“AMONG FRIENDS”

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12357, 29 January 1926, Page 7

“AMONG FRIENDS”

LORD AND LADY ALLENBY WECOMED TO WELLINGTON LARGE CROWD AT TOWN HALL “WANT TO SEE THE LAND WHERE HEROES ARE BRED” llllllllllllllllMllllllllllllllllltlllllllllllilllllllllllllilllillllllllM

Many months have elapsed since the people of Wellington have demonstrated in sucn a marked degree their pleasure at welcoming a distinguished visitor as they did yesterday, when Lord and Lady AUenby were reoeived and accorded the honours of the city. The huge crowd at the Town Hall rose in a body, and cheered them to the echo, and during the speeches of welcome displayed the keenest enthusiasm in showing the guests the hospitality of the New Zealander.

By his deeds' in the field, and by his equitable administration in Egypt, Lord AUenby gained for himself the honour of his Fellows and the respect and admiration of his men. He was yesterday described as. a war hero, and a son of Empire, tribute being paid to the part he had played in cementing the various units in the community of nations—the British Empire. He, in turn, expressed the feelings that while in New Zealand he was indeed among friends, and complimented the Dominion upon its loyalty to the Motherland. Such ’a land, he said, should breed heroes, and history proved that it had done so. In addition to the Mayor (Mr C. J. B. Norwood) there were present at the function many distinguished citizens, including several Cabinet Ministers, members of the Supreme Court bench, the City Council, and public institutions.

The Minister for Defence (Hon. J. C. Rolleston) made his first public appearance, and was accorded an ovation, while the Minister for Health (Hon J. A. Young), Sir James Part, and Sir Joseph Ward were also an the platform. _

“EMPIRE’S GREATEST MEN” In tendering to Lord and Lady AUenby the honours of the city, the Mayor said that no public duty had hitherto given him such pleasure as to wish them a happy holiday during their sojourn in the Dominion. “This is not the time or the place,” he continued, “to rehearse the great achievements of our guest. I must say, however, we honour him to-day as one bf the Empire's greatest men. (Applause.) He is one who rose superior to the occasion when his country was in most need, and one who was entrusted with momentous task, and one upon whose judgment so many lives would depend, both friend and foe. The wide world is indebted to Lord AUenby for the broad vision and conspicuous wisdom displayed by him in carrying out this gigantic trust. ■“Thanks to the excellent Press in

this country, and elsewhere, we in this far-off part of the British Empire, have been able to look on at the world’s events from day to day, and we know our guest not only as the Empire’s greatest cavalry leader and conqueror of Palestine and Syria, but also as a wise and capable administrator in the position of High Commissioner in Egypt since the war. In this capacity our guest has made a substantial contribution to the prestige of our dear old Mother Country. It is praiseworthy, and we' congratulate our guest upon the esteem. in which he is held by all the Allied Powers, all of whom have conferred upon him the highest honours that their respective countries can bestow upon the subject of a foreign country for distinguished service*. , LADY ALLENBY PRAISED “Before concluding, I would like to add a word of praise to Lady AUenby, who has we known, given up comforts of her home to support her gallant husband, and devoted herself to alleviate the pain and suffering of the sick and wounded under the most difficult and trying conditions, and I am sure every mother heart’ is full of love and gratefulness to Lady AUenby' for this unselfish devotion. “I trust that our guests, when the time comes to depart from our happy little country, will take away with them pleasant recollections of the happy times spent under the Southern Cross.”

BIBLICAL HISTORY REVIVED The Minister .for Defence (Hon. J. C. Rolleston) wis given a rousing reception upon rising to speak, this being his first public appearance since his ascension to portfolio rank. The wel-

come to Lord and Lady Allenby would, he said, be all the heartier because of tho fact that it was under Lord AUenby that the New Zealand troops had served in Palestine. “I suspect,” he continued, “that his chief object in visiting these shores is to see for himself what sort of a country it is whiob produces such men as those who fought so well during the war. We are indebted to the great generals of the war, hut particularly to Lord AUenby, for he was responsible in brushing up our Biblical history. (Laughter.) Since the campaign in Palatine nil these names have assumed an entirely new meaning for us. . . We are thankful for his services.” (Applause.) ARMY AND THE LAW Sir Robert Stout, Chief Justice, who also received a pleasing reception, said he spoke as one not in the military camp. “So far as the law is concerned," he .went on, “there is supposed to be

a big difference between the lawyer and the military man—one is said to be a man of war and the other a man of peace—hut I find that lawyers are usually fond of fighting. What struck me most in the career of Lord AUenby was not his great generalship, nor his splendid administration in Egypt. We have all admired his commonsense.”

The speaker dwelt upon the importance of maintaining a strong army for the preservation of national independence. War had not yet ceased, and would not do so for generations. War had been waged since the beginning of humanity, and would oontinue through the ages. “But we are fighting for truth and justice, and not for mere conbuest,” he declared. “We showed in the last war. that we were fighting for justice, and not for the purpose of depriving other nations cf their property. . . Let us remember these heroes for what they have done, not only for Britain alone, hut for humanity. After all New Zealand is a chip -off the old block. We are Britishers in thought and action.” (Applause.) A HAPPY CHOICE

Councillor H. D. Bennett also added his felicitations to the guests, and expressed the opinion that it was to men of the stamp of Lord Allenby that Britain owed her incomparable position at the present day. The freedqm of tie Dominion would be tijeirs from one end to the other. ~ Mr W. Pascoe spoke briefly cn behalt of the R.S.A., and recalled the fret that Lord Allenby had always given credit to the man beneath him for what had been done. When be left England, England must have said: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” (Applause.) Prolonged clieers and applause greeted Lord Allenby as he rose to speak. Then the great gathering rose in a body, and sang “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow,” again cheering the popular general and Lady Allenby. “I feel that we stand here among friends,” began Lord AUenby, when thanking the speakers for the welcome expressed, and the people for ’lie expressive reception accorded Lady AUenby and himself. “Lady Allenby and I have done a good deal of work together during the past eight or ten years, and at the end of my period in Egypt we agreed that we would have a tour. She suggested that we should go to that great Dominion where we could meet some of those who fought with me in. tho Great War—men of <ftir own kith and kin—and where we could learn more of the great Empire to which we belong. I feel now, and have felt during the short time I have been in New Zealand that she was right in Her choice. (Applause.) WHERE HEROES ARE BRED “It has been suggested that I have come here to see what the land is like. I have only been here 30 hours, and I say that it is a land that should breed heroes—and history has taught that it does breed heroes. In fact, I have never seen such a fine specimen of the hero-growing country than this. (Laughter.) These heroes are worthy of the Motherland, and the Motherland is worthy of them. I feel that you are going to go on turning out men of this stamp. This country is destined by Providence to be a mighty nation and to hold her own as a unit of the great British Empire. They are bound together by the conflict they have been through, and this has taught the Dominions what they owe to the Motherland; it has taught the Motherland what she owes to the Dominions, and it has also taught the Dominions what they owe to each other. I have found this sentiment dominating in all the Dominions I have visited —the same feeling and the same spirit Here as exists in other parts of the Empire. EXPERIENCE OF THE PAST “It is always New Zealand first with you, of course; hut there is a feeling that you are,equally a part of the community of nations that make the Empire. The Dominions are like the old story of the bundle of sticks — strong in unity, hut weak individually. “Here we have the experience of the past to go on, and we will learn by the example of those who preceded us to avoid all that is bad, and follow all that is good, so that we may profit by it. Experience has to be bought, and I feel that we hav-e bought ours cheaply—somewhat below market value.

Profiting by the examples of those who went before, we should achieve even greater things. “Strength always has friends, and weakness always has enemies. To be strong we must be strong in uprightness and straightforwardness. This our Empire has always been, and always will be.” (Applause.) Lord and Lady Allenby were again cheered as they left the hall. THE GUESTS ENTERTAINED After the reception, Lord and Lady Allenby were entertained at luncheon by the Government, and in the afternoon were conducted on an observation tour of the city and its precincts. This evening they will attend a function at the R.S.A., and will later cross Cook Strait for the South Island, there to visit the Dunedin Exhibition. They will visit the cadet camp at Trentham to-day,