MR MASSEY’S “PRESS.”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19018, 14 November 1923, Page 5

MR MASSEY’S “PRESS.”

“ THE MATS 1 WHO IS NEW ZEALAND.” PRIME MINISTER’S FIRST PUBLIC STATEMENT. AN IMAGINARY INTERVIEW. (From Odk Own Correspondent.l LONDON. October 5. When Mr Massey arrived at Waterloo he remarked to various pressmen who were on the platform that they were all too late. He had been well interviewed that morning on board tlie Majestic at Southampton. It now appears that he Had been so well interviewed that a certain correspondent attributed to him a certain definite statement regarding the French and the Ruhr, a subject which he very naturally did not discuss at such an early stage of his visit. All the correspondents except the particularly enterprising cue above mentioned seem to have been satisfied by what Mr Massey actually said, and reported him more or less faithfully according to their stenographic ski] I and the requirements of (heir journals. “f am convinced.” said Mr Massey, amongst other things, '‘that some Lung must be done to secure more continous consultation between the Mother Country and the dominions. The difficulty is that tue Prime Minister of each dominion is, after a’l, the only man who is able to speak with knowledge and .authority on behau of his Government. Fifty years from now, I crimps, the Prime Ministers will be able to meet each otbe~ whenever the necessity arises, but by that time we shall all oe under the sod. The fact remains nut" at the present moment do not meet often enough, and I think that the Conference sin-mid assemble at least biennially. Tim idea of a Resident Minister docs not find much favour iu New Zealand, nor do 1 think that the Hi Mi Commissioner, who is a Government, official, is the man to act. To my Diiofl. v;#v "ot Hpnropt in the organisation of the W-ar Cabinet, m which each of the dominions had the light to a scat. METHODS OF COMMUNICATION. “One thing must be done to ensure luat New Zealand is kept in close, touch with Che Mother Country. Wo must improve our methods of communication. It has so chanced that on my trip Heme I have cetMi two ‘records’ broken. Crossing kilo Pacific the Tahiti actually broke the ‘record’ between Auckland and San Fran-rj.-.00 by two days. Crossing the Atlantic I "understand that the Majestic broke the ‘record’ between New York and Cnerbomgh by some 50 minutes. I have been enabled to complete the journey from Now Zealand to London iu 50 days, amt of these we had three spare days iu the United Slams, Now the average length of tiipo that it takes for our mails to reach London is six weeks, and T myself have had to travel 47 days. This last trip of mine bar shown what can be done, and I nope wo will bo -able to arrange improvement. . , . „ “Jn view of what is happening m Europe, it seems to me that we have arrived at the stage when it is necessary that every part of the Empire should help economically the other parts. Since the outbreak of war great changes have taken place in many respect*, and the interest* of the different parts of the Empire have become so interwoven that it is impossible to separate them. On the contrary—and on account of the state of affairs in Europe—it is necessary that they should come together more closely than ever before. That will not orerent Great Britain, or any other country of the Empire, trading with countries, outaide (he Empire If they get the opportunity, and if it suits them so to do, hut it must be quite evident to anyone who looks into the position that Britain cannot depend upon Europe as a market for her manufactured goods in the way that obtained before the war. THE NEXT MOVE IS BRITAIN’S. "Very well. What is Britain going to do about H? Where is Britain- to find a market to replace that which she has lostat any rate, for the time being—iu Europe? liter© is nothing in sight except the oversea countries of the Empire, and they require to De cultivated to a certain extent. But it is worth doing. They are growing steadily in population; they are developing, building roads and railways, telegraph lines anti wireless stations, and in many cases erecting huge plants for the generation of electricity from the water powers which have been -unused from the Creation. “Looked at from another point of view, I admit, readily that for countries of the Empire producing and exporting huge quantities of primary products, Britain is the host market possible at present, and that the more prosperous Britain is the tetter that market, because the greater will be her purchasing capacity. "Wo in New Zealand realise that, and in recent years we have greatly increased the nurffber of commodities on which preference by Customs duties given to Britain and British countries, and as opportunities offer we am prepared to go further. The move is ■with the British Government, and wo await it.” The Premier did not enlarge on matters of defence. “You may say. however, that I am strongly in favour of the establishment of the Singapore naval base. I think that it is necessary not onlv for the defence of Australia, Now Zealand, and the colonies in the Pacific Islands, but to the whole defence system of the Empire. FRANCE AND THE RUHR. The Evening News had the following: “Asked what New Zealand thought ol the Euiopean situation, Mr Massey's smiling face became set with determination when he replied: ‘New Zealand thinks that Germany should and must pay. She backs France, and is delighted that the situation is now such as to prove that the French attitude towards Germany was a strong and a right one. 1 have been over devastated France. I know what Franco feels. I know what is due to her. &he has not asked too much. She has demanded her rights, and will get them.’ ” When this was read to the Premier at ,hc Hotel Cecil on the evening of his arrival he more or less forcibly explained that the statement was a figment of the correspondent’s imagination. “But what can you do?” he exclaimed, “what can you do ?” THE MAN WHO IS NEW ZEALAND This example of imaginative -journalism is followed up in the Daily Mail by an appreciative personal article iiy a New Zealander.’ It is headed “The Man Who Is New Zealand.” The writer recalls that a New Zealand novelist, in a vivid picture ,of the dramatic political struggle by which Mr Massey brought his Reform Party into power, says: “For 20 years the Opposition leader had led a forlorn hope, had fought with extraordinary courage and perseverance a dogged fight again the most powerful Premier the country had over had, and y-et lie could talk to that packed hall as if life had been for him an unchallenged success.” . “Hero,” -says the writer, you have the man who never acknowledges defeat. To this Conference of 1923 Mr Massey come* after 11 years of office as strenuous as any that have fallen to the lot of overseas Prime Ministers. His presence, therefore, at the Conference is significant at once of the regard in which he is held by the dominion which ho leads, and of the esteem in which his leadership of their interests in London is held by the British Government‘ THE PREMIER’S “IMPERTURBABILITY.” The Sunday Times has a story of the Premier’s visit to the war zone with Sir Joseph Ward. The latter, by the way, is persistently called “Mr Ward.’ “As each unit was visited,” says this contributor, “bets were taken by the men as to which of their political chiefs would "get the wind up’ first. Mr Massey won easily, for on© night, while staying close to Albert, the village was bombed by Taubes three times, and considerable casualties were caused. In the morning Mr Massey appeared looking ns fresh as possible, and blandly asked Sir Joseph Ward why he was yawning so much U was then discovered that Mr Massey hod slept without waking at all from the lime he went to bed, but that Sir Joseph and bis secretary had passed an extremely restless night. "Mr Massey possibly owes to this irnnerturbabilitv his lons tenuae of power as Premier." A .MAIL RECORD. By a happy coincidence, the New Zealand Prime Minister’s arrival is marked also by a record transit of the New Zealand mails. The mails of August 28 reached London in less than 30 days from the date of their despatch. The Tahiti reached San Francisco four days ahead of scheduled time. The Majestic broke her own record for the Atlantic crossing, arriving at Cherbourg in five days, five hours, and 25 minutes, and as a consequence the mails were delivered in London on the evening of September 27. This is believed to cou-

dilute a record. The moral seems to bo to keep the Prime Minister constantly on lour, and he will hustle up the 'nailcarriers. SOME PERSONAL COMMENTS. Air Massey is the subject of numerous notes of a personal nature. The Irish Times (“One Who Knows ilim’’) describes him as “a sort, of Whittington of the Pacific,’ who subsequently has proved ‘‘a Rupert of debate.’’ Having a brain, too keen to bo satisfied with crop and slock problems, he sought some outlet for his restless Irish nature, and he found it at last in the interests of local government, organisations tor furthering the interests of the farming community, and later in the New Zealand House of Commons, where “his reputation soared, carried by his own winged words. But no wheedling orator was this powerful, open-faced young giant; but an orator ol the fighting sort. A man who came back from, rebuff and counterstroke, but stronger iu logic And argument.' To-day Mr Massey is a white-haired, burly giant, with twinkling blue eyes, mobile mouth, and ready wit. His is not a subtle intellect, but he has (ho flair of arriving quickly at logical conclusions. Thus bo was quick to realise* that the League of Nations migut do harm if it led to a false sense of security. Believing in the programme of the League. Mr Massey yet believes in preparedness for the worst that may happen to any country—war. . . . Mrs Massey has proved herself an ideal wife for a public mat}. A housewife to the tips (of her lingers, she has extended her interest to every child in New Zealand. It was chiefly owing to her efforts that child welfare was brought to such a pilch of efficiency that to-day infant mortality in New Zealand has reached a lower figure than in any other part of the Empire.” The New Zealand Prims Minister reminds the London correspondent of the Dublin Weekly Horn Id of “a typical country squire.’’ He has a gonial nature, and ho is a breezy speaker. The Empire News describes “TVII Massey as “a self-made man, big, bluff, cheery, and very definite in his ideas. He loves London and England and does all the sights like the British Museum and the Tower every time ho comes here. He says he can sleep anvwhere and banquets no terror for him, as hie motto is ‘Lot ’em ail come.’ . . . With the arrival of the ever-greeu. vubicifnd, sturdy, farmerlike Prime Minister of Now Zealand the scene is set for the most important Imperial and Economic Conference yet hold. ’ "Hmnahliglht” finds Mr Massey “just as usual, merry, towering, calm, industrious. Ho comes well primed—wants to sell more New Zealand butter and produce, and has a scheme which will, if carried out, help onr unemployed. He is a big favourite at No, 10 anil whereter he goes ” Numerous are the references to the Prime Minister's keenness for work and his practice of being early at bis desk. It is remarked that he is ready to begin his dnv at 6.45 a.m. while in London. The Leeds Mercury refers to him as “the idol of the New Zealand farmers. He is a bluff, cheery, and vigorous personality, showing little sign of advancing years.”