FROM KINGS DOWNWARD.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 218, 12 September 1923, Page 8

FROM KINGS DOWNWARD.

PEOPLE MET BY SIR J. G. WARD A NOTABLE LIST. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GREAT. From crowned heads to a coloured : porter at the Waldorf-Astoria. This was ; the gamut through which Sir Joseph , Ward took his audience at the Leys Institute last evening-, when he spoko on "Some People I Have Met."' A crowded hall, and a crowd outside that could not, find room, showed the popularity of Sir Joseph, nnd when he got up to speak the applause was so long that it was reminiscent of a big political meeting rather than of a lecture. Dr. T. W. Leys, who presided, spoke of Sir Joseph Ward's long and distinguished career, and said there was one thing alone that could well give him prominence in the world of statemanship, and that was the introduction of universal penny postage. It had been declared ''impracticable," but Sir Joseph had lived to see that, and many other "impracticable" ideas of his turned to the advantage of his country and of other countries as well. Sir Joseph expressed double pleasure at speaking in Auckland: first, because he was speaking in the Leys Institute, of which, and similar institutions, he well appreciated the value to a community, and second, because Auckland was the home of Sir George Grey, one of the very great men he had met, and with whom he had been associated. Starting off his long list, with the Royal Family, Sir Joseph said no one knew better than lie what King George V. went through during the war, having been in the War Cabinet for three years- No monarch in any part of the world had carried out his high duties constitutionally so well as King George. Nothing was too much for His Majesty or the other members of the Royal Family, and at the end of the war the monarchy in England was stronger than ever. Sir Joseph had met Queen Victoria, who was a queenly lady, and Kine Edward the Peacemaker. On the occasion of the death of Mr. Seddon. Sir Joseph was in London, and there was some difficulty about arranging a memorial service, but King Edward tnok the matter in hand, and it was done. That was one of the human actions that characterised him and made one recognise that he was a great man. RESTLESS KAISER. The ex-Kaiser he .had met on two occasions. The first was at the unveiling lof the Victoria monument to Queen Vie- ' toria, and after an hour's conversation "I came to the conclusion," said Sir Joseph, ''that he was the ablest man I I had dropped across —with a kink." He was most restless, his withered arm moving throughout the whole time, and the made many inquiries about New Zealand. On the second occasion the Kaiser also showed much restlessness. The conversation asrain concerned New ! Zealand, about which he knew nearly as much as Sir Joseph. He was wonderful, and it was just as well he was in his present situation, but bo was undoubtedly a great man. The ex-Crown Prince of Germany was quite different, and had something very attractive about him. Pome people declared it was no. 'so much the Kaiser who was responsible for the recent trouble in Europe, as the •Mfliipni-p "f the Crown Prince and the "war lords" that had pushed the country into war. Other royalties met had been the King ■ i a,- !io*'-inna. ii tine soldierly man. loved by high and low. the King of . ■ ii i"ir i\,nsr of Portugal, King Feisul of Irak, and the King of Siam. FRANCE IN THE RIGHT. M. Poincare, then president, now Premier of France, was an extraordinarily able and fearless man, who believed in his own country, and had the moral courage to stand by bis opinions whether acceptable to others or not. A good deal had been talked about the present position of affairs as a result of M. Poincare's policy, but in the opinion of Sir •jucseph, liuiice had been right in the course she had taken in regard to the Mini , , and had been right all the way through. Clemenceau was a genius and a brave man, fearless of anyone's opinions if he thought he was right. | Among statesmen he had met in England were Asquith, Bonar Law, Balfour, Lloyd George, Lord Grey, Haldane, Lord Reading, Churchill, Lord Xortbcliffe, and Lord Birkenhead. No group of names in any country during the war contained a finer body of men from an intellectual standpoint. Lloyd George as a War j Minister was invaluable, and filled the ] people with hope when things looked very desperate —the world did not know how close we were at times to disaster. Asquith was another invaluable man during the war. He was a great man, and any remarks depreciating him should not be believed. Strong and determined, he did what he believed right, even though it got him into trouble. Haldane had been very badly treated. Impartial men acknowledged that he did a great service to the Empire. Northcliffe's propaganda and other work was splendid. He had been burned in effigy for attacking Kitchener, but the sequel proved that Northcliffe was right. KITCHENER. AND NEW ZEALAND. Turning to military men, Sir Joseph I mentioned Lord Roberts and Lord Kitch- | ener as two striking people he had met. Kitchener was very nearly becoming a I resident of New Zealand for six months of the year. When he was in New Zea- j land he asked Sir Joseph to look him out a couple of thousand acres of land north of Auckland. Had he not been appointed to Egypt there was no doubt he would have come out to New Zealand, which had a great attraction for him. Regarding his war work, it was suggested that the mistake he made was in accepting the post of Secretary of War instead of remainins in command of the troops. A man could not report to himself as his superior officer on the work he was doinp. But his name would never be i forgotten for the splendid work he did. ! Haig was another fine eoldier, and toj day was the best friend possessed by i officers and men. Foch wns amiable, quiet, and gentle, and every Frenchman, woman, and child swore by him—and so did the British from the timo lie took supreme command. Dealing with the British Navy, with- i out which the war could not have been won. Sir Joseph spoke of Jellicoe, Beatty and Fisher, who were all great men, and Admiral Sims of the US. Navy—one of the great friends of the British Navy had during the war. Venizelos was | another good friend to the British Empire, and if King Constantine had acted constitutionally the subsequent troubles of Greece would not have happened. Like many great men he had met, Sir Joseph found Venizelos a most modest pi an.

SOME AMERICANS. In the United Statca Sir Joseph had met Roosevelt, who, when Sir Joseph arrived at Oyster Bay, said:' "Do you mind being shot?" and went on to say that his life was threatened, and every gardener about the place was really a detective. Roosevelt told him that the Americans were friendly to England, but there were great difficulties in the way of effecting co-operation "(Which I cannot repeat," said Sir Joseph.) That fact should be remembered before we condemn America for waiting two years before coining into the recent war. It was the most cosmopolitan nation in the world. President Woodrow Wilson was the antithesis of the robust, vigorous, practical Roosevelt. He was a fine man, but he had not the practical knowledge that Roosevelt possessed. That lack of practical knowledge led to great difficulties at the Peace Conference, where he proposed things his country would not ratify. Among the millionaire type that Sir Joseph met in the States "were Gould, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Harrison, Schwab and J. P. Morgan, the last the most kindly man one could wish to meet. That group exercised more power than any other body of men in commerce. They owned between them three-quarters of the railways in the United States. In Canada he had met Laurier and King, the last-mentioned being the present Premier. Among Irishmen he had come across were John Redmond and William Redmond, two remarkable and able men, loyal in every sense, and "Tay Pay" O'Connor, who wrote newspaper articles every day of his life, and was a first-class authority on most subjects under th c sun. BOTHA'S SUPPER. Botha and Smuts were both splendid men, and the former had the remarkable gift of being able to eat strawberries and cream at two o"clock in the morning, having often made such a meal when he and Sir Joseph had come home after a round of receptions during the sitting of the Imperial Conference in London. At one time the berries were 2/6 each during an off season, and as the big South African statesman finished his strange supper Sir Joseph would remark. "Well, Botha, yon are now worth £2 ">/ more than you were' , Rhodes and Barney Barnato (who was once a clown in a circus) were also South Africans met. Referring to the Labour leaders \n th c House of Commons, such as Ramsay Mac Donald, Henderson, Clynes. Barnes and others. Sir Joseph said they were constitutionalists, and strongly so. They were out for the democratisation of their country, but they were deadly opposed to any attempt to weaken the constitution. If the whirligig of timo should put those men in power the country was safe. Things would be all right so long as such men as he named were the leaders of the Labour movement. After describing a group of prominent Australian politicians Sir Joseph mentioned the names of Bernhardt and Paderewski among artiste; Steovens, Burleiph and others among war correspondents; and Jerome, Jpcobs and Wells among authors as distinguished peonle he had met. Summing lip his impressions Sir Joseph said there was in human nature very much that was the same all the world over. At the present time there was more than ever a need for mutual understanding and effort, in order to heln in getting back to the "new normal" that we must reach before the world recovered from the upheaval caused by the war. On the motion of Mr. W. Cecil Levn the meetine heartily thanked Sir Joseph for his most interesting lecture reminiscences.