THE KING’S DEROGATIVE

Southland Times, Issue 19332, 26 August 1924, Page 5

THE KING’S DEROGATIVE

RURAL CANDOUR ASSURANCE OF LOYALTY "MORE BRITISH THAN THE BRITISH” (Special to the Times.) WELLINGTON, August 25. Some candid comment was made at Levin to-day in regard to the British Government overlooking the King’s prerogative in connection with the signing of the recent commercial treaty with Soviet Russia. The Mayor (Mr Thomas Hobson), in introducing the Prime Minister at a banquet on the occasion of laying the foundation stone of the new Municipal Buildings, opened his speech by a reference to the matter. RESPECT FOR THE SOVEREIGN. “We are well aware in New Zealand,” said Hr Hobson, "that our Prime Minister will do all in his power to instil respect for the function of the Sovereign as head of the British Empire. We are fortunate, too, in having such a man as Lord Jellicoe, the Governor-General, who will, too, use all means in her power in upholding the King’s authority and prerogative. Mr Massey would never in his office as Leader of the Government allow any arrangement with another country without the approval of the King.— (Hear, hear). ‘We say in our daily prayers ‘Thy Kingdom come,’ and if we, as members of the Empire, continue to honour the King and recognise him on every occasion as our ruler, we will arrive at that unity and harmony that all true citizens of the Empire desire, and by achieving unity we will arrive sooner at cur traditional ideal of the Kingdom of British peoples than would otherwise be possible.” (Applause). THE PREMIER’S COMMENTS.

The Prime Minister referred to the matter during the course of his speech. “We are rightly proud,” said Mr Massey, "of New Zealand’s traditional loyalty to the King and the Empire. Whatever else may go wrong there is no going wrong about that. One of the greatest sources of satisfaction to me while I was at Home, was to tell the people of Great Britain that New Zealand was 98 per cent. British, more British than they themselves.”—(Cheers).