ANZAC DAY.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 April 1917, Page 6

ANZAC DAY.

WELDING TOGETHER AN EMPIRE, :, LONDON CELEBRATIONS. Australian-N.Z. Cable Association, Received April 20, 2.4,> p.m. London, April 25. Ml" Andrew Fisher, Mrs Fisher, Lad.V Northeote, Lady Godley, ;md the AgentsGeneral attended the Anzae memorial services.

Bishop Willcsden preached, and said the Australians at Gallipoii, though not victorious, were not defeated, and when the history of the war was written the most wonderful fact would be that before there was any suggestion of conscription, from Australia, Canada, and England millions of men had volunteered for Empire service. The blood shed at Gallipoii and elsewhere had made the British Empire a real instead of a nominal Empire. At Westminster Cathedral, after the service, Cardinal Bourne held a reception.

Mr McCall, president of the Australian Natives' Association, addressed the Australian troops at the Anzac Buffet. 110 said that, although our men were making a record in France, nothing they had done would dim their great deeds at Gallipoii. * Mr Seymour-Hicks entertained a largo number of Australians and New Zcalanders at the Princess Theatre,

A GALLANT DIVISION. MEMORIAL UNVEILED. Received April 20, 2.45 p.m. London, April 26. General Sir lan Hamilton, in unveiling a memorial to the 20th Division in the Eltham Church, told how the division had fought incessantly at Gallipoii. The casualties had been over thrice their full strength, but they were still fighting in France. No soldiers had been more gallant; it was characteristic of them that they never mentioned their own deeds, but only the Anzacs' bayonet charges. CELEBRATIONS IN WELLINGTON. Wellington, April 2~>. Here Anzac Day was celebrated by a united service in the Town Hall. Over 2000 attended in addition to several hundred returned soldiers in uniform. An address was delivered by Rev. Dr. Gibb.

In the evening the returned men held a gathering of their own and exchanged recollections. This morning requiem mass was celebrated for the Anzacs, at St. Mary of the Angel's Catholic Church. The sormon was delivered by Archbishop O'Shea, his text being, "Greater love than this, hath no man, that a man by down his life for his friend." GREYMOUTH . Grevmouth, April 2a. The Anzac Day commemoration services in the churches were largely attended, and a great open-air service was held, some 1500 attending, including several returned soldiers. The Mayor presided and the clergy of the various Protestant churches took part. PALMERSTON NORTH. Palracrston North, Last Night. There was an imposing parade- of 700 men and an impressive memorial service in the Opera House to commemorate Anzac Day, IN SYDNEY. Sydney, April 25. The second anniversary of Anzac Day was celebrated by impressive memorial services, A parade of troops, including a detachment of New Zealand Rifles, reeruitin" rallies, and a torchlight procession. All traffic ceased for one minute while the vast crowds in the decorated streets bared their heads. AfIDBESS BiHri~G. HAIIVIE. A verv impressive commemoration service was .Held in St. Mary's Church, New Plymouth, on Wednesday evening. 'lliero was a very ''wge congregation, lii- £ a nSr 5. returned .soldiers k who hid taken part m the memorable landing two years ago. lhe seivico was conducted by the vieni (the Re\. F. G. Harvie, M.A.), who. m the couise of a forceful address, said tlie objects of commemorating the day were twofold. First, to honour the m-en who upheld the 'honour of the iMtipiro at the front, and who in countless cases in ado the supreme sacrifice. But it was aiso a day when wo should seriously consider whether we, whose duty lay at home, had yot learnt to ; appreciate tho benefits which those supreme sacrifices wore giving to us. flio men who had com© back, lie knew, did not desire praise for what they had done. The real purpose of Anzac pay was to ask ourselves what difference the sacrifices had made to us. We could lioi. lay tho war fit the door or God, nor at the door of the bureaucracy. The war was due to tho failure of tho whole ■fne. partie'vk.rly tho Christian race, to live up to its responsibilities, l'n the Old Testament were i'oi'.id the guiding pxuicipies which God 4 to his people to use on earth. AVe .bi'ivish were just as much responsible as the Germans tor the present world conflict. The principles which God had intended for our great Empire we had ignored. Because of our selfishness, inordinable lovo of pleasure, and of luxury, and a perverted idea of our responsibilities, the spark was set to the bonfire, and the result was seen in the world to-day. AVe were witnossing.the result of a relentless process which was _ one of God's measures in dealing with tho human lace. AVar was.wrong, there could bo no question of that. And if war was wrong, was it wrong of us to take part in it? The Church's answer to that was no, it would have been hideously more wrong to have kept out of it. _ The i c-ason was that there was a time in the life of individuals, and of nations, when wo were faced with the position that we could not do anything but wrong. Our vision of what our national vocation was had become blinded. It was impossible for lis to have dono right,, ibe question which we now had to face was what were wo to do in order to prevent sush a thing happening again. The answer was perfectly plain. Our national character had got to be pruned .right down to the ground. A new nation had got to rise from tho old. There could be no peace until the vine had been cnt'right back, and wo all felt it had cost us something. AVe must not expect peace until then. God's point of view liad to be realised by us. Therefore, when wo began to suffer, we should count it an honour to suffer with the brave men who had bled and died for us -at the front. A verse of tho national anthem was sung at the conclusion of the service. A oolleition wa® taken up in aid of the Red Cross funds, anil amounted to £8 16s 3d. V

HAWERA. (From Our Own Correspondent). The celebration of Anzac Day at Saint Joseph's on Monday at 9 a.m. with solemn high mass for the repose of the souls of the slain and for tha spiritual and temporal welfare of those living. There was a very large attendance, despite the inconvenient hour, and about one hundred received communion.

The following words were spoken by Dean Power: I wish to congratulate tin responsible authorities in this town for holding this celebration on its proper day. This is a day so dear to all true patriots in those Australasian lands that, it were a sacrilege to make it yield to any interest of trade or local advantage. The bright-eyed heroes who left those shores amid the cheers of surging multitudes to shed their blood like summer rain upon their country's altar, and who. fighting against a foe that had been the enemy of God and man for ii thousand years, won equal glory with the bravest, would rightly look upon us as ingrates if we failed to surround their own great day with all the honor •which is its due. I congratulate the Catholics of Haweni who have not forgotten in their mass and holy communion to-day the souls of those whose resting places are now lonely and far apart, some marked ..by rude crosses at Anzac Cove, some Sit Ypres, at Loos, at Pozieres, and by the ancient Tigris. I congratulate those who have prayed antl will continue .to pray for those who are. emulating their deeds on many a fierce but glorious field. They deserve well of us and we have most sacred duties to their regard. To us Catholics only two modes of warfare are open: One to t.iko up arms and fight for our country with the sword of steel, the other to lift up our hands to Heaven and bring down upon our heroes Heaven's, help and victory. Catholics set up. their twin altars of religion and patriotism beneath that one same canopy of brotherly love which Christ made the mark of diseipleship. They may not exhaust themselves in abuse of the foe, for tliis would be bad religion, had patriotism, and bad warfare and would win for them the execration of all worthy men, I prav that the celebration of this day will not be disfigured with any. such abuse, that all will remember that th-*. precept of Christian charity obliges even ir. war lime, and that the appeal to religion and patriotism is nnly weakened by the meretricious aid of hate. Lev priests, who will not break their vow by taking up arms themselves, remember that if they have, become soldiers of Christ alone, it is in order to preach and lead a propaganda of charity; let them express in soul-thrilling words the sound opinion of Catholic theologians, that God will treat as mar-'-tyrs in a holy cause those who, with ; put hatred of the enemy, lay down their lives for the Fatherland. Let them in season and out of season proclaim that Satan, and not God, is the hater of the brethren, and that those who lend themselves to a propaganda of hatred, whether in the German Empire or the British, are the greatest foes of God and the strong arm of Satan. May Anzac Day be ever cherished in tlje- hearts of the Australasian people; may the heroes of Anzac ever find in those hearts the warmest place, and may the deeds of Anzae ever inspire the eloquent tongues of Australasia's orators and statesmen.