The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1916. TRIBUTE TO MR MASSEY.

Southland Times, Issue 17869, 10 November 1916, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1916. TRIBUTE TO MR MASSEY.

We are glad to see that the Lyttelton Times has taken the opportunity provided by the conferring of the • Freedom of London upon Mr Massey to pay a tribute to the Prime Minister’s able leadership o2 the dominion' since the outbreak of war. Srf'Tar as the general body of the people are concerned party politic*-, are dead in New Zealand, but in some quarters bias and prejudice live on and show themselves from time to time , in illnatured sneers and gross misrepresentations. Before the formation of ' the Coalition Ministry the Lyttelton (Times was the most influential organ of the Opposition party, and that it /should now take occasion to acknowledge Mr Massey’s service to the dominion is proof at once oi its fairness and ot Its loyalty to the party truce. Our contemporary heartily endorses the statement made by the London City Chamberlain that Mr Massey had played “a magnificent pai t in this war.” “In New Zealand,” it says, “Mr Massey’s robust patriotism would have been an inspiration to the people bad that been required, and we are sure that people of all clasps and of every shade of political opinion appreciate and admire the Prime Minister’s attitude, in which he has combined'an unqualified loyalty with practical statesmanship and untiling industry.” The Lyttelton Times expresses its appreciation of the continuous and steadfast encouragement which . the Prime Minister has given his colleagues in the ■ Ministry in •> their i labours to carry out the heavy tasks thrown upon them .by the war, and adds that the people have been stimulated by Mr Massey’s leadership in, the same way. We are glad rto. see that our contemporary, in commenting upon Mr Massey’s reply, approved the reference made by Mr Massey to the end of the war. Mr Massey discouraged the hope that the end of the war is near at hand, and in ? this respect he said what every other public man who has visited the front and has had opportunities of conversing with the military leaders has said on his return. The soldiers at the front do not speak of the end of the war. They do not under-estimate the enemy’s strength. The general opinion among them is that the job they have in hand is one of great difficulty, and that it • is useless to speculate how long it may take to carry it through. These speculations at the present time are as mischievous among the civilian population as they would be in the Army. That is what Mr Massey meant by saying that the war has reached “a dangerous phase.” The Lyttelton Times is unquestionably tight in maintaining. that the danger of exciting false hopes of the enemy’s early collapse is one that must be avoided at any cost. We quote cur contemporary: “It is vitally necessary for New Zealand, for the Empire, 10 P ut all possible strength Into the fight, on no account imagining that the effort may be relaxed because Germany at last is yielding to pressure. We are glad to have Mr Massey emphasising that highly important fact. It is in no way inconsistent with his confidence, which the whole of New Zealand shares, that the Allies are winning the war. The Prime Minister’s warning against tho ghastly risks

of a slackened effort now, leading pos- . sibly to an inconclasive peace, will i be endorsed throughout the dominion which he represents, and which, we may add, Is proud of the honours he has received In London.” That is well said. The enemy may be near the point of collapse, but there is not one tittle of evidence to warrant the assumption. The enemv's position so far as we do not know it is a matter of guess-work; the enemy’s position so far as we can see it is one of immense strength, and it is only upon what we see and know that we can count with any uncertainty. In any case the question when the war will end is wholly irrelevant at this time. The essential things are. a steadfast and immovable determination to carry the war through, and the concentration of every effort to that. end.