CIVIC WELCOME

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 57, Issue 246, 29 July 1937, Page 10

CIVIC WELCOME

OVATION BY LARGE GATHERING.

NEW ZEALAND AND EMPIRE.

(Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, July 28.

A crowd of 3000 filled the Town Hall for the civic welcome to-night to the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage), when he entered with the Acting-Prime Minister (the Hon. P. Fraser), and the Mayor (Mr T. 0. A. Hislop). Mr Savage received a> won-* derful ovation.

Irrespective of political opinion, thought or action, all the people of this city feel the highest personal respect and re'gard for your courage and determination,” said the Mayor. “Your self-sacrifice and lifelong principles must surely gain the highest admiration of all in the capital city.” The Mayor also paid a tribute to the cooperation and wise guidance he had received from the Acting-Prime Minister. “The people of the country sent you away to represent them at the Coronation and the Imperial Conference, assured that you would represent them creditably,” said Mr Fraser. “We are not a bit disappointed in any particular. It was your privilege to carry the trust and confidence of the people of New Zealand, and you have come back with all that trust still in you.” Mr Fraser summed up the importance of the conference, and said the people knew from reports received that on every occasion Mr Savage expressed the sentiments of true democracy. To-

gether with his colleagues, Mr Nash and Mir Armstrong, Mr Savage had given good service. Mr Savage said it was pleasing to him to return from the Old'Land and find that the King George Memorial campaign had been such an, unqualified success. His thanks were due to those who had carried on the work of the Government during his absence. Mr Fraser and those who had been associated with him not only played a great part in the memorial campaign, but they played a great part in the political affairs of New Zealand during the last four months, perhaps a greater part than the rank and file of the citizens were in a position to know. New Zealand Butter. “I have just come from the Old Land, and have had the privilege of speaking to representatives of chambers of commerce and other commercial organisations, and I was assured that in the case of the dairy industry New Zealand butter had no superior in the British market,” said Mr Savage. “That is something you don’t hear every day. I. did not ask for it. It was fired at me

during a function held in my honour in Hull. The only thing that seemed to be wrong was that our products were not reaching the people who really wanted them. It is up to us to do something more than has been done in the past in getting our products directly to the people of Britain.” Mr Savage said if there was one man representing New Zealand who put the Dominion on the map in the Old Country it was Mr Walter Nash. It was a question of business with Mr Nash, and he had made good. “We did not agree with everything at the Imperial Conference, but the objective was about the same right along the line, and if Britain were In difficulties to-morrow I don’t think there would be much division,” said Mr Savage. “I think about the same thing would happen as happened last time. That does not relieve the people in high positions from the responsibility they have. “1 went to the Imperial Conference with, the idea in my mind that we had to put the economic foundation right before we could build a superstructure of peace. I found great difficulty in getting people to see that, although it looked simple enough to me. When one comes to analyse the

whole situation, one is bound to come to the conclusion that unless we put the economic foundation on a proper basis it is useless to talk about peace. I came from that conference convinced in my own mind that New Zealand is not running second to any nation on earth in putting the economic foundation right. t “We who represented New Zealand at the conference thought that if we lifted the standard of life of the people of the world we would largely remove the cause of war, because we would be using the surplus that we are trying to thrust upon others. When the nations begin to realise that, we will be closer to peace than we are to-day. The Imperial Conference ultimately did agree that it was a good thing to lift the standard of life, but they did not seem inclined to agree that it was the low standard of life that was largely the cause of war.”