KNIGHT OF THE ROUND TABLE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 191, 11 May 1944, Page 5

KNIGHT OF THE ROUND TABLE

Mr. Fraser Honoured (Special Correspondent P.A.) LONDON, May 9. Today Mr. Fraser was made a Knight of the Round Table when he attended a luncheon given by the knights of the Round Table Club, which was formed in 1720 and of which Mr. Jordan was made honorary vice-president before the war. The Danish Minister and Mr. Moller, leader of the Free Danes, were also made knights with Mr. Fraser. Mr. Fraser's health was proposed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who said: "The record of New Zealand as a partner in our Commonwealth of Nations is one of whieh the whole Commonwealth is proud. It has never been prouder than in these Inst daySj and that record has received added glory from the splendid achievements of the New Zealand troops, fighting specially in North Africa. “At the time when the 'New Zealanders were performing prodigies of endurance and valour, with other troops of the Empire, New Zealand _ was under the threat of possible invasion by the Japanese, and we have all the more reason to be grateful for the comradeship which--we enjoyed with the New Zealanders, that their troops remained to see the campaign through to the end, even though the threat to New Zealand itself still existed.”

The Archbishop paid a tribute to Mr. Fraser as being “one of that large number of Scots who have gone forward to the conquest of the world—with which we are well acquainted in England.” (Laughter.) Mr. Fraser, in his reply, referred to the Maoris as being “one of the finest peoples on earth, their chivalry being Unsurpassed by any people, even by King Arthur.” Mr. Fraser paid a tribute to the Danes, who had contributed substantially to the success of dairy farming in New Zealand, and said: “We are. very glad the Free Danish movement is showing such signs of vitality, endurance, :;nd determination.” There were some amusing exchanges relative to the merits of New Zealand and Danish butter. The Danish Minister mischievously suggested that New Zealand should not place too much reliance on the word “Empire.” and told of a pre-war incident when an English woman who could not find Danish butter and was offered “Empire” said : “If you haven’t got Danish butter I don’t want any of that foreign stuff.” Mr. Fraser said : “Nothing would please New Zealand more than to know that Denmark is once again free. There has never been enmity in our competition. There has been co-operative competition.” Mr. Jordan, in a tribute to the resistance of the Free Dnneh, emphasized the value of sabotage iu Europe by stating that during a recent raid the Germans dropped 103 incendiary bombs round his house, and more than a third of them failed to ignite—an illustration of useful sabotage. A definite impression was made by Mr. Fraser, when the Prime Ministers’ conference discussed the British Commonwealth trade and the economic and monetary policy. He had facts and figures, nt his finger-tips which particularly impressed Field Marshal Smuts.