R.S.A.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17747, 26 April 1923, Page 15

R.S.A.

REUNION AND SMOKE CONCERT. SPEECH 13Y LORD JELLICOE. ■ Christchurch Keiunied Soldiers held | their annual reunion and smoke-con- | c-irt in the Art- Gallery on Tuesday j night. Colonel H. Stewart, C.M.G.. ' D.5.0.. president of tho Christchurch 1 ICS.A., presided over an attendance of ' about 4UO, and amongst those present j wc-re his Excellency. t!:e Governori General (Lord Jeilicee). ami the DOlll- - inion President of the U.S.A., Major- : General Sir Andrew' .Russell; K.C.8., I K.C.M.G. j A lengthy tea*:- list ««s = olla through, but the rn<J;:t impressive toast 1 or all was ttiat to ••Fallen Comrades, proposed by tno cna.rmau, and nonouri t'd i>y tuoSi present sianding 111 guence. j 'lhe programme was as follows: | Toa.st, "ihe King," proposed by Major j Uene.al bir Anurew tuissell; song, 1 "DraKe Goes West," Mr T. M. Chuv- | ters; toast, "Tne R.S.A." proposed by | Lol.'U. Young, C.iS., C.M.G.. 1X5.0., I and resi-onued to by .Uajor-Genenil ; Sir Andrew R.i«sell: monologue by .\U j U. A. 13. Turner; song, ''The Fringes ot I tlie Fieet,'' .Mr R. I>. Vincent;, presentation ot address to his Exceheucy tno Governor-General, by .Mr \\ . E. 1.-eau-lev and repiv 1.-v his Excellency; Air SprattV toast, '-The Army and Navy," proposed by the- Mayor, Dr. H. i'. J*. Lhacker, and responded 1,5 '■b'v Colonel 1:1. Stewart; song, "Songs of Araby." -Mr K. Orchard: '•Remimsceiices,"' 311" A. Owen; toast, "The Veterans," Mr E. Orchard, responded to by the president of the Veterans' Association ; song, "The Two Grenadiers," Mr W.' J. Spratt: toast. "Tho Press,'' uroposed by Mr G. \Y. Lloyd and song, "Nancy Lee," Mr C. Holden. The accompanist was Mr It. A. Horne. Telegrams conveying apologies for absence were received from the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Defence, the Hon. Sir It. He a ton Rhodes. "The U.S.A." Colonel 11. Young, C.8., C.M.G., D.5.0., and O.C. of tne Southern Military Command; in proposing the toast of the R.S.A., said that New Zealand could congratulate herself quite honestly 011 the way in which sha-had "e----palriated her soldiers and she could also congratulate those same soldiers upon the quickness with which they had settled down. The success of the Association wus largely due to the fact that level-headed men had been chosen as tne leaders or tne Association. Some said, however, that the task of the Association was now done., and that it should disband. Bat there were still twenty-five per cent, of the men who had returned who had not yet settled down. When the Association ceased its activities, he hoped that the clubs too would not disband. The clubs still had a valuable work to accomplished as long as there were returned soldiers left alive. He congratulated tho Christchurch Association on appointing to its presidency Colonel H. Stewart. They "also had with them their Dominion' President, Major-Gen-eral Sir Andrew Russell and he knew how greatly Gen'eral Russell was loved arid honoured throughout the Dominion. Major-General Sir Andrew llussell, K.C.8., K.C.M.G., in reply to the toast, said that the previous speaker had foreshadowed the dissolution of the Association, but that would not come for some three or four years yet. There were many things to be done and these included the settlement of the question of pensions, land settlement and the 't: fitment of those rnv(n who 'were breaking down as a result of war service. The membership of the Association was falling away rapidly, he was sorry to say. At first the Association membership stood at from 60 to 70 per cent, of those who had seen service. They would be lucky this year if they secured a membership of 10,000 out of the 100,000 who saw service. With regard to pensions, the report of the recent Pensions Commission was not yet available, but he understood it wa3 favourable, and ho hoped that it would soon' bo made public, and put into operation. He urged tho Association members to stick to their U.S.A. and see that those who were less fortunate' than the majority of members, secured the treatment which was fairly their due. With regard to shell-shock cases, he wished to see men suffering from this disability receive more consideration. When it came to judging cases: of this nature, it was -better to give them over-consideration than turn them down without any consideration whatever. The land question, too, was a difficult one. Perhaps too much had been spent 011 soldier settlement' land in the first place, and then there was the all too frequent lack of working capital. Some of the men who had Gone on the land lacked a practical knowledge of their branches of fanning, and he had ever advocated the institution of a practical supervision service j to be availed of by men who were having difficulty, should they care to use it. Then there was the question of thej ex-Imperial 6oldier. New Zealand had taken far more interest and given more consideration to the ouestion of the ex-Imperial .soklier than- a number of other Dominions. But there was still a good deal to be done. Lar;:e numbers of ex-Imperial soldiers at Home were out of work and the Dominions, with their large areas of uncultivated land, offered splendid opportunities for the absorption of these men. The security of the Empire was in danger while these large, empty areas of land remained unsettled. The world was o n the move, and certain countries, the names of which he did not need to mention, were in need of land and if these empty areas were not filled, there would be trouble, perhaps not for themselves, but for their children. He hoped he would have the support of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association when advocating an Imperial immigration policy 'at the Conference which was shortly to be held at Home. Presentation of Address. 3lr W. E. l.eadley, secretary of tlie Christchurch R.S.A., said he had been requested to present his Excellency with an address as a token of the, esteem in which Viscount" Jellicoe was held by his comrades of tlie Great War. Mr Leadley referred to the spirit of comradeship' which existed still amongst the men who had iought the Empire's battles side by side, and stated that the same spirit should be fostered in the community to-day. The splendid qualities of the leaders of the men had inspired their confidence from the highest in rank to the lowest. The address presented to his Excellency reads as lollops: To his Exeeilencv Viscount Jeiiicoe, of Scapa, 6.-C.8.. O. M-. G.C V.0., GovernorGenera! of tho Domir-ior, of New Zealand. Mav it please your Excellency: V?s> tlie members of tap Returned !>o.dvrs'' Association of Christchurch, lespecfuliv request you to accept our smoerest thinks for, and appreciation of, tne interest vou have ever nonnested _ in tne Christchurch Returned Solaiers Associat; sre deeply indebted to Your Exce!_1 . i'o'- iavin'< the foundation stons 01 Oil 'September 6th, 1919, and for officer opening the building on August J>n* At a later date you Kir.dly eoii'sentcd to allow us to attach your flame to our hall. •yT e f e »l sure that you wrll. oe interested •o itr-ow that tho club is weli patronised b-- ex-me'nbers of the New Zealand, Australia's and Imperial forces, and that at tre present time its financial members number 2500. During the last five years , ve believo that the Returned Soldiers Association ho-» fully justified its existence.

In the first place it has been privileged to render excellent service to hundreds of its member:! ai.d their dependants, aa -vreli as many Imperial ex-service men who have made Xe-,v Zeeland the country o: their adoption. Ir. the second p'.ac?, we ; have round that the spirit of brotherhood ! ar.d comradeship which grew up amongst ; S3 during- our period of active service was r.ot destined to die when ihe war ended. It still lives in our midst, ana :s to-day expressing itself in. t-he various activities o: the Returned Soldiers' As- ; sociatior.. | Since yo;: came amongst us as the reI pi-eser.t-ative of his Majesty, the King, j you have found your way into the hearts • oi nil classc-s 01 people in this Dominion. I Your eminent ot keen under- • standing-, tact, and sociability have made yoti beloved by all c'isses of the coxj mumty. The returned soldiers and solj diers gathered here this evening- assure you i of their continued lovaltv to the Throne, ! to the Empire and to our own country. ! V> e greet you as a comrade of the great j war and -.ve trust that you will be spared for :r.;niy years to fill the higil offices 0i ! State, to which you jsay be called, j TVe have the honour to inscribe ourselves j lor and on behali of the Christchurch Ile- ) turned Soldiers' Association, i (Signed) i TV. WALKER, Present. ! H. J. KXIGHT, Vice-Prw. ! TV. E. LEADLUi", Be:retary. Lord. Jelllcoe's Rerply. j His Excellency, in expressing upj preciation of tho Association, said tie ( esteemed it a privilege to be able to meet so large a gut tiering of New j 16 Ja/dud's returned sudors and soldiers | 011 tlie eve of Anzac Day. It was ! ample evidence of tne continuation of j tlie strong feeling of comradeship whioh 1 was the outcome of the great war, 1 ami so long as that spirit of com- ■ rutleslup existed, as tneir secretary, Mr ; JLeadley, had said it did, it would prove : a. great asset 111 the settlement of the 1 atier-war difficulties which had shown ; themselves, and winch were experienced i at the conclusion of any great war in i history. Speaking of the men who had tought for their Empire, his Excellency said that Major-Ueneral .Russell, and every other officer who had been entrusted with the honour of leading men in the war, realised that without the whole-hearted support of the lower ranks the leader could do nothing. In the Navy, where he had had the honour of leading men since the age of fourteen years, he had been taught tho truth of this statement. I So long as an officer did his best for those whom it was his privilege to lead they would do their best to help him. That was where we in the British Empire had had a great advantage over our onemies and was one of the reasons why we had v/on the war. His Excellency then read the following acknowledgment- of the receipt of the address:— I appreciate very deeply, as tho representative of his Majesty the King in this Dominion, the expressions of continued loyalty to the Throne, to the Empire, and to New Zealand, to which you give utterance. Your recent splendid services and the sacrifices which you made are convincing proof, if proof is needed, of the loyalty of which you speak. You, with your comrades throughout the Dominions, have made a name for New Zealand which will live for ever in history, and you have created traditions which future generations will ever strive to uphold. The lesson which you have drawn is that of unselfish sacrifice for others, and it is the finest lesson of all. My interest in the Association to which such kindly allusion has been made is born of the sympathy and comradeship which Ave of the Navy feel for our brothers in the sister service, and it is intensified by the memory of the close -association of the Naval forces in the Mediterranean with members of the gallant New Zealand Expeditionary •Force during tho fighting on the Gallipoli Peninsula. In those days the services were one; may they ever be so. It is with much gratification I learn that the Returned Soldiers' Club is being so well patronised, sinoo the large membicrslup as ti token of that continued comradeship which is of such exceeding value.. Ihe good work rendered to members of the club and their dependants, and to tho Imperial ex-servico men, is eloquent testimony of the importance of the Association. Tho work is evidence of the continuance in peace of the unselfish spirit which animated those who fought for the Empire in the war. It is the cultivation of that same spirit which is of such inestimable benefit to the community at large, and no body of men is better fitted to set the example in this direction than the returned soldiers who daily gave evidence of it during the war. I am very grateful for your kindly references to myself and for your good wishes. I feel that it is a great privilege to be present in Christchurch during Anzac Day observances this year, and especially to have the opportunity of meeting so many members of the R.S.A. as a comrade of the Great War. Tho story of Anzac will ever ho one of the most glorious pages in Now Zealand's history. (Signed) JELLICOE, Governor-General. The toast of ''The Army and Nary" was proposed by the Mayor (l>r. ±£. T. J. Thacker), who said that tne service of the Army and Navy was greatly appreciated by the citizens of the Empire. When New Zealand's sons had gone abroad to fight, those whom they had left behind were proud of them. He assured them of this honest pride. There were many things still to be done for tho men who had gone to fight, and he hoped that tho nation would see that their returned soldiers were_ given the generous consideration which they so well deserved. Colonel H. Stewart, C.M.G., D.5.0., in responding to the toast, expressed the opinion that the last war had not ended war, and stated that it was the duty of the Empire to see that it still continued in a state of preparedness He eulogised the service of t'e Navy during the recent war, and said that it was in a great measure iTue to the splendid service of that branch of the service that the struggle had concluded so successfully from our point of view. i