DOMINIONS AND THE WAR.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 149, 24 June 1918, Page 6

DOMINIONS AND THE WAR.

SPEECH BY THE GOVERNOR- j GENERAL. MANY PROBLEMS AHEAD. A number of war matters were dealt i with by his Excellency the GovernorGeneral in a speech at the Auckland Orphans' Club on Saturday night. Lord Liverpool began by recalling that he had j ■been present at one of the club's gather- i ings three years ago. He had then affirmed that Britain's fighting record ; was a clean one. Since then it had been necessary to adopt certain reprisals, : but, even so, it was a matter for self- j satisfactionhe thought he was justified in using such a term — the reprisals had been conducted in as clean and honourable a manner as possible, without violating any of the sacred ' duties which weTe the unwritten law ot civilised nations. (Applause.) . Then war had permeated the life of the Empire, and now representatives of all the Dominions had met in London, not to give an account of their stewardship, but to take counsel together for the strengthening of the Empire in the time j to come. Speaking of the progress of the war, Lord Liverpool said that it seemed hardly likely that peace would come this year, perhaps not even next year, though personally he bad no more information on the matter than anyone else. He believed that perseverance and determination would see the Allies through to the end. Germany had under-Tated the cohesion of the British Empire, which had become, under- the stress of war, one homogeneous mass, despite differences of race and, religion, and the wide separation of its parts. The Empire had been bound with a silken cord, but that cord had not [ broken, as the Germans implicitly believed that it would. In conclusion, his Excellency expressed the hope that all classes of the community would give the ■ fullest support to those in authority at the present time, as upon that support the success of the leaders in their task largely depended. The people of the Dominion should do those in authority the justice of believing that they were doing the best possible. The best brains and energies must be-brought into play if the Empire was to meet successfully the grave problems involved in winning '. the war and in dealing with after-war difficulties. He was sure that in August next New Zealand -would join ' with other parts of the Empire in reaffirming ,its determination to. stand by i the Mother Country. In the course of his address, Lord Liverpool mentioned that a large number of wounded and sick soldiers would ' shortly be returning to New Zealand, ' and the New Zealand branch of the 1 British Red Cross Society and Order of St. Johnof which he had the honour ' to be president—intended to take a larger part than before in providing for these men, especially in regard to functional treatment. c i