GIFT OF £5000

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 67, Issue 236, 18 July 1947, Page 3

GIFT OF £SOOO

MR BEVIN’S SERVICES RECOGNISED WORK AS,MINISTER OF LABOUR (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright.) (Rec. 10.45 a.m.) LONDON, July 17. The general-secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union, Mr A. Deakin, to-day presented hie predecessor, the Foreign Minister, Mr Ernest Bevin, with a cheque for £SOOO sterling on behalf of the union in appreciation of his long service to the union. Mr Deakin said: “His magnificent work as Minister of Labour was a great contribution to the winning of the war.”

Delegates at the unions conference rose and cheered when Mr Bevin appeared on the platform. Mr Bevin said he had been told ho was leading the world to Munich, “but that, has been dropped since Czechoslovakia went to Moscow.” His critics had stated that he was dividing Europe. He did not want to divide any part of the world, and did not want to divide America from Europe. It was no use trying to unite the world politically, for the bitterness of war had accentuated racial and national difficulties too much. He was trying to develop economic unity wherever he could to get people doing things together. ■ Mr Bevin, speaking of the Marshall Plan, said the Americans made a great contribution to the war, “but it was now right and proper that we have a claim on them to assist Europe with their great production, for the countries we are dealing with were devastated.” The Transport and General Workers’ Union, in a private session after Mr Bevin’s address, passed a unanimous resolution on British foreign policy, which Mr Deakin said “completely endorsed Mr Bevin’s policy.” Mr Bevin appealed for a supreme effort by social democracy in Britain this coming year to aid his foreign policy. “I want an extra hundredweight per man out of the _ pits, a quicker tufn around of shipping, a bit of overtime when you are asked for it —anything which will help give Europe the things itris asking for. One mighty effort by British democracy can do more than I can do with advocacy.”