BRIGHTER BRITAIN BEYOND THE SEAS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 34, 10 February 1937, Page 7

BRIGHTER BRITAIN BEYOND THE SEAS.

DUKE'S IMPRESSION. Royal Guest at New Zealand Day Celebration. DISTINGUISHED GATHERING. United Tress Association.—Copyright. (Received J. 30 p.m.) LONDON". February 9. A banquet, in commeniorat ion of New Zealand Day. held at the Savoy Hotel, maintained the high standard of New Zealand's Ixmdoii functions. The High Commissioner for the Dominions, Mr. W. J. Jordan, presided. The guest of honour was the Duke of Gloucester. Other guests were Sir Philip Garue, formerly Governor of New South Wales; Mr. Walter Runciman, President of the Board of Trade; Viscount Swinton, Secretary of State for Air; Lord Liverpool, a former GovernorGeneral of New Zealand; Lord Barnbv, banker; Mr. Malcolm Mac Donald, Dominions Secretary; Sir Maurice Hankey, secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence; and Sir Richard Linton, a Xew Zealander, formerly Agent-General for Victoria. The head of the table bore a model of the Maori canoe Aotea, one of the so-called '"fleet"' that arrived in Xew Zealand from legendary Hawaiki, presented by the Arawa tribe to the former Governor, Lord Ranfurly. The chairman read messages from the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. sented by the Arawa tribe to a former Governor-General. Amid applause, the Duke of Gloucester proposed the toast of "Xew Zealand." He testified to the pleasantness of his sojourn there and recounted incidents of his trip in the Dominion, which, he said, was well named '"brighter Britain." Democracy Not Worn-Out Creed. Democracy in the Empire was not a worn-out creed, said the Duke, but typified the people's life blood. In these fateful days every part of the Empire could make the greatest contribution to the world's welfare by peaceful co-operation, while displaying the torch of liberty and progress.

Noteworthy indeed, continued the Duke, were the hap|»y relations between Maori and pakeha, bringing true the visions of Xew Zealand's founders when, a mere century ago t she was, in a sense, an outposl of Xew South Wales. Xow she was a Dominion capable of playing an important part at the Imperial Conference. The Xew Zealand Minister of Finance. Mr. Walter Nash, in responding, paid tribute to Dr. Peter Ruck (Te Ran<riliiroa), Sir Apirana Xgata, and Sir James Carroll (Himi Kara). He extolled every product of Xew Zealand, from the glow worms in the Waitomo Caves to Kathcrine Mansfield. In proposing the toast of the guests Mr. Jordan proudly referred to his education at St. Luke's poor school, which he claimed had played a part at least equal to that of Eton in securing victory on the Empire's battlefields. He paid a tribute to "the Dinks"' (Lord Liverpool's own), who had played no small part in the victory in the world war. Mr. Mac Donald, responding on behalf of the fruests, toasted the chairman, who. he said, displayed a remarkable knowledge of Maori mvtholofrv and jeo"raphy. * * Mr. Mac Donald, adds a British official wireless message, referring to the status of sovereign nations to which the Doj minions had attained, said that they must, however, remember that nationalism was not the last word in political wisdom. Xations must learn to cooperate and to accommodate themselves to each other. The British Commonwealth was an experiment of vital importance in cooperation between free and equal nations. The supreme responsibility which rested upon the Briti-h Commonwealth to-day was to show that such co-operation could woik.