NEW ZEALANDERS AND THE WAR.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 9 March 1918, Page 5

NEW ZEALANDERS AND THE WAR.

SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER

OUR FLAG AT SAMOA

GERMAN DANGER TO BE AVOIDED.

■ In. the.course of an address at a meetmg m AVellington on Tuesday evenST ■ the Prime Minister (Right Hon. W #. Massey) made some important refer. ences to New ZealaA share in th* w«r, to the approachfftS ng of W j Imperial War Cabinef and & (^ ' thTi4^ ossessions in tKe Pacific > «*» I "The Prime Minister, in the course of I -ins lemarks, alluded to several strikingincidents connected with his recent visit to England when attending the Imperial SSwTT- + ? 6 was>>said, much impressed by the service in St. Paul's Cathedra , to celebrate the coming to! ! gether of the United States and Gre^t ' ±Jntam m the groat struggle for frecilZT 1 ? Vil\*™™- Helen thought, wnat a splendid thing it was that, after such a long separation, the two Eng-lish-speaking nations should now ft> united, not in^ a^ fight for any selfish interests, although it would probably re-' suit in good also for both peoples, but t woud certainly b e for the benefit of humanity and for the good of the **rlcL IJe opinion had been expressed that the two countnes would come very much closer together m the future. The pe£ - pie of each nation were satisfied witk . their own form of government . MONARCHY THE KEYSTONE OF THE EMPIRE. He was strongly of opinion that whatever was going to happen in the future ; —and he believed tne British Empire nould last for all time-the monarchy , wa s the keystone of the Empire. (ApIS^'l Present had met-to co£ gratulate Mr Luke on the fact that he was now member for Wellington North Ibey were not there to gloat over their victory or over the defeat of their opponents, because they .were true sports therefore they could tak e their victory without being unduly elated, and even it dereated they would have accepted the verdict in the proper spirit. As head of the National Government he heartily thanked all those who had-sup-ported Mr Luke and contributed to his J success. He also wanted to,take that opportunity of thanking the Welline- ! ten newspapers—the Dominion and the j Evening Post—for the invaluable work [ —the yeoman's- service they had rerj dered in calling the attention of the electors to the real issue before them. Ihose two newspapers kept the issue clearly before the people, and he believ ed that that in itself had gone a-lon'w-way towards ensuring success. The cause of much of the trouble had been the side issues that wero being continually raised by all classes of people, which ] obscure the real issue. During the contest he could never forget what was happening on the other side of the world—on the battle-front in France and in the other theatres of war. / EVE OF THE GREATEST BATTLE. We were now on the eve of the greatest battle the world had ever seen. That tremendous struggle might be com. menced a week hence or at any minute" or it night have begun already. It was a battle on which the fate of the Em- | pire—indeed the fate of civilisation itse|f~might depend. It was a battle in which the British troops would take a prominent part, as they had done since the start of the war. It was a battle in which the people of New Zealand were particularly interested, because the soldiers of New Zealand would be there We knew that, and therefore we were intensely concerned in wkaty.was [ happening. We all of us had aouWi'dea, of what the battle would be. It might not be the decisive final battle, but whether it was so or not he was sure— as he was certain they all were—that British pluck, doggedness arid determination would, with the co-operation of our powerful and brave allies, win in the end. Much depended on Great Britain and her troops, including those of the Dominions. The war might he prolonged—and that was a thought he could never get rid of—it might be prolonged for a considerable time to , come; and, if so, it would be only the determination of the British people that I was going to see it through. Such j thoughts as those must be in the minds of most of us. WHAT A GERMAN VICTOR! WOULD MEAN. Referring to the election which took place last week, the Prime Minister asked, in view of the national crisis, what it mattered whether a man was a prohibitionist or whether he took the other side of that question, or wheher he believed in a three-fifths majority? What did it matter so long as he could be de_ pended upon to stand by the Empire in its win-the-war policy? He believed that New Zealanders knew what a German victory would mean to us. Although far distant from Great Britain, New Zealand was just as much a part of the Empire as territory nearer *Home. The suggestion had been made that Germany did not trouble much about what was happening in this part of the world. What about the mines that had already been discovered on the coast of. New Zealand? Seven mines had already been found off Cape Farewell.? He did not know how .many more there might be, or whether we had found them all. All he knew was that we had been able to pick up seven mines. Did anyone imagine, that these mines were laid by a coasting vessel or by a neutral vessel? He.did not 'know who laid them ? but he knew this: that,the mines were made in the northern hemisphere. They were engines of destruction intended for war . purposes; and we had been particularly fortunate in discovering them before .losing more ships than that vessel wbiKh now lay at the bottom of the sea. That was a proof that Germany took an interest in New Zealand. Thatwas an indication to us that each and everyone of us should endeavor to do> our full share in the war. He did not think we would fail in that respectNEW ZEALAND'S SOLDD3RS. The Prime Minister then referred in feeling terms to those soldiers from New Zealand who have made the supreme encrifice and to the men still fighting brnvely in the trenches. "The peopleof New Zealand," he added with great, emphasis, "will not break faith with them. We are not going to let them , down or go back upon them." (Ap- . plause). j THE IMPERIAL WARCABINET. j Speaking of the approaching meeting : of the Imperial War Cabinet and Imperial Conference, the Prime Minister I remarked that if he went to England it j would only be from a sense of duty. If 1 Jhc had his choice he would rather stay in New Zealand. He would, however,. ,go wherever duty called. If Parlia- . ment decided that be and his colleague. J should go to England to attend the Im j penal War Cabinet, they would go; it' however. Parliament said they should ! sta-v here, then they would stay. Mr I Massey then referred to tbe work do;_& I at tho last meeting of the Imperial War Cabinet, and to the important questions still to he decided, affecting t\i& future of the Empire. GERMANY'S PACIFIC ISLAND POSSESSIONS. The Prime Minister next touoVd on the question of Germany's possesions ins

the Pacific. "Do not," he said, "imagine for a moment that we are anxious about these islands because they are fertile and valuable. That is not the question. 1% is not the fertility and productiveness of those islands that we care so much about. It is because Samoa is the key to the South Pacific. If those islands pass back to Germany they will become the headquarters of a German fleet in the Pacific; J^id a wireless station will be'established there. Probably submarines -will also be located there, those islands will become the centre for German operations in the Pacific. ' It would beremembered'that when the war broke out, the lights had to be extinguished on our coasts owing to the presence of pdwerful German cruisers m thc.se waters. AYe had in the future to keep the* Germans at a distance, if we could possibly do so He then alluded to the efforts of Sir George Grey, Sir Robert Stout, and Mr Seddon to get the Imperial authorities to take over these islands. It had been the desire *of the , natives to come ■■under the British flag. "The British ilas' was carried a\yay from Samoa in 1889," said the Prime Minister in conclusion, "and two thous_ and New Zealand boys earned it back in the month of September, 1914. and our flag was again ■ hoisted .there; and my opinion and my hope, is that when the British flag was carried back by our New Zealand lads it went back to stay. (Loud applause.)