MINISTERS RETURN

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 152, 27 June 1917, Page 8

MINISTERS RETURN

MR. MASSEY AND SIR JOSEPH WARD

CIVIC RECEPTION

The Concert Chamber of the Town Hall was filled at noon to-day by a gathering of Wellington citizens, including quite a large proportion of women, assembled to bid a civic welcome to the Prime Minister (Right Hon. W. F. Massey) and Sir Joseph Ward. The Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) presided, all the members o£ the Ministry were present, together with a number of members of both Houses of the General Assembly, Judges of the Supreme Court, and members of the City Council. Mrs. Massey, Lady Ward, and Mrs. Luke were also present. The proceedings opened with the singing of the National Anthem. . •' . . '

The Mayor, who wore his robes of 'office, in welcoming the, returned Minisj tera, said they ought to drop for v, moment all the " isms " and esteem it a providential matter that' their guests, with their wives and staff, had been I permitted to come back to New Zealand safe and sound. (Applause.) Ho referred to the importance of the fact that, through them, New Zealand had been given a place in the counsels 'if the j Empire, and he considered that Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward were doing the work of New Zealand every day they had been away, and that their prolonged absence was an absolute necessity. ( Applause.) They knew that if pur statesmen had not been present at Imperial Conferences the opinions of the outlying portions of the Empire would not have been properly represented, It was unfortunate that Australia could not be represented, but in a measure our statesmen had filled the position. On behalf of the people of Wellington he extended a hearty welcome home to Mr. and Mrs. Massey and Sir Joseph and Lady Ward. (Applause.) ■" . . ■ At the Mayor's invitation, all present gave three very hearty cheers for the returned visitors. . .. s .-.-. . OBJECTS OF THE.VISIT. 'j The Prime..Minister,, who, on rising to speak, was .received with cheers and applause, said he felt flattered at the reception accorded, him. After a man had been away for twelve months he wondered what sort of a reception he was going to get. Since he-had returned to' New Zealand, however, he had been reminded of the eong "O.^Willie, we have missed jyou." (Laughter.) It was hard to real-ise-that they had been away for ten months.. There were some who thought they had Iwd a picnic,. but it had been no 'picnic, because they had had a very busy'time. They'felt it a privilege to take.part in the business of the Empire at the time of the most serious crisis in its history. (Applause.) Their visit had been mostly for commercial business, because the welfare of this country depended upon its ' primary products, the Empire wanted anything in the way of produce.it had to have it. They had negotiated with the Imperial Governmont for the produce ■it required.. The people had taken up the position that while the producers were entitled to a> fair profit, they did not desire to extract the last farthing from the Imperial Go-' vernment. They had been, able to arrange a, fair price for wool and meat also. Next in. order of importance came cheese, hides, and skins. j A voice: What about butter?

The Prime Minister replied that butter had not been requisitioned. All the time he had been in Englajid.he had not been able to get any. New Zealand butter. He believed that our products would realise nearly thirty million sovereigns for the people of this cou.nt.ry. (Applause.) . ' ■ ■ Referring to the Ministers' visit to France, Mr. Massey said lie thought they had seen the great majority of the hospitals in which the New Zealanders were accommodated. They had. seen enough of the horrors and miseries of war to. satisfy them for a verY long time to come. Everything that'it. wa» ( possible to do .was done^ for our boys at the front. There was practically no .fighting while they were there, although there was always danger, in the firing line. He did not think anything more covild be done for the men than was being done at present. ; They were well fed, well equipped, and well looked after generally. (Applause.) . ;

NEW ZEALANDERS IN HIGH ESTI-

MATION.

Mr. Massey added that every morning when a man. received his breakfast he was served with a clean pair of sox. When the men cams out of-the trenches they were well and properly looked after. The New Zealanders stood very high in the appreciation of the people at Home, with whom they came into con. tact They were very friendly, with the Guards, who unless any troops had distinguished themselves took hardly any notice of them. He. spoke, in terms of high praise of, the work . done by the !"'Ncw Zealand soldiers, who had given the Dominion a place among the nations that she could.never otherwise have occupied. New -Zealand soldiers were the favourites. (Applause.). He gavo some interesting reminiscence)! by way of corroboration. At Edinburgh, for instance, I there were a number of New Zealand soldiers staying, and an influential derm- j t&tion waited on him to ask that they should be given extended leave. He got it for.' them, and everyone was greatly pleased. . ' IMPERIAL WAR CABINET. . . j Mr. Massey went on to refer to the j Overseas Dominions' representation in the Imperial War Cabinet, on the lines of previous speeches and interviews, tha point being that that was the first occasion on which representatives of the .Overseas Dominions had taken part on equal terms with the statesmen of the Empire in the management of Imperial affairs. (Applause.) The Imperial Cabinet was to'be a permanent institution, and representatives of the Dominions would meet the Imperial Cabinet once every year. A full report would later on be published of the Imperial ! War Conference, and he thought j that what he and Sir Joseph Ward had ! done would be appreciated. He thought, however, that measures would have to be taken to see that there was greater accuracy and fullness in transmitting the speeches of public men from' Britain to New Zealand and from New Zealand to Britain. For instance, he had been adversely [ criticised. for a speech delivered by General, Smuts. As to the work of the Conference, 'it had dealt with the subject of preference in regard to Customs tariff.. There would be a .change presently. Our products had I gone. into Britain free, but so had the products of enemy countries. There would be a change in that respect in future. (Applause.) The big trouble 1 was the shortage' of shipping and the submarine warfare. Germany \vas already sorry for having brougli* America into .the war. •' Germany could not starve Britain —(applause)—which exhibited a quiet calm determination to make the necessary sacrifices to ensure an equitable peace. In" spite of yask sacrifices we had to go on. for if Britain did not smash Germany, Germany would endeavour to smash Britain at ihe earliest possible opportunity. He declared 0 pnnany could not have her colonial jsoemsisiu restored to her, Yvttbit

sacrifices had yet to be made, but we had ,to keep faith with the men who had died for us, and to make it impossible for Germany to repeat the horrors with which they had been made acquainted. . (Applause.) ; ' SIR JOSEPH WARD'S SPEECH. Sir Joseph Ward met with a great re-! ception on rising to speak—a reception: that he said he greatly appreciated. He paid a tribute to the manner in which Sir, James Allen and his colleagues had discharged their duties during Mr. Massey's and his absence. (Applause.) After all, what all were working for was the continuance of the British Empire after the war was over: Before the war both parties at Home were against a standing army, with the result that only 150,000 men could be sent across the Channel to check the German advance. Since then Britain had raised an army of over four million men —(cheers) —and the enemy had discovered that the greatest factor in the war is Great Britain, that the strength of the British Islea had been made more invulnerable than before by their combination with the Overseas Dominions; (Applause.) Then there was the last combination, with the United States; which made it impossible for the' Central Powers to hope for victory. (Renewed cheers.) ,To have participated in a conference concerning such work was a: very great privilege. (Ap- j plau«e.) GOING TO WIN. "We are going to, win this war," said Sir Joseph Ward in his concluding remarks. "It is impossible to imagine that the men in Britain who are responsible for the Government of that great country, in alliance with Japan, France, Italy, Belgium, Servia, and Rumania; with Greece brought to her knees and at our dictation, with the cooperation of the United States, in combination with South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands, will ever consent to make peace on terms which will include the giving back to Germany of her colonial possessions."He concluded by suggesting that after the war the monarchical autocracies of Europe would be done away with, and paying a feeling tribute to the relatives of • all those who have suffered as the result of. the war. "Our feelings of very deep sympathy go out to : them," he i said. "They went away feeling that it I was their duty to be associated with the Motherland, and all parts of the British Empire, in the great endeavour to promote the civilisation of the world it large." (Cheers). . . .:■•-' * | The Mayor,' in » few words, paid a .tribute of high congratulation to Sir James Allen for the work he has done during the absence of his colleagues, and, at his call, those present gave three chefera for the Ministry.

The proceedings concluded with the singing of "God Save the King."