The Mominion. TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 1915. WOMAN'S PART IN THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2542, 17 August 1915, Page 4

The Mominion. TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 1915. WOMAN'S PART IN THE WAR

The women of New Zealand well deserve the tribute paid to them by the Prime Minister at tlw Now Zealand Natives' concert for the splondid work they have done in connection with tho war. They have set ■a fine example, in self-sacrifice, quiet endurance, and tireless industry. .Their zeal has nevcr_ flagged, and their eagerness to, assist our soldiers and help forward the cause they are fighting for is as keen, nay keener if that wore possible, to-day than it was a, year ago. Tho great success of tho.various efforts to.raise funds for patriotic purposes has been in a largo measure due to their assistance. Much of this kind of work has been thrown on their shoulders, and their enorgy seems to be quite inexhaustible, livery new call upon their time and activity meets with a ready response. They aro always doing something for our soldiers. In thousands of homes throughout New Zealand tho providing of comforts for the troops has been part of the daily home routine for months past. In trains and trams, and wherever women are accustomed to congregate, busy hands are to be eeen knitting for the men in khaki. There nas been a ready response to the call for trained nurses to go to the front, and many Wellington ladies pay regular visits to the hospitals for the purpose of saying a few ohecrful words to the sick and wounded who have returned to New Zealand, aiid to supply them with any little luxuries which many assist them on fhc road to recovery. . The women are always willing and anxious to do their part when the time comes to give a contingent a hearty send-6f£, or to extend a sympathetic welcome to the battle-scarred men as they come home from the war. Tho women of the British Empire are playing their part in this tremendous crisis with wonderful fortitude, dignity, and courage. In spite of all their anxieties they aro bravo and cheerful. They are showing the true spirit of patriotism, and also that resoluto endurance without which this war is not going to be won.

After twelve months' fighting the women of New Zealand are quite as determined as -they were when tho struggle began not to listen to any proposals for peace until the power of tho enemy to renew the conflict has been crushed. They feel the horrors' of war moro keenly than tho men, and they suffer'more acutely, but there is no limit to the sacrifices they would make rather than see their country under the domination of tho Maxtor Assassin who has plunged the world into this tcrriblo struggle, with cold and calculated' deviltry. They know whut the women .£>l Ernca pd

Ed, and they realise that the claims of justice, the demands for retribution, are more imperative than those of peace. When we speak of the need of mobilising the whole of the spiritual and material forces of the nation, we should never forget how much depends upon the moral influence of the women of the country. It forms a very real part of that spiritual element' in ..warfare which, in the opinion of NApoleon, counted for more than anything else. How splendidly the mothers of our soldiers have, borno the terrible strain of this most terrible war! They have endured weeks and months of constant anxiety without complaint, and are ready to go on in the same spirit to the end—till victory has bcon won. In his famous pastoral, Cardinal Mercier _ pays a glowing tribute to the Belgian mothers. No one knows better than the Cardinal what the women of Belgium are enduring for their country's sake. "Christian mothers," he writes, "bo proud of your sons. Of all griefs, of all human sorrows, yours is perhaps the most worthy of veneration. Suffer us to offer you not, only our condolence, but our congratulations. Not all heroes obtain military honours, but for all we expect the immortal crown of the elect." Though the homes of these Belgian mothers may have been burned or pillaged, though dreadful crimes may have been perpetrated against many of their number, and though their sons may have been slain, yet their spirit remains unconquered. This unconquerable spirit of the Belgian women is in a large measure responsible for the fact that Belgium is still resisting the armies of her brutal invader. The same heroic spirit animates the women of the British Empire. Fortunately the women of New Zealand have not been called upon to_ endure the terrible experiences which the women of Franco and Belgium have had to undergo; but the ever-increas-ing length of our Roll of Honour shows, that the wives and _ mothers, and sisters of this Dominion, have learnt much of the tragedy of war. They, too, have suffered, and are still suffering, but their spirit is unbroken. . To-day, as in the months that have passed, they are bravely facing the trials of these anxious times, not "in any spirit of helpless resignation, but with a strong fortitude, high courage, and unyielding determination which well matches the splendid deeds of their sons and husbands and brothers on the heights of Gallipoli.