ADDRESS-IN-REPLY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3129, 6 July 1917, Page 6

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY

NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. The Hon. JOHN BABE moved that a respectful address should bo presented in reply to the Speech of His Excellency the Governor-General. He said that the , .Speech made in that. Chamber at tho • opening of tho session had been one of exceptional importance, and ho could not hope in the time at his disposal to : cover all the points that had been raised. The people of New Zealand wero too much engrossed with higher and greater things to be concerned particularly about the change that ha.d been hiade in the title of the lung's representative in New Zealand. The honours that interested the Dominion were those conferred on her brave sons on the field of battle. The tido of war had turned in favour of the Allies, but such matters .as the disposal of the German colonies could not yet be settled. He felt strongly that'the Pacific islands should not be allowed to pass out of British control .whatever might bo their relation to New Zealand and Australia. Mr. Ban- drew a comparison between the easy conditions of life and the tendency towards luxury in" New Zealand and the severe privations that were being experienced in .{Britain and France. Now Zealand, however, had played a brave part; in tho •war through the tens of thousands of men who had responded to tho call of Empire and gone to the front. Born New ;Zealanders had gone forward shoulder to shoulder with men who had come to ;the Dominion to look for better conditions of life than the Mother Country 'had provided for them, and who wero ready, nevertheless, to spring to the aid of the Old Land when their help was Heeded. New Zealand's soldiers had not •done better than other soldiers of the Empire. They could not do so. 'The men were all born of the same stock, and they had all done the 6ame great work. : It. was. a. proud fact that not until the end of 1916 had the Government found it ■necessary to use the compulsory clauses of the Military . Service Act. Naturally '• there had been .agitation against compulsion. Every country contained people 'who loved themselves more than their nation. But the agitation had come from malcontents who enjoyed aii amount of tolerance that no country nearer the seat of war could possibly have permitted. After supporting the compulsory system, Mr. Barr 6aid ne had no doubt that the Second Division men, if the call came to them, would respond as readily as the First ])ivision men had done. Some men were using for their own purpose the argument of wages. It was a shameful, a 1 demeaning, thing for men to say that they would go for a certain amount of money. There were men who knew , nothing of noble thoughts and noble aspirations. If they were given 10s. a day they would ask for 20s. They did not want to go. He agreed that for the dependants who were left behind the country should make adequate provision; He believed the country would do its duty in that respect. The conscription of wealth, which somo people demanded, was already in progress. Tho State was taking wealth to serve its needs, and as tho war advanced the extent of its levy, in the form of taxation, was increasing. Mr. Barr paid a tribute to the work of the Defence Department under conditions of unprecedented difficulty.. New Zealand's political leaders had done well.' Their provision for the sick and wounded had never been excelled, and as faults were discovered they, were remedied. He demanded that the Government should deal firmly and. fearlessly with the drink question. No private interests must stand in the way when national efficiency was at stake.-' The Government should handle the products of NewZealand. The Dominion's sons had bled for Country, but. some people-, who had stayed at home seemed bent' on bleeding the Mother Country by pushing up prices to the last penny.

Seconder of the Motion. The Hon. MAJOR B. HARRIS seconded the motion. He congratulated the Governor-General on his improved status. Referring to the war, he stud that New Zealand's sons had done well. -They had been called upon to fight underground, in caves and burrows, and had T>een required, too, to take large numbers of prisoners. He thought the taking of such prisoners was hardly worth while. It was gratifying that the United States 'had at last'entered the war. He hoped that Russia was' going to recover from her internal troubles and assist in pushing the war to a conclusion. The Germans should not be readmitted to the Pacific. Ho wished to die a free man, and there would be no freedom if the Germans exercised domination. Men who' wonld not fight against the enemy in the present war were not worth feeding. They were no use to New Zealand, .and bad better bo drafted away to other lands.

The Leader of the Council. SIR FRANCIS BELL said the Gover-nor-General's speech had expressed in restrained language the pride New Zealand was entitled to feel in the deeds of the soldiers of the Empire. New Zealand's own sons had done their pail; with the.others. They had started without knowledge, but with the determination to do the work expected of tliem. They had submitted themselves gladly to training and discipline. The status they had earned for themselves had been shown by the Imperial authorities when they told the Dominion's Primo Minister that the New Zealanders were "going to take Messines." Tho' New ■ Zealauders had fought like soldiers and behaved like gentlemen. They did not need praise from their own people. Referring to the general work of the session, Sir Francis Bell said that legislation of a party or contentious nature could not be handled by tho Legislature at a time when there was no authorised critic and no organised Opposition. .The Hon. John Barr replied briefly, and the motion was carried. The Council adjourned until Wednesday next.