts of our i'ar-llnug Empire, fought and died for the sake of freedom, justice and liberty. Rosemary was conspicuous throughout the day, the majority of townspeople wearing a small spray in their buttonholes, whilst in one or two of the churches the rostrums wore draped with patriotic colours. Appropriate hymns wero sung. UNITED~SER.VICE. At tlie expressed wish of the Mayor (Mr. J. Clarke-] the ministers of the various churches arranged a united service in the afternoon at Everybody’s Theatre. The large building was crowded and the service was a very impressive one. All the ministers of the town were on the platform and Councillor E. .T. Hill represented the Mayor, who was indisposed and therefore unable to be present. The Rev. O. Blundell presided, and the different parts of the service wero taken by the other • ministers. The Citizens’ Band, under Mr. F. W. 0. M’Lood, led the singing, which included the hymns “0 Cod Our Hein.” “God ef Our Fathers,” “0 Valiant Hearts” (in memoriam to the fallen). “Toad Kindly Light,” and “For All the Saints.” THE ADDRESS. The address was delivered by the vicar of Sr. Alary’s, the Rev. F. G. Harvic. who said:— The citizens of tin's town have assembled. hero this afternoon, in response to the invitation of his Worship the Mayor, in order to do honour to the memory of the brave men who won: for themselves, and for their country, on the inhospitable shores of Gallipoli, a name for courage, for devotion to stern duty, and for self-sacrifice that can never bo forgotten. Five years ago to-day deeds were done at the news of which the heart of'every New Zealander beat faster, and year by year the 25th of April—the day observed by the church as the festival of the lionhearted evangelist St. .Mark—will be a day of universal and heartfelt thanksgiving for the brave lads who willingly offered themselves on the altar of sacrifice for the sake of their fellow-men.

■ So wo pay our humble tribute of gratitude to-day by meeting thus on common ground, and in the presence of our All Holy Creator resolve to prove ourselves worthy of the heroism of Anzac. And as the years roll on, may it be one of the first things we shall teach our children, when they ask us, even to-day, “What mean ye by this service ?” AA’e shall tell them with pride, in spite of the heart-ache, of what happened in 1915, and we shall'strive to show them that the life of sacrifice is the noblest and best in the world. And we also make Anzao Day an occasion for deep thankfulness to God for all the blessings which in this favoured land we still continue to enjoy; we are, in New Zealand, so far removed from the vortex of the earth-shaking war, that it is possible for us to have but the remotest conception of the privations, the suffering, the never-ceasing anxiety, the constant dread of frightfulness and brutality on the part of a callous and unscrupulous foe, such as was the daily experience of millions of our own kith and kin in the Motherland. AA r e have our country intact, pur I homos inviolate, our supply of the necessaries of life barely reduced; and we are in danger of forgetting Him through whose bounty and providence we are privileged to enjoy these things, and whose cause our soldiers went forth to defend. Let us then today thank God for all His good gifts. To-day the world presents a picture unique in all the course of its long history, as the immediate outcome of the great war. Two or three years ago we painted, in the fond imagination of our hearts, a glowing picture of the world as we hoped it would ho when the sword was finally sheathed. AVe saw visions of the nations boating their swords into plough-shares; we dreamed dreams of a regenerate and converted humanity, turning to its Moker for consolation and guidance as the result of common sacrifice and suffering, and laying aside for ever its cloak of luxury and vice. AVe saw in our mind’s eye our places of worship thronged with souls longing for a closer walk with God, and thirsting for a message of eternal truth, and we looked for a drawing together of those many and diverse elements which represent God’s kingdom on earth. And what do tve find? Tho very reverse! Strife and violence, luxury and waste, defiance of God and undisguised unbelief; and instead of an era of universal peace, wo hear constant mutterings ot an approaching storm. And men’s hearts fail them for fear, and they dread the morrow. We are passing through the dark hour that precedes the dawn. And yet I believe that there never was a time when we should bo filled with bigger hopes, and be more buoyed up by a true Christian optimism, which sees an opportunity in every obstacle, than we should be to-day. Some of us here have, been thinking a good deal about this subject lately at the risk of wearying some of you, 1 venture to repeat something of what I then said, as it has an important and practical bearing on our thoughts to-day. There are two or three big ideas surging through tho minds ot men to-day:. (1) There is first the idea of freedom. The idea that every child born into the wmrld has a right to opportunities to become the best possible; the idea that every individual counts for one, and for one only; the idea that no individual has the remotest right to exploit another individual Tor his own advancement.

(2) Secondly there is the idea of Brotherhood; the idea that'the welfare of tho whole body of the nation is of vastly greater importance than the profit of any one individual; the idea that national welfare depends on cooperation and mutual service, and not on unrestrained competition. (3) Thirdly, there is the idea of su-per-nationalism, or higher patriotism, the idea that the welfare of all tho nations is more important than tho realisation of the ambitions of any one nation.

Briefly, the world is thinking deeply and rapidly on these three great principles, and it would be childish to attempt to deny it, or to seek to counteract it.

Now it is a startling fact for us Christian people to face, but it is nevertheless abundantly true, that those three things which are coursing

through the minds of men to-day art essentially Christian principles; with' out them Christianity is noth ini; but :i beautiful abstraction. It is still more startling, however, to realise that the opposite principles of individualism anc competition were the principles or which the fabric of civilised society rest: ed prior to the war. Put very bluntly, it means that Christian people have signally tailed tc cultivate Christian character and tc display Christian conduct. Yes; wc Christian people have a bitter looson tc learn: it is that the world has dis covered for itself the very principles ol which we, ’by our Christian profession boast of being the champions, bul which as a fact we have largely ue glected. We wore often toid during the war that Christianity had allot its bolt and missed the mark; as a muttei of fact, however, wo were trying tc hit the targes without loading the gun wo were trying to win the world foi God without keeping in the forefroni the fundamental principles of Jesus Christ. Can we tnen bo surprised to day if the world fails to recognise it the churches the portrait which the churches draw of themselves? Cat wo wonder, when we claim to bo tht champions of equal opportunity for all. of a universal brotherhood of men, irrespective of class or colour—can we wonder, I say, if the world says; “That is no true portrait; it is only a caricature?’’

So the present world picture may be summed up thus:—The world is thinking out Christian principles, and the Christian community is beginning to think seriously along the same lines. Could anything more hopeful for the future happiness of the world be imagined?” “Look up, and life your heads,” our Lord has said, “for your redemption draweth nigh.” The world is not turning away from Christ; it is turning, unconsciously perhaps, but none the less really, towards Him. . And what of the future? And how is the new era of Christian fellowship and brotherhood, which is even to-day in the making, how is it to ho brought to the birth t

There in only one way; it is the AiiZiic way; it is the Saviour’s way; it is the war of Sacrifice. The way to happiness and peace is being attempted m some quarters to-day by short cuts, winch end in nothing out a cul-de-sac. it can never be won by Prussian violence or by narrow self-interest. It can only be achieved by countless individual souls being guided by watciiwards such as are branded in letters ot fire over the battle-scarred Gallipoli peninsula—-Sacrifice and .Service, • Saviour’s longing for the realisation of God’s purpose for the world 3nt °nse that He willingly gave His lite for the cause which Ho had at heart Our heroes of 1915 were animated by the same spirit; they were true Crusaders, marching beneath the Sag of New Zealand which bears the stars of the Cross of Sacrifice as its peculiar emblem; they loved freedom and comradeship more than they would have cared to own; they gave themselves, that the world might be a happier place for their fellow men. it is this spirit alone that can quicken into life the dry bones of our civilisation; and it is by a readiness to surrender self for the cause of God and man that we can best express our thankfulness for the • deeds that won ‘“S 8 ' fa T /, or tlle n“me of Anzao. God grant that each and all of us may do our share of sacrifice and service for the cause for which our brothers died; it is Man’s cause; it is God s cause. May we make it our o ' V ?’ii and , re P t nL ' b tiU tlle day dawn, and the shadows flee away. ,J h % s ® nr “e concluded with the singing of the National Anthem,

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