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Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3120, 26 June 1917, Page 6

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MR. MABSEY AND SIR JOSEPH WARD WAR AND KINDRED TOPICS RECEPTION AT AUCKLAND •' DUE IN WELLINGTON TO-DAY By-Telecraph—Press Association. • m, : Auckland, Jjme 25. The Right Hon. "\V. F. Massey and Sir Joseph .Ward were entertained at a civic function, followed by a luncheon, at the Town Hall'to-day. Tho iilayoT of Auckland presided. Sir James Allen and the Hon A. SI. Myers wor ® prasont. There was a good display of bunting in. honour of the Ministers' return.

— / THE , SHIPPING PROBLEM EVERYTHING POSSIBLE BEING DONE. -Auckland- June '25. Speaking of the maintenance of our ■ Mercantile marine and the supply of shipping space to New Zealand, Mr. 'Massey said: "Shipping is tho big trouble of the day, and the difficulty in supplying tonnage is owing to the fact that Britain's mercantile marine iB doing double the-work-it had before the war, with a smaller number of ship Trade had consequently been cut down in all directions. ' New Zealand suffers more tlian other countries, because it is so far away from tho great markets of the world. In supplying foodstuffs, etc., ior the Amy, ire are ac k disadvantage when compared with other countries, in that we are twice tho distance away from the centre. Countries which are nearer can fulfil tho needs of the armies. It is impossible for me to go into details at present in connection with shipping, but we have ilono all that is possible to keep trade going, and our efforts havt. met with a certain amount of success. The future I depends on the submarine campaign. Once Rii's is overtaken, neutrol ships will enter trades which Jmve suffered by the sliippiug shortage. At the present time neutral ships .will not leave their ports owing ,to tlie submarine warfare. Once this is overcome a change will come. The overcoming ol the submarine problem will no doubt take a little time, but tho Germans cannot starve Britain, and cannot Keep supplies, from tho armies. blatters which have engaged our attention nave been tlie sale of New Zealand products—such as wool, cheese, ' hides, meat, and skins. Other questions Have bce.l those relating to 'New Zealand solvere, an Imperial War Cabinet, and the Imperial Wur Conference. The»e iiave occupied a great deal of our time. As for tne end of the war, no man can tell when the war will end. All I can tell J? a L will go on until wo win. vre&t Britain and iier Allies have made up thoir minds on that point. The feeling is exceptionally good, there being no Jingoism or hysteria, but a steadfast determination to go on nntil we cau dietate our own terms.

New Zealand Troops.. , " IVo visited France, and were' with the soldiers there tor a week. We saw many of the New Zealand troops, but of course, not all, because of the lmge mm of pound over which they are posted. They irure all m guoil spirits cheerful, and confident, 'ihey are determined, and do not want to stop at anything short or a decisive victory I •wat, glad to notice (lie esteem m which e "' Ze A la7 !< l and New Zealanders are Am,', t ■ m anned camp j don t think there is a centre in which Inow Zealand soldiers cannot be found, either being nursed back to iifcdith ot oil leave.

Wliilo passing: .through Canada we Jiad a few aays hefore sailing. We snent these in visiting several of the great Canadian cities. 1 ea ,i «w 6 ycu | rit _ ish citizenship eoimta for a great deal nimadays. Wherever New Zenlanders put m an appearance they arelvelcom-

Questioned as to Canada's attitude towards our methods of reinforcing the forces, Mr, ilassey said, imitation is the sincerest flattery, and n legard to the supply of reinforcements, Canada, has proved that our methods are such that tliey are worthy of copving. ln wi al '° !P S thel ' e what we twelve months ago. '

A CIVIC RECEPTION AX ANNUAL' IMPERIAL CONFERENCE. By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, June 17. Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward were given, a civic reception. The Mayor (Mr. ,T. H. Gunson), who presided, said all sections united in the welcome. Mr. Massey said New- Zealand stood high in the estimation of all at Home because*of the refutation for courage of our soldiers, and in future New Zealand would more than hold her own among the Dominions and in many ways talco tho lead. The British people were deter-, "mined to see tho. war through to a successful conclusion, and would not he sat'isficd- with an. indeoisive victory.

An Annual Imperial Conference. •Mr. Massey alluded to his and Sir tloscph Ward's work at Home. Tho most important duty was taking part in the .War Cabinet. For obvious Tcasons he could not divulgo tho secrets of Cabinet or tho Conference. One of tho important features of the Conference was that it had set a precedent, and it would bo followed -up. This Imperial Conference, which would not bo a War Conference, would be held annually, and at that Conference representatives of the various Dominions and dependencies would be present, and among them would also bo tho representatives of that great empire, India, which had done so much since the outbreak of war. Hitherto some 17,000,000 of British people scattered through tho Dominions had had no representation on the Imperial Councils, but this would not happen again, and in fnture instead of dependenies of Empire ;we. would now becomo partners.. , "Till Germany's Power is Broken." Alluding to the administration of Sir James Allen and his colleagues, Mr. Massey congratulated the former on the work he had done. It was not to be expected that we could get through the ,war x without troubles and difficulties, hut when they did come we had to meet them. We must go on until the power of Germany was broken, because if we did not break Germany Germany would / break us. To-day nothing mattered except winning tho war. No matter what its hardships, tho. country could recover so longas nothing in the way of slackening off in our 'determination to go Tight through and make it impossible for Germany, to again perpetrate the horTors of the past three years. Speech by Sir Joseph Ward, Sir Joseph Ward referred to the deatli of Dr. M.'Nal), and paid a tribute to the integrity and capability of the late Minister. After he had congratulated Sir Jiimcs Allen and the Hoii. A. M. Myers on the success of their administration during tho Prime Minister's absence, Sir Joseph Ward said what lie had seen in Britain satisfied him that the war had-been the greatest educator and regenerator the Empire had ever exporien«l. In three years it ha/1 solidified the Empire as all Press writing and public speeches in the past had never been able to do. He had come home quite satisfied that deep down ivithin the mass of the people of the Empire was a determination never to take their teeth from the hide of the enemy until they had onielled him. He had been quite salis'fiecl from the spirit of the wounded in hospitals and of the fighting men in the trenches that such was the animating spirit of the New Zealanders at the front. Sir Joseph Ward touched on the achievement of the Empire in arms, wen and munitions. "Have no fears of the .result nf the war." he proceeded..' •"America has filled one possible weak-

ness thai: might have arisen in ,1 year or two—that of finance—and, financially, the Motherland will be able to see the war right through."

How We Must Treat America. In a speech, at a civic luncheon, Sir Joseph AVaixl suid that when tbo war ended we would have to commence to build, up the commercial fabric of ,the Empire, which would be one of the most difficult problems that wo had to face. -\f> far as the United States was concerned, they would lmvo to treat that country as if it were part of the Empire. Those who in the past had taken part in the fight for i'ree trade v. protection in the Old Country would have to forget their differences, and agree upon a commonsense commercial policy in the best interests of the Empire. IMPERIALJVAIMIABINET AND THE WAR. CONFERENCE. (B.v Telegraph—Suecial Correspondent.) Auckland, June 25. Tho interesting oharacter of the visit of the Prime Minister and Sir Joseph Ward to Britain was touched upon by Mr. Massey in an interview. That we liave had a most interesting time, said Mr. Massey, goes 'without saying. We have seen the heart of the Empire under war conditions, and we have taken part in events which will live in history and which will form important precedents for the future. 1 think the public of New Zealand will realise that when we left for England last year there was no suggestjon of an Imperial War Cabinet 01 an Imperial War Conference.' As a matter of tact wo had secured accommodation on a trans-Atlantic liner sailing from a British port late in that year for our return journey to New Zealand. Ihere took place a change of Government in Eugland, and Mr. Lloyd George announced that it- was intended to convene tin imperiaK War Conference and War Cabinet. Both Cabinet and Conference met in due course, though after considerable delay, and right up to the hour of our departure from England we had an extremely busy time. Particulars ol tho work accomplished, so far as it is possible to do so, 1" will explain to 1 arhament. The greater part of the

proceedings of the Imperial War Conference have already been published. The proceedings in Cabinet are, of course, strictly private and confidential, and naturally will not appear, though the result of our deliberations will be evidenced tram time to time. Prior to the appointment of the Imperial War Cabinet 17 millions of oaxons resident in overseas Dominions Had no representation in regard to foreign policy or Imperial affairs. By what R™ o ? £ 'a" tllis is uow altered. ■Representatives of overseas Dominions as members of the Imperial War CabfcW I- 6 adr ! sm t0 the Crown for the been mm A P recede nt has nn lvr P "fr* J 5 " 111011 wiU followed «P by Primo Ministers or thoroughly representative men from among their coln thn r ns t0 take th cii' Place m the Imperial Cabinet which is inance of fv annuoll r- Tl "> >mp°rtniated'TU» l ?£ Ca ? not ,J6 over-esti-to hp , T110,1 =|' t h «re is still much more InndV ' t . h,s - i . will lje taken in , opportunities offer. What hni r&Sttsate**!* •rii i!WJ e " J . »• »■» dictate terms £$ J6t > a P9sition *° wn? H,°' day is ? ore dotar aiined than it war tJl^? mon .t hs after .the outbreak of moii'slv 01 i> nng 1,35 nsen enw '- none >m»ir' 3 e " re P rac ticallv nCif 8 17 y scarce aud <lear, anil almost every other commodity' is liHier s"de if tlf H C ° mi !!J re<i ]V itl! P rices 0" this ,1 ? fie world. Earnings, however, aie also lngli6i\ The people who appear to be suffering most are those with small incomes, who cannot possibly increaso them, and, therefore, have difficulty in making both ends meet. J wJ; for the'meeting- of the . .. and Conference I received invitations from most of the large centres m England to visit them officially, and! saw as many as it was nossibie to visit. During my stay in the United Kingdom I delivered ovor 100 addresses on matters connected with the war, and the position as it affected the Dominions 1 am very pleased (added Mr. Jlassey) to learn from many different sources that we were missed during our absence from the Dominion, but we had the satisfaction of knowing that along with our i co-representatives from other overseas Dominions we were assisting in a most important Imperial work, and attending to urgently important duties which could not possibly be neglected .without serious injury to the Empire and New Zealand.

Viewt of Sir Joseph Ward. The opinions of Sir Joseph Ward on the War Cabinet and the Imperial War /Conference were also sought. He said: "The work of the former was secret, and could not, of course, be discused even indirectly. The needs of the Empire had developed so rapidly since the commencement of the war, and happily caused recognition of the overseas .Dominions in the War Cabinet, sittings of which are to be perpetuated annually. As far as overseas representation is concerned this is a valuable step forward and is a wiso course. Ido not think, however," continued Sir Joseph Ward, "that it can rest at that. The whole of the overseas Dominions have of their own free action sent their men to fight, and have, given their money and materials 16 help preserve tho British Empire and to prevent a nation with an insane lust for conquest of world from attaining its unholy ends. It is recognised that the overseas Dominions have played a great and valuable- part in tho world war, and they have been recognised through their Governments, in that representatives of the Dominions arc to sit in England On the Imperial War Cabinet annually. I believe everything is being done for the best, and during the great war it would be unreasonable to expect responsible British Ministers <va well as those from overseas to turn aside from the work of war, which is unhappily the real work of the nation, to | attempt such remodelling as would meet with the general expansion of tho Empire. and tho aspirations of the people of the Moterland as well as those of the overseas Dominions. This must be work l'or future consideration and development.

"As to tho Imperial War Conference," Sir Joseph Ward proceeded, "heTe again one of the difficulties is that the war prevents a record of a great deal of inir portnnt work that was done being made public in a blue book until after hostilities cease. The conference will be remombered historically in my opinion largely from the fact that the great Indian Empire was given the right to representation thereat, and a resolution was unanimously carried requesting tho next Imperial Conference to rescind the resolution passed at the first Imperial Conl'erenve excluding India, and to give that important part of the British Empire the right to representation in future. In my opinion this is a wise course, and the statesmanlike procedure to - pursue. India has stood with the Empire as one to fight the common foe. India has poured forth men, money, and materials, and has added greatly to the strength of the Empire'. To have kept that portion of His Majesty's Dominions out of the Imperial War Cabinet meetings would have been a blot on the fair fnme of the Empire as a whole. ..

"Tho general work of the .conference was most important. At the former conference I attended the Government of the day, as a matter of policy, was opposed to preference, and the memorable phrase that the door was - slammed, barred, and boiled against the overseas dominions voiced the views held by the then Government. The war again 'is responsible for a great change of public opinion. The present Government of

Great Britain in in favour of preference, and a resolution that was unanimously carried by the conference, iind aVo previously agreed to in tlie War Cabinet, lias pushed this important mattei: a further stage] forward. Its further development in ust: necessary stand over until after the war, as it is cloarly impossible fur any of Hie oversea dominions to intelligently discuss tho details of pre-

fovencc until we know what the fiscal policy of Great Urilain is <o be, ami again J3ritish Alinisteis cannot bo expected to turn oft i'rom their all-important war duties to submit proposals of what is to be their own fiscal system until after the war is over/ 0

SIR JOSEPH WARD INTERVIEWED

THE PROBLEM 01? WINNING TIIK WAR, By Telegraph.—Press Association. Muciuariu, June i>. lu au interview bir joscpn Ward tun

"\v Uiit is uppermost 111 clie minus peopie iit lionitj, as in Aew Zeaiauu, llie prooiein uf winning tHo war un such a busis as to ensure a victory that will enable Britain and her Allies to dominate sufficiently to make peace terms of such a luml tuat there will bo no possibility of a recurrence, in a period of years of another such war, aim that tho :deas which have dominated the Kaiser and his associates will, never again be worth while attempting on tho part of any mad-brained autocracy who, under a system of vicious militarsiu, may attempt to dominate tho entire world, and in doing so suppress the liner side of humanity. In 'the Old Country we have associated with British Ministers in helping to bring about the eiid i have suggested. The war is not, over, but the calculations of the enemy have, in my judgment, been completely upset so far as their reliance on a starvation policy is concerned. Their last trump was, and is, the submarine policy, and their greatest activity in this has succeeded only in sinking three per cent, of Britain's mercantile marine. It was apparent before we left England that failure awaits them in this last horrible development of submarine warfare.

"Though our losses have been great, the Germans are not going to starve England. Without this, their possibilities of success disappear for ever, and it is only a matter of time before the war ends in victory for Great Britain and her Allies. This is the feeling of the authorities in the Old Country. I wish to make it clear that our people should not get the impression that the task to be carried out is an easy 0110. This is very far from being the case. The whole of the power of both. Britain aud her Allies will have to be exerciscd to the full to enable this to be done. There is hope that the war may end in 1918, but it is impossible for anyone to forecast this. One thing is certain, there is great determination on the part of the British authorities, backed. by the people, not to knuckle down to a stalemate result. Everything that is kunanly possible is being dona to bring about success to our arms. The coming in of America has added greatly to the strength of the Allies, especially from a financial point of view. The bulk of the financial responsibility fell upon the British Government, but the entry of the United States Tias made all tlie difference in the world in this respect.

"The War Conference tuid the War I Cabinet have both done most valuable work for the Empire. The War Cabinet dealt -with matters exclusively relating to the war, and necessarily much of its work is kept secret, but I am right in saying., its deliberations and decisions have vitally affected the interests of the whole Empire. As a member of the Conference one sot a thorough knowledge, of the gigantic proportions and great -nature of the work falling uoou the British War Cabinet. Some resolutions of the Imperial War Conference have been already made public, and need not be referred 'to by me. A' great deal of its work must V,e _ kept secret, until the end of the war, as it. is considered that to' disclose it nowwould bo giviug information to the enemy."

- TRADE PREFERENCE SHIPPING AND OTHER PROBLEMS. (By Telegraph—Special Correspondent.) Auckland, .Tune 25. Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward are both looking fresh and vigorous after their voyage—u little'lessened in weight, porhaps, but not at all the worse for the perils and hard work of their trip. It mll.be noted from tlje speeches and the interviews both, of tliem have given that they prefer to talk ohly in generalities on all the topics which are of live interest inthis country and on which the public are looking to them for information. 1 They have to meet the House shortly, and they are waiting until 'then before they say the things the country wants to heai> One of the tasks Sir. Massey undertook when lie left here was a thorough investigation of the operations and machinations of the Heat Trust in' Britain, iit that time the Meat Trust was a corporation belonging to a country with whose neutrality many people were out of pati- I ence. Now that country .is a powerful and whole-souled > Ally, and Mt. Massey will not say all tliat.he thinks about the Trust. He will have to say it to Parliament, but he is not for the present offering any remark on what he learned about the workings of the Trust. Mr. Massey did say, however, that he found that the Trust controls all the Argentine | meat and that it has some hold over New Zealand.

When Mr..Massey was in' England certain of his speeches on the subject of Empire trade preference were telegraphed to New Zealand. Thi's is to he one of the important Empire questions as soon as there is room for it, and it has been adopted into tho policy of the present British Government. There is. how. over, general misunderstanding as to the meaning of the term "trade preference." Most of us have assumed that it meant preferential tariffs for England and the jjominions. This is not so. There-sire other, methods of giving trade preference than by tariff rqtes, and Mr. Massey has never advocated the tariff as the exclusive medium of preference, if indeed it is to be used at all in somo parts of tho Empire. His proposals include tariff pre. ference, but this is not his only proposal. This he will in' due course mate clear to the House.

Mr. Massey was a keenly interested in. qnirer as to- v the concerns of New Zealand about the shipping- problem, and tho grievances of farmers regarding the but-ler-fat levy and the lack of space for dairy produce. He was well informed, and he lias no comforting things to say about the shipping problem, "Will things get better?" he was asked. His replv was: "T. could perhaps tell yon if vo'u could tell me how long the submarine business will go on."- And on thi's there

is apparently no more information. Mr. Massev admits that the dairy industry is likely to be serioupjy affcctod, and especially the butter industry.

, THE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK SIR JOSEPH. WAI.D OPTIMISTIC By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, Juno 25. Reference to ,the financial market and the prospect of cheap money after the war was made by Sir Joseph Ward at the luncheon. Referring to tho pending War Loan, lie said a large sum would be necessary, and he appealed to business men, in their own interests, as well as those of tho State, not to assist any movement for raising rates of interest ,to an abnormal extent. The trade conditions of the Dominion after tho war were likely to be very favourable. Thero would be much to do in rebuilding, the devastated countries, and transferring meu from the Old Country, and. he hoped, all the Dominions. Contracts for enormous amounts already had been entered into by tho British Government. "I do not believe we are going to have a. tight money market for a long time after the war, ho said. Within two years after the war ends we are going to have cheap money Some people think otherwise, but I do not." People in the Old Country who -before tho war iuvestmilLions and millions in Germany and other Continental countries would require an outlet for capital. These people were liow providing over '150 millions of new money for fresh investment. After tho war thero would be no great navies to ho built or great armies that the exigencies of the great war had necessitated. New Zealand had provided du'ring the last three years for war and other purposes no iess than twelve to fifteen millions. Altogether, the prospects for the successful conduct of New Zealand's ordinarv affairs were very bright indeed.