NATIONAL CELEBRATION

Evening Star, Issue 25564, 17 August 1945, Page 10

NATIONAL CELEBRATION

.MR AmEE'S WARM TRIBUTE TO DOMINION ADDRESSES BY GOVERNOR AND LEADERS RAIN AND COLD MAR OUTDOOR PROCEEDINGS (P.A.) WELLINGTON, August 16. The city presented a gloomy appearance this' morning under the rain, which, though light, had been fairly continuous all night. The weather caused the national celebration ceremony to be transferred from the Government Buildings to the Town Hall. The rain ceased well before the ceremony, but there "was a keen southerly. The Town Hall was packed and hundreds waited outside to hear the speeches via loud speakers. In contrast to yesterday, few people were parading the streets owing to the chilly weather. CONQUEST JUST ESCAPED. " Now that the announcement of Japan's surrender has the authority of truth, we meet together to celebrate in humble thanksgiving the end of the war throughout the world," said the. Governor-General, Sir Cyril Newall, speaking at the national celebration. "Let us never forget that we, the British Empire, together with all our Allies, faced extermination, or, at best, conquest by ruthless nations who were determined to impose their will upon all our free peo'ples by force. Victory has been won at last. We have -won by a team spirit, both within the Empire and together with our great Allies; by the endurance and fortitude of the men and women of the lighting services and the merchant navies—to all of whom we owe undying gratitude. We have won by the united labours of all our peoiples, making the fullest use of our industrial, technical, and scientific resources, and by the courage and vision of our leaders'. Despite bombs, rockets, and human destruction, weary and battered, we have never lost hope nor wavered in our conviction that we were right to resist the arrogant assaults of those who would destroy our civilised way of life, and who would ignominously enslave us. "To-day, therefore, with thanksgiving and full hearts, we rejoice everywhere in the final defeat of the Japanese enemy, and in the happy knowledge that the world is freed from evil aggression. Six years of bitter conflict have left a black trail of suffering. A world shortage of food is acute. Throughout the war New Zealand's contribution to victory has been both generous and outstanding, and I feel that New Zealand will surely contribute magnificently in the cause of humanity. "We have learned what can be achieved by unity of purpose and common endeavour in defeating evil. Let us go forward in that spirit of unity and tolerance to make ourselves, our homes, our nation, and the world worthy of those who have died in order t«> save us and to preserve our civilisation, 'in thought, faith, in word, wisdom, in deed, courage, in

, .t'isdom, ... ~ .- ,ge, life and service.' May God bless New Zealand." The Rt. Hon. P. Fraser said he had received a message from Mr' Attlee which said in a much better way what he himself had intended to say concerning what was in New Zealanders' hearts. He read the message: " The victory in Europe has been speedily followed by the surrender of the last of our foes. On behalf of the Government and people of this country, 1 send this message of congratulation to our kinsfolk in New Zealand. Our hearts have gone out to the people of the Dominion in the anxieties which have so long beset them, and to-day we join with them in rejoicing and thanksgiving for victory. New Zealand was with us from the moment when, nearly six years ago, war was loosed upon the world, and in many widely-separated theatres 6f war her sons have added lustre to her name. Their feats of arms, whether on distant seas or the European and African continents, or in the air warfare, are the admiration of the world, and worthily compare with those of that earlier generation when, in 'the furnace of conflict, New Zealand proved her title to nationhood. We Kail also the work of all those who in field or workshop have contributed the material resources without which human effort would be powerless to conquer. Through the long years of toil New Zealand has never failed to provide of her best in all that lay within her power. We are now called to finish the work so well begun; to build a new world whence the scourge of war and the fear of aggression have been removed; to repair the devastation which these years have brought in their train; and to open up a prospect of hope to all those who still sit in darkness. In all these efforts we know that we can count on the willing partnership and unfailing help of New Zealand. From all our hearts we thank yon." Mr Fraser said he could add little to Mr Attlee's appreciation of New Zealand's war effort, which ranked with Mr Churchill's oft-repeated sentence that New Zealand had never set a foot wrong in this war. These two men, who had been comrades in the British War Cabinet, had joined in their praises of New Zealand's war achievements. Mr Eraser's references to Mr Churchill were twice interrupted by loud applause, as was his mention of the late President Roosevelt, whom he described as a great war leader, co-equal with Mr Churchill. New Zealand's war effort, said Mr Fraser, had been praised not only in the Mother Country, but in every country where men and women drew the breath of freedom. We had fought the good fight and kept the faith—faith in the four freedoms for which we had fought. We had now to see that the dead had not died in vain, and that the four freedoms were maintained in the world of the future. MR FRASER'S FINE LEADERSHIP. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr Holland, extended to the Prime Minister, on behalf of the people of New Zealand, thanks for the way in which he had led the country during the war and for the way in .which he had organised the war effort, of which all could feel justly proud. All hearts were filled with admiration for the servicemen and nurses all over the j world who, by their sacrifices, had made this great day possible. As one ' who had seen some of the results of ' the methods the aggressors had tried to impose on the world, his heart was fuller than ever with gratitude to those who had made victory possible. They had never failed us, and now it ■ was our turn to ensure that we so organised the future that we would always be able to face them feeling that we had not failed them. Through six years of war the people had foregone much of their freedom an d many

of their rights. Those days were happily ended, and all hearts were filled with gratiutde to the one man amongst all men to whom we owed a debt we could never repay—Winston Churchill (applause)—whose leadership, example, and inspiration had gathered the Empire together in a wax ln which it'had never been gathered before. Yesterday a. black chapter in the world's history had been closed. To-day the door of opportunity was open. In the hour of victory and rejoicing the people of New Zealand should make sure, and resolve with the same singleness of purpose and will to win that they had shown during the past six years, to apply themselves to the problems which lay ahead, and to build on the ashes of the past a brighter and happier world. (Mr E. T. Tirikatene, M.P., speaking on . behalf of the Maori people, said His Excellency exemplified the bulldog British spirit, for he was participating in this thanksgiving function despite the fact that he was suffering from two cracked ribs—an injury sustained during his recent visit to his Island peoples