PEACE AND POLITICIANS

NZ Truth, Issue 685, 27 July 1918, Page 1

PEACE AND POLITICIANS

Massey's Mouthiags aed Ward's Wanderings

Since the arrival m England of the ' Right Honorable W. F. Massey, P. 0., ■and Sir Joseph Ward, Bart., the polipair who , are New Zealand's representatives at the Imperial Conference and War Cabinet, the public have oeen regaled with cabled accounts of ttie sayings and doings of the pair, &nd the surprising feature of the Whole business is the exceedingly large number of dinners and banquets kt which the political "twins" have been the lion guests. The publio dinner has long been one of the institutions or customs . of England, and has been more or less adopted m British oversea dominions. These dinners ■erve useful purposes, because it'generally follows that the freer thejflow of wine, the fuller the speeches of the imblio men who are gehenUly Invited; In foot, for whose special delectation the dinner* or "guzzles" are given; It Is a fact that on many occasions; In the history of England and m the history of any. country where it is the oustom to honor or lionise public men or visitors by giving them dinners and plying therqj with ( ,wine, that many indiscreet.' ut.tffcanc£Js- have , been made, and when'at somo later stage the pub-' lie man or. visitor has been called upon to explain Just exactly what he meant, the dinner or the wine has been made the excuse for the indiscretion. Of course, we must not be taken as inferring that the special "guzzles" at which our pair of leading politicians have been the "stars" have had the effect of loosening their tongues, but the fact does remain that the cables have reported some utterances made by Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward, .which Beem to call for some explanation, or, possibly, amplification. -" ■ . • ■ #' • Indeed, it seems only fair to say that the chief offender is Sir Joseph Ward, \ because of late, if we can place any re- \ liance on the cables which have appear\i ed m the daily newspapers, Sir Joseph Ward has been having all the say, while m the main Mr. Massey seems to have contented himself with playing the role of commercial traveller, his leading lines being- the produce of Nbw Zealand. Perhaps, too, Mr. Massey has been more discreet than Sir Joseph Ward, and has taken special t/ains not to say too much, or, rather, has refrained from publicly saying things about which the people of New Zealand will demand some explanation. It might also be put forth as a reason that the Prime Minister is^saying, or has said, all that should be said on behalf of New Zealand at the various conferences which have been held, at which some time ago Mr. Massey hastened to assure us, he, and not Sir Joseph Ward, would have the say and so all the voting. This is a matter which we think ought to be made perfectly clear to the people of New Zealand, who have wondered and asked why it was necessary that both Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward should brave the i perils of the sea to attend the gather- j Ings of the Imperialistic politicians of the British Empire. • Since his arrival In London Mr. Massey is reported to have said that only the Prime Ministers of the overseas Dominions would attend and vote at the meetings of the War Cabinets, and from this we can assume that Mr. Massey was asserting his rights as Prime Minister and making it perfectly plain that he, and not Sir Joseph Ward, was Prime Minister of the loyal and .little. Dominion of New Zealand. The nolnt that we wish to make is, that.it seems perfectly clear that after all there was no need for Sir Joseph Ward to have left New Zealand, because, when it came to the counting of noses at the Imperial Conferences and Cabinet gatherings, Sir Joseph Ward was Just seen and heard. „ «t * • We are aware that a summary of the proceedings of these conferences have been published m New Zealand, but like all summaries of important matters much is suppressed, and it is extremely unlikely that at any time m the future will a verbatim report of the utterances of the Imperialists who spoke at these conferences be published. 'It?amopTiW##XW^ ..■• ' these gathoringS',New Zealand, like all overseas dominl6ns > pf. the. BriEmpire/ ls^- com'mitfeel; ' to - "c'Stftain Mk. ■undertakings, and it will Heft .'tie 'left tor'^tM- people; to ratify, these ,undertak:i Ings. ■'ip&SJi* i "fl:ri.""lhstanc.e is ,ih^e. cbm:mittaUdf^Jw^ „^edm^l^l|s£c^ ™ •«£-■•, kri'CjjY'/'' rieciessitat^d '^the^Tesof t to . & conscription to fulfill the pledge which '«• Sir James Allen made m England, and which he recently declared he would do his best to fulfill. However, if Mr. Massey is having all the say m the Imperial Conference, it is perfectly clear that Sir Joseph Ward is making the most of his opportunities at the dinners and the "guzzles" or "spreads" which have been given, and at which he and Mr. Massey have been honored guests. Twice last week considerable space was given to utterances made by Sir Joseph Ward; and we are constrained to remark that if the cabled

accounts are accurate, are clear resumes of his remarks, Sir Joseph Ward does not know what" he is talking about. If he did know what he was talking about he has been incorrectly reported, and has a grievance against the individuals who are responsible for the cables which are sent to New Zealand. • # » Let us take two examples of what we mean. On two occasions last week Sir Joseph Ward attended banquets and made the customary speeches. At one of these gathering's he declared that "he disagreed with those who thought it premature to discuss possible peace terms. If the nation knew why it went to war then logically it must be able to decide what its peace terms should be." After which he declared: "Uneasy suspicion had been aroused that the German Pacific Islands might be the subject of negotiation at the Peace Conference. , The New Zealand delegates came to England with a positive mandate that the. publio would never tolerate the handing back of Samoa to Germany. Under no circumstances must any such thing occur. It was _unthlnkab_]£!..jt.hat^Germany "should ' eveV n"g-afh set""a foot-' hold m the Pacific, where she was an interloper from the first. If such a calamity should befallus the bonds of Empire would be brought to • the straining point. The people of the Motherland should understand the Dominion viewpoint and should /realise that this was no stand-and-deliver freak, but the expression of a deepseated conviction upon a definite ideal which had been cultivated for half a century, often m the teeth of scant sympathy or encouragement from the Imperial authorities. He hoped this sublime indifference to the importance of the ownership of a few small islands m the Pacific would disappear for ever." • © * • With the former part of Sir Joseph Ward's speedh all will agree. Why should there be any hesitation to discuss possible peace terms? Under the War Regulations m New Zealand, and to which Sir Joseph Ward subscribed, it is almost akin to treason to suggest that the Allies should make peace. But when Sir Joseph Ward declares that the nation knows why it went ito war, then we might Bay (.hat Sir Joseph Ward knows a great deal more | than many of us, because we have j heard so many reasons why we went to war, but generally held that we are involved m this war because Germany inviolated the rights of a small nation. However, coming to the consideration of Sir Joseph Ward's "suspicions" that the German-owned islands m the Pacific might be the subject of negotiation at the Peace Conference, might we ask where else will the consideration of the German possessions m the Pacific be given? G-enerally speaking, Sir Joseph Ward's remarks savor of childishness. If the New Zealand representatives m England are armed with a positive mandate against the handing back of Samoa to Germany, the least we might ask la when and where was. that mandate given? We are aware that there was a carefullyorganised series of meetings In the various centres of New Zealand, . but we who are on the spot know Just what those meetings were worth, and the meeting m Wellington was ; sueh that those who attended it were denied the right of moving an amendment to the cut-and-dried resolution which HAD to be carried or rejected. Of course. Samoa, as a possible naval base for German operations, would be a menace to New Zealand if Prussianism is not crushed, and the best advice to give Sir Joseph Ward Avould be to first win the war and then dis-' cuss Samoa. m * * Apparently this advice is not necessary, because we find. a day or two later that Sir Joseph Ward attended another dinner and made another speech, at which he is reported to have said: "The war must end m no uncertain peace. There is only one course for the British Empire to follow; not to listen to the pacifist or the negotiator, but to beat the ..enejinvfjrst and, ziMrl ''see^TQ^the* .term^Wsg^^rarf? so- based -tftat they ' wiir*telßSh^ .the,. enemy that. the only, result of sucti'ja war is iliat they will sUffeh^ll'.the/c9n'-7 The best .way to" prepare -for- tlie end. of the war isltb. lqpk after.' . the. -.men . w.ho .have, fought "rfb'r .. us." Two. dihriers, iyf'6- speeches; 'At the first Sir Joseph " dis;a;gr^?|O.!!wit.h'*-th<Jse'.-wh;b-thought "it prerhature'-'to fl cliscus's possible terms of peace. Two or three days later the same' speaker, at another dinner, is entirely opposed to listening to the pacifist or the negotiator, but to beat the enemy first and then dictate terms 'of peace to the Prussians. We ought to ask Sir Joseph Ward what he means by it. Since his arrival m London Sir Joseph has been "giving a lot of lip," and declaring our willingness to go on fighting for ever and ever. While most sane men will agree with Sir Joseph Ward that it is not wrong to discuss possible terms of peace, they will dis-

agree with him when he declares ; Vine -must not listen to 'the pacifist or negotiator. Such contradictory statements call for some explanation. Let Sir Joseph keep his remarks anent the caring of the men who fought for us for home- consumption. Let him make himself acquainted with the real . conditions m New Zealand, with the niggardly arid skinflint treatment meted out to the soldier who is going to the war and the scandalous treatment of those who have fought and bled, and* he will receive the consideration which such remarks are entitled -to. It seems to "Truth" that Sir Joseph Ward, with his wild jingoistic sentiments, will be well advised if he can make' it clear to the people of New Zealand why it was necessary that, either he or Mr. Massey went away. We are entitled to learn to what Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward have committed us, and it should bo left to the" people of New Zealand, through the next elected Parliament, to say whether we shall honor the pledges to which these peregrinating, posturing, and. prating politicians have taken it upon themselves to make. • . #■ * If a justification for our remarks is required, apart altogether from the deductions made from the cables referred to, it is found m another" cable published m the newspapers on Monday evening and Tuesday morning last, when Mr. Massey is credited with declaring that The Imperial Conference will conclude next week. The matters remaining to be dealt with are unimportant. Except for the reports of some sub-committees the general impression is that the result is disappointing. Little has.- been done, but much is hoped for from the War Cabinet's sessions, and the round table meetings of Premiers to follow the Conference. Whether Mr. Massey stated that the result of the Imperial Conference is disappointing is not quite clear, and if it is not clear, Mr. Massey should take the earliest opportunity to make matters clear. If the Imperial Conference has been devoid of results, and that little was done, we are afraid that less will be done or accomplished by the War Cabinet and the Premiers' round table conferences. We need hardly' point out that the British War Cabinet Ministers will not. permit overseas representatives to' dictate Britain's war policy. Britain has no war policy, other than that decided upon at Versailles, and it is just as well that we m Now Zealand should realise that if the Allies are so fortunately placed as to dictate terms of peace to Germany, Great Britain will not\be the dictator, nor must we imagine tnat New Zealand will be permitted to dictate to Great Britain, and through Great Britain to the Allies, the terms of peace which will best suit New Zealand. The admission or statement that the Imperial Conference has been bar"ren of results too clearly indicates that British statesmen are not accepting politicians from overseas Doi minions at the value which the capitalistic newspapers are placing on them.' Let us sincerely trust that these conferences, which are always barren of results to the democracy, will speedily conclude, and that Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward will hasten back to New Zealand m order that the people can give a true expression I of their opinions.