CIVIC WELCOME

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 18, 16 October 1918, Page 6

CIVIC WELCOME

TO THE RETURNED MINISTERS

REFERENCES TO THE WAR

THE FUTURE OF THE EMPIRE

A 'civic welcome was tendered to the returned leaders of tiie National Government, the l J rime Minister (Eight Hon. W. I' , . Massey) and the Minister' •of Finance (Sir Joseph Ward),'in the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall at noon yesterday. The Mayor (Mr. J--I'. Luke, U.i'., C.AI.U.) presided, and there was a fairly large attendance of citizens. Members of the Ministry and of the City Council and representatives of the publio Departments were among those present. The Mayor said he felt it a. privilege and a pleasure to welcomo the two public men who had been representing New Zealand worthily at important conferences in the Old Country. The two Ministers had been doing good work for the Dominion and the Empire, and he was sure that the people of New Zealand were glad to see them back again after their attendance 'at ..the Wai Cabinet and the Imperial Couferenct The Prime Minister. Mr. Massey, who was received with warm applause, thanked the Mayor and the citizens' for the welcome extended to him. He said' that since he last addressed a Wellington audience lie had travelled far and nad taken part in some important conferences. .Representatives of the Governments of tiie Jimpire had met in London to consider war problems, and later lie an'd Sir Josepn "Ward had been able to attend a meeting of the Supreme Avar Council at Versailles. They had met some of the greatest men on the,side of the Allies, including Marshal Foch and M. Clemenceau. Now they had come back to take part in the ■ work of the New Zealand' Parliament, and he hoped that during the next few months they would be able to render some useful service to their own Dominion. The war prospects had changed greatly since last* he was in AVelliugton, added Mr. - Massey. They would all remember the weeks and months in the 'early part of this year when reverse followed reverse. He had admired the way in which the British people—and he included among British people the citizens of all the Dominions—had accepted these reverses. There had been a feeling of disappointment, but it had never seemed that reverses were, weakening the determination of the nation or shaking its.unity. In facf, it was only when there were no clouds upon the' horizon that any weakening of British unity ever became apparent. In those bad months Britain asked for extra efforts, and the response came from every part of the Empire. New Zealand was not the last in responding. Additional troops were rushed across from Britain, where there were large reserves.) A flood of s munitions was poured into France, and measures were taken to get the Americans across' the Atlantic in*their hundreds and thousands. When he and' Sir Joseph Ward crossed the Atlantio on their way to London, they were on a ship that carried 2500, American soldiers, and that formed part of a convoy of fourteen steamers carrying no fewer than 29,000 Americans. He was very favourably impressed with the quality of the "Yanks." They were keen, active, courageous soldiers, filled with determination to assist in carrying the war to a victorious conclusion. Already they had assisted to turn the tide. Mar/shni Foch struck his blow in July, and since then he had been' pushing the enemy back all the time. The end of the war might not yet be at hand; but there was no doubt at all now'that the troops of the Central Powers were unable to stand up to the troops of Britain and liter' Allies. The Allied victory was as suro as the rising of to-mor-row's sun. (Applause.)

The American Alliance. After referring to German atrocities and emphasising the necessity for peace terms that would provide definite, punishment for the enemy, Mr. Massey said that the entrv of the United States into tlio war had 'been a great event in the history of the world. The British and the Americans were people of the same blood, .bound together, by traditions and ideals. It had been truly said: "They must be free who speak the language Shakespeare spoke, who hold the faith ahd'morals Milton held.;' He did not believe that Britain and America would ever have the same The Americans were quite. satisfied with their republican form of government, and the British people were just as satisfied with their constitutional monarchy, which provided a degree of democratic freedom not exceeded under any other form of rule. But while the British and the , ' Americans might stay apart as nations, they would be found acting in common in support of the ideals that had brought them 'both into the present_ war. The combination of democratic forces was a fact of tho utmost significance in the history of the world. ■ ' _' Mr. Massey mentioned tlie visit _ that lie and Sir Joseph Ward had paid to the New Zealand troops in- France. They had found the msn well and fit, after a long rest, and keen to strike another blow at the' Hun. The Now Zealand Division was moved into the front, line almost immediately afterwards, and it-had been there over since, taking its y full share in the defeat of the "enemy, in the recent battles, and maintaining the high reputation that the New Zealand troops had won at the very outset of tho wnv.' He nftd been told by the men who were best qualified to judge that there was vo better division in the whole British Army.. Earlier in tho year, when the Gerniaiis-were. making their great effort to reach the Channel ports, Amiens and Paris, the New Zealand Division had been one of the units ordered by General Haic to stop tho Gorman advance. The New Zoalanders met tho German onslaught, they did not give way, iind they help , ; od to throw back the tide of invasion! (Applause.) Ever sinco then tho Germans/had been going back, and the New Zcalanders had been prominent in the pursuit. In conclusion, Mr. Massey said ho believed that if the Allies could be wire of three months more fine weather on the Western front, they could bring the Germans to utter defeat. The winter might force Marshal Foch to slow the campaign') but he honod that in any case the Germans would not be allowed any time to "reconstitute their shaken armies. Another year, beyond all dnuht. would see tho end of the war. He hoped tho end •would come within the year. There would ho a certain amount of cleaning np to b° Hone at the end. ami it was impossible tosay now whnt form the neace negotiations would take. But in' anv caso the victory was coming. (Applause.) Sir Joseph Ward. Sir Joseph Ward, who was cheer-id on rising, also thanked the Mayor and the citizens for the welcome accorded him. Ho said that-he and Mr. Massey had been taking part in some hi<rhlv important Imperial work. There would be more work of' this kind to be tlono by the Ministers of the Empire, whoever they might be, in the days after the war.' Tho old idea that the Dominions were unimportant because tl;ey were young was disappearing w tho

Mother Country as rapidly as the henfo ,of Germany were disappearing from France under tho pressure of the Allied armies. (Applause.) -Ho thought that the visit of the Domiuion statesmen to the Mother Country had iserred a particularly useful purpose of impressing upon tho members of the Imperial Government, who had many preoccupations at the present time,. that if the Empire wae to be kept together and to grow in strength there must bd a new arrangement of authority and responsibility. There could scarcely be a man or a woman in the United Kingdom now who did not know what Netf Zealand thought about the retention of the Pacific islands under the British flag. (Applause.) He believed that after peace had been concluded there would be a. definite movement to bring tho various States of the Empire cloeor tofiether in every fray. There was no doubt that but fftr tho strength and solidarity of the British Empire the present war could not have been .continued for twelve . months. England had not been ready for. the war on land, though fortunately tho British -Cavy had been entirely ready at sea. The little British regular army had played .a, great part in stemming the tide cf German aggression at tho outset, and then the solidarity of the Empire pjid the vast commercial, financial, and industrial strength of Britain had made possible the organisation of the s.ar effort that was now bearing triumphant fruit. But for England'-tbeN Germane would have overrun Europe.

The position at the front to-day, added Sir Joseph Ward, was unmistakably in favour of Britain and her Allies. The victory required to secure the safety of the free peoples of'| the world was goiug to be-won, and when the war was over Britons and Americans w.ild be found co-operating to protect nid strengthen the interests and .the ideals for which they had fought. There would be many changes alter the war, and one of them, arising from the comradeship of the trenches arid the sacrifices that bid been shared by all the people, would be the wiping away of many class distinctions. Much reconstruction would have to be undertaken on the social side, and there would be a movement for the consolidation of the Empire. New Zealand and the other Dominions of the Empire would have to take their part in its government, and help to make it more glorious and more irresistible. The time was approaching when the Dominions would have. a larger white population than the Mother Country possessed. That was a fact that was fjoing to derannd recog- , nit-ion. The British people as a body, in conjunction with the Americans, and their other Allies, were going to see, as far as they could, that democratic rule prevailed all over the world. (Applause.) . ■ . The proceedings closed with the National Anthem. A CIVIC LUNCHEON ' FURTHER SPEECHES BT MINISTERS.

Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward were entertained at-luncheon by the Mayor and City Councillors. The Mayor presided, and in addition to the r members of the council and the heade of municipal departments, there vera present members of the Ministry, Mr. Justice Chapman, and Captain HallThompson.

After the toast of "The King" had been honoured, the Mayor proposed the healths of the returned Ministers, Mr, Massey and Sir Joseph.AVard. Mr. ■ Massey, in reply, referred to the enormous war effort of the United Kingdom, including the raising of 7,500,000 men,' the providing of £8,000,000,000 of money, and the production or stupendous quantities' of munitions. The Empire was equal to all the demands that would be niado upon it now and in the future. He had come back more than ever proud of being a Briton and a New Zealander. He did not believe that,the present war was the. last .war. War. wag a. thing that arose from the weaknesses of hu- " man nature, and it did not appear that human nature had improved much during the last 5000 years. Until ,the millennium arrived war between nations would be a possibility, and it would have to be faced in recollection of the fact, that self-preservation was the first law of Nature.' Just at present lie was more afraid of German intrigue than of German arms. The Germans had wrecked Kussia by intrigue. They had gone info the war for profit,'and they had fought and planned on that basis. It would he necessary- now to guard against similar acts of aggression by the Germans in the future, and he believed, and had not hesitated to say at the right time, that in the interests of the British citizens of to-day and of the future the Germans ought to he prevented from recovering the positions they hud held in the islands of the South Pacific' If the Germans got the opportunity they would build up military power in the Pacific find become a danger to future generations of British people. He did not know what view a peace conference would take of this .subject, but ho felt sure that the representatives of the British Empire would be agreed' that the Germans ought to bo prevented from returning to tho South Pacific. Mr. Massey add- ' ed, that during the coming session of Parliament there would be opportunity to discuss various matters of importance arisen during his journey abroad. Sir Joseph ; Ward ulso returned thanks. After urging that the terms of peace to be enforced against Germany should be severe and uncompromising, ho suggested that and, America ought to hold for themselves and their Allies a preferential position in the use of the Suez' Canal and the Panama Canal. The Germans ought not to be allowed to use these canals on equal terms with the nations they had sought to ruin. Referring to Britain's war work, Sir Joseph Ward paid a tribute to the work of tlio British Navy in tho fight against the submarines." He said that tho convoy thai took the New' Zealand Ministers across the Atlantic consisted of fourteen steamers. Three days out from tho British' coast they were met by eight f British destroyers, and later twelve pa- ■ trol boats joined the convoy, while dirigible airships hovered overhead to detect tho approach of enemy submarines. By the time the convoy entered St. George's Channel it .consisted of , over forty units. The British Primo Minister "had stated that tho British Navy had sunk and captured ISO submarines, but this list was not comnlote. The Navy was using against the submarines weapons of wonderful efficiency, weapons that had not been, dreamed of before the war, and the effect was most satisfactory. ' In other respects great progress had been niado. Tho defence of- Londoii against aerial attack was now extraordinarily complete: Iho last time the Germans attempted to bomb' London they lost seven of their machines, and it appeared that tho heart of tho Empire had been made almost impregnable to attack from the skies. Sir Joseph Ward referred also to tho development of the aeroplane, and prophesied a remarkable expansion of aerial travel and commerce after the war. In conclusion ho said that the present goal of the Allies was to secure a democratic form of government in every country whero autocracy had survived- By tliis mtains tho world would be hiade safe for the free peoples. Mr. Justice Chapman, nt the invitation of the Mayor, proposed the toast, "The Navy, the Army, and tho Air Force- ' Captain Hall-Thompson briefly returned thanks on behalf of the fighting forces. The Prime, Minister proposed tho health of the Mayor and Mrs. Luke. The toast' was honoured warmly, and tho proceedings closed with the National Authem.