A STIRRING SPEECH

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2712, 6 March 1916, Page 2

A STIRRING SPEECH

"JUSTICE, IMMORTAL LIKE THE GENIUS OF FRANCE"

■Formal addresses wore delivered both in the Chamber of Deputies and in the French Semite on January, 13 by the respective Presidents, M. Paul Desclianel and 31; Antonin Dubost. M. Desciianel, the President of the Chamber, in a short summary of the work of tlio previous session, emphasised tho valuo of the work of the Chamber in hastening tho manufacture of arms and munitions and in attacking administrative delay. Ho spoke of bow they had instituted tho "Croix de Guerre," arranged for leave to be granted to the soldiers, of how tho pay of the troops had been raised, and the conditions of living improved, including that of French prisoners' in Germany. Othor points referred to "were the suppression of the sale of absinthe and the regulation of liqueur shops, the readiness with wnich loans had boon granted, and the control exercised over Army contracts. As regards the opening Session, M.\ Deschanel dismissed it in a sentence, saying: "You will doubtless wish to devote tho opening of tho session ,to the problem of rent, to the taxation of war profits, to the repair of the darnago caused ;by tho war, and the control of alcohol." Referring to criticisms made against the Chamber, M. Deschanel spoko of the possible danger of hasty changes introduced into Bills 'during tbeir passage through tho House, to the possible abuse of written questions that might give' rise to fresh bureaucratic abuses, and to the dangor of changing tho rules of procedure. He defended the Chamber rigorously against the_ charges brought .against it of having interfered in the military or diplomatic sphere, and after pleading for unity, showilig ' how tho attitude of tlio Chafriber was being misrepresented in Germany, he urged the Housw to remain faithful to that moral discipline that was not less indispensable to the success, of arms than military discipline. ' "Let us look to tho trenches," lie said. "Our soldiers, fifty miles away ,from Paris, know they are conquering; and they are right, because by holding on they are wearing down the enemy, they are giving England and Russia time to raise fresh armies, and to' the Allies to close a large proportion of the 'Markets of tho world to Germany by close international agreement. Our soldiers' indoinitablo constancy, coniposed of bravery, sound sense, and intelligence. will at last get the better of force." "What a force it is the.y are opposing! Is it a. forco of ecieucoP No, it is a depraved force, au impious force that in rending the marvels of art and faitli, tliat is sinking to tho depths of tho seas inoffensive passengers, the women and children of tho Lusitania. theAncona, and the Ville do la Ciotat, which is massacring the whole people of Armenia, whioh is trying craftily to gain the soul of the Poland that it has tortured, which felled and slew with a luxury of degrading circumstances and a parody of justice that makes tlio crime still more hideous tho noble vietint of their vengeance. Nurse Edith Cavell, which on the dawn of January 1, ait tho opening of the New Year, threw shells on Nancy from a. safo position, not imdwstanding that the disgrace of such acts blackens, not France, but Germany. . "Our soldiers know that the peaco of which the Chancellor of the German Empire spoke.recently in the Reichstag would be tho signal for a ceaselesslyrenewed wari in which future generations would in their turn have to shed their' blood.. They know that in giving their lives" thoy' are saving those of their sons. Their hallowed sufferings are creating a new France, a Europe based on equality and on justice. More than a century ago, after the Russian campaign, Napoleon was with Fontanes in Fontainebleau Park. His fortunes were overcast, and. taking the arms of his Minister, he said in a fit of melancholy : 'Do you know what I admire most in the worid—the powerlessness of material force? In the end the sword is conquered by the idea.' What that conqueror said when his excessive strength warfi failing wo can say again to-day. Force, Ijke matter, is limited and 'perishable. Justice is immortal, like the genius of France."