THE NEW PATRIOTISM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 157, 9 December 1914, Page 2

THE NEW PATRIOTISM.

LLOYD GEORGE'S BURNING WORDS. Some of the most remarkable effects of the war aud those which have the most far-reaching results are not easy to records-effects in thought, in habits, in outlook. Mr. Lloyd George, in a recent speech in Wales, indicated some of these changes:—"lt is a great opportunity," he said. "It only comes once in many centuries to the children of men. For most generations sacrifice comes in drab weariness of spirit to men. It has come to-day to you—it has come today to us all in the form of the glory and thrill of a great movement for liberty that compels millions throughout Europe to the same noble end. It' is a great war for the emancipation of Europe from the thraldom of a military •caste which has thrown its shadows upon two generations of men and which lias now plunged tho world into a welter of bloodshed and terror. Some have already given their lives. There are some who have given more than their lives, they have have given the lives of those who are dear to them. I honor their courage, and may God bo their comfort and their strength. Those who have fallen have died consecrated deaths. They have taken their part in the making of a new Europe—a new world. I can seo signs of it coming through the glare of the battlefield. The people of all lands will gain more by this struggle than they comprehend at the present moment. They will be rid of the greatest menace to their freedom. That is not all. There is another blessing, infinitely greater and more enduring, which is emerging already .out of this great contest—a new patriotism, richer, nobler t more exalted than the old. I see a new

recognition amongst all classes, high and -low, shedding themselves of selfishness—a new recognition that the honor of a country does not depend merely upon the maintenance of its glory in the stricken field, but in protecting • its homes from distress as well. It is a new patriotism' which is bringing a new outlook over all classes. The great -flood of luxury and of sloth which had submerged the land is receding, and a now Britain is appearing. We can see. for the first time, tho fundamental tilings that matter in life, and that had been obscured from our vision by the tropical growth of prosperity."