ROTARY LUNCHEON

Evening Star, Issue 21284, 13 December 1932, Page 10

ROTARY LUNCHEON

ADDRESS BY GOVERNOR-GENERAL His Excellency the GovernorGeneral (Lord Bledisloe) was the guest of the Rotary Club at lunch in the Somerset Lounge of the Savoy to-day. There was a very largo attendance of members, and the president (Mr V. Jacobs) was in the chair. At the top table were the mayor (Mr 11. S. Black), Mr J. G. Dykes (vice-presi-dent), and Mr H. J. Guthrie (past district governor). In welcoming His Excellency Mr Jacobs said it was a very great honour for them. By the interest Lady Bledisloe and he had taken in the dominion and its affairs they had won a place in the hearts of all New Zea-' landers.

His Excellency said he had been repeatedly asked if he had visited Central Otago, with its wonderful climate, its magnificent lakes and fruits, and he had to confess that he had never visited there though he had on' no less than four occasions made arrangements to do so. Ho took that opportunity of telling his Dunedin friends, of whom he had many, that it was a real source of regret to him that a rather heavy schedule of official duties in another place prevented his coming to Otago as often as he should like.

A little while ago, His Excellency continued, he heard a reference to an appeal by the League of Nations for disarmament, and he only wanted to say that Great Britain was setting today a magnificent example to the whole of the civilised world, not only internally in _ the matter of her stupendous national debt and international obligations, but also in her persistent and strenuous effort to persuade other nations to make an equivalent of her sacrifice in order to ensure to a greater extent the future peace of the world, and, incidentally, make an easier passage for the disappearance of those international obligations which were such a source of anxiety to all of them. His Excellency referred to the aims and ideals, of Rotary, a world-wide organisation, and he said it was regrettable that a difference of opinion had arisen between the two great Eng-lish-speaking nations of the world. However, he hoped that before long representatives of the two countries would meet, and as a result the difficulties that existed would be smoothed out. His Excellency went on to refer .to the difficulties that were facing the' countries of the world at the present time. The difficulties that faced the producers and the manufacturers and their dependence one upon the other were touched upon, and His Excellency advised New Zealand producers to aim at uniformity of quality rather than at an exceptionally high quality of their products. Denmark, New Zealand’s most serious competitor in the Home market, realised the benefit of uniformity of .quality,'and'if New Zealand producers wishe'd to increase the demand for their products they would be well advised to do likewise. At the conclusion of his address His Excellency was accorded a cordial vote of thanks.