THAT FAIR DOMINION.”

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 25 July 1925, Page 11

THAT FAIR DOMINION.”

EARL JELLICOE ON NEM 7 ZEALAND SPEECH TO OVERSEAS CLUB. “Believing the British Empire to stand for justice, freedom,' order and good government, we pledge ourselves, as citizens of the British Commonwealth of Nations, to maintain the heritage handed down to us by our fathers.” . That is flip members’ creed of the Overseas League, a sentiment which Earl Jeliiooe claims is woven into the national life of New Zealand. Our former Governor-General, when he was entertained . by the league in .April last, spoke earnestly, and longingly of his association with the Dominion. summary of his remarks Was. cabled at the time, but they warrant reprinting in full.

Lord dellicoe said : We left that fair dominion of New Zealand, witn the deepest possible regret. That regret comes from the fact that during tne time we spent there, rattier more train four very happy years, we "ere met wherever we went with the most .openhearted kindness, tire greatest greuwiu, and every possible symptom and evidence of cordiality; and my successor, from whom I have recently heard, teles me that exactly the sam© goou teeiing and cordiality have .been extended to him. He tells me, too, how happy he is in that beautiful dominion. Anybody who has visited New Zealand, and remained there for any length of time, would be surprised to hear of any Englishman going out there and tilling the post which 1 had the honour to occupy -or, indeed, any Englishman going out there at all —and leaving that iair land without the same deep regret with which Lady Jeliiooe and I left it— a regret which was shared equally by our children, and expressed by them in the lew words which they said wneu we got to Tilbury: “Let u s get on board that ship going out again and go home to New Zealand.”

Naturally, coming home to our relations and friends has given us pleasure, but even that pleasure is overshadowed bv the regret widen, we leli at leaving New Zealand, and has been entirely marred to us by tne very sad news of Mr. Massey’s ii.ness. Mr. Massey, who has been my right hand during the wlio.e of my period of otuce in New Zealand, is a man who, of all other Englishmen that I know, embodies in his mind the Members’ Creed of the Over-Seas League, i do not believe there is an Englishman living who thinks more of tne Empire and the Empire’s good, and the great heritage which has been handed down to us by our forefathers, than did the Prime Minister of New Zealand When returning, from New Zealand one is apt to make comparisons between the England and the New Zeaiand oi to-day. We rind certain similarities between the two countries. We have re-cent-ly been hunting lor a hou.se in Hampshire and .Sussex. Me rind the same perversity of the men in charge of slow traffic in keeping persistency to the wrong side or the road as we found in New Zealand. Me rind the Mime discussion going on. in the Press as to whether headlights should be dimmed or not as we found in the Press of New Zealand, and we. find — at least I found yesterday —the same necessity for holding on to my.hat in Trafalgar Square as one rinds in the streets of windy Mellington. Those similarities come to one’s mind very forcibly. There are points of difference though, too, which came to my mind particularly in passing through the streets of London. In New Zealand we have a law that no street is to he less than Gif feet wide without an Order in Council signed by the Governor-General, If only our forefathers in England had been as farsighted as were the early settlers in New Zealand, one would not be late for Over-Seas League luncheons as we were this afternoon. Another difference which we notice is that in England vou get occasional sunshine, whereas in New Zealand you get continuous sunshine. That is 'a thing which has struck us very forcibly indeed during the last few clays. Again, in New Zealand oeople are very full of tlieir pride of race, but there is a tendency in England, to run down everything British. I have olten noticed it, ev/en before I went to New Zealand, that Englishmen think that other nations are better than them-elves—at least, they say so, I do not think they really do mean it: hut if you read the papers vou gain that impression—that everything is good which is not British, and nothing that is British is really good. The British people criticise themselves more than anybody else does, and'they have everything that is good to say of other peopi© and other customs. In New Zealand they say of themselves that they are more British than

the British, and I believe it is perfectly true, because, in the first place, something well over 9(1 per cent, of the people or New Zealand are of true British descent. I do not think you can say that of the peopie in England at the present time. Naturally, therefore, the people of New Zealand think Imperially. They have realised to the full what it means to themselves and to the Empire if the Empire holds together. . They are true Members of the Over-Seas League, because they believe the Members' Creed, although they may not even know what it is. , it is in the hearts of the New Zealanders just as much as it is in the heart of their ■ Prime .Minister; it is one of their principal characteristics.'. They realise that their existence—certainly (their pi-ospent/y—de-pends entirely'upon the surety of the sea communications of the Empire. An this country jt is hot only the pros peritv of the people which depends upon the safety of the. Empire sea communications; it is their very'existence. It is Leagues such as this which do, I think,, so much to bring to people’s minds what the Empire stands tor, and what is necessary to keep the Empire together. The Ovor-Seas League stands first of all for comradeship between the peoples of the Empire. Com. radeship nowadays-is wanted more tshan it ever was wanted before. People coming to the Old Country from the Overseas Dominions have held out to them by the Over-Seas League what is very much needed —the hand of welcome. That welcome Is. very fully returned, as I have good reason to know, to anybody who leaves this country*, and goes to the Overseas Dominions. They are received • with open’ arms. There is an interdependence between the Mother Country and the Overseas Dominions, the importance, of' which can never be too greatly, emphasised. In the war we recall to ourselves what the Dominions did in assisting the Mother Country. M r e think of the-men they sent to the battlefields of the-Em-pire. M T e think of what would have been our fat© if the Dominions had Hot been able, to send, us food, -had’/not been able to send ns wool, and theirproduce generally; and in the future the Dominions have got, I think, to do more than that. In the-straitened/ financial condition of the hid country* the Dominions hav© to help, and they, are doing a great deal, -to -support the British Navy. The great Australian Commonwealth has jusi launched a programme which will be of real assistance to the Admiralty in maintaining the freedom of th e seas. New Zealand. is following suit, by taking upon itself the maintenaiicereofN’aC keeond light cruiser.. As those Dominions, increase iu population and wealth they will, I feel quite sure, do : more -and more to help the old country maintain the safety of. the - overseas communications. which 'is .absolutely^'esse n tin h&to the existence of the Empire.

I suppose the most important matter for consideration, both by the Mother Country and by the Overseas Dominions at the present time,. i&jtho question of overseas settlement. If anybody can further good schemes of overseas settlement he will doing immense service to the whole British Umpire, It is a very complex question, fraught with difficulties. Of ' all the schemes which are in the process of being worked at the present - time X suppose there are none which, have greater possiblities in them than those schemes which send out young boys and young men to the Overseas Dominions It was liiy, privilege • to. see something o f the bens coming out to New Zealand, particularly those under what is known as the Flock. House scheme If all the l>oys sent out from r!>ent Britain are of the type of the Flock House hoys, then I feel quite certain that thev will do exceedingly-. weU in New Zealand and’ hr other Dominions. They will be a credit to th" obi country and thevi will be a great support to the Empire in the future. Leagues such as the Ove—Sens League ' he'ln a great deal in that direction, and I wish the schemes all success.