The Daily News. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1915. FAREWELLING THE NINTH.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 October 1915, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1915. FAREWELLING THE NINTH.

The large and enthusiastic gathering of New Plymouth citizens at the railway station last night to do honor to the first portion of the district's quota to the Ninth Contingent bore eloquent testimony to the. spirit, of patriotism that is animating our people; more and more every day as the war progresses. In his address to those present the Mayor (Mr. J. E. Wilson) made a stirring and eloquent appeal to every physically fit and unencumbered eligible man in the province to do his duty by swelling the ranks of that great allied army which is fighting for the Empire and tho cause of freedom and right, lie put the position as it affects the manhood of the Dominion in plain, yet forceful terms, at the same time expressing a hope that if those able to serve declined to do their duty, the (j'ovcrnment would have the courage to say that if these men would not voluntarily come forward they must do so by compulsion, adding: "(Jod forbid that in a land where your forefathers turned out so nobly, the Government should have to. compel men (c fight. Rather let the blood of the brave men who bled at Gallipoli appeal to you." No higher or better note could have been struck, and it should reverberate through the hearts and minds of every laggard in the district. At the same time, it is most gratifying to know how well the call has been responded to in Taranaki, which has supplied a tenth of the total forces enlisted in the Dominion, though ouly possessing a twentieth of the population. We may justly be proud of such a splendid record, though there can be no complete satisfaction until the hist eligible man has enrolled. The men who have left, and those who will follow in due course, can be well assured that their patriotism is highly honored. The war has now entered upon another and a wider stage that will need the whole resources of (lie Allies to cope with successfully. Our men at Uallipoli have proved their heroism. The recent advance of th? Allies on the Western front has conclusively proved tlint when properly

equipped they can overcome the boastful Teutons. Tho new developments in the Balkans open out another sphere for their indomitable pluck and hardihood. Lastly, our great ally, Russia, is showing that her lighting power is very much alive, and that her part in the struggle will redound to her credit. At no time during this great upheaval has there been such a need for confidence as at this juncture, and that is why it is so essential to know for a certainty that the requisite numbers for future reinforcements are in sight. It not only Austro-German and Turkish forces that have to be fought; it is German sinister cunning and intrigue that have to be set at nought. The German press would have the world believe that the Kaioer has practically already decided the issue. An article in the semi-official Cologne Gazette on August 10 thus described the situation:—

"Russia has fallen upon the most extreme and bitter trouble, and England and France have kept still and done nothing; for the unsuccessful butchery at Gallipoli had merely the value of an attempt with inappropriate means. The Quadruple Entente lias been skilful enough to deceive the world for a long time and about ijiany things, but. all things have an end. What is happening on the Eastern front, without "the Western Powers being able to stop or check it for a moment, is opening the eyes even of those who have been most completely fooled. They are now asking what will happen when these operations have come to an end, and Germany and Austria-Hungary have their hands free. They look to the Western front, where the forces of the Western Powers are strained to breaking point, and even the possibility that the English, perhaps, might now slowly decide upon serious preliminary work for the introduction of universal military service can no longer hide the knowledge that the Gotterdammerung of the Allies is beginning."

That is how the German people are wilfully deceived, in addition to having the news of German defeats kept from their knowledge. We now learn that Bulgaria had no choice of action, being bound hand and foot to Germany. And yet, in spite of the vast, array of armed force, duplicity, and arrogant bombast, the Allies are to-day more confident in the result than ever, always provided that tho whole of their resources will be available for the'great work that has to be done. It is inevitable now that Beience ha 9 evolved such powerful engines of human destruction that the wastage of war must be on a colossal scale, as both sides have found to their cost. There is nothing to be gained by attempting to overlook or depreciate this phase of warfare, but rather to make the best use of modem weapons, and that is what tho Allies are doing. There is no question of turning back, for it must be a fight to a finish, hence the supreme importance of looking ahead and providing for the necessary forces that will achieve the reward, and though the price be very heavy it is, beyond question, worth the sacrifices that it involves.