EARL HAIG.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 27 September 1924, Page 5

EARL HAIG.

DINNER BY DOMINION OFFICERS,

“FOR .GOODNESS SAKE, UNITE! ”

(Sydney Morning Herald.)

LONDON, Aug. 2. • A dinner party of peculiar interest and significance was given to FieldMarshal Eari Blaig at the Savoy Hotel last night byya party of oversea officers, who are now in London. Their greeting to: him, on meeting him again after the war, was enthusiastic, and they all urged 1 him to pay immediate visits to them in tfieir Dominions. The; parts of the Empire represented by the hosts were Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, India, Newfoundland, Rhodesia, and British Guiana. Major-General Sir Newton Moore (Australia), who presided, read, a telegram of hearty, greeting from, the Prince of Wales, patr.on of the British Empire Service League., The gathering (said the chairman) represented ■ the men of the various Dominions who served in the Great War. They saluted the Field-Marshal as a soldier with a soul—a soldier who might well have retired to private life after his service in the war, but a soldier who, on the contrary, was unwearied in his efforts for the welfare of the men who fought under him. ,

Major-General Sir Talbot Hobbs , (Australia), Captain Dix (Canada), Lieut.-Col. A. F. Roberts (New Zealand), and Colonel • Sir William Dalrymple (South Africa! supported the toast; They all said to the Field-Mar-shal, in different language, the same thing: “Come and see us, and let it be soon.” A They all assured him that as thein soldiers served- him with .devotion as their commander-in-chief in the war, so they would combine to give him a warm and devoted welcome if, and when, he visited them in, their Dominions.

Colonel Roberts extended him a very cordial invitation to include New Zealand in his tour, whether he went via Australia or via Canada. He added a word of praise regarding the League and ; its work, and he hoped that the organisation would extend throughout the Empire. The phrase “bonds of Empire” was frequently used, but the word “bonds” conveyed something unnecessarily binding and not sufficiently elastic—“bonds” were not necessary, for the people of the Empire came from one race and were of one blood, and they would be kept together by the Imperial spirit and the love of Empire.

Earl Haig, in his rhply, said: “I think this is the first time that a British Field-Marshal has received such an honour as this from officers of the oversea Dominions. This reception is not for me, I know, but in honour of the great British Empire Service. (Cries of ‘No, sir. It is you!’) When I look round this room and see so many distinguished officers who fought with me in the Avar it gives me a great deal of thought. jThe British Empire Service League held its conference last year. Since then it has developed still further. The number of men whom we are helping has increased. At the end of the- war 350,000-officers were on our books, seeking employment, and now there are only about 2500. Five million men were demobilised and only about 300,000 of them are now unemployed out of a million and a quarter of unemployed in the country. “It is impossible to continue the figure of 11 million men out of work in the country. It is demoralising them. I am no politician, but when I see that not a single ton of iron is being smelted in Scotland, and that no boys are being trained to become carpenters and joiners. I am dismayed. The whole country is being ruined by this infernal system of doles. We can bring pressure to bear on the Governments of the Empire which no other combination can bring, so I beg you to use all your influence, and play into each other’s hands. It is perfect stupidity to allow foreign- manufacturers to come in. America puts on a protective tariff, and'what is the result? She has all the gold in the world. For goodness sake, unite, and overlook the little things that divide us.” At the close of the dinner, the chairman paid a high tribute to the work of Captain Donald Simson, the hon. organising secretary of the league. New Zealanders present included Lieut.-Colonel A. A. Corrigan, Captain V. Crawshaw, and Mr O. R. Clark.