DISTRICT ANZAC SERVICES

Chronicle (Levin), 26 April 1949, Page 4

DISTRICT ANZAC SERVICES

Rain Prevented Parade In Levin The' district observance of Anzac Day wa? marred by h^avy faip, bu£ in spitp qf 'tjie cpnaii^ons fho ten'dahces^were very gcod. ' At Koputaroa a morning service was held, conducted by Rev. A. Salmond, C.F. The ad^rpss wias delivered by Mr. I. Corbishley, §t the Levin R.B-A- Fbllowipg fhe serr vice, which was well attended, the wreaths were brought to Levin an'd.

Rlaccd .at the base of the War Menioria-7, which presented an impressive sight with flowers of. many hues and the artificial P, QBPi.es Qf Flanders fame in striking predominance in many of the heautifm , wreaths ' 'In the Oha,n Hall a .memorial pTaque was deaicate'd by Rev". H". S. Kings, C.F. The speaker was Mr., R. Woodfield, of the Levin R.S-4-Parade Cancelle(d. Heavy rain f orced" the abandonment of the parade from the l^vhi; School to the memorial and the usual short service ther.e." ' A faif number of the: Quhfc atfende'd t)i,e service in the Regent Theatfe. The speaker was Hev. A. Safmond, C.F., and as .chair'mah, the lifayor was represented by Cr. D. J. Sweetzer." Also ofBciating were Rev. H. S. Kfngs, .C.F., Major Fletcher, of the Levin Cof ps bf the Salvafilon Army, and Mr. L. Allen, vice-presi-dent of 'the Levm R.S'.A- Tast Post" anb "flevelile" 'were souhded by Mr. G. R. Lester and dpring th.e service the Horowhenua CQllege choir sang Kip'ing's "ReAessional." BesrSes belpg a 'day of remembrance, Anzac Day shou.d a7so te a time -of conc.entratiqn .and examinr ation, said Mr. S0.rmohd" in the course of his address. Deploring a present ,day fendency towards self interest, he said: "Our wqrk must be a fulfilfpent'qf their hopes, otherwise our deep emotion will pass into sterile senfimentalism. Our worM has Qeen built upon foundations, some of which have -not proved 'strong enough to bear the weight of thc great building we have set up, and we are now 'earning the vanity of trying to build on what ultimately is selfish self interest/'' It had been belleved that ignorance and lack oi" opportuhity were the main troubles in human life, he continued, ancl that if every one was given a ichance a liveqble world would result! That lllusion was being shattefed. A society built on that belfef was pro.ving tq bje vulnerabie and was beihg «challenged by those who were -suffering from still more serious illiisions tha,n purselves, said the speaker, quaiifying 'this' remark by' a reference to the present attack by Communism on the Western democracies. _ The obvious evi's and harsh crueHies of Cottrhunists. however, should-uot prevent us from seeing clearly our own sins and renenting .of them.

The world of the* present was not the result of the actions of pariicularly bad 'meh, but what unre-deeme-d human, nature produced when it tried to handle affairs on a world scale. Tq those who taiked g'ibly of freedom it must be declar-. ed that freedom without commun-' ity could be very selfish, and to those who spoke easily of community it must be declared that no hisoric«community deserved the abs'>7ute devotion of men. In other words, to those who would make the State sacrosanct, we must declare that stat.es can b.e tempted. The loyalty of the human soul must be to God himseh-" * Following the service. Mr. Allen thanked all those who had helped to make the service possible an-d tq the women helpers who had soM poppies. He e also thanked the Levin Municipal Band, the Horo-' whenua Scottish Society's Pipe Band, Legfon of Frontiersmen and, all others who had turned out, an.d also those. citizens in attendance.