STAND IN THE RANKS.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2463, 17 May 1915, Page 8

STAND IN THE RANKS.

A STIRRING SPEECH

HON. A. L. HERDMAN ON THE WAR

"SET YOUR TEETH AND STEEL YOUR SOULS." Whether we be farmers, or bo engaged in mercantile pursuits ; whether we be soldiers, or citizens: whether we be sailors or landsmen; whether we are living in the backblocks or in the city, it is our

duty to stand in the ranks.

Thus spoke the Hon. A. L. Herdman in concluding a stirring speech at the Orphans Club on Saturday evening. The speech was hailed with loud, prolonged cheering.

Mr. Herdman said in tho beginning that he had been told that some fifteen or twenty gentlemen who were members of the club had enlisted for ac-

tivo service, and some of them were now fighting along with the other New Zealanders at the Dardanelles. It was inspiring to know the numbers of young men from a country so email as ours who had offered their bodies, their brains, and their wealth to His Majesty the King. He had been told by those competent to understand the position that recruiting in New Zealand was satisfactory, but anyone who read

the newspapers must come to the conclusion that greater demands would, in the future, bo made on the young men of Now Zealand. He felt certain that young New Zealand (knowing our young_ men as he did) would not hold back if the call was made, and thoy were given clearly to understand that their services were wanted. (Applause.) Our Brightest Page in History. The chief regret of many—such as Colonel Collins and himself —was that they were too old to take a part in tho actual fighting,: but he was confident that many who were becoming bald and grey would gladly and readily take part in the fighting if t'hey were permitted to go, and if their circumstances allowed them to. (Applause.)

He considered it probably tie finest thing in New Zealand history that 15,000 or 16,000 men had left this country's shores to' bear their share of the battles. It was a thing which would be remembered as long as New Zealand

lived. What New Zealand, and Canada, and India, and Australia, and South Africa had done in this war would not be forgotten while an Englishman was left ill tho world, or the English language was spoken. (Loud applause.) "What does this war mean?" Mr. Herdman asked.

He answered: "It means that our very existence as a nation is at stake. It means that our liberties are in grave danger. It means that the privileges, the happiness, and the other advantages wo now enjoy as freo citizens of a free country under a free Government are in danger of being taken away from us. It means, also, that tho work of the great statesmen of the past, of the great soldiers, of the great sailors, and of our ancestors who fought and struggled for us are likely to vanish into thin air before the guns of a relentless enemy unless wc set our teeth for the task and steel our souls in a deadly determination to remove from the face of the earth the curse which at present exists upon it." (Loud cheering.)

We Will Win. Mr. Herdman went on to say that the present gravo period was no time for petty squabbling or paltry bickering, or small complaint. It was a timo for deeds, and every man in tho country must do his part. Groat Britain was fighting for everything that was high and good in life. Some had suggested that Germany was in the right: but he disagreed with that view. Germany stood for war and constant ferment; Great Britain believed in peaco, freedom, and contentment. * Germany reckoned that might was right; Great Britain believed tuat the mighty were in honour bound to see justice done by those who were weak. Furthermore, an Englishman's word was his bond, but a German signature was not worth the paper it was written on. (Hear, hear.) Proceeding, Mr. Herdman spoke very hopefully of the future. He believes that we have- readied a stage at which we can look to the future with confidence. He believes we will win in the end because the Allies' position to-day was considerably stronger than the position they occupied when the war was commenced. He reckoned, also, the material wealth of the Allies to be greater than the material wealth of our enemies. There was not an enemy warship in the Atlantic or the Pacific. Those w ere the things which convinced mm that victory was in store for us. Wherever Englishmen were tho world over they were in deadly earnest about this war, and, fighting as the British would fight, victory for our sido was the only possible result. (Enthusiastic cheering.) Not every man could go and fight, but everj-one could do something in the service of the State. We were ono great and vast Empire, with one great imperial army, and one big navy. Our ?■?, c '* nK Aether, and fight till this war was ended. (Cheers.)'As an old Athenian said: "Go yourselves every man of you and stand in the ranks, and either victory beyond all awaits yon, or, failing, you shall fail greatly and worthy cf your past."