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Horowhenua Chronicle, 27 May 1914, Page 4

Id jwbi'd. .of the tyrant ive hung over our necks, ther despot nor tyrant is. No iron hancl or re?tens our ( destruction, ag to a ' gi'eat Empire e ocean of strife is still vvatiers lap restful shores. [ plenty flow thrbu'gh out No longer is the earth gained with tlte bldod ofour de|eatfed sons. Instead there is the fcerfume of success, and the fragP n ge of'prosperity. We belong I?'a great Enlpire. Sometimes V fail to -realise t£e measure of fcr greatness. Wh&n you con■|r that* we have the reputation the wealthiest, the inighthe most powerful peotime, you get some idea we hold in the Our ordinary working huy out the rich classes countries. ' _ The/e is in English dexnocrain Russia or {Spanish aris. A poqr man in Engoff than a rich man and more secure than in Turkey or Greece. walk in rags m Lon lon your head as high as a in some foreign lauu6 robes would expose you of restless anarchic, ... The British the modern city of rethe oppressed and ty., of all countries may and peace. Our may ; be gauged 'also 1 by sweep of otir influence, hardly an international or a. tribal quarrel but in the Arbitration British influence.' When and the ; tige'fs wish to fiM consult tlie BriIf they should not do lion 'appedrs on tfye to protect the A seriße of 'jiisof confidence have we are. We cermuch, to the indomitof our fighting men. is a force to be with. But we owe conmore to the sublime all peonja^bave 'learnuV as victories have : morThey have beW. 1 '.von ou of international, confidtrust. very respo'nsibBritish Empire holds of universal liberty. there is tyranny and our place is there to der defendless and to right There are a thousdoors where British jusenter jn,- on its errands and fair play. And we to it that our Empire reconfidence and reßpect of world. An exalted ought' to possess our There is no place for or in our Our constitutions must; as the sunlight, in its sweep. Every day;we our natrow-minded-broad lofty intellect,/ eye, the upturned the expanded shoulders be the< features" of our a time when the Castigmatised'with the 'Little England era,' but ■ gone by.' At home the true Britisher is as and as large souled flesh can be. And the is not for us aloiie. whole world. It is conquer, not so much sword or the cannon, # as subtle thing we call imMen may resist our they can never throw They may cannon, but they will our lips as\we speak —that righteousexalts' a nation. imperialism;—that brotherb'ond and of emshape exery policy and our conduct: The carry, whether it be civilisation, is nieant' savage on every The British flag" Bible' are meant be the heralds of new people. The flag is and'to safeguard. The enlighten and inspire. are the strongest coupnation or age has most impregnable forfall before the Union the word of God. It is of the proudest people sailed the seas. Let it it rise till it meets the coming. Let the earof the morning gild it, day linger and summit. It must conquering battle and battle cry. It it be the staff or halyard it anew, for ever Upon place the banner of blow. It's only a v piece 6f rag, but behind lieart ofVgrecil Emdyed 'red in the life and women who have given a dozen honour and fame, tlieri. Never be rfSliamIt's the'flag of old'Engfloats over a score of where joy and' jifeace is a bettier ensigh. of the highest staff, highest flag, there's — the book of a If the flag has the Bible has made English history is inconnected with the

Evangel of the Cross. When oui forbears were slaves in a Roman market, it was the word of God that proclaimed their emancipation. Read history and you will find every page touched by the influence of the Bible. Lift it up then. Never be ashaihed of it. Trust it !more explitely. Love it more dearly. lor you owe your all to the dear old book. These two (the flag and the book) have made us what we are. And.they will keep us what we are fill the eAd of time. Look at it this way: You were born beneath the unfurled flag. The light you first saw was the light of the Bible. You came into this World—a world of freedom and liberty. The flag and the Bible prepared the way for your coming. They heralded your birth in a land of undoubted superiority. They have b£en the atmosphere about you from the cradle, and patriotic enthusiasm for these should inspire your breast. You must be loyal to the forces that gave you birth and mothered you in your helpless days. Breathes there a man with soul so dead, , who never to himself hath said. This is my own, my native land. If such tliere be, go mark him well, for him no minstrel song shall swell. The wretch concentred all in self, doubly dying shall go down into vi'le dust from whence he sprung, unwept, unhonoured, and unsung. "You may be born. in a back street of a forgotten village. But that spot will ever remain the dearest of all places. It is the fort where you received your first baptism of light and life., The old house has been, sanctified by thie travail 1 of motherhood. No biie can giize on his bii-th chain?, ber without being solemnised. Jiie mother, and the baby are the point where God comes very the race. All that it to be bdrn ought to stir the deepest emotions of every person/who thinks. Shall we tit en forget the mother who gave us birth, or the land that cradled infant days. Every man .aught to feel that his birth is the hub of the uni<rerse..x Let him know that no Piiliice or gilded mansion can equal that far-off cottage, where bis first baby cry was heard. Is there a soul so dead that these thoughts kindle no response. "We are too ready to disparage the land in which we livfe, or the Empire to which we belong. Only Levin, we say, with its hills near by, and its roaring sea. Yes, but the sun that shines across $our hills is not the least bit inferior to : that which shines over Switzer: laid Alps. Your sunsets are matchless in their beauty. Your homes are homes of the best. The life you live here is not le&s "important than the life others, live in London. And for this reason thiere is no place like Levin. Far rother live well in tliis little town than live badly in the ( greatest sity of the greatest Empire. Fpr after all, life is not mere meal and drink, business and Life is spiritual imperialism. You belong to an empire of spiritual thoughts and conceptions. And the sentiment we need to create is the sentiment of loyalty to one's ideals. To love one's qwn land, and to live well in that land are the secrets of a happy life. True living is always spiritual, and one hab to be true to the imperialism )f 'his religion. Some of you this morning can look back to an ..experience you call the new birth. It was a church, a school room. Your own bedroom, , where you ivere born into the Kingdom of Gfod. And you can't forget that day. You live it over and; oyer igain. Npw, shall we \>e disloyil to that birth and that Kingdom? That is impossible, surely p This, I take it, is the true Christian imperialism—a spirit of loyalty to the spiritual birtH. I jare not whether it was coniirmalio'n in the Anglican Church, Communion in the Presbyterian Church, or infant baptism as,d conversion in the Methodist. The main thing is that we remember ivith. pride. I follow up the life ve began that day. We belong X) ! a great Empire. Jiut we may a greater. London is a Pair city, but there is a fairer: "Heaven is for you and me. A.nd our names may be written :h£re. When God writes up, his records it may be counted that >-ou and I were born on such and iuch a day, in a certain place— born into the Kingdom of Heaven. To-day we are marching in o the beat of eternal music. The ramp of feet is heard on the way :o the City of God. The banner if His love floats proudly over ; our leads. The Bible sheds the light ibout our path. And the Church is the Zion of God, beautiful for situation and lovely upon the eternal hills. But does the Lord ttunt on us. Can it be said that rov. were born tliere. And do pou take pride in that fact? Love pour land,. my friend. Love your Bag and your Empire. But first if all and most of all love your Saviour and your Church. Be loyal to tliem. Lei Heaven's truest patriotism stir your heart with holy enthusiasm. You are nitizens of no mean city. Then be proud of it. Live up to it.i And the Lord shall count'that you were bom there.