SIR JOSEPH WARD

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2149, 15 May 1914, Page 4

SIR JOSEPH WARD

-I"—■■■■.- ■ O'-, —.—.— AN ADDKESS AT 31AKT0N. (By TeleEraph.-Pi:c 5 a Assootdtlpn.-) i Waftan, May 14 Sir Joseph-Ward had a great reeffition here. Tho Town Hall was pncWl, about , «Uo peoplo being present. Ho was repivcd with cheers β-u catering the hail, and ho iecdvod a spleitdiS tearing, applause being •frequent and proioiißoa. Tlie Slayer, Mr, J ii iUilte, iifesidod. Siv Joseph Ward made some telling points, especially j u rc g M d to iiayal derenee and tho dreadaougbt. Deoling wjtlj.the i'oniier, he said'that the attempt to inafaj capital out of. the fact that his resolution «mc«mng th& settiiiK uj> of aii iinperwl Parliament of IMence was not carried at tlio imperial Conference in 1911 cm jfcl only bo re■Sarded us something of no consequence. lie quoted from tlie report of tiro Conference to shew that ho !iad made it tfuito ofear that his proposals could not bo hurriedly given etfect to. Ho told tho Conference that life scheme presitpposed, in .the United Kingdom, a comisktc system of kcal -aataßomy for the- iiiitioiial dtvisions of the Kingdoms, mchidHis Knghmd, S3ootla.net. Ireland, and Wales, each having its own .Parliament, What had happened- siiico then- , Hcc-CTft cables showed that 200 members of tlie House of Commons, Unionists, and Liberals, had banded toEcther for the purpose of ostabHshing ,i federal system for tho United Kingdom. It was riuito apparent that the basis of settlement of the Irish trouble was to lie oil federal Hnes, sucli as ho had in- [ dis;at«d. Two Ministers.- in recent spL'uijhcs, had Mi-entioned tho work done by him at the Impcriai Coitfcmwe. with a view to burying their local navy scheme, but what he had stated would at least show that Ire was not very far . out when, before a- gathering of ine'tt ropreseating tho Empire, he had advocated an JSmpiro .Parliament, and a Parlinmt'iit for each of tho national divisions of the British Isles. Such a scheme, it s-eeined from present indications, was to save the Homeland from a horrible civil war. Ministers fcoukj iiba lit him, and misrepresent him, and f'udeavatir to belittle him us much as they liked 041 tlw question of a kwai Jiav,y, but nothing could persuade him that ■we couki .stop at one Bristol eruiser. Ho had no desire to draw tlie question r of defence; into party polities, but tills had been clone. l),y the Hoforni Government, who had forces! a svhpini' thi-miyii Parliament without any authority from the ppoplt , . Me cliav-aeJ-erisod Mr. M.-iss«?y's statement at Gisliortio in rnjranl i<i the Droadnongiit as a distortion of facts, The battleship had liei'u provided liy New '/,q>x-l:-md, tiiid paid fsir. lie bad arranged tlu» piiynH-nt so that it would not press ()!! the working iiiasi, and noboily could deny tUtit.- (Appianso.) ; Mr. W. 11. (Iniye;: niovetl a vote of ! thanks to Sir Joseph Ward, express- ' in;; t'onfidenen in the Liberal party, and the hope 1 lint thny ivmild top tl'i-p ■ polls ;it the next election, This was carried with applause, there being no : disseiitieiits. Kir Joseph Ward was pres««*nr*?fl with a bonr>ii!>t, an/! th» in< s ftivig Hesed with ckecre fqr' the Leader of tlie j Opposition. ;