THANKSGIVING FOR VICTORY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 9, 5 October 1918, Page 6

THANKSGIVING FOR VICTORY

The suggestion of Sir James Allen that to-morrow should be observed as a day of thanksgiving for the great successes that have , been achieved by our armies on the fighting fronts will meet with general approval throughout the Dominion, and the Churches will no doubt niakc a fitting response. It-is a good thing to be thankful, and there is ample precedent for . the Acting-Prime Minister's suggestion. On August 4 the King ancl,Queen, Cabinet Ministers, members of Parliament, and representatives of the overseas Dominions went to St. Margaret's, Westminster, to join "in one solemn act. of prayer, confession,,, thanksgiving, commemoration, and resolve. President' Wilson's pro l clamat.ioh for the observance of Decoration Day was pervdded by the same spirit and purpose. He exhorted his fellow-citizens of all faiths and creeds to assemble in their several places of worship and there, as well as in their homes, to pray for willingness to accept and defend all things that are just and right, , and to-purpose only those righteous , ' judgments which are in conformity with the Divine will; also to pray for victory for our armies and for a peace founded on mercy, justice, and good-will. The proclamation declares that "it has always been the reverent habit of the people of the United States to turn in humble appeal to .Almighty God for His guidance in the affairs of their common life." The military and political leaders of Britain and her Allies have made no attempt to imitate the Kaiser's grotesque and impudent invocations of Providence, but they have unwaveringly declared their firm faith in tho all-import-ance of the spiritual aspects of the tremendous struggle, in which , wo are engaged.- It is a remarkable and impressive :fact that-the leaderof the |- Allied nations during this "war has been in the hands of religious-minded men. In proof of this statement it is only necessary to mention-the names of > Marshal Foch; :Siit Douglas Haig, General Pershin'g, . Admiral Beatty, Admiral Jellicoe, Mr Lloyd George. Mr. Balfqur,/ . President Wilson, and Mr. Lansing. All these distinguished soldiers and statesmen have without ostentation, and.- yet quite unmistakably,- • declared their firm belief in those fundamental spiri•tuaj realities which guarantee the validity of that moral law in vindication of which so niany thousands of the\pick of our- manhood have sacrificed their lives. The full turn which the tide of war has now taken in our favour gives much cause- for thankfulness.' Besides the splendid victories of the Allied, forces, we ought to, be thankful because at the call of duty Britain plunged into the struggle .without counting the cost; because we have never regretted that momentous decision or w-av-eVed .iii'oiir determination to fight till, right has -. triumphed dvor wrong, ,We ought to be tffankful for the valour and endurance of our soldiers and sailors,.,who have made the heroic commonplace. Heroism, as Maeterlinck has finely said, "was once a .sharp and rugged peak reached for- a moment but quitted forthwith. To-day i't is a boundless plain." We ought to be thankful for the noble spirit of our womenfolk, who have borne .uncornplain-' ingly a heavy load of suffering and anxiety. We ought to be thankful that! the Allied nations have never lost their nerve and that their will to win has never weakened And no part of the Empire.has better reason to be thankful than this favoured land, whose- people live in security, comfort,.;and plenty,-'sheltered by the powerful shield of the .British •Navy.,-/.lt is' hardly to be expected that we who have not experienced the horrors' of war at close quarters can- feel the. joy and: relief of victory with the' samp, intensity as 'those who have endured: the full force of the enemy's blows, and who know how narrow has been .the margin at more than one critical, juncture that separated us and theni. from possibly irretrievable disaster. It has been said, that "in a project ofcu'ar to'err, but oneeis.tp be.' undone for .ever.". , ;.If this were'literally'true where would; we stand 'to-day 1 Fortunately'for us and-for our the full price of our-'failures. and shortcomings has not been exacted from us; and at-more than one perilous, moment some of our most trust-ed-leaders have been deeply impressed with the /truth' of, the poet's convictionthat. "there's a divinity that .shapes our ends v rough Ebw them as \ve wi11 , ." And.now we know that "unto us is the'victory;" .-Why are' we soVsure of this? Because*we have faith in the judgments of "the God of all history,"-■.'■ Who has so embedded , ihe moral, law in the structure ; of. the universe that national purposes or policies which clash with it must sooner or later bo confounded. . Apart from this conviction, it is.difficult to find rational justification' for optimism or logical ground- for belief in the permanence of human progress. We are able to regard-/the recent.-glad.'tidings of victory, upon victory, as assurances that the blood of our best has not been shed in vain, because we trust the testimony of reason and instinct (hat the whole Creation is being surely guide:! to some great and worthy goal. ' .