DUTCH MINISTERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 May 1941, Page 2

DUTCH MINISTERS

WELCOME AT WELLINGTON. WELLINGTON, May 20. Now Zealand’s appreciation of the action of the Netherlands Government in placing the motor-ship Oranje at the disposal of the New Zealand and Australian Governments for use as a hospital ship was _ expressed by the Acting-Prime Minister (Mr. Nash) at a luncheon given by the Government in honour of the Netherlands Ministers (Messrs E. N. van Kieffens and C. J. I. M. Welter), visiting the Dominion. It was revealed by Mr. Nash that the staffing of the hospital ship had been undertaken by the Netherlands authorities, and that all the New Zealand and Australian Governments would have on the ship would be liaison officers.

The functiqn was attended by a representative gathering which included Ministers of the Crown, members of the House of Representatives and the Legislative Council, local bodies, heads of State departments and the armed forces, and representatives of the churches and professions, and of trade and industry. A cordial welcome was extended by Mr. Nash to the visiting Ministers and members of their staff, Count van Rechteren, counsellor to the Dutch Legation in Washington, Mr. W. Peekema, head of the legal division of. the Dutch Colonial Office, and Dr. F. L. Rutgers, deputy-chief of the economic division of the Colonial Office. Mr. Nash said they had met to do honour to the I 'representatives of a great country, Holland. He recalled that he had visited The Hague in 1937, and there met Mr. Welter. * m all fields which are international, Holland has made contributions,” said Mr. Nash. “The parliamentary system in Holland has a history, it is one of the most stable monarchies in the world, comparing in stability with that of England. The Dutch people are essentially democratic and arc in this war, in this struggle, for values that the Netherlands people, no less than the British people, hold dear. The democratic attitude of the people of Holland is going to be one of the great factors in winning the war, tor wars are not only won with men and machines, raw materials and navies; they are won by attitudes of mind, by human qualities, and it is in these human qualities that the Dutch people excel, and it is here, when the time comes, that the world will know that the Dutch people again bv their inherent qualities have helped to throw off the foreign oppressor.” >

WILL SHARE BURDEN. Replying on behalf of Mr. Wolter and himself, Mr. Van Kieffens expressed his appreciation of the cordial welcome they had received m New Zealand. It was Zeeland in Holland that gave its name tff this part of the world. If New Zealanders could visit that province in Holland they would find a race of hardy seafarers and a great many of those qualities common to the people of this country. Their alliance with the British people did not rest on a written document, nor was it borne ol the conference table, but it was based.on spiritual needs and for the upholding of good faith and those things common to the peoples of the two countries. They were in Now Zealand to bring a message of goodwill from their countrymen. “We have also come here to tell you that we are ready to share along with you any burden that may fall to our common lot to carry in the south-western Pacific,” said Mr. van Kieffens.

Mr. van Kieffens mentioned that he had met the Prime Minister (Mr. Fraser) at Sourabaya, and they all rejoiced that when Mr. Fraser’s aeroplane had been, shot at by Seyyid Rashid Ali his bullets had missed and that Mr. Fraser had escaped unscathed and unhurt. He had complimented Mr. Fraser on the magnificent whr effort of this country, and had said to 'him that it would be difficult to find a country that in proportion to its size was doing more to bring the war to a successful conclusion, as it would assuredly come to. Mr. van Kieffens and Mr. Wolter will leave Wellington to-morrow to see some of the scenic beauties of the North Islahd.