TO SEE IT THROUGH

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2413, 19 March 1915, Page 7

TO SEE IT THROUGH

NEW. ZEALAND'S DUTY SPEECH BY PRIME MINISTER ' An address on the conduct of tlie | war, and tho present and prospective, effects of the war; was delivered by the Prime Minister (the Right Hon. \V. F. Massey) at the luncheon tendered him by the .New Zealand Club yesterday. The Hon. R, H. Rhodes was also present, and apologies were received from .the Hon. W. H. Herries and the Hon. A. L. Herdman. Mr. F. S. Pope presided. ■ Mr. Massey was applauded loudly as' he rose to speak. The. War, ho said, lad been going on. now for between seven and eight months,- and he thought they had ail reason to be proud of the fact that' after seven, or eight months of war the Empire was greater and stronger than it was at the commencement of. operations. (Applause.) E'or years prior to tho outbreak of war Continental writers had been asserting —probably the wish was father to the thought—that the Empire . was decadent, and that the British, nation was, so to speak, on its last legs. He did not know what those writers thought, of the present position. At the outbreak or war the outlook was certainly dark. It appeared as if there might b& civil war in Ireland, sedition was being openly preached in the bazaars in India, and it was believed that a section of the people in South Africa were' only awaiting a suitable opportunity to declare their independence. There was also serious unrest in Britain. That .position changed in a day, almost' in an hour, after the outbreak of war. (Applause.) The Irishmen had put their own quarrel aside to take up the Empire's quarrel; the Indian races were actually vying with each other as to the number of men and horses and guns'they could send to the front; the Suffragettes had postponed the ventilation of their grievances ; and the British people in South Africa had proved their ability to hold South Africa, for the Empire for all time. No one needed to be told what England was doing. What had happened must have been a revelation to those Continental writers who had been watching England with jealous eyes. New Zealand's Part. . . "I don't wish to speak in any boastful spirit," He continued, "but I do wish to say that I don't think the New Zealanders of the future, say of next century, will have reason to be ashamed of the part taken, by New Zealand in the present crisis. New Zealand, according to British papers, was the first of the Dominions of tho Empire about the time of the declaration of war—l think it was before tho declaration of war—to offer assistance to the Mother Country. We are a small country with a small population, but we offered to do ouf best. We were the first to get troops away to the assistance of the Empire, and our soldiers were the first to, take possession of any foreign territory. (Applause.) • And aB we have | begun, so we propose to go on. You | will probably reoollect ithat after the .declaration of war there was a great deal of uncertainty, apparent_ among our people, a good deal of excitement, and a certain amount of stagnation in trade. News from Europe was eagerly scanned, but even in the dark days of the retreat from Mons there was a feeling of confidence that things would soon change for the better." Now, he continued, all doubt and uncertainty had disappeared, and there was not the slightest doubt in . the kinds of one out of every 10,000 of the population of the Empire, as ,to what the final result would be. (Applause.) What the Government Has Done. Mr. Massey dealt at.some length .with the notions of the Government relating to ships, _wheat,_ and frozen meat (on which subjects his remarks are reported elsewhere). He spoke also of the assistance the Government had given to the kauri gum industry which was threatened with extinction by the war. The 6cheme of the Government for putting' on men to turn over large areas of gum land to a depth of 'five or six feet was working out very satisfactorily. These men were being paid wages, and enough gum was being won to pay their wages. Afterwards the land would be open for selection for fruit-growing, for which purpose it would, he was sure, be very suitable. J-ha Government were also doing as much as possible to assist the timber industry, which was now in a much better position than it was at the outbreak, of war. The people <5f New Zealand had given most generously to the various relief funds, and especially to the fund for the relief of the Belgian people. To this fund they had given m cash and kind at the rate of £25,000, a month. Now the Government proposed to subsidise those donations. The Government's present expenditure on the war was £800,000 a month, and it would be more as more troops were sent from time to time. . He did lot say New Zealand wa's doing too much. Perhaps we should do mor f. and if the Imperial authorities would indicate any way in which we could do more, he was certain every citizen of New Zealand was willing to do his share. (Applause.) This war was as muoh our quarrel ae it was'l the (juarrel of the people of England, •and it was just as muoh our business to see this thing through" as it was theirs. Already 4000' men were in training, and when they left more were T ? 'L t° * a k e places. If it should be necessary to train more men ne was sure they, would be forthcoming. We must do our best to ensure ah honourable peace—a peace that would, last for a very long time. (Applause.)