The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1942. THE HIGH MORAL PURPOSE

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 287, 2 September 1942, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1942. THE HIGH MORAL PURPOSE

Tomorrow, September 3, marks the opening of the fourth year of the great world conflict now raging. This fateful anniversary, in accordance with the expressed desire of His Majesty the King, is to be observed as a national day of prayer by all British communities throughout the Empire. It will be an occasion for solemn reflection upon the immensity of the task which lies before us; for the strengthening of our resolution as a people and an Empire to fight hard, long, and tirelessly until the enemy is finally overthrown; and for earnest study of the high moral purpose which animates the United Nations in their struggle for their existence and the fulfilment of the hope of a new and better world order held out in that historic declaration of faith, the Atlantic Charter. Opportunely appropriate, therefore, was the theme of the thoughtful and earnest address delivered by the Hon. Adam Hamilton, speaking as a member of the War Cabinet, on Sunday evening. His remarks were in.part a stock-taking of the war situation as it stands today. As Mr. Hamilton stressed with all the emphasis at his command, the nature of the outcome of the struggle will depend entirely upon the manner in which we use our present opportunities, our gathering resources, and especially, upon the strength of our faith in the moral purpose of our warfare. No better invocation could be lifted up from our hearts tomorrow than that quoted by Mr. Hamilton from a letter written by the late Lieutenant-Colonel Love, commander of the Maori Battalion in the Western Desert, to his mother: God give me strength to carry on, wisdom to make good judgments, courage to have my own convictions, justice in all my deal-* ings.

Here, in one sublime sentence, are epitomized the spiritual inspiration of the warrior, of sound statesmanship, of the sincerity of the true citizen, and of the righteousness of purpose essential to all good law-giving. It is the utterance of a soldier who drew his faith from the Divine reservoir of the spirit, who conceived in the dust and perils of the conflict the eternal truth that government and citizenship must have a moral basis and purpose. The grim experience of three years of war has taught us that successes and failures must continue to be our portion until the final victory is won. It has revealed the great strength and resourcefulness of our enemies, and their determination of purpose. And, finally, it should by this time have driven home to all of us, as Mr. Hamilton with timely urgency has emphasized, that we must not expect others to do for us what we ought to do —and can do — for ourselves.