NEW ZEALAND'S BRAVE WOMEN

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 21, 27 October 1919, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND'S BRAVE WOMEN

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR NURSES AT ST. PETER'S. Yesterday, October lili, being the anniversary of the sinking of the Marquette, bv means of which ten New Zealand mir.-'cs lost their lives, the Trained Nurses'- Association arranged that a service in memory of these nurses ami all other New Zealand nurses who had died during the war and during the influenza epidemic of last year should be held on Sundav afternoon in St. Peter's Church. The Von. Avnlideacon Watson, formerly chaplain H.M. Ss.i. hospital ship Malieno, gave tho address, and previous to the opening of the service Dr. Kington Fyffo played Chopin a "Funeral March." , • They 'luwl met 011 tins occasion, tho speaker pointed out, to thank God for tho self-sacrifice and heroism of those 1 nurses who had given their lives for their country both during the war and during the epidemic that had devastated this country a year ago. It was but right and proner that they should do so. Once the danger was" past there was always a tendency to forget, but we would indeed bo ungrateful if we forgot those who helped to save tho Enipu&. Many among,those who were present on this occasion loiew well some of thoso nurses Mo had laid down their lives; knew their various talents, their various characteristics, but different though, tlie,so may htivo been the ono proat gut, i that of supreme self-sacrifice, had been common to all. The glory and power of self-sacrifice could not fail to drive its lesson home to people, and lew could withhold their -admiration, 110 matter how depraved, how selfish. Acts th«t were acclaimed by common consent as great and glorious were based upon self-sacrifice, niid by solf-sficrifico tins fallen world was uplifted and redeemed. In' such times as war it appea-lcd perhaps as never before; and we learnt something more of what it really meant and tried to put-it into our daily lite. Through its lessons we b.aeamo stronger, better, ' and the world- more uplifted, more purified. By the sacrifices that had been made tho Empire would be a better Empire and New' Zealand a better country. • • . , It was hard to .say what wo owed to tlioso who had died for us, continued Ihe speaker. It was not enough to remember all they had given up. \\ fc hail to ask ourselves how could we ever again bo stupid, bo frivolous, be selfish, M heartless, be grudging in our services to others when thoso we lov.c<l had given their lives that wo might live. - A\e had to think liow wo might be worthy of tho ideals for which they died; how worthy of their loyalty. It was well tor us , to thank God for those noble women who had given their lives in a very real sense for the salvation of the Empire;, at the. same time our gratitude and appreciation would be. of very little valuo if wo let it stop at a mere-feeling ot gratitude, if wo did not trv to prove by our actions worthy of thoso we -wcro honouring to-day. These women had done their part: no one coirld do more, and it was now for us to do ours, hellsacrifice was rot peculiarly a C.ii'istinn virtue. Pagans as well as Christians had greatly honoured thoso. who. had dpi for their' country, but Christians hod always before their inward eyes tho "reatest example of self-sacrifice, that of Christ on 'Calvary, and the ereatest net of love, that of Cod giving His only begotten Son-for the redemption of tho world.' The Gospel was not only a collection of memoirs-, it was a storehouse of good news for tho present and the future of the world. It was full of hope,? and the possibilities of a. future for us so glorious as to far surpass our highest'flights of imagination. It showed, lis'the way to service, to peace, and lo love. It. was incredible, that anyone could set aside Christianity for any of the theories that have at various limes in the world's history .oecnnied men's attention. Death was not the end of all. The liFe that enmo to an early end was not lost. The present was but ihe tuning of the instrument, the perfect music being kept for another and higher life. Those eafflyjcndwl lives were r,ot. broken melodies, lint were tho preludes t.o something far different, something far better. A clear hp.pe of a happier meeting had been given us, and death was but the gateway to a. gi"Hous iinmortnlity. - The' benediction following the address was pronounced-bv- Ttis Lordshin the Bishop of Wellington, and at the conclusion of the service the "Deed Mnrrli in Raul" was played by Dr. FylTe, the "Last .Post" being , afterwards sounded by a. bugler. Their Excellencies the Governor-Gen-eral and ,the Countess of Liverpool attended tl\e memorial service, nud thero were ilni T»-csent the Prime Minister (tho Rt. Hon. W. F. Mns c eyl and Miss Mass°y, Sir Robert and Lady Stout, General Pi'r ' Alfred Robin. Surgeon-General M'Gavip, Miss Hester MacLenn (mntron-in-chief of the New Zealand Army. Nursing Service), the TTon. Ile-iton Rhodes (Commissioner for the New Zealand Red Cross) and Mrs. Rhodes, several Array nufsinar sister? in uniform, members of the council 0? the AVe!l ; ngten Trained Nurses' Association. And officers and members of. the ,St. .Tohn Ambulance Brigade Overseas, also members of the Army Medical Service, nud 'renrewnhtives of the Red Cross. A similar service was held elsewhere- in the Dominion. The Perfect Table Maid. Tho domestic servant problem, according to the Ministry of Labour, says tho "Daily Mail," is becoming easier and giris are, diowing more inclination- lo come hack to domestic work. MaLters .will become better 'still'-when the new training centres for domestic servants organised by the London County Council are in'full swing. .. Girls training for parlour maids will practise waiting at t ible, and little points of etiquette? will be practised, such as not joining in the laughter which follows a good joke by one of the guests. Untrained parlour maids have, been known to join in the conversation under the stress of (lie knowledge that a statement made by a guest nas incorrect. The correct way of handing round vegetables and moving plates silently and swiftly ..are all liarls of the curriculum. In otieouragiiig girls to take up domestic service a particular point is made of the excellent position of a domestic servant as compared with a factory worker. It is summed lip iu this way: Servant,'s wage, say.' ,£3O a year, or 12s. per week; i'ree board, lodging and laun- ' dry (value at present), <£1 55.; total, .£1 17s. A factory girl earns approximately it 10s. a week, and out of this lins to I pay for food, rent, laundry and" probably daily train fare to and from her work.