THE LORD MAYOR'S BANQUET.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLII, Issue 1019, 12 November 1917, Page 3

THE LORD MAYOR'S BANQUET.

SPEECHES BY BONAR LAW AND SIR ERIC GEDDES. THE ONE FIGHTING FRONT. A QUESTION OF NERVE AND STAYING POWER. (Br Elf.ctiuc Telegraph—Copyuight.) i (fBB Phiss Association.) _ # j Australian-New ZeoJnnd C'ablo Association. LONDON. Nov. 10. The Guildhall banquet was attended by 400 guests anil was- of modest proportions as regards the food. Replying to the toast oi the Imperial Forces, Sir Erie Geddcs declared that on all ques'iions hi broad naval strategy there were ii complete agrcementvbetween the Admiralty ami i lie commanders of tiic great navies afloat. Submariuism was not defeated, but at present it was held in check and would finally be defeated. I Mr lionar Law proceeded to pay a great tribute to the Dominions' troops, to whom Englishmen never grudged: any praise, but the Germans allege that we had left all the hard fighting to the Dominion forces. None knew better than the men from the Dominions that nothing they had done had not been equalled by the deeds of their British comrades. Reviewing the genera] military situation, be emphasised that Germany had secured the complete control of the armies of her allies. Such control had not existed, and could not exist to the same extent, among our allies, because we were a league of free peoples, but JP'step had just been taken which would make our j co-operation closer to-day than it had | ever been. The Allied .Military Stall', which France, Britain, and Italy had created, would sit permanently to study military problems as a whole, and as a result of its creation the whole front from the Channel to the Adriatic would in the future be treated as one. lie refused tO> prophecy regarding Italy. but believed the Italians were able to hold the enemy until aid came from her Western Allies. He thought that the German attack on Italy was partly to divide the Allies, and partly to keep up the spirits of-the German people. but Germany could never win the war until she had defeated the Franco-Bri-tish armies in the West. He saw no prospect of an early peace, which was now a question of nerve and staying IKiwer. All the belligerents staggered beneath, their load, and it was a question of who was going to fail, lie knew the hearts of our soldiers and sailors, and those of our Allies would not fail them. (Cheers.) LONDON, Nov. ',). There was tine weather for the Lord .Mavor's pageant, which was one of the best on record, and of an entirely military character. Detachments of. Australians and New Zcalandcrs participated.