SPEECHES IN PARLIAMENT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 84, 2 November 1918, Page 5

SPEECHES IN PARLIAMENT.

Per Press Association. /Wellington, November 1. When the House met this afternoon there was a ,full. attendance ,of members, arid evidence .of an animation .not noticeable since the. opening of the session. This was due. to the .news of the; surrender ,of Turkey, and, wh'e,n, the Premier rose to address, ■■ the as-, sembly, there' jvas, an air of tense' expectation, which found ' relief. in frequent applause. ' . . :.. Mr Massey'said he proposed "to ask the House to adjourn till 2.30 on Tuesday, to mark the.,, news.., which had come to hand concerning Turkey's surrender. He said that he. offered; na; applogy in moving such a motion, because he felt certain every member of the House and every resident of \jjae} Dominion, would ,feel as he felt at-the news which had-come from theheart.of the Empire: He read a telegram from the .Secretary.« of State; setting out the circumstances under which Turkey asked for a cessation of • hostilities,, and ;sa.id that though

it;, was not quite-correct to say Turkey had made afn unconditional surrender, it practically, ainounted to that, ben. cause it gave us the keys of the position, which he was certain we-.would hold until peace-; was declared. He

ventured to ,say- -that, when. 'Lord Kitchener declared he .was preparing for a three-years' war there i were .very few who agreed with him, but the war had dxdeeded/ in l length the expectations of-: most people, • and

though we' had not' yet reached the 'end, he was glad' to say the end was in sight. The events of the last few days were some of the most important in the history of the civilised world, because there was no doubt

that the war in which' Turkey's sur-

render was a momentous episode had \ been' started with the intention of smashing all that was best in eivilis-

ation. In connection with; the news re-

ceived, he said he had requested the Governor to approach the Imperial qathpi-ities with the need for having &*>./ Dardanelles' forts manned by Anzacs. That was only just to the memory of those brave men avlio had given their lives for tlie Empire on the Dardanelles, and he hoped arrangements'would be made whereby

the graves of those Avho had fallen at Gallipoli would be preserved for

all time. It would be Avrong that Ave should Forget the services of these men, and but right that Britain should also remember. He. reviewed the historical events concerning 'the

Dardanelles, and said that by the entry" of the British Fleet into those waters a gate had been opened which wonld never again be shut.

-' Continuing, Mr Massey said: "In .the'.hour of" victory, we must not forget.the great services rendered by America, whose Aveight had turned the balance in pur favour. The patriotism of. France and Italy, and the loyalty of Japan, who, had she thrown, in her influence and power Avith Germany, ■would have made our position in these Southern Seas almost impossible." He paid a warm tribute to the natives of the South Sea Islands, who had volunteered for the front in the :hpAir of need, Avho had shoAvn a. magspirit, and avlio, on the eve of .Victory, should not be forgotten. No one, said the Premier, envied the Kaiser in the position in Avhich he found himself, a position which vivid-

ly recalled that of the Babylonian King who saw the writing on the Vail. In this hour of victory we should not forget the Higher Power who had protected us throughout the crisis. .When peace did conie we must Bee it was worthy of the great sacri-

fices made—worthy of 15,000 of the

pick of'our population, Avlio had paid the. extreme penalty, worthy of the mothers and ; wives who sent them. We must' be certain, when peace comes that it ..brings' repatriation for ■ the in-

juries and punishment, for the crimes against civilisation, in such a way that Germany will not he able to break the'- peace of the world for at least the next hundred, years. SIR. JOSEPH WARD'S SPEECH. . In seconding the motion, Sir .Joseph Ward said the day was one pf emancipation for the 'whole civilised world.The Central Powers had started out ojv the war.with the idea, that might wa.s right/ they Avere to destroy the small nationalities, then England, and 1 then ci;oss \ tp ( . America. -It was a giT gantic scheme of Avorld conquest, in which Germany did not, lose., -.sight of New Zealand, for they had it on authority of i) r S'olf that Germany not 'only expected the restoration of her colonies, hut demanded new territory, and New Zealand was to he one of the prizes of German victory. He was proud of the fact that all classes in New Zealahjl had. taken part in the struggle, but, in'this connection, the women' deserved a . .special word of praise, as, ihiit for their 'adaptability' in .taking new employments, many Hundreds of men could not have been released for the front. Speaking of the part played, in the. 'Avar by.. the Naviy,. he ~sa.id the whole world was indebted to .this branch of British arms, which had enabled us to stem ,the current which set in against .us., The conveyance of millions of men and .vast, quantities, spf. material Avas a feat unrivalled in the history of:the world, and 1 Ayquld the imagination of future generations, when history that AVfis.oiow secret was told as to the events of the past four years: He ~cpuld: say, with all due respect to the American and other Allies, that it was; the great part played by the Motherland which! brought us to the satisfactory position in which we found ourselves to-day. The, unity of our Empire Avas one of the most remarkable things in history. Before that xinity the distances and seas which divide us disappeared. Our OAvit country was a case in point, and it must have been one of the greatest surprises to the Kaiser the way in which the overseas' countries responded to -the call Avhen the freedom of the Avorld Avas in danger. Continuing, Sir 'Joseph paid a tribute to the mercantile; marine, and said the hour of I victory brought back with greater poignancy the grief of those'who had lost their sons. We' ought, never to forget their, extraordinary losses, but give" them our grateful thanks for the; sacrifices they had made. Messrs Hindmarsh and Payne also spoke. ...'.. Sir James 'Carroll said tlie surrender of turkey, which took us a long way towards the, desired end, Avas not a victory for ,the British Empire only, but was a victory for the whole world. Sir James Alien paid a tribute to the magnificent services of the Native races AyliO came to tlie aid of the Empire in its' hour of need. He agreed with Mr Hindmarsh that we should show humility,, but there was also room' for joy—for unspeakable joy—at the news which had a peculiar significance for the people of New Zealand, who were deeply concerned in the fate of Gallipoli, and he was glad to know the Leaders of the House had taken precautions to preserve it as sacred ground. Mr Hornsby suggested that, in view of tlie tuvri: eveuts had taken, all sections would 'agree to carry on the business l of the country and release the Leaders,"who should immediately return to England and be where, important/;: negotiations are going on. ' Thevmotion was , carried on tlie voices'j'and then tlie members rose ami sang 'the National Anthem, followed by the : Doxolo,gy. The" House rose at. 4.10,