GREAT HONOUR

Southland Times, Issue 22486, 22 January 1935, Page 6

GREAT HONOUR

DUKE’S PRESENCE MR FORBES ISSUES STATEMENT LOYAL EXPRESSIONS (Per United Press Association.) Christchurch, January 21. The following statement was made by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes) this evening:— “It has been a great honour and pleasure to the people of New Zealand to have had this visit of his Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester. Spontaneous enthusiasm and warm and

sincere expressions of loyalty have been the keynotes of the welcome which has been accorded to his Royal Highness from one end of the Dominion to the other. We fully realize the strain which must have been imposed upon his Royal Highness in carrying out his duties and in the continuous travelling which the tour entailed. The civic and local authorities have earned the highest commendation for the part they have played in receiving and entertaining our Royal guest and I take this opportunity of acknowledging the valuable assistance thus rendered. The officials connected with the arrangements of the tour have performed their work well and are to be complimented upon their efficiency. The Minister-in-Attendance, the Hon. Sir James Young, has reason to feel gratified with the manner in which his responsibilities have been discharged. In a sentence, remarkable success in every way has attended the tour. The people of New Zealand will retain lasting impressions of this Royal visit, which has afforded them a further opportunity of showing their intense loyalty and devotion to the throne.”