DEBT TO THE NAVY.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 July 1925, Page 9

DEBT TO THE NAVY.

NEW ZEALAND’S POLICY, "A GREATER RESPONSIBILITY.” VOICE IN EMPIRE AFFAIRS. SPEECH BY THE PREMIER. (By Wire —Own Correspondent.) Palmerston North, Last Night. The Prime Minister (Hon. J. G. Coates) visited Palmerston North thia afternoon and he was accorded a civic reception, at which there was a big gathering of citizens, presided over by the Mayor (Mr. F, J, Nathan). The Mayor regretted that he could not follow tire English cVstom of conferring on the guest of the day the (Freedom of the City, but said that he proposed to order a book in which all such distinguished guests would be invited to write their names, and in that book the first to write Ws name would be Mr. Coates. Thanking the gathering for the welcome that had been given him, Mr. Coates said that no one could have been more impressed by its sincerity. He hoped that as time Went by he would be able to justify the confidence reposed in him. New Zealand was Imperial in thought, and Imperial matters were the higher side of our political life. These matters needed a great deal more attention than they did in the past.. “Everyone of us believes that in our Empire we have a great heritage which we cannot afford, to lose,” added the Premier. “We were asked for our opinions now on Imperial questions. We are in constant communication with the Old Country. We offered our opinion, but if those at the head of the Empire decided on a certain course there would be no hesitation on the part of New Zealand —she was with the Mother Country to a man. “In return for the assistance we had had in time of peril we were trying to do our best. To-day we were trying to give a little more assistance to the navy. We recognised that in the event of trouble that, as we were so isolated, naval protection was essential to us.” He thought that everyone believed that as far as we could we should take on greater responsibility in regard to naval defence. While England was suffering from trade depression and unemployment we should do all we could to take their manufactured goods and to take their population and endeavour to people the vacant spaces. He believed the people would support that policy so long as it was sensibly carried out. In New Zealand we had our internal troubles, but we were all in the one boat, and we should all endeavour to pull together and endeavour to bring about that unity of purpose which went to make a great nation. We needed to proceed on sound, common-sense, business lines. He wished to pass on to his departmental officers the credit which had been given him for the work he had done with the several departments he had had control of, and he wished the people to realise that the services which these officers were conducting were the people’s services and for that reason all should co-operate to make them successful.