A FINAL APPEAL.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 3 September 1917, Page 5

A FINAL APPEAL.

THE WAR LOAN. BY SIR JOSEPH WARD. READ EYEEY LINE CAREFULLY. WELLINGTON, this day. The final appeal by Sir Joseph Ward for subscriptions to the War Loan: — Fellow Citizens,—On this the last day fOE subscribing to the largest and most important loan ever raised by New Zealand, I make a final appeal to the people of the Dominion for their whole-hearted and practical? assistance. Were the life of some dear one dependent upon our money, which of us would hesitate a moment to spend our last pound or, to incur future. liability in forder to avert the calamity? Which etf us would see a loved mother or wife or child, suffer or die and continue to hoard up the gold which would save them? How much more, then, should we spare neither effort nor money nor th\e pledging of to hasten the coming .victory and s» curtail to the utmost of our. power the further sacrifice of the lives of our beloved and noble fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons, who are enduring the consequences of the fearful conflict now raging. Should they fail through lack of our support, there is a far worse fate awaiting us than sickness or death. Remember Belgium! Remember the Lusitania! Remember Nurse Cavel! j Remember the murdered women and babies of England! Is any sacrifice of money adequate to ward off such inexpressible horrors? It is not alone

our possessions that we must preserve. It is our freedom, that those we hold most dear should never be ground under the iron x heel l of the barbarous conquerers of Belgium. Whether you can lend £1 or £lO, £IOOO, or even £IO,OOO, I urge you to lend it in the same spirit in which you would part with every earthly possession to save your dear ones and your country. You cannot afford to wait until the enemy is at our gates. Now is the time to act, Let the amount be ever so small, it is needed in this great hour of our national trial. The total of many small sums will* reach millions. The loan will officially close at five p.m. tomorrow. Sufficient grace will be given to enable soci)cti*s, companies, and trustees to complete their arrangements after the legislation has been passed by Parliament legalising their action. I wish everyone to personally participate in this great effort to finance our trobps to victory. There is no cause greater than freedom, and we must all be prepared to pay the price, however great. JOSEPH GEORGE WARD. September Ist, 1917.