The Daily News. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1915. AN URGENT CALL TO ARMS.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 October 1915, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1915. AN URGENT CALL TO ARMS.

The eloquent and soul-stirring appeal made by the Right Hon. W. F. Massey to the manhood of New Zealand, and published in another column, should be read, marked, learned, and taken to heart by every resident of the Dominion. Every word in this admirably conceived document fittingly expresses the meaning that it so clearly and forcefully conveys. From his high official position as Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mr. Massey speaks with an authority that ■carries greater weight than can be claimed by any other citizen of this selfgoverning dominion. It is quite unnecessary to point out that on the head of our Government rests a responsibility in this terrible time of war that especially impels him to arouse the manhood of the country to a sense of their duty jit the most critical period on which the war has now entered. The Premier bases his urgent call for more men on several grounds, but the one reason that overshadows all others is that with a sufiicient number of men and an I adequate supply of munitions the Allies will hold the war in the hollow of their hands. These are no idle words of boasting; they are the deliberate words of Lord Kitchener, and as such will be accepted as meaning exactly what they express. No argument could be" more convincing, nor could there be a. more stimulating or enthralling inducement to the manhood of- every part of the Empire to see to it—individually and collectively—that at least the necessary number of men shall be forthcoming to enable the Allies to hold the war in the hollow of their hands. We have gone so far into this titanic struggle that there is no going back. But the time has come when the war theatre has been enlarged, and may possibly be even further extended, and larger forces are required. The greater the difficulty the greater the honor to those who overcome. As Mr. Massey points out, New Zealand has already done nobly in sending tens of thousands of her sons, who have created an imperishable record of bravery. It is such men who are most needed to achieve that final victory on which we all feel so confident, and there is only one way in which our wellgrounded hopes can be realised—by (lie aid of every physically lit man joining the forces. Naturally the call comes first to those who are not compelled to remain in the Dominion owing to responsibility for dependents, and it is to these that the Premier so eloquently and touchingly appeals, not only on the ground of duty, but as an act of honor and justice to those of their fellow countrymen who have died lighting for the Empire in the cause of justice and liberty. It would seem almost inhuman to turn a deaf ear to this urgent appeal, emblazoned in letters of blood. Mr. Massey very truly says that no man worthy of the name can hear this urgent appeal without responding in a courageous and patriotic spirit. The appeal should also inspire parents, sisters, and prospective wives to willingly assist in the process of sending forth the young

manhood of the country to swell the ranks of the Allied armies. This is no timts for holding back, and every fit and unencumbered man should, in the words of the Premier, come toward, und say: "Here I am! Send mc!"

THE WAR AND THE NATION. Bishop Averill, in the course of his charge to the Synod of the Auckland diocese on Friday last, indulged in some very plain speaking with regard to the ideals of the British Empire and the] need for a new spirit, together with some very striking observations on Germany's aim. At the outset he remarked that the vrorld had been putting its trust more and more in the things which are being shaken, and has regarded too Hglitly the Unshaken, abiding things; also that our idol of worldly prosperity, as the sumrmim bonum of existence lies shattered at our feet; our self-satisfac-tion was now being brought to the bar of justice. 'Germany's shame, ho said, will be writ large in the pages of history, for her deeds o£ treachery and devilry had stained for all time her once honored name. la attributing a cause for Germany's bid for world supremacy, Dr. Averill considers that "the Prussian ideals have, in these last days, been focussed on the product and crown of the Teutonic ages, the Kaiser, under whose sway the world is at last to come into its own, and by the acceptance of whose standard of 'kultur 1 the world is to reach the goal for which it is destined by the gods. To us it is a mirage, but to the German nation it is an obsession, and the whole strength and spirit of the nation is concentrated upon it. God must be dispensed with or bseome Germanised, the tribal deity of the Teutonic race—Christ and His Gospel must be rejected because not made in Germany, and the Church must be reduced to Erastianisvn and reflect the German spirit and ideals. We are face to face in this war not only with a perfect war machine, but with a nation inoculated with a common poison and inspired by a common desire and purpose—a nation ready and willing to make any sacrifice for the actualising of its distorted vision and idoals." Few prelates would have the courage to thus boldly probe the German cancer to its very roots, and present it in all its hidcousness. Tha Bishop is only a shade IeBS severe on the attitude of the people of the British Empire, and the indefmiteness of their ideals, and the lack of the spirit of service and sacrifice resulting therefrom. Science, commerce and education, he said, had done much, but they could not expel the human spirit from human nature, which at bottom was love of self, self-interest and selfishness, the unrestricted love of wealth and self-advancement. "It is," said the Bishop, "the spirit of sacrifice that is going to win the war. It is the spirit of the nation which needs revolutionising and bringing into lino with the spirit of the men who are offering their services, and with the sacrifice of wives and parents who arc offering their priceless gifts on the altar of sacred duty." There would, lie added, be n« need to talk of conscription if the spirit of the Empire encouraged voluntary selfsacrifice instead of hindering it. There is much food for meditation in this stirriiig address, which shows that the Cliurch is taking her part in awakening the nation to a true conception of its highest duty.