GOVERNOR v. PRIME MINISTER
IATE MR- MASBEY'S FIRMNESS
INCIDENT OF THE WAR.
It wu common knowladge at th« time of the departure of the Main Body of the N.Z.E.F. from New Zealand in 1914 that only tße firmness of the late Mr. Massey had »eeured to the transport ship* an escort adequate to deal with the German naval vessels then opwatng in the Pacific. An additional fact was made, public by the Hon. Mark Cohsn in the memorial debate to Mr. Massey in the Legislative Council yesterday afternoon. Mr. Cohen declared that Mr. Muse; secured proper means of protection to the young New Zealand soldiers in the teeth of the opposition of the then Gov-ernor-General, Lord Liverpool, and at the risk of precipitating a Ministerial crisis with His .Excellency. Mr. Maasey, he said, took the proper view that he owed it to the New Zealand soldien and to their parents that the 8000 odd men in the expedition should be properly safeguarded, and that to send thei-i to sea otherwise would, as he expressed it to the speaker in one" conversation, be "little short of murder." The Governor, on the other hand, was content that the New Zealand Navy of that day, which was composed of "vessels that were really cockboats," should be the only escort. He took the attitude that as Command-er-in-Chief of the Dominion's armed forces and head of the nival establish* mfnt, he wan entitled to have his way in\ the matter. Mr. Mwsey disputed that dictum firmly and courageously, and a good deal of correspondence took place on the subject.- Mr. Massey went the length 'of declaring that if His Excellency insisted upon his own plans being earned out, he would have to find' another Prime Minister to p«t to their «xecution. Finally, Mr. Massey was supported by the British authorities, and succeeded in obtaining the services of the British and Japanese battleships which convoyed the transports to the coast of Australia, where they were reinforced by ships of the Comonwealth Navy. For his action in this matter, in Mr. Cohen's opinion, Mr. Massey deserved the undyiflg gratitude of the people of New Zealand
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19250701.2.21
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 1, 1 July 1925, Page 4
Word Count
358GOVERNOR v. PRIME MINISTER Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 1, 1 July 1925, Page 4
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