A Splendid Speech.

Manawatu Herald, 22 March 1900, Page 3

A Splendid Speech.

On taking public leave of the Hawkes Bay section of the Fourth Contingent, the H.B. Herald reports the speech made by the Dean of Waiapu, which is a most interesting and stirring one,. The Very Rev. Dean De Berdt Hovell, Chaplain to the Forces, said : — 11 The marvellous spontaneous uprising amongst the free men of the colonies in the hour of the Empire's danger and necessity has made all the world wonder. The voices which ginned the * idea of possible lukewarmness and defection into our ears have faded into silence. The heart of Old England is full of pride and joy, while the foemen ot our race are staggered and warned. (Cheers.)- From every quarter of the r globe Anglo-Saxon men have gathered and are gathering, till, as was said in the English House of Commons a little while ago, the numerical strength of the colonial soldiers now facing the foe in South Africa exceeds the total of the British army wliich fought under Wellington, when to Napoleon, the mighty conqueror, it was said in effect on the field of Waterloo 'thus far shalt thou come but no further, and here shall thy proud course be stayed.' And that which has been done already by the Free States of Britain's colonial empire is as nothing to that which could be effected should the necessity arise. There is in the colonial world a practically inexhaustible supply of stalwart me*n, splendid riders and good shots, men free-born and with an imperishable love of freedom in their souls who will be ready when they are wanted. (Loud cheers.) The Hon. Richard SJeddon, in an outburst of patriotic fervour, said when the second contingent left our shwes, that every man in New Zealand capable of shouldering a rifle would be prepared j i to follow should the need arise, whither those earlier contingents had led the way. (Cheers.) Some people smiled, but for all that the men of Australasia wer6 delighted, and applauded the sentiment to the echo— (Renewed cb.ee.ring)— and they did so because just now the hearts of our people are as the heart of one man. They did so * because deep down in our nature is a j dogged pluck which cannot understand j defeat, and never knows when it is ' beaten ; and our spirit is, I believe, a . spirit which loves freedom so well that j it would rather cease to be than lose it. ! (Cheers). And so long as we continue , to acknowledge the Eternal God as our Father and our King ; sis long as ( .4^- we strive, however imperfectly, to do ~^His righteous will, so long will the ' banner of our race float high amidst j the winds of heaven. For if, and I say it with the deepest reverence, His hand steaJies and upholds the bannerpole upon which our free colors are lifted, where is the Power that shall drag them down ? (Great cheering.) I turn, coutinued the Dean, to another thought. A certain old writer has warned us not to put our " trust hi princes or in any child of man, and \vr have thought of this saying, perhaps. of late, as we have watched the attitude of the Continental Press towards us. I select that of France as an example of what I mean. Not content with reviling our Generals, decrying their ability and scoffing at their ! strategy, not content with showing undisguised hatred of us as a people, it has dared to spill its slanderous ink : over v the honored grey hairs of our beloved Empress Queen, and to revile j that gracious lady under whose pure ; rule the Empire has arisen to incomparably greater glories than ever before. And at the same time we remember how that, when Paris was wrecked and the German legions had humiliated and disgraced her, it was England who showed sympathy and help. Till apology be offered we write the words " ungrateful and degraded " across the banners of France, and say that although as Christian men we can perhaps forgive, we shall find it hard indeed to forget. (Cheers.) On the other hand, continued the Dean, we may feel thankful for the kindliness displayed by the great American people, who are, after all, our brethren, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, and also for the friendly attitude exhibited by Japan, whose Press declares • that the world's sympathy ought to be with. England.' Thank God that some at least appear to understand us, and appreciate our motives. Though lam persuaded had we to stand alone as a race aud face a hostile world, we should see the matter through, provided we were convinced of the truth and justice of our cause. For if truth and justice be with us, God is with us too, and it He is with us it matters not who is against us. (Cheers.) Boys of the Fourth Contingent, may God go with you. You are freeborn sons of New Zealand, the descendants of sires who hail from dear " Old England," trom "Bonnie Scotland," and from " the little island where the grass grows green." (Cheers.) You are about to stand shoulder to shoulder with soldiers of the Queen from these three kingdoms. We are confident that in bravery and courage you will more than hold your own. Your fellow citizens have assembled in their thousands to do you honor to-day. Our hopes and prayers will follow you in that distant land to which you go. We have the most perfect confidence in you. Ypu are picked men, selected from a host of competitors. As our representatives we trust you to maintain the honour of your country in all respects. Great and glorious in the demonstration which signals your departure ; greater will be your reception when, as I pray God, you return to us again. (Prolonged cheering.)