STRIKING TRIBUTES

Evening Star, Issue 21630, 27 January 1934, Page 18

STRIKING TRIBUTES

PRIME MINISTER HONOURED CITY COUNCIL’S FUNCTION MR FORBES’S COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY ' Striking tributes were paid to the Prime Minister (Right Hon. G. W. Forbes) by various speakers last night at the social function tendered to him and Mrs' Forbes by the Dunedin City Council in the Somerset Lounge, and in the course of his reply Mr Forbes gave a comprehensive survey of the work of the Government and of his impressions of his recent tour of Otago and Southland. The function was a most enjoyable, ,happy, and successful one,-and was attended by about 100 representative citizens who had the opportunity during the evening of meeting the guests of the evening; person; ally. The mayor. ,(Rev. E. T. Cox) was in the chair. , THE CIVIC S WELCOME. , . The Mayor said that it was a great honour Mr Forbes had conferred on the city in. paying a visit at a time like the present.' It was- some years since the Prime Minister had visited Dunedin, and in the meantime he had been at the conference at Ottawa and the London Conference., There was no city in the 'dominion—he would say no city in the Empire—which would be more appreciative of the visit of the Prime Minister in this, friendly way than Dunedin. Dunedin was most loyal to the British ... traditions and.to the British Constitution, and. His Worship expressed the hope that when H.R.H. Prince George visited them next year the Prime Minister would he present to see what an outstanding welcome Dunedin would give him. Mr Forbes’s present Visit was of great-value to them in getting them into touch.with th£ Government, and he took it that, it might he of value to the Prime Minister to see the difficulties under which, the citizens -sometimes laboured. They greeted. Mr Forbes - as a man whom the Empire could trust for his character and his worth. The Mayor ref erred, to three of the great Prime Ministers'of the past—Sir George .(EJrey, the Right Hon. Richard Seddon, and. the Right Hon. W. F. Massey. Two had lived in their generation and had- served in times of stress. Mr Seddoh had seen the country emerge from the depression of-that time, and as they had emerged from the difficult times of 1 the past he had no doubt that under Mr Forbes’s wise leadership they would emerge from their present difficulties. Mr Seddon had led the world in'social legislation. . Mr Massey was a great loyalist, and had shown during the war that New. Zealand was loyal • to the • Crown and to the Empire. Mr Cox concluded 1 by stating that he thought that - out of this catastrophe and desola-v '■ -turn Mr Forbes might le’ad'tHe country ■ back; to .such a start*, of solidity and progress,, and the unemployed back to; such ' -prosperity that he would' be greeted as one of the great Prime Min-isters-of the country. (Applause.) ; In adding his, welcome to that of the mayor,,, Mr J. J. Marlow (deputy mayor) said that they were doubly pleased that the Prime Minister had been considerate enough to bring his wife and son with him on tour. It was yery pleasant to have the family associations. They - all . knew' that Mr Forbes’s path had not been strewn with roses, for he had taken charge of the country’s well-being,at a difficult time. It was recognised .that the Prime Minister appreciated criticism if it were constructive, biit .fortunately there would be no contentions matter _ discussed there that night'; his political friends and his political opponents were there as one to honour him as a statesman. They-were all proud of the position which he, a New Zealander, held, and they , were also proud'of the position their. Parliament held, due to the . high; standard of their leaders. Mr Forbes had had some extremely hard tasks to face, and, as it was a British privilege to grumble, he had met with criticism. But it was also a British trait to admire courage,':and he had never known anyone to question the .Prime Minister’s courage. Many men there were who would like to be known as “ Honest George Forbes.” (Applause.) V OTHER TRIBUTES. s Mr J. H. F. Hamel said that one reference made was that this function was irrespective of party, and while they could not s wholly eliminate the party system yet Mr Forbes had been able to destroy it for some years, and ' he did hot suppose anyone present, including their Labour friends, would want to see the party'system reverted to as they knew it. He thought the results of the National Party had been for the good of Parliament and the . dominion as a whole: When the proposal was made to form this National Party there were many individuals who said that Mr Forbes was going to ruin ■ New Zealand, but that feeling was not much in existence to-day. The speaker . said he thought that if a plebiscite were taken of the people in New Zealand as , to -who was best fitted to keep, the different .factions together in amity and unity for the good, of New Zealand, their worthy' Prime Minister would be the man chosen. They felt very grateful for what Mr Forbes had attempted and what he had done/ Difficulties, as they arose, were surmounted or en- - deavours were made to surmount them ■ ■ one by one. They were now convinced, • with bright times looming ahead, that Mr Forbes had done that which was best for the'dominion.: (Applause.)" Mr W. Dowhie Stewart, M.P., stated that he noticed present from ten to twelve ex-mayors of Dunedin, a fact which should communicate to Mr ' Forbes the warmth of the welcome that was being extended to him. Everyone knew that during the long strain of parliamentary work it was difficult for .; Cabinet Ministers to leave' Wellington and visit each individual electorate. It could be taken as a happy augury that the Prime Minister now found , the situation so much relieved that it was possible for him to leave headquarters on this southern tour. Even in normal times it was - often difficult to make these trips. In fact, he knew of : one Minister who had been known to state that'he was the best Minister who lever 1 controlled a department, his reason being that he never went out-of Wellington. (Laughter/ He said that if he did go out of Wellington he invariably met with many requests which seemed quite feasible; accordingly, when he returned and carried. into effect the promises he had made he ran the department into considerable expense. (Laughter.) The Prime Min--ister had shown his_ wisdom in coming ' to Otago, because in the province he would, get an interesting cross-section tm public opinion of the day. He thought, without bestowing undue praise on this part of the dominion, , that_ Dunedin could offer a .better reflection of public opinion than any other place in New Zealand. In Central Otagq Mr Forbes had heard a great deal about the bad effect of, late ' frosts on the fruit crops and had ; learned also about the fire pots and smoke screens that were used to com- ■ bat the trouble. Mr Stewart said he .thought the ..use of a political smoke-

screen—by way of a good exchange, not a “ high ” exchange (laughter)— weald be useful in checking the frosts or. “ freezes ” which often beset parliamentary discussions, /And, just as there was a geophysical survey there could well be a “ geo-political ” survey, by means of which it might be possible to gauge public opinion. (Laughter.) Mr Stewart concluded by saying that, though the Prime Minister and he had not agreed on certain political questions, he was glad to say these had not caused the slightest interference in their personal friendship. He hoped that when Mr Forbes next came to Otago he would stay a month and get the “ atmophere.” (/Applause and laughter.) CLEAN POLITICS. Mr -I. W. Munro, M.P., said that he joined the others in congratulating the Prime Minister on coming to Dunedin, and he, was sUre that Mr and Mrs Forbes felt that they were being entertained by'the citizens of no mean city. It was pleasing to know that the Prime Minister could at hist leave Wellington and visit this particular part of the country . He was- sure it had been an eye-opener ” and an education to him as far.', as he had gone. Although in a different political camp from the Prime Minister, he was sure that Mr Forbes had the respect of every member on the Opposition benches, and though they differed in the policy of the present Government as led by the Prime Minister they granted that they believed their policy was the right one. More than once, said Mr Munro, he had disabused the minds of some people that members of Cabinet “ feathered their own nests.” His experience in public life was that they had the cleanest .politics possible both in their national and local .politics. There were some who blamed Cabinet for present conditions, hut he honestly believed that it was carrying on in what it thought the best interests of the country. (Applause.) In conclusion, Mr Munro said he thought Mr Forbes must now realise that Dunedin and Otago was a very important part of Ney Zealand. MR FORBES REPLIES. “ -]lt is difficult to reply to speeches which have been delivered in such warm terms,” said Mr Forbes on rising in response. “I am sure I do not measure up to half the nice things that have been said of ,me. One has to make allowances for the feeling of friendship that has crept into the praise.” The Prime .Minister went on to say that last time he was here it was difficult for him to make himself heard, but he knew that the noise was due only to excitement and 'the desire to give expression to natural feelings. He had known he would get a friendly reception when he came back to Dunedin. The Scottish element was very strong hero indeed, and there was nobody more hospitable than the Scots. - The Prime Minister went on ,to say that he appreciated very much what his old friend and opponent, Mr Munro, had said. He Knew Mr Downie Stewart, and he had “ parted on the shore " ,011 one point, and nobody regretted '4tf more than he' (Mrl Forbes) did. MP' Stewart had held, to his opinions’sincerrily} and honestly, 'and he had continued to: give the Government the benefit of his - advice at all times. (Applause.)/ : He need hardly say that he appreciated that very much indeed. ■ Mr Forbes went bn to refer-to the possibilities mentioned by Dr Marsden in regard to gold mining in Central Otago. He had come down to see what the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was doing, and was much impressed with the scientific methods of tracing places where gold might be. He realised it was of much assistance to those w|io wished to develop the gold mining industry. In visiting Central Otago one could not but feel: a very great respect fori those miners of the past who had had great knowledge and experience of*where to look for gold, but did not have the aid of science to tell them if they were working the right place. By using' the system of geophysical survey they were able to five very much better information, here were fair possibilities in Central Otago for large-scale gold mining. There was the opportunity for employing a large amount of capital and for the employment of a good many men. If they could only induce those with large capital to try, out and test the information that could be supplied to them he thought there was a possibility that they might get a venture established. While he was at Homo he learnt that there was plenty of capital, in. Great Britain for investment in the gold mining business, but investors had had bitter experience as to unsound companies and wild-cat schemes. Jf sound, however, there was plenty of capital available for investment.- While he was at Home inquiries had been made regarding Central Otago, and he was hopeful that the capital would be available for the development of gold mining here. Going on to speak of unemployment, Mr Forbes said that it was sad to see so many men unable to find employment. They had not been used to it in New Zealand, and had never had any experience of such widespread unemployment as they had in the last three years.’ He thought the Government could take credit for facing the position as it did, for insead of going in for . borrowed money and setting uneconomic work in operation it had assisted the unemployed out of direct taxation. He believed the people of Dunedin recognised that that was the sound way to deal with the phase which they thought was a passing one. The 5 Public Debt was a very large one, and it was thought in regard to unemployment that they should carry the load themselves and not pass it on. It was a very big thing to ask people to provide £4,000,000 by direct .taxation to assist people out of work, and if they could overcome the unemployment situation it would be a very great achievement; but they could only do their best to develop the prosperity of the country. If that could be developed they would return to the conditions that prevailed prior to 1929. In Otago and Southland the possibilities of development were such as to help bring about this condition. He did not think there was any finer farming land in New Zealand or any that looked better at the present time than what he- had seen in Southland. Mr Forbes touched on New Zealand’s agricultural development, and also on the question of the application of a quota with respect to the dairying industry, That was one of the problems before them in the near future, and he hoped they would see a rise in the price of their dairying products. There was no country on winch the application of a quota would have more disastrous effects than it would have in New Zealand,' but he felt that on a test of quality New Zealand could hold its own with any other country, and they might win out by an improvement in this respect. That was a problem they would have to deal with if the low prices continued.

Continuing, Mr Forbes supported the remarks of Mr Munro in regard to the honesty and cleanness of New Zealand politics, stating that during his twenty-five years in Parliament he had not met one member who could be pointed out as having used his public office for his personal advantage. This was in line with the general standard of public morality in New Zealand, where the standard was very high. He was pleased to say that the same thing applied to school committees and other local bodies. The Prime Minister added that one did not like

to criticise the politics of a great country like America, but there was no doubt that over there one of their greatest problems was to get honest government. In light-hearted illustration of this, Mr Jforbes related the story of the mayor of an American city who, after being elected, stated that he “ owed everything to the people.” On the question of a Reserve Bank, Mr Forbes said he had been asked that day at a deputation why a New Zealander had not been .appointed to the position of governor. His reply was that there was no man in the dominion who had been trained in . Reserve Bank procedure and work, and that a Reserve Bank was different in many respects from a commercial bank. Of course, one would like to see a New Zealander at the head of the institution, and it might be that at the close of the first governor’s term a New Zealander might be appointed to the office.—(Applause.) It was possible that a New Zealander might be trained in the work in the interval, and it was his own view that a New Zealander could do just as well as people from any other part of the Empire, and they ought to do what they could to place New Zealanders in those positions.—(Applause.) In conclusion the Prime Minister expressed his confidence in the development of this section of the dominion and in the stimulus to business which would follow. He hoped they would be able to deal successfully with the problem of unemployment. *lf only he could see the time come when they would be able to overcome the unemployment difficulty no one would be more pleased than himself. It had been a nightmare throughout. There was no doubt there had been a great deal of hardship in the country, and they could never satisfy everyone, but they were doing their best to bring relief to a great many that needed it. (Applause.) The mayor proposed a vote of thanks to Mr Forbes for his resume of the Work of the Government, arid the Prime Minister’s health was then drunk with musical honours. During the evening, a most entertaining programme of musical items was given by the following:—Mr Rees M'Conachy (violin solo), Miss Gwenda Burt, Mr Arthur Lungley, and Miss Letty de .Clifford (vocal solos). Mr T. J. Kirk-Burnnand played the accompaniments in his usual efficient manner* ,