A COUNTRY'S GREATNESS.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 May 1917, Page 2

A COUNTRY'S GREATNESS.

FATHER VAUGHAN'S WARNING. London, March 13. The Rev. Rather Vaughan, at the Sunday afternoon lecture at His Majesty's Theatre:— "Proud, as we have a right to be, of the extent and population and wealia of our Empire, the greatness of an Empire is to be measured not by its material splendour, but by the character 'of its people; and the chief engravers of character are heredity and environment. At present in this city environment is destroying some of our brave soldiers more quickly than machine-guns. We need better homes for the people, and ye must have them if it costs five millions a day to build them, and they must not bave written over them, 'Children not needed here.' I am not in the least apprehensive about the end of the war; I know we shall win. But when the war abroad is finished a war at home will he started, and we ought to begin to build character- now. I see the danger-signal of industrial discontent. lam told that soldiers will want to go on the land, but they will want nothing of the kind—not even a minimum wage of 255. I Ree tluj danger-signal of a.lack of teachers, and the terrible, cruel danger-signal of the birth-rate. ,It has never been'so low as now, and it is going to be much lower after the war. There will not only be fewer men to become fathers, but so many women unfitted to become mothers, and so many unwilling to bend to the yoke of motherhood. What is wanted to solve these problems is faithfaith in our mission, in our country, tremendous faith in God. The measure of a country's greatness is in its faith."