FRANK TALKS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20129, 26 December 1939, Page 14

FRANK TALKS

EMPIRE COUNCIL CO OPERATION IN WAR DOMINION MINISTERS OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED MR. FRASER'S IMPRESSIONS! < ! ( (Pur Press Assor.iation.) WELLINGTON, this day. j; The Minister of Education and j Health, the Hon. P. Fraser, arrived 1 1 back at Wellington yesterday after ( attending the conference of the Do- | minion Ministers in London. With him arrived Major-General B. C. , Freyberg, who is to command the J New Zealand Special Force to be sent: f overseas. j They were met on arrival by the < Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. t Nash, the Minister of Defence, the t Hon. F. Jones, the Minister of Lands, \ the Hon. F. Langstone and military, g naval, and air force officials. ! t The conference of Dominion Minis- v ters, was very successful, said Mr: 0 Fraser, in the course of an interview, t Its object of enabling the Ministers a from the Dominions to obtain first-' hand knowledge of the political, economic and military problems of the war and the international situation F was very fully achieved. There were a number of discussions n with the War Cabinet and many con- ti ferences and consultations with in- p dividual Ministers, and Ministry offi- z cials on every subject effecting the tl British commonwealth in general and, ti as far as he personally was concerned, o: New Zealand in particular.

Frank Discussions The Dominion representatives met on a number of occasions with the Dominion Secretary, Mr. Anthony Eden. They met also at No. 10 Downing Street, at the Foreign Office, Treasury, War. Office, Admiralty, Royal Air Force headquarters, Ministry of Supply, Ministry of Food, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Economic Warfare, Ministry of Civil Defence, Ministry of Information and elsewhere. “The discussions were invariably

frank," he said. “Nothing was concealed from the overseas Ministers. All the information asked was supplied and we were taken completely into the confidence of the United Kingdom Government.

There was a general atmosphere of co-operation and helpfulness, and there were very strong indications of

:he importance attached to the atti-

tude and the effort of each individual Dominion as well as of the British commonwealth as a whole.

“At the meeting dealing with strate-

gical problems, we had detailed reviews of the position or rather the Various positions by the Minister for co-ordination of Defence, Lord Chatfield. the Secretary of State for War. Mr. L. Hore-Belisha, the Secretary of State for Air. Sir Kingsley Wood, the First Sea 'Lord, Sir Dudley Pound, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir Edmund Ironside, Air Marshal Pierce, representing the views of the chief of the Air Staff. First Lord of the Admiralty

“In addition, accompanied by the High Commissioner, Mr. W. J. Jordan, and Mr. C. A. Berendsen, I had an

interesting and most important interview with the First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr. Winston Churchill, who explained explicitly and geographically the plans of the Admiralty and the results obtained and likely to be achieved in the near future in reference to convoys, submarine attacks, ‘pocket’ battleships, raiders, air . attacks on shipping, magnetic mines and other matters of importance connected with the work of the Admiralty. Questions specifically affecting New Zealand, which were discussed, wetthe expeditionary force, its destination, provision for transport and safe convoy, the Maori Battalion, the antitank corps formed in Britain. New Zealanders in the Royal Air Force and New Zealand’s undertaking in this respect, the Commonwealth training scheme in Canada, the supply of all kinds of personnel for the air force, naval forces in the Pacific, war finance, the purchase of New Zealand, commodities, shipping required for the transport of our produce and many allied subjects. Visits of Inspection

“The Dominion Ministers and other members of the delegations were given the opportunity of seeing the various war rooms of the Cabinet, Admiralty, War Office and Royal Air Force and the fighter and coastal defence commands of the air force. Visits were paid to some of the principal towns and training camps where instruction in practically every branch of modern army technique was being undertaken. Large munition works were also inspected. “The Dominion’s representatives saw modern military forces practising with mechanised equipment and the extent and the intricacies of the necessary training.

“Their time in London was very fully occupied with three, four and even sometimes five meetings daily. They felt that as far as humanly pos-

sible all the available information had been placed at their service for the purpose of enabling them to report adequately to their respective governments.

“There were some questions regarding which it was impossible for me to give at the moment. The close and detailed attention which they required. I was fortunate in having associated with me Mr. Berendsen, Colonel W. G. Stevens and Mr. J. T. Waugh, who gave the necessary per- “ Mr. Fraserc (nd-flTedgwoosuflDm sonal attention to all such matters.”

Mr. Fraser also paid a tribute to the co-operation of the High Commissioner, Mr. Jordan and Dr. R. M Campbell, economic adviser to the High Commissioner’s office and members of the High Commissioner's staff During his stay in London, Mr Fraser addressed a large meeting of the Empire Parliamentary Association on New Zealand’s war attitude and effori.