NEW MINISTER ENTERTAINED BY CONSTITUENTS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXVI, Issue 17241, 20 March 1918, Page 4

NEW MINISTER ENTERTAINED BY CONSTITUENTS

PLEASING FUNCTION AT FEILOING.

PRIME MINISTER SPEAKS ON

WAR MATTERS

(Per Press Association.)

FEILDING, Mar. 19

A public congratulatory afternoon reception was given to Mr Guthrie by th<> electors of Oroua-to-day, on Us j>roiriotir)ii to the National Cabinet. Tim Mayor (Mr. Ongley) presided.

Tho Prime Minister, in referring to the war, maid that with the British It was ji case of endurance. Britain had a long; score to settle with Germany, and the Central Empires, before it was finished. Thei'e were the submarine* and other atrocities. Some people at tlie other end of the world were saying it was time we closed down with" regard to the war. "I say No! We cannot ciose down until the enemy has been beaten." This was a particularly dangerous period of the war. We have to combat people of our own vho are war-weary and long for peace. Reparation must be insisted on. We must go on until we make it impossible for Germany to return to the Pacific. We cannot afford to let Samoa go, not to mention the islands m which Australia is interested. Speaking without any claim to special knowledge, Mr Massey said he did not think it would be long before there won id be something in the nature of a peace conference. At the Imperial Conference he would uphold the claims of the islands, and with regard to _ after the war, he would support a policy of preference to the British Empire for the British. Our enemies should never again be allowed to dump their goods in British countries on terms of equality with the British. The war should prove an unforgettable lesson to Britons. Mr Massey thought Britain's Shipping Controller had treated New Zealand well, and would continue to do so Mr Guthrie, replying to an address of congratulation, said he would not then go into matters of tenure, etc., but he would say that the day of ranching in New Zealand was past, and the day of closer settlement was coming. Secondly, we have only scratched the surface "W> far, as producers, but lrf the future we must work '■ the land along scientific lines, to get the production needed ?b meet the future needs of the Dominion's liabilities.