"HOLD FAST"

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 272, 6 August 1918, Page 5

"HOLD FAST"

MR. LLOYD GEORGE'S MESSAGE TO THE DOMINIONS

PROSPECTS OF VICTORY NEVER SO BRIGHT '

His Excellency tho Governor-General has been requested to convey to tho people of New Zealand the following message from tiio J'riine Minister of tho ,'United Kiug'ioni:—

"The message which I send w the peoplo of the British Empire on the fourth anniversary ot' their entry into tho war is 'Hold Fasti'

"Wo are in this war for no selfish ends. Wo are in it to recover freedom for tho nations which have beeu brutally attacked and' despoiled, and to prove that no people, however powerful, can surrender itselt to tho lawless ambitions of militarism, without meeting retribution, swift, certain, and disastrous, at the hands of tho tree nations of tho world. To stop short of victory for this cause would bu to compromise the futuro of mankind.

"I say 'Hold Fust' because our prospects of victory have never been so "bright as they are to-day. Six months ago the rulers of Germany deliberately rejected the just and reasonable settlement proposed by the Allies. Throwing aside the last mask of moderation, they partitioned Itusoia, enslaved Rumania, and attempted to seize supreme power by overwhelming the Allies in a final and desperate attack. Thanks lo the invincible bravery of all the Allied a-mies it is now evident to all that the dream of universal conquest, for tho salco of which they wantonly prolonged tho war, can never bo fulfilled.

"But the buttle is not yet won. Tho great autocracy of Prussia ivill fetill endeavour by violence or grcilo' 'o avoid dofeat and so give militarism •.1 new lease of life.

"We cannot seek to escape tho horrors of war for ourselves by laying them up for our children. Having set our hands to the task wo must see it through till a just and lasting settlement is achieved. "In no other way can we "ensure a world set free from war. 'Hold Fasti' f'(Signed) D. LLOYI) GEORGE."