Levin's Celebrations.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 14 November 1918, Page 3

Levin's Celebrations.

Thanksgiving and Merrymaking.

TWO BAYS' FESTIVITIES

When people saw the flag being hoisted at the Post Office just after nine o'clock on Tuesday morning they knew that "The Day" had come a': last. "Germany has signed s the armistice" said the official telegram from the Prime Minister. These were the magic words ' that unlocked the floodgates of rejoicing, So far as Levin was concerned, all business ceased at oncc—even if it were sate day—and Tuesday and Wednesday were devoted, to a Festival of , Peace. Everything proceeded according to pre-arranged programme. The bells andi fireworks proclaimed the glad tidings amidst the cheers and mutual congratulations of the people. Mags and bunting were procluced in .all quarters. Motor-cars with trumpeters aboard set out at once for the country districts, and from the veritable Bugles of Victory the countryside soon learnt that the last and l most boastful enemy had been defeated. At mid-day the mam street was crowded with happy rejoicing people, from whofe mtndis a great burden of anxiety apd doubt had been lifted; And yet it was hard to realise that hostilities had really ceased, so interwoven with every phase of dii.Jv life hnd th' 2' war become in the course of tlTe paist four years. The thought that all the strife was ended seemed for a time to numb the understanding and to oast a spell of restraint over (ihe enthusiasm. Perhaps it was that that the first thoughts were . of those of our own kinsmen, who soon now would be able to comeback' to their own country, or it may be that many walked in the unseen presence of those who would never come back to their loved ones, i ' '

THE OEI/EBKATIONS COMMENCE

At 2 o'clock, tlip Mayor spoke from a lorry oposit# the Post Office. Be Rrfli read the official . telegram from the Prime Minister stab:ng that the armistice liadl been signed by Germany, the message being received wi';h loud cheers. "We believe." continued the Mayor, "that this has been a, struggle for right and justice, nnd we believe that we* -have had i3ivine aid, and that ire should now thank ;';he Almighty for that aiid." THANKSGIVING. At , the Mayor's requgst, the Rev.W. F. Grove," with impressive enunciation, offered up prayer, tlie public reverently entering into to the spirit of the following several petitions : A Prayer after Victory: O Almighty God, the Sovereign Commander of all the worldi, in Whose hand is power and miglitb which none is able to withstand; ive bless and magnify Thy great and glorious Name for this happy victory. And we beseech Thee, give lis grace to improve this great mercy to Thy glory, the advancement of Thy Gospel, tlfr , honour of our Sovereign, and, as . much as in lis lieth, to the good of all mankind. Andi, we beseech Thee, gave us such a sense of this great mercy as m'fly engage us to a true thankfulness, such a« may appear in our lives by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before The© all our diays, through Jesus Christ, our lord; to Whom with Thee and the Holy Spirit, as for nil thy mercies, so an particular for this Victory and Defliverance, be all the glory and 1101our, world without end. Amen. Prayer for the Soldiers and Dead» God bless our soldiers and pallors and bring them home in health and safety to us again. And may the souls of all the fallen, through GodV mercy, rest in peace. Amen.

A General Thanksgiving: ~ Almighty God, Father of all -mercies, we Thine unworthy servants do give Thee most humble and hearty thanks for all Thy goodness and lov-ing-kindness to ns, and to all men. We bless Tliee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; (for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech Thee, give ns that due sense of all Thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignediy thankful, and that we may show forth Thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to* Thy service, and by walking before Thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen. The Lord's Prayer, the Doxology and finally the National Anthem, led by thei Band, dosed this part of the proceedings. THE MAYOP'S SPEECH. "We do not yet realise what this means," said Jie Mayor, who wore the medals for »the South African war through the whole of which he served. "To iget a true idlea we must go back to the fourth of Auguist, 1914, and. recall those following years so full of anxiety and sorrow." Millions of people throughout the Empire and the world were rejoicing to-day, but could, we really realise that those tens of .thousands of guns on the West front were now silent. He thought not—but the great fact for the day was that the war was over .a(i last. He* recalled the passing year by year of the resolution recording the inflexible resolution of the British people to carry on the war to a victorious conclusion. To-day we were rejoicing because tjiat resolution had borne'its fruit. "We are proud | to-day to be citizens of the British Empire and proud of the brave nations associated wi,th us," continued the Mayor amiA«t clieers. It was not i'xM» much to say' that England had been the backbone of the war. ■» A voice: You should say Great Britain. The Mayor: We must not quibble. 'If it comes to that It would be correct'; to say the Anglo-Saxon nice because our good American cousins came in at the right time to turn the scale (pheers for Uncle Sam). One thing about rbhe An-UZllo-Saxou race was its national conscience. The German-- never had a conscience, or if they did they bad stifled it- by their training audi greed. 'No nation could long ex'st without a conscience. Civilisation was merely a cloak upon our original barbarism. Germany il.ood before the world in her naked barbarism—but the world would not tolerate it. It was not an Anglo-Saxon •habit to kick a fallen foe, but were there any who would be ready to shake the red hand of Germany (Cries of No.) She would be a pariah and an outcaa'i amoung the nations until she used her great power and resources in the service of mankind!. If she couOd eventually be brought to cU> that, .it could be said that our sacrifice and trouble was not without its uses. The Mayor spoke of the possibilities of. a *League of Nations meting out jusJiiceand right treatment to the smaller nations and guaranteeing the freedom of the world. He referred to the part pllayed in the war by It-lie Doiininion--a community of a little over a million which had put a hundred thoui-and 1 men unden arms. All looked forward to the day—not far distant lie hoped—when most of tliern'would be back with us (Hear, hear). He paid a tribute |';o tho sTTare of the Maori race (Cheers), the medical corps and

the nurses, in the -war, and spoke of the great work of the Navy, each branch of the service being loudly ciheered. THE PROCESSION. The element® of the procession had by this time been marshalled andi were eager to move off. Indeed the epeechmaking was cuii short, by one unit, which surreptitiously seized the shafts of tli-e lorry platform and ran it off the route of the procession, where Mr Tuiti McDonald had to content himself in (ihe utterance of some patriotic sentiments on behalf of the Maori people. Then the march to Weraroa and back began. And here it may be said that Levin excelled and astonished itrelf from a spectacular point of view. The lessons of the false alarm last week had been welUearned and the expedition with which elaborately bedecked motor cars came into being was only equalled by the delightful variety of the fancy costumes of dozens of people. First marched Here Nicholson garbed in the old Maori mats and bearing himself like a chief of the olden time. The

Band followed playing brave music, and' next, in the place of honour, were the returned men under liieuts. Vincent and Higgins—a surprising muster—SO of them in uniform and twenty more in mufti, wearing the honourable badges of their service. Their number from a small centre like this gave some indication of the magnitude of the Dominoion's war effort. These were the men who knew what modern war at close quarters was, and whose joy 4':. its cessation meant more than it did to most— for their comrades' sake. They got a warm-hearted reception along the route 1 . The Territorials and Cadets were followed by forty mcf»r oars, many of them works of art in the transformation that had been effected by means of national colours and bunti'ng while they were all loaded to the danger point with aduV':s and children in fancy dWs. Now, came the most charming feature of the pageant—the children—the generation, who, because of tire great sacrifices of their fathers and brothers, would, please God, never know the horrors of war, and whose day ill's was rightly made. (First came the sturdy and, dignified figure of John Bull, personifying all the qualities of self-reliance and steadfastness of the race. A well-known citizen whose portly build; and cheery features lend themselves to the role had "made up" into the verisimilitude of Che accepted British type, and with his bull-dog—one of the breed that never lets go its hold— escor-ted Britannia, a lady also well suited to her character—along the pafth of victory. Then followed the children —all with beaming countenances, the trirV in a blaze of redi. white and blue, and the boys carrying thS flags of jibe Allies. Miniature Frenchmen and Italians, Charlie Chaplins and Pierrots, Bov Scouts and scotsmen passed in rapid succession. Uncle Sam in stars and stripes made an appropriate figure and there were a dozen burlesque chlaracrs who lent animation and colour to the scene. A group of Maoris enjoyed 1 ;ihemselves immensely. The Friendly Societies all hadi strong delegations present—ancient Druids in beards and gowns took the mind back to the genesis of our race, and Oddfellows in many-coloured sashes represented a later stage in its development. Many people, too, were pleased to see representatives of the local iLabour Party taking their allotted place in the procession. Thirty more cars brought up the rear. It may well be imagined that such a spectacle afforded! the assembled crowds the greatest pleasure and delight and there were many expressions of satisfaction as the pageant exhibiting in every phase the note of via.«=ed through the town on its return to the Domain in Queen strea^. Here the chief interest was a programme of sports for the children •and some bandi music. This was merely the prelude to the proceedings of the next day.

In the evening the thanksgiving service in the Century Hall was largely attended and the main street was the scene of a good deal of unofficial celebration in which ';he benzine band, reinforced by several cornets, played the chief part. With reinforcements after the service, there wap a good deal of boisterous merriment. The firebell was rung at 10.30. and strayed revellers were still ringing bells and making glad noises long after midnight.