MR. MASSEY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 288, 31 August 1921, Page 9

MR. MASSEY

HIS WORK IN LONDON CONFERENCE AND OTHER BUSINESS (From Our Special CorreepOAdent.) London, July 19. The Imperial Conference delegates during the past week h'ave been busy chiefly at meetings of special committees, to which various subjects have been referred. What with the work- of the conference and of the special committees the Prime, Minister of New Zealand has been kept ds busy as ever. His working hours are longer than in New Zealand. The lo'an negotiations aro out of the way, but shipping freights, wool and market affairs take up a great deal of his time. Ho has also devoted much attention. to the question of New Zealand's share of the German reparations. His negotiations have been conducted with the Chancellor and the Treasury.

A gathering,, or conference, of New Zealand shippers and 1 producers of frozen meat and produce, and of shipping company representatives, which Mr. Massey himself convened, was held early one morning to enable the Prime Alin-. ister to attend the Imperial Conference at 11 'o’clock. The,shipping .companies were informed’by tho producers of the impossibility of shipping being continued unless freights were reduced, and the shipping people in turn said, they also were losing money. A committee of representatives of both sides was set up to discuss, firstly, freights and the possibility of meeting the situation, and, secondly, to consider the practicability of a permanent committee to deal with shi]> ping and freight matters. The committee might bo sot up either in London or New Zealand. No report of its decisions has yef been made. Special honour was conferred upon Mr. Massey by the British Empire Producers' Association in inviting him to be the guest of the association at its luncheon at the Hotel Victoria on Thursday last. Tho attendance was the largest tho asso-. elation has had at its luncheons for many years. A considerable number or New Zealanders, many of whom were attending the association’s annual once, were present. Mr. Massey s reception was very hearty, the applause which greeted him being loud and sustained. He was in excellent form and epoke vigorously on Empire matters, particularly 1 in regard to commercial land industftnl affairs. He-predicted amongst other things that ns a. fall in the jworld s flecks of 20 per, cent, in the last ten years was shown, the demand for find mutton must soon overtake the available supply, and that producers eouldl ac/ept this grain of comfort in these-times of low prices. The speech was frequently applauded. The generally g-jve Mr. Massey’s remarks much prominence. . A number of other invitations to speak at public functions were x by the Prime Minister, who hbs found it a physical impossibility to, comply with all. The same has applied to social functions. , , The British Press gave prominence to congratulations to Mr. Massoy übon his successful completion of bis ninth- year of office as Prime Minuter. Some of the larger papers published personal sketches and most of the provincial journals also had their paragraphs. Tn London inls wav. published » photograph of Mr Massov. receiving the congratulations of Mt'. -Lloyd which nn enterpnsinr phof-o'iranher had secured. On Julv 10 th 4 Prime Minister and Mrs. and Miss Massey were the rnwts at Chequers (Buckinghamshire) ot Mr. ' and Mt’. Lloyd George, where, with other overseas guests, thew-snent a very pleasant time. At tho latter PnncJ/Of Wales'was nrreent On July 11. the parfv dined nt the Carlton F t.l with the Indian, conference- delegates, and the Secretary of State f o rln_d;a. On. Tulv 13 thev were the ml eats Of vgwmntws Astor, the Duke of Connaught being i present, and on July 14 dined with the ‘Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace, i,