NEW ZEALAND.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 98, 15 August 1914, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND.

"Au Revoir!" TROOPSHIPS LEAVE THE WHARF IN WELLINGTON. DESTINATION STILL UNDISCLOSED. [P»B PuEflM ASSOCIATION ] Wellington, August 14. The first section of New Zealand's contribution to the British Empire forces in the war of 1914 was formally farewelled by large crowds at 4, the Basin Reserve late this, afternoon. Tie advance section of the expeditionary force had been waiting in readi-.u-e:- aboard the transports shi'e Wednesday for the call of duty a. fconn point not disclosed. The tali apparently came to-day, for notice was piven that the troops would >.t 4.30 and be addressed by the ."Jo/w- j nor. Ministers of the Crown, and ot'.ei prom«'ent men. In the morning the Prime Minister and his colleague visited the troopships Monowai and Moeraki, with General Godley, and inspected the men and quarters. THE FAREWELLS. When final notice came the expedition marched to the Basin Reserve, headed by the 5tE Regimental Band. Mothers, wives, children and sweetheart, kept step, calling farewells in case there would be no further opportunity. At the Basin Reserve the :mn formed up in a hollow square. The official party consisted of His Kxceliency the Governor, the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, and members of the Cabinet. THE EARL OF LIVERPOOL'S ADDRESS. "AU REVOIR.** Tiio Earl of Liverpool addressed the troops as follows:—"It is very little over an hour and a half since I re--cdved a telegram saying you have to leave the shores of New Zealand r.s sboii as possible. We have received oice-n from Home that the enterprise on which you are going is one ■A igreat and urgent Imperial necessity. W.e know that the honor of the Empin- and of this Dominion will be upheld by every single man in the force, and we know, in .common with every one of our fellow subjects, that you are'determined to , do your best to Show'that there is only one Empire, arid that we are not going to he trodden on at the dictation of someone who wants to set up such a supremacy that it will be absolutely impossible for any other nation of the world to exist. Leave-takings are always unpleasant things. I have gone through them myself, hut I am not going to wish, you good-bye. I am going to wish you au revoir, and a speedy and-successful issue to your expedition. We shall look forward, with the greatest interest to all your doings. We shall watch for them." (Cheers.) ■ ■. THE PRIME MINISTER. The Prime Minister said: "When the Empire calls, it is for the citizens of the Dominion to respond, and when the Empire calls it is for the soldiers of the Dominion to obey. You leave the shores of New Zealand in probably a very few hours from now. You carry a great responsibility, hut I am quite sure you realise a great privilege has been conferred upon you. That you will do it well I am confident. It goes without saying, and when tho war is over and wrongs are righted, you will be better men for the experience you have gained and I lie discipline to which you will have been subjected. We who stay behind to do the business of the country recognise that you are the first to leave our shores to rush to' the assistance of the Motherland in her hour of need. I know you will keep the flag flying, your face to the foe, and, like His Excellency, I shall not say good-bye, but au revoir. Good luck; and God be with you till we meet again." SIR JOSEPH WARD. Sir J. Ward (Leader of the Opposition) said: "Tho call to arms of the Empire troops is for the purpose of defending Empiro interests in a just war. It ,is for that reason that wo are proud to be hero to-day to say a word of farewell to tho officers and men who are, to do battle on behalf not only of Now Zealand but tho Empire. Wo place the honor of our country in tho hands of tho officers and men who are about to leave \ev 2,i aland. Wherever you go T am v.i" will nnl- 1 . the high i<\ glorious traditions of the Britisli race and the empire to which we are proud to belong. I sincerely hope that before rcry long wo may hear of the winning by tho British troops, whereevor they may be, of those victories upon sea and land that will help to maintain the British Empire intact, and so ensure poaco for another century to come to the wholo world." MINISTER FOR DEFENCE. The Minister for Defence, the Hon. J. Allen, said: "Colonel Logan, officers and men, —You go at your Empire's call. The Empire has called upon you before, and you have re sponded, and the response has been equally good this time. You will come back to us, I nope, au* of you, with every honor and glory, and with another tradition added to the list which New Zealand has so well begun

in the interests of the Empire." The Mayor of Wellington, Mr J. P. Luke, added a few words of encouragement mid confidence on behalf of the citizens of Wellington and the 'whole of the municipalities of New Zealand. At the Governor's call, three lusty cheers were given for His Majesty the King, and the troops marched back to the wharf, and quickly hoarded the ships, which, at about six o'clock cast off and put out into i»e stream. New Zealand had bid good-bye to its first contingent. The ships were still at anchor at a late hour. STATEMENTS IN PARLIAMENT. Wellington, August 14. In the House of Representatives tonight, in reply to Dr. Newman, the Minister of Defence stated that there was no objection to half-castes who were Territorials joining the expeditionary force. Discussing the position of some raiU way men .who had left their employ to join the force, and had been refused, the Hon. W. If. Hemes said it was unreasonable to suppose that the Department could allow the whole of its staff to go abroad without proper notice. The Department had called for volunteers, hub always with bhe condition thab they had to bo finally selected. Those who had left the service without leave would be regarded as having voluntarily left the service. Those who obtained leave would have their positions kept open for them. Speaking on the subject of the departure of the expeditionary force, the Premier said he would like to impress upon the public that every possible precaution had been taken by the Imperial and New Zealand Governments, for the safety of the force. He could not go into details, but people would understand In a few weeks when they heard what had taken place. Hon. James Allen made a statement to the House, in which ho gave an emphatic denial to a rumor mentioned by Mr D. Buddo a fov, r days ago that one of the local banks had refused permission to its staff to volunteer for service abroad. In reply to Sir Joseph Ward, the Premier stated that he had not yet had a reply from the Imperial authorities on the subject of war risks, but he anticipated it would be favorable. PREMIER'S APPEAL TO FARMERS Wellington, August 14. The Prime Minister has issued the following appeal to farmers: — Speaking in the 'House some days ago,, I suggested that the farmers of the Dominion would IBe doing a good service to. the Empire if they made arrangements to grow this season as much cereal produce as possible, and 1 now wish to emphasise the importance of this matter, and appeal to farmers to do all in their power to put it beyond doubt that at next harvest New Zealand will be able to do her share towards providing against a world-wide shortage of breadstiifi's that- is only too likely to be experienced as a result •of the gr&it strife' of nations that is now iu'piogressj It'is quite evident that if the war is'prolonged it may be found that the side possessing the largest food supply will have a highly important advantage over its enemies, and as no one can foretell with any certainty whether campaigns conducted with the colossal armies of the.present day Avill give decisive results, it may even happen that ample supplies of food will be the ultimate determining factor in the struggle. I need not add that if a general shortage of cereals does occur, farmers who have endeavoured to help their country by providing this class of produce may find that in serving the Empire's interests they have also served their own. I therefore ask the patriotic farmers —and that means all farmers—of the Dominion who have suitable land to at once put the necessary operations in hand with a view of growing as much as possible of wheat and oats, thus giving to the Empire what may prove to be extremely valuable assistance.— (Signed) W. F. Massey." THE FINANCIAL TENSION. Wellington, August 14. The following is the text of a letter sent by Mr Harold Beauchamp. chairman of the Bank of New Zealand, to the Hon. James Allen, and read by him in the House this evening. The letter is dated August 14th:— "Following the announcement that has been made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the British Government will guarantee the Bank of England against any loss incurred in discounting bills accepted prior to August 4, the Wellington bankers received advices by cable this afternoon to the effect that the Bank of England is now discounting freely, and that discount houses who were compelled to avail themselves of the moratorium are now meeting their engagements. The effect of this is that Australian banks have resumed buying and selling drafts in the Dominions. The corollary to this is that banks i;: Australia and New Zealand will also bo able to buy and sell on London, and this will tend to relieve the financial tension which has existed since the proclamation o! the moratorium." : RELIEF OF THE POOR. Christchurch, August 14. The movement to provide voluntary contributions of a shipload of meat and dairy and other produce for the relief of the poor at Home advanced a stage at a preliminary representative meeting held to-day. The gift will be from the people of New Zealand, and is to 'be known as "The Poor of Great Britain and Ireland Relief Fund." A very [generous response was made by those ! present. A donation of 1000 sheep was made by Messrs W. 0. Rutherford and JD. Rutherford and family of £1450; 8.

Manning and Co., and Pyne and Co., each £250 ; Dr. Levinge and J. B. Reid, £IOO each. There were other smaller amounts. The movement will be extended throughout the Dominion by the organisation of the Sports Protection League. WELLINGTON. Wellington, August 14. The Empire Defence Fund is growing very rapidly. The Wellington donations now amount to about £15,000. The families of a number of German prisoners interned on Somes Island are having a hard time now that: their breadwinners have-been removed, but they are not to be neglected for bhe Mayor' has been in close touch witli Mr Focke, the German Consul, with reference to their cases. The Mayor states that where necessary the families of the men will be relieved in accordance with their necessities, and the community can rely upon it that they will not be overlooked, and that their cases will have the attention of the Mayor in common with other cases of distress requiring relief. The following telegram from the Press Bureau has just been received by the Prime Minister:— Germany is harassing the trade routes to South American ports. The Admiralty lias despatched mobilised cruisers to stations commanding the routes. Twenty-five British cruisers are search, ing for five German cruisers there. Fast armed merchant vessels have been commissioned to patrol the routes. British shipping is now arriving regularly. The Admiralty urges traders to England confidently to send cargoes. There is no re-as-suring in connection with shipping in the North Sea, where formidable operations are proceeding. The btdk of 26 German army corps is located between Liege and Luxemburg, indicating that the Russian frontier is lightly guarded, except for reserves. Her Excellency the Countess of Liverpool wishes all articles completed for her fund to be sent in as quickly as possible to mayoresses for delivery to headquarters of districts not later than August 20, as they must be received in good time to be sorted. Gifts of canvas shoes, pipes and tobacco will be most acceptable. NELSON. Nelson, August 14. Local subscriptions to the Empire Defence Fund now total £2400, besides many horses. The local committee is buying horses and equipping a contingent. CREYMOUTH. Greymouth, August 14: At a large patriotic demonstration to-night speeches were made by the Mayor and prominent citizens, and music supplied by the Liedertafel and the Battalion Band. The West Coast troops were farewelled with a great display of patriotism. A collection in aid of the war fund secured £37. AUCKLAND. Auckland, August 14. The fund promoted by the Mayoress of Auckland for the purpose of providing comforts and necessaries for the Auckland portion of the expedition, ary force now totals £2OOO. The Citizens' Patriotic Fund, including the Herald fund, now totals about £26,000, including a donation of £SOOO from the Auckland Savings Bank.. The latter donation is subject to validating legislation. The mobilisation of the Auckland section of the expeditionary force is practically completed, the majority, of the men being Under canvas. ASHBURTON. Ashburton, August 14. The Ashburton Patriotic Fund has reached £2250. The principal contributions are as follows :—F. Ferriman and family £2lO, Ashburton Trotting Club and Ashburton Racing Club £lO5 each, Friedlander Bros., Hugo Friedlander, T. Bullock, J. Studholme and Hugh Cameron £IOO each, Nicoll Bros., £52 10s, Canterbury Roller Flour Mills five tons flour (valued at £55), Hugh Hunter, W. S. Strange, J. Smith and Sons and W. H. Collins £SO each, Lane, Walker and Rudkin £35, John Findlay, A. A. and E. H. Orr, Ashburton Mail and Guardian Co., Robert Bell, H. L. Barker £25 each. A fair number of troop horses, and a quantity of fodder, etc., are also being given. PALMERSTON. Palmerston N., August 14. At a largely attended patriotic meeting a resolution was carried, expressing to the Prime Minister and members of Parliament the high appreciation by Palmerston people of the prompt steps taken to assist the Motherland in her hour of peril and her righteous fight for that freedom which is the birthright of every British citizen, the glory of the Empire, and the lifehlood of the nation ; that those present do all in their power to assist the Government to efficiently equip the expeditionary force. A substantial sum was collected. HASTINGS. Hastirgs, August 14. At a meeting of Hastings business men the following resolution was carricd :—"That this meeting respectfully urges the Government not to unduly j curtail advances to settlers or loans to local bodies where works have been arranged, but that steady pro-! gress in all development works be encouraged. We urge that no better , patriotism can be shown at present

, than to encourage the confidence of , individuals and companies having in ■ hand works tlmt provide employment, ■ and that nothing he left undone to maintain our normal conditions in I commerce and trade. 5 ' SOUTHLAND. Invercargill, August- 3 ?1 In four days the Southland Pat- ( riotic Fund has reached £3500. The i Judies, under the guidance of the i ! Mayoress, are devoting their time to -the procuration of necessities for ! Southland troops. Offers of horses j | and fodder have been accepted. For the expeditionary force a good class of men have offered, and military matters are going ahead swimmingly. The National Reserve is also piling up members in case of necessity. The Southland Times’ newspaper staff, at a meeting to-day, gave one day’s pay as a contribution to the patriotic fund. '