FRIENDSHIP OF FRANCE.

Otaki Mail, 18 August 1922, Page 4

FRIENDSHIP OF FRANCE.

SPIRIT OF VFKDUX. BItITISH LEAGUE OF HELP. FRENCH LEADER'S TRIBUTES. LONDON, June 2G. Distinguished French guests are at present in London attending the celebrations of the heroic defence of Verdun. The society is known as the British League of Help, which arranges for the "adoption" of French towns of the battle zone by English towns,, has organised Ihe celebrations, which commenced last Saturday with ii polo match between French and English teams at Ranelagh. Ulowing tributes to the spirit of France as exemplified at Verdun —the "adopted" child of London —and to the part the British played on French icii hi the great war, stirred the imagination of ;i brilliant assembly of 4UU guests ul tiie banquet in the Hotel Cecil. The diplomatic, commercial and civic life of the country, and distinguished representatives of our Allies attended the function, which was preceded lb' a "reception. The French Premier pictured tiie terrible devastation that had been created in France, and particularly at Verdun, and paid a tribute to the generosity oi the citizens of London. TRIBUTE FROM FRANCE. "Even Ihe terrible economic crisis," he said, "which for the moment crippics the whole of Europe, and Great Lhitain in particular, could not check mt gene.ous impulse of your country. »u." so that now such towns as Arras, ■ndofcrt, l cronne, Bapaume, or Montd idler, and many others where the sheds lull nothing but heaps of stones, and little villages made famous by heroic combats, have as godmothers English or Sctoh ■ dies, or more dislam towns overseas in the British Empire. The money sent through the medium oi uie league is spent on permanent t.ui-,.s which the inhabitants run enjoy in common and which will ul Lhe same time perpetuate the memor,-, oi. ,>oui bounty. -for instance. ... sec ,i.L Arras a new installation at the hospital or garden cities that bear

ilif mime of Newcastle; ai Fayet wa.-I.M-works which recall the gift of Oxford; at L'apaumc a children's creche ..■,•■>■-• nting in concrete form the help HM-meld, At Combles u maternity hospital will evoke in the i liiiii . ■' iiiiiii'i generations the image ol Portsmouth. ! -Thus there will exist on the soil of. I-Yauci- visible and indelible traces of | l lit: close soii.lardy which henceforth renders the destinies of our two na- ! turns inseparable. Here, in neighbouring cemeteries, will sleep together ~ the valiant sons of Great Britain and j France, the 'wonderful soldiers who | • i jini shoulder to shoulder in their dei feme of justice end liberty, and who ■ :,•:■ :,-da\ fraternally united in death. ■y\ ;c )-.: :he rebuilt towns end vil- >.-; : remain solid monuments and •nil: t.orks which, its everlasting i-< m mi' : of your benefactions, will .' ■!-(.■.] in.-ii 01 our generation first, and later iiiusi of succeeding.ages, to commit the sacriligo of forgetfulness. WHAT VERDUN SOIBOLTSES. ■■Amongst all your adoptions the most. -i,_ uiiiea at. and moving is no doubt that of the ancient citadel thai ihe r.P.-rm.'.ns vainly endeavoured to i- (in-r. but which they crushed from iiitar under tlieir missiles. The choice jim.de bj Loudon has truly ;i repref ■ .nitive value a:id a higher moral J worth. it was before the wails ol l Verdun that the fate of the war was I decided in itilO, and, if the fame and ' tne giory of that town have spread tinoi.ghoul the universe, it is not only I because the troops, under Marsha! PoI tain's command, displayed unequalled courage-—it is also because the defence of that old stronghold symbol- . ist.d. in the eyes of all mankind, the . resistance of right against the design.-, 1 jof Imperialism and the assaults of s IUI'UXKTS KISsIKG FROM THE ( GROUND. ..Marshal retain told ;i thrilling stor; I ; ui ihe struggle at Verdun. t'nder :i ! hurrita i of shells and in a vvhirlj wind of mud and iron, flame and gas. baffling description, the combatants | fmm-ht their dogged battle for every j j inch of ground, not knowing what was , | tyoing on around them. Before the j > physical bod.v was inevitably destroy- ' I cd the nervts were wont oul and the 1 I -pirit crushed. In this hell it was ! only che highest mora! obligation \ lominating the instincts of our men j wiiicli Inltl (hem to their ground, "ftur .leterminatiou." lie said, •sprang from ' a purer source than that of Germany, j who -.'■ rved un ideal of might ami [■ride. We were lighting for our very } soil, cur wives, our children, and for I thai civilisation ol ours without which ) Lie itself would be unendurable. i.)n i the battleticld of \'crdun bayonets may J be seen rsitig from the ground fixed on rilles still grasped by dead hands. | They mark the trenches in which the i "..- ■ 'a, u.-r.s of la Vendee, one. of the old | ,r> lig.uiis |ir..- du-es of France, were j • :t to ;.ii • s. l'lie men who fought there, under a terrific bombardment, leiuained unflinchingly ai their posts i and waited tor death, praying aloud like the marl\rs of old. The majority \V( it- i,iiled or buried alive by shells. Tiie bayonets which bristled from the tr.-nche.--. now the tomb of these heri,.s, tell their own story of the fierce determination displayed by these workers of the soil, resulted from liu-ir high sens'.' of duty and their ingrained oua lilies oi patience and enOXE VAST CEMETERY. ■ ■•Verdun." he concluded, "that ancient citadel, the stake for which the battle was fought, as so often before in the course of our age-long strug- J gle with Germany, remained inviolate' For our enemies it was the Promised Land, by reaching which they hoped to secure peace. For us, it was the | symbol of our country. Around its | wads all those spiritual forces which, go to make up the. soul of a people .•. • re massed for the supreme endeavour. A breath of heroism, ananat- ' ing. as it wt-re. from Uie very heart oi our country and from the pages of our age-long history, came to rekindle the cam rag', of our soldiers. To-day Verdun is one vast cemetery. On the heights bared of soil to the very rock and yielding only a harvest of bones the families <-<i France wander in sorrow. Vo.i will be able to understand these . hags of pride and grief, for they ■ : ihe same which you fee! when you .to to the batlefields of Flanders" , and Ariois. These slopes which be--1 long to Great Britain are your Verdun. In these fields, sown with your ".■■-): and blood, you come, like ourse:v..s, that you may revive your grief eid ;'■■•! the thrill of pride. The war has laid the flower of your race in eternal sleep by the side of ours. Your graves are mingled . with those el our own sons, and they share the I am-- place in our hearts. We gather! ! them with the same reverence, j ■ ; - oar desire that all who tell in i • ■- the °Wme UC q uier resting-.