In addition to horse shows and sports organized by D.H.Q., the brigades and battalions within the Division arrange for fete days whenever opportunity offers.  The manner in which these are carried out reflects the highest credit upon those responsible for their organization, and they have materially helped to bring about a better understanding between officers and men.  Games appropriate to the season are played at the back of the lines.  The ground selected for football or cricket may be shell-marked, and the materials used roughly made and incomplete.  Football matches between different units have been as keenly contested on the muddy and broken fields of Belgium and France as those that have been played on the specially prepared grounds of the Homeland.  The Australians have held their own against other units in both cricket and football.

For those who find such games too strenuous, indoor games are provided by the Australian Comforts Fund, the Y.M.C.A., or the League of Loyal Women of Australia.  A circulating library is usually connected with the Y.M.C.A. or Church Army huts, so that practically every taste is catered for.  An institution is justified in its existence by what it produces.  Judged according to this canon, the various organizations which cater for the amusement and recreation of our fighting men have infallibly demonstrated their right to be, and should command the practical support of all who are interested in the well-being of our fighting men.

FOR THE CAUSE OF THE EMPIRE

Irrespective of the state which sent us forth, and despite our denominational and political differences, we are undivided in our admiration of those who, in the enthusiasm of deathless devotion, have made the supreme sacrifice for King and country.  Words are inadequate to express the tribute which we would pay to the memory of our brave dead.  We are beginning to value heroism more truly, and have not been blind to the valour of those who have fallen in the effort to uphold the honour and flag of the Empire.  The story of their deeds makes the heart beat faster.  Many have discovered that the most glorious use to which life could be put was to give it away.  When the smoke has lifted and the noise died down, the confession made and the true history of this war written, then we shall see their heroism in the right light, and more fully appreciate their sacrifice in the interests of justice and honour.  It matters not where they died—­in hospital, on troopship, or on the battlefield; their presence in the Army was sufficient evidence of their willingness to bear their share of the cost in sacrifice that had to be made before the end could be achieved.  They died as few men get the opportunity to die, fighting for all that is most worth while—­for God, and right, and liberty—­which is just another way of stating that they gave their lives for the glorious cause of the Empire.