THE FRONT VISITED

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 247, 6 July 1918, Page 7

THE FRONT VISITED

BY NEW ZEALAND MINISTERS A MEMORABLE SCENE SPEECHES BY MILMASSEY AND SIR JOSEPII.WARD I ' :■ , i (Special from the Official War Correspondent.) July I.' Mr. W. F. Massey and Sir Joseph ■■ • W'ard arrived at the Headquarters oftho Now Zealand Division on the West, em front on Saturday evening. They lost no time in getting in touch with tho men of the division, for after their lonj> journey by train, ship, and car .. they attended a performanca, given in •' the lute afternoon by the (.ivisional theatricals. The scene was a momnrablo , one. The stage was set in a natural amphitheatre, in beautiful woods, and in the interval of the performance; to . . the accompaniment of the booming of the guns, the great crowd ■of soldiers listened to the message that these ambassadors had brought to their soldiers from Hi? furthermost part of the Emnire. For the moment this wood in France became a litlle bit of New Zealand, and the, spirit of democracy invaded a port/on of Denubli.can- Franco that not so far back in history had been part of a ducat demesne. This friendly spirit of democracy was evidenced in tho good-natured interjections with which Fnecclies were punctuated, and in calls of "Bill" and "Joe" that arose from tha 'soldiers' audience. An English visitor , was struck with the heartiness and in- i formality of the proceedings, and tha interest taken in the visit, "ho excellence of the performance surprised the visitors. In a speech during the interval, Mr. Massey said ho would he very pleased to listen to any grievances the men had. He added that he was intensely proud of the splendid record the division had put up, and he could tell them that*tho people of New Zealand would Dot go 'back upon their soldiers, but would Btand' by them and see that they wera properly reinforced. After the war was over he felt that. New Zealand would be proud not only of what had been done by her soldiers, but also (f what had. been dono for her soldiers. Sir Joseph Ward expressed great plea*' ure at seeing so many New Zcalanders under such strange circumstances. Evert .~ in New Zealand he had not.seen so large n gathering of New Zcalanders for a long time. The scene made one realise to what a great .extent New Zealand had '■ helped, and he felt sure they would con- i tinue in this determined spirit until tha great victory had been won. 1 here had ... been some criticism about tho Ministers taking a trip round the world, but ho assured them that trip was undertaken purely in the interests of tho Empire, and if they had not' Undertaken the ]our-< ney New Zealand would have Veen enj tircly- unrepresented at the most import* ant conferences in the crisis in.the En> pire's history. At the conclusion of their addresses, •.; both speakers were heartily applauded. •' In tho evening the Ministers dined . with the general in command of tho division. .' ' At a Church Parade, ; The Ministerial partyVere oarly astir on Sunday to attend the church parade of ono of the infantry. battalions. Tho ; scene was an, impressive one, as the troops paraded in the open with the great expanse of sunlit rolling downs and woods around. Addressing tha troops, Mr. Massey said Sir Joseph, Ward and himsolf had a very important mission. They wore representing Now Zealand in conferences in which •' previously the Dominions had had no say. It brought homo to one what Now Zealand was really doing when ho -was nblo to see such a large number of men. on parade at tho front. Ho was especially pleased to see present members of an Auckland regiment, many of whom 'had ,come'„ from ;his own district and 'wit 6 whom he was personally acquainted, and he could assure them that New Zealand wanted Iter men back again, but she was determined to keep the division properly maintained and reinforced until a satisfactory victory was attained. New Zealand's effort in tho wnr was 6econd proportionately only to that of England herself. He -was glad to be able to tell them that the feeling in England was even more optimistic than it . was a few weeks ago, and if we held our own during tho next few months _ wo could look forward to a satisfactory ending to tho war. He wished Jo tell them that Now, Zealand would stand by her returned soldiers. Meantime her message ivas "Carry on." As to tho fu> lure, ho said emphatically that Germany should never again be allowed to ... got tho footing she had before in the j British Empire. The German must go; , out and keep out. Sir Joseph Ward said they were fully determined they would never yield to tha onomy, and so far as our troops were com cerhed they might rest assured that no- .. thing would bo left undone by America and our other Allies to cnablo them i to win out. On their return to New "Zealand, tho Ministers would bo able to convey to the people some idea, of tho , fine appearance of her men in the field, and what splendid work they had done in stopping tho gap in the line during 1 the recent Gerninu advance. All in New Zealand would like., to. 6ee them ) back in their own country, but not until • an ond had been made of Prussian nrili- , ' tarisni. , ; / Visits were paid' to the Machine-gun Battalion, tlie : Maori Battalion, and tho '"' Engineers. • Brief,speeches were made in each case; and the Maoris returned the compliment with their war dance. Part of Rifle Brigade Inspected. j Monday was a* very busy, day, the ■ ', Ministers travelling in motors over miles . of dusty roads and through small French villages in order to see as many units .■ of tho division as possible. At the end of a long and tiring day they.had personal interviews with many officers .and men who came to Headquarters for this purpose. The day began with an inspection of | part of the Kiflo Brigade, which was on- ' parade on tho edge of a picturosquo .' wood flanked by fields of wheat and rye. ■> The Premier recalled the historic parallel of troops bivouacking in rye fields on the eve of Waterloo, and expressed the j hope that on this occasion also victory would rest with our troops and their AI- ' lies, no said tho appearance of tho troops spoko well for the quality of tho Army rations and tho ability of the men lo enjoy them. He congratulated tho brigade on ils record, than which nono ivas better. AVo were at a.crisis in tho ivar, the length nf which would depend largely upon whether wo wore ahle to iiold thn Germans in the coming often- ', <ive. He felt sure if the enemy failed .0 break through he would come to tho •(inclusion that it was no use going on. ' l'liis was not the time for any weaken.ng on our side. One of tha Super-Divisions. • j Sir Joseph Ward said that among tho iivisions in the British Army there were ionic that were known as super-divisions, ind ho was told by a high authority hat among these was included tho New lealand Division. All spoke well of the ■ Zealand soldiers, and what they had lone in tho war would undoubtedly stand nit prominent in the history of their , lomitry. In the coming clash the rorld would be looking on with bated ireath, and ho was pleased to say that esponsihle men regarded the situation villi a considerable degree of confidence. Subsequently the Ministers had an oplortumty of seeing tho troops carry out : tactical exerci<e in open country. Tho ifternoon was spent in visiting the Field Ambulance, tho Divisional Train, and bo Entrenching Group.