The Timaru Herald SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1939 1840-1940

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVII, Issue 21529, 16 December 1939, Page 8

The Timaru Herald SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1939 1840-1940

• TO-DAY, the SlJth anniversary of the foundation of the Canterbury Settlement, has been chosen by The Timaru Herald as a suitable occasion for celebrating the Centennial of New Zealand b,« publication of a special supplement containing a brief record of the first century of this country s history. Combined with the national aspect of the celebration is a special survey of the history of South Canterbury, and it is fortunate that we have been able to obtain from pioneers still living firsthand information concerning the early days of Timaru and the surrounding country. These personal records have special value in lli.it they enable later generations to understand what pioneering really meant when measured in terms of individual sacrifice. No amenity enjoyed to-day has been obtained without energy and loresight on the part of those who saw the future as a dream which could be made a reality through their labours alone. The pioneers toiled and planned to build a nation in which their descendants could live in security and comfort. Some have been spared io enjoy a little of the dividend coming from their labour, but many have gone leaving worthy monuments behind them that in the scurry of modern days are scarcely recognised as monuments at all. The smiling, fertile downlands of South Canterbury are a monument to certain of the pioneers; the tamed wastelands of the back-country are monuments to others; the wheat-yielding areas have in many cases been brought to a state of productivity by the resoluteness of men who came across the seas to start life anew in a strange land. The first thought throughout the Centennial celebrations should be for the valiant adventurers, both men and women, who risked everything to plant the finest British traditions in a country many thousands of miles from home. The experiment in colonisation which was responsible for the foundation of Canterbury was on a scale never attempted before, but it succeeded beyond expectations. .South Canterbury was settled in a less formal manner, its foundation being the result of inspired enterprise on the part of individuals rather than of a mass movement. Although the met hods of foundation differed, the final result was the same. Old traditions were planted in fresh soil and they flourished because the pioneers held magnificently to their ideals in the face of trial and adversity. There was never any slackening of effort, and all effort was directed to a single end in this young and vigorous democracy established by the early settlers. The farm labourer ami scholar toiled side by side, each one a builder of the nation. The country that we know to-day is a triumphant manifestation of the achievement, of sincere co-operation. Although the war must interfere io a substantial extent with the spontaneity of the Centennial celebrations generally a time in which our national spirit is being tested is appropriate for the celebration of a century of national life. In the years from 1810 New Zealand has been confronted by many crises; shadows darkened the sky but they passed away and the country emerged stronger from the testing. What has happened before will happen again. A nation is strengthened, not weakened, by its trials. But. it is necessary that trials, grave though they are, should not. become a morbid preoecupaiton of the people. By celebrating the Centennial fittingly, and with as much enthusiasm as possible, New Zealanders can provide themselves witii a distraction from present anxieties. In meditating upon and honouring the gailant accomplishments of the past, they can fit themselves better for the march into a less distract ing future. Finally, it has to be remembered that celebration of the Centennial is nothing more than a pausing place in the mu ion's history. New Zealanders still have pioneering work to do, for nobody would suggest that we have now reached a stage at which further progress is impossible. The spirit which made the pioneers courageously single-purposed is needed as much now as it ever was. The task of building a si ill greater nation lies ahead. New Zealand in the Centennial year is merely a shadow of what it can become if the desire to build is in every heart. National progress is not a mysterious alchemic process; it. is the result of united labour with a common end in view. Tlie first settlers in New Zealand have given us I lie secret of nation-building. All we need do is follow their illustrious example. Patient journeying down the road their shadows point, to will bring us to goals we are scarcely capable of dreaming about now. Russia’s Expulsion from the League DOR the first time in its history the Assembly of the Deague of Nations has expelled a State from membership, and in addition members of the Dengue have been asked to give what aid they can to Finland. Had the League been capable of such prompt and unanimous action in the past it is possible that (he world situation would be rather more happy now Ilian if is, but while the power of collective security was in doubt the e\er-present fear of war in the pasl held the nations back from taking steps which might precipitate war. However, the situation is different now. Great nations are at war ami there is naturally less hesitation about dealing vigorously with an aggressor.

point will be Soviet reaction to the Geneva resolution. The spokesman for the British Government has declared that Britain is already taking steps to aid Finland, and he went on to say that even though the distractions of the war were great Britain would give the afflicted country all possible assistance. The tact, that there has been no mincing of words shows that Britain and France realise they have an enemy in Rusia and there is so little goodwill remaining that they can risk Soviet displeasure. But there is another element in the situation. World sympathy is unanimously on the side of Finland and the brave resistance of this small nation shows that with support forthcoming

the invading forces are likely to encounter greater trouble than (heir leaders ever anticipated.