THROUGH THICK & THIN

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 284, 27 August 1930, Page 10

THROUGH THICK & THIN

Imperial Sentiment STRONG IN DOMINION Prime Minister & Party Sail AUCKLAND’S FAREWELLS Dominion Special Service. Auckland, August 26. The Prime Minister, the Hon. G. W. Forbes, left for the Imperial Conference by the Aorangi this morning. He was accompanied by Mrs. Forbes, Sir Thomas and Lady Sidey, Mr. F. D. Thomson, permanent head of the Prime Minister’s Department, and Mr. C. A. Jeffery, private secretary. There was a large crowd on the wharf when the vessel left, Mr. Forbes receiving an enthusiastic farewell from many friends.

Prior to sailing time an official gathering was held at the Town Hall to bid the Prime Minister good-bye. The Deputy-Mayor, Mr. A. J. Entrican, presided, and among the speakers was the Hon. A. J. Stallworthy, Minister of Health.

In the course of his reply, Mr. Forbes said he appreciated very much the friendly greeting of Auckland prior to stepping on board. He was New Zealand-born, and felt that in going to the Conference he was taking a bit of New Zealand with him. New Zealanders were not people who made a great noise, but their sentiment for their country was very deep. They had a keen pride in their land and also In the Old Country. He remembered as a lad the days of the sailing ships and being struck when he saw them come into port at Lyttelton at the end of a long passage, sometimes extending to three months, at the fact that they had come from that place one’s parents called “Home.” It fired his Imagination. He had never had an opportunity of paying a visit to that land during bls career of over .20 years in the House. He never seemed to be able to sparo time enough to make the journey ’ Thanks to Party Leaders.

Mr Forbes said he wished to express his gratitude at the way aU parties had regarded the matter of the Dominion’s representation at the Conference. All parties had treated him very well indeed. He had some very difficult measures to put through the House, some of them unpalatable, and they made him wonder whether, when they were through, be would have any friends left at all. (Laughter and ap plause.) However, he was sure the people of New Zealand recognised that the measures that had been taken were inevitable and that unless the people were prepared to face the the difficulties would onl y-becomc greater. Although be had to he duty of seeing those measures through the House, he still seemed to have a good man friends left. (Cheers.) Auckland's friendly welcome showed at least that he had been In attending the Conference he knew that he went first and foremost voicing a . rv stronE feeling of the loynlty of New Sand tor the Old Land. (Applause ) Personally he could not have any other sentiment toward the Old Country. He bad been brought up in ‘hat atmosphe e all his life. They were our kith and kin in the Old Land, and he realised that New Zealanders would stand by them through thick and thin. (App ,B,lS ®-> There existed that strong sentiment that was better than anything put »n Pnper. While New Zealand felt toward the Old Land as she did there was no need of parchments. (Cheers.) He felt that the New Zealand representative at the Conferenee would be in one of the strongest positions of any because he would be speaking for a people who were all of one m n<l ’ ■ More Than Lip Service.

One matter of great importance that would come up at the Conference would be that of Empire trade. In New Zealand we had given practical! expression of our sentiment for the Old Country by giving her manufacturers very substantial preference. Ours was no mere lip service, and in the Old Country that expression had been greatly appreciated. New Zealand had every right to feel proud of her financial position at Home. Her reputation stood higher than that of any of the other Dominions. The Dominion undoubtedly had her troubles; there had been a substantial fall in the value of her products, but she had experienced lower prices in the past. Costs were today higher, hut the whole thing was a matter of readjustment. There were great possibilities for nn increase of New Zealand products. He felt sure that in a few short years her production would he doubled, and with that prospect in front of them there was no need for the people to feel pessimistic about the future. (Applause.) New Zealand would soon get over her difficulties. It was a matter of readiustment. and then she could confidently face the coming years. Dominion Status.

Sir Thomas Sidey assured his hearers that in Parliament he really had done one or two things besides being responsible for trying to give people a little more daylight. He went on to say that the forthcoming Conference was specially significant because there was a question of paramount importance coming up, and that was the question of Dominion status. It was a matter that had never concerned us. In New Zealand we had been content to go on as we had done before, but certain other Dominions were not bound to the Mother Country by ties such as those that bound New Zealand, and that fact must be recognised if the Empire was to continue as an Empire. If certain other Dominions had not the same sentiment for the Old Land as New Zealand had, there was something else that might appeal to them, and that was self-interest. If something could be done in the way of Empire trade it might go a long way to help to hold together different parts of the Empire. (Applause.)