WAR-TIME TASK

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2936, 23 November 1916, Page 6

WAR-TIME TASK

VALUED VIEWS

NATIONAL MINISTRY'S PART

NEED OF DOMESTIC HARMONY

At tho -Empiro .Hotel last evening a complimentary dinner was given by. tho Wellington Chamber of Commerce to tho visitors attending the Confercnco ot Chambers of Commerce now being held in Wellington.- Mr. James Macintosh (.president of the Wellington Chamber) presided over a large gathering ■After the toast of tho King had been 'honoured, Mr. Macintosh proposed the toast of the "National Ministry." He said that at tho Conference of the Chambers of Commerce last year therei was passed, ■on the morning of , August 5, n resolution to the effect that 'it was desirable that party differences should be sunk, and that evening, the formation of a National Ministry was ■announced. Much good work had been done In that time, and tho 'Ministry liad justified its existence. That we shall be victorious in the war thero was no doubt, if wo used aright all the means at our disposal, and if every ono would do liis duty. Thife was no time for slacking, rather was it a time when each one should ask himself, no matter how onerous tho duty or duties lie might be engaged upon: "Can I not <ir do something more, no matter Low litr'tie?" For, however great our achievements. it would be but a small thing 'compared with what had been done for us by those who havo gono. bofore us. And let lis recall for a moment what had been done for us in this Dominion by the Motherland. She had; spread her protecting wings over this land, and let us possess it. She had maintained her protection over us and our industries bo that we had grown, without any troubles but those of our own toalring, almost ,to the stature of a nation, and all this without calling upon us for a fraction of the cost. Certainly wo had in later years, and of our own volition, made small contributions to the cost of the Navy, in presenting the battleship •Now Zealand, but; allowing for all this, how great a debt-still remained. Now ' wag the time to repay, "and our rcpay'ment should be as full, as spontaneous, .and as magnanimous as was the protection afforded us. We had done, and still doing, mticlrin this direction, and were winning much renown in so doing because this aid was not solicited, but/was spontaneous and voluntary on our part. It was this spirit of trust in, and affection for, each other that 'was the strength and glory of our race and'the -envy of our enemies. But more was needed still." Our organisation was not complete. It was as necessary for us as a nation to take accurstock of all our'resources', so that they may be applied with the greatest eifect, as it was for any individual •when engaged in, or about to be engaged in, any big undertaking. What; would be said of any business man who,' when he found himself confronted with grave issues, did not at once take steps 1 to marshal all his resources so that they would be at his command at anymoment to meet any call that might be made upon him? And what was' true of an individual was. true also of • a nation. The industries of the nation required to feed the war. and to support the people must be kept going, but there must be no waste, no overlapping. And how was all this' to bo done but by- careful and skilful ■ organisation. ?sds was the work which was really intended by our Military 'Act, and what was . intended by the Referendum in Australia. Unfortunately the word "conscription" was used (to his mind quite a wrong term), and the issue was confused. It was the work of our Government to see that we fulfilled all our obligations, and do all in its power to. bring the war to a speedy and successful conclusion, and the feeling throughout the country was that they might safely be trusted to do all that was humanly possible in that direction.' ,

Replying to the _ toast, the Hon. W. H. Herries, Minister of Railways, thanked' the chairman for the things,lio had said of the National Government. Generally, the National. Government received abuse. It was said the Government had put on heavier taxation than was, ever known beiore. So it had. It had taken the butter-fat,-and so on, but the National Government was put there to do those things; because a strong Government was needed to assist in prosecuting the' • war to a victorious end. Maybe it pvould have been better had other countries followed the example of the Government of New Zealand. . The great necessity 'was unity, and a National Government was united in doing things that could not bo done by another Government. It was sometitaes said that the Motherland was taking more from •New Zealand than from' other countries. Well, -we'should be proud that the Motherland thus came, to New Zealand. During the existence of the National Government party, political ■strife had been largely. mitigated. It was to be hoped that others would follow the example of the politicians. If the < employer and the employee, instead of being at daggers drawn, would come together, a.lot of the difficulties .would vanish: troubles about wages ■ arid hours' would pass away, and wo could devote all our energies to assist- ; ing the Mother On behalf of the Government he thanked the commercial men of the country for the assistance they had given the National Government, and the Chambers of Commerce for aid in questions not easy of solution. 'There were still ■greator difficulties ahead after the conclusion of the war, and lie hoped there Svould be a strong and united Government to deal with them 4 just as there : was now a united Government to deal' with problems during the war.- It should be borne in mind that the problems were greater than ever faced Governments prior to the war, and if the Government was thought to be too cautious it should not be forgotten that it wasbetter to be cautious than rash. came to be written it would Be shown that the part playcil .by New Zealand was one of the greatest played by any portion of the Empire. .. Tho Hon. A. M. Myers, Minister oE Munitions and Supplies, proposed the toast of "Commerce." Ho said that he had been met in a fine spirit by the commercial community, and ho was ..sure tho integrity of our commercial community stood second to none. He 'mentioned that our total exports and imports in 1913 amounted to £50,790,567, and this year to £60,067,467, «u increaso of over £9,000,000. The value of our trade per head had increased from £54 12s. Id. por head by £8 Bs. 7d. per head. No other country in the world could 6how such a record. It was naturally pleasing to see tho Customs rovenuo swelling, but these figures gave a good deal- of food for reflection. He could not help thinking that wo were indulging to a greater extent than was warranted in'luxuries. By March next the Dominion would probably have expended £22,000,000 on tho war. The financial deduction was that we must prepare for post-war conditions. I twSs necessary to organise Tor 'war as we had done, and also to use the organisation to'tho fullest extent so that wo could mobilise for the solution of post-war problems, first'to holp ourselves and. then our Allies. Wo Ksst, in a few words, put patriotism

before profits. Wo must produce what wo can, and purchase the rest within the Empire. It was a vital necessity to reoognise what was to ibe the econoniio condition after the war. In this country the possibilities were great, but, when it was realised that 70,000 men had enlisted, it was incumbent on tho non-combatants to do what they could. At present our domestic horizon was clouded by ( possibilities of labour troubles. But it was necessary for employer and employee to do their utmost to win tho war. Messrs. J. G. Hnrkness, R. W. Dalfon (British Trade Commissioner), and W. A. Beddoo (Canadian Trade Commissioner) responded,. Mr. Harkness drew attention to' the; part tho Navy had played in the preservation of our trade. Mr. Dalton said that commerce had brought the war, and would bring peace. After tlie war British commerce would bo the first commerce in the world, as it was before the war. Mr. Beddoo said that it was clear that even during the war the Empire was prosperous. > Tho Mayor of "Wellington (Mr. J. P. Luke) proposed the health of the visitors, and visiting delcga-.es responded.