OUR RETURNED ENVOYS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3122, 28 June 1917, Page 6

OUR RETURNED ENVOYS

CIVIC WELCOME WAR SPEECHES &lAT OUR SOLDIERS HAVE DONE

CIVIC WELCOME

A civic- reception was accorded to the _ two Masters who have recently returned irom tho Old Country yesterday. Tho iTOohou was held in the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall, aud all parts of the auditorium were filled . - The Mayor (Mr: J. P. Luke, C.M.GI who presided .ottered a welcome to the guests on bebalt of the citizens of Wellington • It was-providential, he said; that the Ministers and their families had been able to make the perilous journey, and ■ come back safe and sound. (Applause.) m<IL Home at tlle invitation ot tae .British Government, in order that - they might have a part in determining great questions affecting every part of the Empire, and he made no apology for saying that ho believed that every day they had been away they had been'doing work for the people of this country. All v but very few people had felt that their on ties had been such as to necessitate their remaining in the Old Countrv onger than they had at first intended lo ; stay. Theyytvere concerned especially »f everybody that the war should be brought to a. successful conclusion. The Sfr° f ? e **»to"l had their repre ~..• jentatives fighting at the front,'fightiu- '.' '■ ™t only for New Zealand and thoEm■|>rro but for the freedom of'all man- . kind. (Applause.) They regretted the MA-S ? lcnd f, and relatives, but they ■<m not deem the sacrifices too great for |h 0 great auns of tho war-the protec;tum of civilisation and the freedom of all rould bo richer for the sacrifices made &in ™ UDg "!! n and b * tlle Natives left to mourn them. Applause.) In ofNnwT 1 6 <*• Dominion ?L™= ! e ?- and had h ad two very worthy -. representatives, and for the people of Rwh S V ii° r' com ! them home Kgam. in. j,uke had a few words of £rlT° f r? , the Me3 of party before he called upon Mr. Massey to steak. THE PRIME MINISTER. ':,- A HEAIW-riicEPTION. The Eight Hon. W T u„o„ greeted with appUu^Je^ ft*,™ L/rt t0 eak ' He tanked he°May 0 r and tho citizens of Wellington f^lhl ■ ucleome accorded to them e°xp«J,„*s - VXft W™**™ of that welcome It Sn alter V? T? 0 "* thaU publl man, alter he had been absent from the for ten months, began to wonder M- at 4£* ° f a J£ ee s im he'wonld get on hi* return. "But," said Mr. Massey ■■e\ev since we haro been back I have SS f of « le "owls of an old song that was sung m my youth-and by Oh '&■«* IS &H ] 7 Z° oi ™ng toKlav- . Oh, Willie,.. Wo Have Missed You ' " (Loud laughter.) Ho could not heln feelim that ho and his, colleague had beei missed, and he could not heln saving i tt ? pr 1 c K ted ? e heartiiesa and genuineness of the welcome extended to them since theu- r etu ru to their own country •He could hardly realise that they had been away ten months, that thev had' been round the world, because in their , ■ absence from New Zealand thev had liad V ? S^ 0 !' 1 ? h ™y time - the Mayor Jad hinted in his remarks, there might ■ Jbe a few people who would say that thev had been out for a niciiic that thev had •been out to enjoy themselves. Thfe was .-aiot true, but they .had had a most h,--..terestmg time, having been privileged to itatepart in the public business of the v Empire at; the time of the greatest crisis ■in its history.

The Soldiers. ' He spoke of the visit to Prance of Sir Joseph Ward and himself. Thoy went >ver on Monday and returned on Saturlay, arid during their stay they saw a reat deal of the New Zealand soldiers ; was impossible to see all of them be^ rase they were spread over such a wide tent of front and quartered in so my places, but he belie.Ved thev had n the majority of the troops frorn this atry. And he was glad to sar that men were exceedingly pleased "to see 1 n wherever they went. He saw enough •Jie horrors and miseries of. war to '.fy him for a very long time, but there was another side, and although men had to put up with a great '. he wished to say that everything it was possible for the authorities > for their comfort was being done. applied not only to the New Zeairs, but to the' whole British {. At ■ the time of their there was practically, no 'iig goiftg on/.and they ran no very risks, although no one could visit ce without some risk. Nothing could he done .for the comfort of oldiers. They were well fed, well ped, and he believed well led.- He >een very proud to notice how high oldiers were regarded as, fightnd as men. There was stationed the New Ze&laudo'rs a division ol ds, and the Guards had made ds of the New Zealanders. It was a that the Guards considered thems the elite of the British Army. • would not associate with the ordi- • soldier. -He did not say he ap'ed of this, but he stated it as a fact, .il a regiment distinguished itself the »rds would not take any notice of it. t after the battle of the Somme Hie ards took notice of the New Zealaml- ., and made friend's of them.

British Hospitality. "It was not our visit to the Motherland rhieh placed New Zealand in the position it occupies in the Empire to-day," raid Mr. Massey. "Our soldiers, the' men ,who have been fighting for you and for •we,; have given this country a place it jhas never before occupied. (Applause.) '.Anything the British ,publie can do for , -the New Zealand soldiers they are doing. ■1 never went to any centre in Great Britain without meeting New Zealand soldiers, and in. every place they were simply overpowered by the Mildness of ithe inhabitants. There is no exception +o this. One doesn't like to make coiujparisons, and I am not going to muko comparisons between our soldiers and the . soldiers from other parts of the Empire," 'but I will say that the New Zealand soldiers are favourites. (Applause.) I will give one instance of tho kindness , Known to our men. The pcoplo of Edinburgh were good enough to ask nie to eomo along and receive the freedom of ,tho city, an honour often extended to ■visiting public men. \t that time thero iwcre a number of New Zealand . soldiers in Edinburgh. They had ■been _ taken care of by the ' representative people of tho city,, and before wc left a .deputation, headed by Lord Dewar, came to me with a request that I should * appeal to tho War Office to allow these men to stay ten <iays longer with them. I told the de- • nutation that I could do nothing myself, ■but that I would appeal to the War Office as they had asked. The AVar Office rwns good enough to say that these men could stay a few days longer in Edinburgh. This is only one instance of the kindness that is being shown to our soldiers by the people in the Home land. • A Great Precedent. ' If tho War Conference, or the Imperial Conference, had been called earlier, Mr. Massey contiuued, they would not have left New Zealand until Hliree months later. At/ the War Cabinet, for the first time in the history of tho Empire, representatives'from the overwas Dominions had an opportunity -of meeting the statesmen of tho Old Country on equal terms, and of taking a part -.m the transaction of tho business of the Empire. Previously the Dominions had . Jiover had direct representation, although they had had an opportunity of cxplaining their views at the Imperial Confer- ; eiice when it was called, but on this occasion they were given an actual .part in tho. management of the Empire. This proceeding had done iporc to draw tho component parts of thoEinpiro together .than anything, except, perhaps, the war .itself; for the war had drawn the peopies of the-Empire together in a way

that nobody ever anticipated, in a way which the Kaiser certainly nover anticipated. (Applause.) .After the. war this Cabinet, not as the War Cabinet, but as the Imperial Cabinet-, once a year for the purpose of arranging Imperial affairs for that year. Trade Preference. Mr. Massey referred to the subject of preference in trade, saying that this had for long been part of the policy of Now Zealand, ami of most of. the other parts of the Empire. Great Britain had not attempted to give preference to New Zealand »oods, but our goods had all gone into two market free. It might be said that under these circumstances'we hud nothing to complain of, but he was quite certain that this was the case. There was going to be a change presently. Although goods went in free to England from this country, goods went in free also from enemy countries. He was quite certain that the British public would never stand this any longer. The matter was oue for legislation bv the Governments of tils' Empire individually, but he believed that some preference would bo given by every part of the Empire to every other part'.

Germany's Last Card. Tho big concern of the Empire at pret sent was the shortage of shipping and tho submarine warfare. New Zealand was specially interested in the question because if we could not get our products to market we would be in a yery bad way. But ho believed that the submarine was Germany's last card. Germany had risked war with America in order to begin this submarine war. So certain was she that she could starve the Old Country that sho took the risk of making a powerful enemy; They had brought. America, into tho war by this policy. American ships were already being used with good effect in. tho war against tho submarines. Once tho submarine warfare collapsed the war would be pretty nearly at an end. In any case, Germany could not starve Britain. (Applause.) The war would be carried on to a conclusion, because the fighting spirit of the British people was aroused. There was.no hysteria, no noise, but a. calm, quiet determination to go on to the bitter end, whatever the sacrifices might be. In this decision the British people were right, and we must, back them up. He, knew something of tho sacrifices this country had made, and something of tho sacrifices other countries had made. He knew something of the lads we had lost. He knew the financial sacrifices the country; had made, and he had some idea of the financial sacrifices the country .would yet be called upon to make. ' But with a full, sense of his responsibility he said that we must go on. If we did not break the power of Germany now, Germany would smash Britain at the first opportunity. We must go on until we had achieved decisive victory, which would ensure for us and for the whole world peace for a long time to come. If wo attempted to make terms with Germany now, .Germany would at once demand tho return of her colonies, the return of German ships interned. Would New Zealand evejj give up Samoa? AVould Australia give up New Guinea? Was it reasonable that we should return ships to Germany after the number of our ships that she had sunk?

Nothing but the War. ;"I know the patriotism of Great Britain has been tested in a way we never dreamt of,"'said. Mr. Massey in conclusion. "In all probability it will be subjected to still'further trials yet. But we must face that. We must realise that in comparison with winning the war nothing matters. There mar be depression after the war. I hope not; but still there will be sacrifices to be made. Some men will be ruined, but we have got to face it. We' have got to realise thati nothing matters but the war. We have got to keep faith with those who have (bed for us, and we have to go on .until it is made impossible for Germany to repeat, the awful horrors of the last three years." (Applause,.)

SIR-JOSEPH WARD. BRITAIN'S ACHIEVEMENTS. ', Sir Joseph Ward, who -was received with pro ouged applause, said that tho time .it his disposal was very short and lie would not attempt- to make any extended remarks. He expressed his warm appreciation of the reception that has been accorded himself and Mr. jfassey in Wellington. ' Nothing could be more reassuring to a public man after a long abner.ee from his own coimtiT than to find that the great majority of the people with whom ho had been associated w the past had been loyal, and were ready to extend the hand of welcome on his return. It was a. difficult position for a Minister to lie absent for a period of ten months, and to be held responsible even indirectly for the duties of his official position during that time. But the Prune Minister and himself had Imown how well Sir Tames Allen and his colleagues' were carrying on the work of the National Government, and they had felt unite easy in their minds. , I'he Ministers who had stayed at home had bad very important and responsible work, and so had the Ministers- who had gone to Great Britain. (Applause.) The. Ministers at home and the Ministers abroad had been animated by the one desire, to do everything in their power to serve their country and the Empire in the greatest crisis in the history of (lie British people. They placed the successful prosecution of the war before every other consideration. ' "What, we ai;e all working for is nothing less than the continuance of the British Empire after- the war is over," said Sir Joseph Ward. "We though before the war that we were safe. AYe did not realise that tremendous forces might be used against the 'Empire in a world-wide war. When the blow came, we had a little army of 100,000 men to send to Franco to help stay the German advance on Paris and Calais. But what, has the Old Motherland done since then.? The country that was not ready for war lias done what no other country in the world under similar circumstances could have accomplished. It has created, equipped, trained, and armed within the British Isles-an army of over four million men. It has become a great military Bower, as it was already a mighty naval Bower. Our enemies have discovered that the most important factor in the war is Britain, supported by the far-Hung Dominions and dependencies , of the British Umpire, j Whatever doubts may have been felt in the United Kingdom regarding our ability to : win—and there were doubts at one time as to whether Ave could light this war to a victorious conclusion—have been removed by the creation of that. vast and supreme efficient Army." Sir Joseph Ward proceeded to refer .to the entrance of the United States into the war, not-as an Ally of Great Britain in the ordinary sense of the word, but as an uncompromising enemy of .German militarism. .The combination that had been created wa's ono that even the Germans themselves must know was invincible. The British neople hated war. But nobody could visit the United Kingdom to-day "without realising that the British people would never cease fighting until victory had been won. To have participated in the councils of the Empire at such a time was a yeiy great privilege indeed, ami he felt that, the honour paid to Mr. Masfey and himself in this respect was a tribute to New Zealand. Victory Assured. "We are going to win th.is war," added Sir Joseph Ward. "It is impossible to imagine that the men in Britain who are responsible for the government of that great country, in alliance with Prance, Japan, Italy, Belgium,' Serbia and Rumania; with Greece brought to her knees, and at our dictation;" in as-sociation-with the United States of America, and in combination with South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and the vast Imperial Dependencies.-will ever consent to knuckle down to Germany. (Ajmlause.) We are going tu win. We are eoing to have terms that will ensure the" Pacific Islands being held for the Empire, that will provide guarantees for the peace and freedom of humanity, and thnjt will protect us against another war beiii" precipitated by a niad-hrnincd monarch and a militarist clique." The autocracies ot Europe were doomed. The Russian Isar, who had allowed himself to bo' swayed by German sympathies, had boon swept from the throne, and Bussia was to be governed, as British people were governed, by the will of the people and not by tho will of an autocrat. The Britisl) I people would stand by their monarchy

because it was a constitutional monarchy, providing a fitting head for the Empire without limiting in any degree the governing rights of the cope. He trusted that an outcome of Ino war would be the assertion by the peoples of Central Europe of their right hands of rulers who had cast the shadow ot war oyer the whole world. In conclusion Sir Joseph .-..Ward expressed his sympathy with those who had lost loved ones on the field of battle. New Zealand, he said, was paying in valuable lives her lull proportionate share of the price of victory.. The men who had fallen had gone to the front feeling that it was their doty to take part in (l le fight for freedom and civilisation, and to hand down to their children the privilege and the glory ol being citizens of the Empire that had done so much for human liberty and happiness." (Applause.) I he Mayor said that he would not like the proceedings to clo.=Te without making a-reference, to the excellent work that lind been done by the Acting-Prime Minister, Sir ,1 allies Allen, and his colleagues during the absence of the Prime Minister •and Sir Joseph Ward. Sir James Allen had carried a very heavy load of responsibility, and the people who were qualified to judge knew that he had acquitted himself splendidly. The gathering, at the call of i lie "Mayor, gave three cheers for Sir James Allen and the other members of the Ministry The proceedings then terminated with the National Anthem.