FAREWELL TO MINISTERS.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16585, 26 July 1919, Page 9

FAREWELL TO MINISTERS.

A SEND-OFF IN LONDON. (FEOH OrE OWN CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON, Juno 14. Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward had: a very hearty send-off at the Connaught rooms yesterday at a luncheon givea | by the High Commissioner. -Most or the New Zealand community were there, j and also a number of prominent Eng-j lishmen who have interested themselves, throughout the war in tho we are o the New Zealand troops. Sir Thomas Mackenzie said they could I not think of allowing the Ministers to depart without wishing tfael " , speed, and ho called on Mr Cuthcart Wubou, M.P., to propose the healta or Air Massey. In uoing ho, Mr Wason said it was sometamg iiKe years smce iie. sat at tiiij leei of ills oiu leauei w u c - e Parliament, aud beard tli , words of feounu common-sense wi ch h invariaoiy uttered. LooKiug those uays it struck. mm tuat oU = u tney fougut their political fights s " ousiy enougn, tney really nad "othmg to nght about. (Laughter.) He »us glad to remember that Mr Massey « tnosc who stood with him novel in auy wav took part in the attacks and the untlesorved abuso which had been directed against Sir Joseph ward, a certain periods of his political career. (Applause.) . . , After a few words on old political days in Now Zealand, Mr Massey said that, judging by indications they were on the verge of very important events at the Peaco Conference, and he was confident that whatever happoned the| British people would be to tako what came and to do the right thing. It was easy to be wise after the event, but he thought now it would_ have_ been much better to havo let side issues alone and to havo oevoted themselves to the terms of peace alone. (Hear, hear.) Still, he was not finding fault with the League of Nations. On the contrary, he thoroughly believed in it. If it was possible to make such a League a success, the people to do it were th." allied nations who had taken up tho cause- of right in the war and had won a victory for that cause. But there was no getting away from the fact that there were millions of people in the world who would acknowledge no argument but force, and, consequently, the Tiongue wouM have to havo fore" behind it to effect its purpose. That brought tyi the whole question of disarmament. It was a mistake to think that when the League was set ill) there wa« nothing more to bf> done; to suppose that it. would into h°inf fulV matured ar>H to +nke [ nr-t'on. if Tipreesnrv. Turbulent nations must rpnH«s* that.'+hey could not bring wnr nnnn the world without hoinpoomnpllod to Twor fh« on" sentiences TTn to the nrpspnt fhn Gnrm<in ppor>T<» «tid their lenders had not h*>"n to h<Mir the consequences notions.

THE CASE OF SAMOA. Mr Massey said Samoa was a group of islands with. a population of aoouo 35,u0U, the roal importance of winch was ine strategic position thoy occupied. Good autiiorities iiad expressed the opinion that they were one of the two most important positions in the Pacific, and when Mew Zealand sent her representatives to the I'oaco Conference tuoir instructions were to see that the group did not go back to Germany, or be handed over to any other Power, but should remain British. If Great Britain was willing to accept the group New Zealand would readily withdraw all her claims and gladly hand over the group to Great Britain. But this was not possible, and the best solution, therefore, was for New Loaland to keep Samoa. In beooming the mandatory Power, New Zealand certainly accepted some responsibility. As far as Samoa was concorned he felt confident it would not cost New Zealand a single shilling. There was a difficulty at presont with regard to labour. Practically all the labour under the German regime came from China. He could not say how long that would be allowed to go on. Personally, he did not want to pret labour from China if they could possibly avoid it, and he believed they could find sufficient labour in the Sea to work their plantations. (Hear, hear.) Mr Mas soy reoillcd the old Maori tradition that the Mnoris themselves liad come from the island of Savaii, in Samoa, nud emphasised the fact that the New Zealand people, possessing these islands far Bettered over the Pacific, must inevitably be a maritime race. Ho believed tbnt in time New Zealand would be the head of the most imnortant islnnd British f'vWp.tion —in the Pacific. (Atmlnuso.l As it was sh" would mnke her voi'pa felt nmnnprst the nations of the British Commnnwenlth. Hi wnnM not, Vnvo the slVTitest hesitation in fnn'ntr P-n-Unrnont nnd jinkine it* nywroval of whnt. fhoy had dono at the Conference. (Anplatiso.)

REMINISCENCES OF 1891. The Hon. W. Pember Keevcs, who has not appeared at any sucii gathering for a very long time, proposed tne health of Sir Josepli Ward, the first health he had proposed for at least seven years. As far as New Zealand politics were concerned, ho said, he belonged to the dim and shadowy—he would not say shady—past. In January, 1891, he was ono of a group of five persons who mot Mr John Ballance, the then leader of the Liberal Party in New Zealand, for the purpose of discussing the personnel of the Ministry which was about to bo formed. They were all to be members of the Cabinet and the question was who should be the sixth member. Someone suggested Sir Joseph Ward, whereupon another member present pointed out that ho was a Roman Catholic, and that possibly his inclusion might lead to a certain amount of opnosition. "I remember Sir John Mclvenzie taking out of his mouth his great briar pipe, looking round upon the group fixedly and saying: 'It might bo as well that this Ministry should have some religion in it.' " (Lauehter.) "An argument that struck us all so forcibly that it was decided that Sir Joseph Wnrd should be asked to ioin ua. did so. and represented theology and other things for many years.''

For five years, continued Mr Reeves, he had the honour of being one of Sir Joseph's colleagues, and lie couid not recall that they had ever had a tiff or a difference of any kind. That might be hold to speak volumes for the temper and the patience of Sir Joseph Ward. Indeed he had been exceptionally blessed with these qualities. Sir biography was part of the history of New Zealand, but the one quality that had helped him to overcome many obstacles, troubles, worries, and difficulties, was his cheerful and hopeful disposition. He never lost confidence in the future prosperity of New Zealand. Ho (the sDeaker) was old enough to remember tho long period of depression which New Zealand suffered from 1879 to 1896. ' In those days there were a good many men whose confidence in tho future of the country, jjt any rate, faltered. But Sir Joseph was never one of those. He always believed tho country would surmount its difficulties, and that a prosperous time would como, and if any man ever earned the right to take part in the government of New Zealand during its period of prosperity, he said Sir Joseph Ward thoroughly "earned it for the confidence which he always felt and expressed, even in the darkest days of the past. (Applause.) He had done solid work which would not bo forgotten for generations, notably that great scheme of finding capital for set-

tiers on easy terms, and ho was to bo complimented most heartily on the financial policy ho had carried out in the difficult days of the great war, and the firm and courageous grasp he had of the finances of the country. The fact that he had had the pluck to face that most disagreeable task of imposing heavy taxation had resulted in the finances of New Zealand occupying now an exceptionally strong. position. Sir Joseph's record on behalf of the Cosflition Ministry in the matter of finance : was not onlv a good one, but was actually an example for other parts of the Empire. (Applause.) j Sir Joseph Ward made a humorous I reply, twitting Mr Wason with supporting in the British Parliament exactly the measures which he had opposed in the Now Zealand Parliament. During his twenty-six years as a Minister of | the Crown, Sir Joseph continued, he had never in politics, either privately or publicly allowed tho question of anybody's religious views to interfere with his rudgment or action. (Hear, hear.) _ Discussing tho Peace Conference, Sir Joseph said the work was of such a gigantic nature, a ro-settlement of practically tho whole world, that it could not possibly have been carried through in shorter time than it had taken. In the unparalleled situation j in which the war left the world, with j its tremendous financial burdens, there ! were only two things that could help • the taxpayer to carry his load. There i must be an enormously increased pro- j duction everywhere—(hear, hoar) —and there must be on the part of the people, ' bot.h here and evervwhero else, a determination to save in directions which they had never before contemplated. That was tho only way in which they could face the future. He was one of those who believed in the genius of the British race, and he believed they would manage, by education, patienco, and co-operation, to pet back to the new groove into which everyone would have to go. They must look th"'- j difficulties squarely in t : ie face, and, above all things, he appealed to them ! to recognise as one of the basic foundations of their reconstruction, the common-sense of the masses of the working people. The Bolshevist idea of seizing men's possessions would in the end be the most destructive possible idoa for tho interests of the work-ing-man himself. They must, in the Press and in Parliament, teach the doctrines of sound common-sense. If the Germans did not sign the Peace Treaty it was cloar that thoso who were responsible would have to march our forces right through to Berlin, and stay there if necessary. (Applause.) They could be assured that the peoples of the British Empire wore not going to run away from the Peaco position wrunrr from the enemy after so many sacrifices. Mr Massey proposed the health of tho chairman, jind Sir Thomas Mackenzie suitably roplied.