The Dominion MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1941. THE PRIME MINISTER’S RETURN

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 299, 15 September 1941, Page 6

The Dominion MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1941. THE PRIME MINISTER’S RETURN

Congratulations are to be extended to the Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, on his safe return from an overseas, tour which in present wartime conditions was accompanied by considerable risks. During the period of his absence he has covered a great deal of ground, an made valuable contacts with leaders and people. He has visited tie Middle East, gaining first-hand impressions of the general situation in that important theatre of the war,, and of the conditions under which our own forces are serving. Added to this have been extensive touis in the United Kingdom, consultations with Ministers and trade union leaders, and visits to Canada and the United States, where a so he has had opportunities of exchanging views with the heads of the administration. In- all, it has been an enlightening and broadening experience, from which, no doubt, he has been able to obtain a cleaiei view of the realities of the war situation, and the demands these are making upon every British community throughout the Empire. The greatest of these, unquestionably, is the need for that complete unity of heart and mind in the war effort so conspicuous y in evidence in Britain, as Mr. Fraser himself must have noticed Bor the British people the war has been a chastening experience. . It ias tempered their sectional differences, broadened the political vision o their leaders, and thus equipped and strengthened them for the gum tasks of the war and its vital problems less handicapped by the narrower issues of party politics. From this atmosphere of unite purpose, which must have impressed him deeply, the Prime Mimstei returns to find the public torn asunder by domestic controversies, utterly irrelevant to the • war. Most unfortunate and regrettable is the forcing through Parliament of a coercive measure most seriously affecting the rights and the future of the medical piofession in New Zealand. It may be hoped that, impressed and influenced by his own experiences abroad, he may, see the wisdom, and the justice, of deferring this measure until after the war. Such a decision would be entirely in conformity with the expression of appreciation voiced by Mr. Fraser in Auckland of the valuable work of the New Zealand doctors on active service for their country overseas. It was introduced in their absence, and it is due to them that nothing should be done to injure them professionally until they have had an opportunity of expressing'their views.