IMPERIAL PRESS CONFERENCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21105, 15 August 1930, Page 12

IMPERIAL PRESS CONFERENCE

A SERIES OF HAPPY FUNCTIONS. WITH THE SERVICES. COUNTRY HOMES. (Fbom Odb Own Correspondent.) j LONDON, July 3. New Zealand -. delegates consider that the Imperial Press .Conference, now; concluded, has been of considerable value in many respects. It has certainly been of value to overseas delegates in the respect that they have been enabled to hear speeches'by leaders of the three political parties in England—the Prime Minister, Mr Lloyd George, and Mr Stanley Baldwin. They heard Mr Baldwin also at the * Royal Academy banquet. Further, there were .interesting speeches by . the Post-master-general and the Secretary of State | for Air; while at the luncheon in Westminster Hall they heard/the Chancellor of the-' Exchequer. One effect of these speeches has been to give the visitors an abt into English -conditions, both poli*. and economic,' which otherwise might not have been possible..' “ From my point of view,” said Mr J. Hutchison ■ (Dunedin), “ a very valuable feature of the conference has been the contacts which have been established between the members of the conference delegations. It has been a great pleasure to ave the opportunity, of renewing one’s acquaintance with journalists from all over the Empire whom I had- met before —men from Australia, Canada, South Africa, Jamaica, Malta, and elsewhere. Then, I have made a number of other acquaintanceships which, as the conference went on, developed into friendships with people 1 never. met before. This is one of the effects of the conference from which useful results may be, expected-in lateryears. ! “We had many opportunities of seeing people and places—imposing through , the organisation of the Empire Press Union, whose arrangements have been admirable. There were demonstrations by the Royal Navy, the Army, and the Royal Air Force. We learned 1 something about. England from the angles of industrialism and education, and we learned something about Scotland. * WITH THE SERVICES. ' “ Aldershot revealed to us the Evolution that has been effected since 1918, both in respect of artillery and of mechanical transport. There has been very remarkable development, and ' onfe that showed that the -time of peace has been utilised by the army authorities in lmprov,ing their efficiency. Hendon provided,,a wonderful display. We bad been prepared somewhat from what Lord Thomson had said. He had ( explained that the Royal Air Force numerically; was inferior to that of other countries, such as those, of France or Italy. Lord Thomson'had dealt with the in a very interesting way. The hfealth of\.members of the .Royal. Air Fprce, who areselectedtor im,portant contests and events—the Schneider Cupj for example—-is a matter of very considerable moment, and he mentioned ; in regard to 1 last year’s race that, taking 80,per cent, as the maximum efficiency from the health point.of view of a. candidate, the man who actually- finished first was 76 per cent, efficiency, the man who came in second was 73 per cent. Lord Thomson -asked the medical officer at the. time as to what they would rate his bWtn efficiency, and the answer was ‘ about 35 per cent.’ The men • who become efficient airmen have got to lead restricted lives and have got to watch their health, and when you have health and yotith, as in the Royal Air Force, with all the other qualities that are looked for ;in an airman, you get efficiency of the kind that you will not get in the cube of foreigners. ’ WITHTHE NAVY. . A most refreshing day was spent at. Portsmouth, a day full of interest, and an outing that was greatly enjoyed by all the New Zealanders and their wives. The delegates, went out in five destroyers, which travelled, in line, and attained a• speed of 30 knots. They were in a' mimic air attack, and a supposed enemy torpedo* l from a submarine passed ’ under their stern. The party also went over 'the old Victory. v At thO' luncheon at Portsmouth Mr A, E. Manning (Waikato Times) responded very ably for New Zealand. He spoke ot. Jbe* very keen appreciation ,and regard, 'held- for- the ‘Royal- Nayy"‘hy the J people of the Dominion. Zealand believed m a strong navy. He paid- tribute to the way in which during the war they had been enabled to keep their ports, open, snd. he . spoke of the admiration ‘ they all had for the. Merchant” Service. .He' referred to the Navy as being tiie might of Britain, The viators had seen the might Of England. and the beauty of England, and they realised that England had.great problems. Those problems would, be surmounted, and England could rely upon the co-operation of the dominions. On their retorn to their home countries the press delegates would, have; the will to bring to bear that spirit of . co-operation which would make/ the Empire still greater. , PEEP. AT SCOTLAND. . , ' . he delegates much enjoyed Ascot and the Military Tattoo, both functions being attended the day before the Scottish visit. ■ ey spent a delightful week-end at Gleneagles, and they t visited Glamis Castle, situated in very beautiful country, they passed through very fertile-looking,, clean country, well farmed, and apparent&, prosperous, bht were told that the farmers could not make it pay. The land certainly appeared to be very good; There was - a great raspberry crop, but; Mr Hutchison was ■ surprised' to learn that this crop is bought by German dyers. The fruit is not used for dessert, but is used for, its colour .properties. At Edinburgh the whole party was greatly impressed by the vety wonderful 1 war memonarin the cahtle. All, indeed, were deeply moved. A wreath was, laid outside by the qhairman of the Canadian delegation (Lieutenant-colonel J, H, Woods), who was able to control his ; emotions sufficiently to say a , few words, but he had to keep himself very firmly in hand even to do this. None of the others felt that they could have eaid a word.. Privileges greatly enjoyed and appreciated were visits to country homes our-;| ing the week-ends. Different! people went' to . different places, and 'everywhere the visitors were received in the most friendly way, and they could not 1 help feeling that the ■ interest- taken in them' was genuine and sincere. In this way they saw more of the historic homes , of England. The official tour had included Warwick Castle, and Hatfield House. Of the President of the Empire Press' Union (Major J. J.' Astor) words fail to express their admiration. He and’ Lady Violet Astor went everywhere with the delegation, and both were charming to a degree. Each proved to be an admirable , speaker and a person of rare and never-failing tact. FINAL SESSION. NEXT CONFERENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA. A i . , LONDON, July 8. 1 At the last session of, the Imperial Press Conference on Monday morning at Grosvenor House, Mr T. W. Mackenzie (South Africa),'in name of the newspapers and the Governments of the Union : of South Africa and of Southern Rhodesia, invited the conference to hold its next meeting in 1935 in South Africa. The invitation was accepted with entbusiasm and without opposition. Lieutenant-colonel J. H. Woods (Canada) .was chosen to speak on behalf of the delegates from overseas, and to express their appreciation of the way in which the programme had been carried -out. Colonel Woods mentioned bv name all the secretarial, staff of the Empire Press Union, including the page-boy, “ who ha'd never lost his smile..’ To Major Astor and bis gracious wife, Lady Violet Astor, the delegates desired to express their deepest gratitude. The friends whom the chairman had among the press of the Empire were only limited by the * number of newspaper men there were in the Empire.. . . Sir Robert Donald. Speaking for the home delegates, said that during the last. 12 months Major Astor had been living ’ and working for the success of the con-' ference.. He had been ably assisted byLady Astor, who was a'Scots woman anil had an. intimate knowledge of Canada and . of India. . Three cheers were given for Major Astor when he rose to reply. He paid; a very high tribute to his colleagues' and'the staff for their work and support in ot-.misinir the'conference. “If. ns : we believe.” he said, “■this-conference has been a success, I am sure 'my colleagues

will agree our reward !* a very'teat oae.* - Hi* task m chairman—the highest ko»sw he hid ever yet had—had been a plea* sure. He would not attempt any .sum- -- ming up of the month's work, reason that some of the mostimportant l aspects of. the conference did not lend themselves to any precise definition; This was an important year in ImperiaDhistory, and it was a fortunate oirimnistance that the conference should be held ,m London. The fact that London was a point at which moat of the ,nerve centres Of Imperial communication* could i be found must have given their diaousv-r siona w special effectiveness. It might well .be that the conference had'had 'a stimulating effect over a wider area than-- ‘ they realised. They might Certaitdy hope : that it would prove to be of genuine help • to the Empire.—(Cheers.) ■ FAREWELL DINNER, * The , delegates, with members, of the ' Organising Committee, • attended 1 a tareweli dinner and dance at Grosvenot House , on Monday night. Lord Riddell,' president of the Newspaper Proprietors’ As* . E***, was in the chair. Mr Theo- ’* dore Pink, chairman of the Australian delegation and 6£ the Overseas Delegates’ 1 Committee, read the draft of an&ddtea*i. to be inserted in a book of remembrance - r bearing the signatures of all the delegates, which, he said/ would be enatored * in a casket and presented' to MajorAstor.' the president -of the conference. The-. address contained the following:— ; . From the moment of our arrival we' received a welcome so sincere, a hospitality so generous and all-embracing, and a consideration so universal, whether in London, -Scotland, or - the .provinces, that, wefelt we were indeed Home. Over our serious deliberations you have presided , with s wise courtesy which carried us tit toward the ends, we have in view, ' ’ The inspiring note you struck at the opening of the conference, and again at the Guildhall. banduet, keyed .our. purpose to , the right pitcn; .we return to our , oc- ~ caeions still more firmly charged with , the determination,"so -far as .in us lies,.' ' to use such talent : and-energy .at we possees to preserve for the Empire and the world the unity , won for us by the tre-*-mendous sacrifices of the war." > PERFECT GUESTS. ■ Major Aster, acknowledging the - gift, said that the conference had been the means of enabling him to renew many old friendships and form new ones. The delegates had indeed been; perfect guests. They had made the conference a success ' by the energy with which they had faced a tremendous programme and the cheerfulness with which they had entered into . the spirit of every, function. They talked ' often of the. bonds of Empire. Well they might! One might almost say that thev -. fate of the world depended upon- those . bonds, r .How better could one strengthen - them than by such friendships, and such ; mutual understandings as had been estate lished ' during the month of June?— r (Cheers.)' Foreign countries Ifound diffi-- . culty sometimes in., understanding .England. They were >apt. to.take qur casual, happy-go-locky mafiner as .a mask . for sinister motives. They eometiffi& ; attributed the good fortune Which* had' so often come to England to cunning.yT'hn delegates had' had a chance of-(seeing us —that we were as God made,.us. . He ~ earnestly -hoped that .the. impression carnwiy by 1 .the' delegates would helpthem to think kindly of us.—(Cheers.) ■ V; LADY VIOLET ASTOR. ‘ : Mrs Woods, wife 1 of Lieut.-colohel 'j. v H. Woods, chairman of the Canadian' ' delegation* and vice-chairman of, the conference.' read' ah address,which is being t presented in similar form to Lady, "Violet .v Astor, by the. ladies, who accompanied. .. the delegates. In it the subscribers spoke • appreciatively of the -hospitality ' shown to them both- in London and at Hever Castle, and added:-—” ,We-'-find it impossible to thang you. .in words that explain our conviction that the bread ana salt of English .wiU.etrengtben' -us through the years to come.". Illusive and intangible though- sentiment-ano* be, we . hope, that'whenever you.glanceat thispage.and readout, tames,, you. will-realiso , now deeply we appreciate all yon. hath done to, make us happy;”: . ' Lady Violet Aetoy, returning tiiaukfi, said she would always treasurethe;adi- • dress. ''' The past ;month with, the dele- ; gates had been.h happy ope for bqth her • husband . and herself, attd,< they , Were , pleased to think'that they: had made TdO to 200 hew friends whq'would always find a Very warm welcome 'frbm them when • they 'revisited this country.—.(Cheers.). • Although >. the programme con- ■ ference has been oomnleteiVthere arq. ‘engagements of an-unofficial character* for . the delegates' extending to .the' 'thiddle hf July; These Inclode -aeroplane flight* .front''Croydon, at the invitation of Imhcfial' .'Airway*,' anrittspectJon Of the git-.,, ships .at, Cardington, and visitsto,menu- . ■factoring works, Delegates will also attend' a reception; at the office of runch. ■ and visit the Boy Scouts* otmp at Qilwell Park;' ' ■ V- . .i,.. v - ;