CIVIC WELCOME

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 164, 29 July 1937, Page 6

CIVIC WELCOME

-Presj Assoeiation.)

Coronation and Imperial m Conference Affairs MR. SAVAGE'S SURVEY

fB? Telesrraph-

1T' WELLINGTON-, Last Night. 3fke Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. M. J. jSavage, xeturned tMs aftemoon by the p&angitata from Ms visit to England, fwhere, with Hon, Walter Nash and Mr. m. J, Jordan, he represented New Zeajtand &t the Coronation Celebrations |and at the Imperial Conference. Interiviewed on Ms arrival at Wellington Mr. JB&vage stated that he was greatly imjpressed by the * Coronation ceremonies land by the evidenee they afforded of the Importance of the Grown to the British jCommomvealth and of the esteem and jaffectioii in which their Majesties are juiiiversally held. "Nothing could have been more anoving," said Mr. Savage, "than the jspontaneons and enthusiastic expression jef the nation 's loyalty. I had the privijlege of meeting their Majesties on frejejuent occasions, and I am convinced jthat they "will maintain xindiminished the Mghest traditions of their great joi&ce. Coronation Day in London was » sight never to be forgotten. Millions lef smiling faces lined the route to the Abbey, The atmosphere of nniversai ihappiness and rejoicing, the nnbonnded jgood humonr of the people and the unrdonbted evidenee on all sides of loyalty tto the Throne, to its present occupants sand to the Parliamentary system of jgovernment irill live long in my memjory. It was a great privilege and pleaslore to me to be present. "Tmmediately after the Coronation Ifche Imperial Conference commenced its feonsideration of the many difficult and limportant matters on its agenda. This jwas, of course, the first Imperial Conffereaee that I have attended. WMle 1 fwas in some respects disappointed, I am aevertheless convinced that such coniferences perform a useful— indeed, a wecessary— -function and that their fralne cannot be entirely measured by the immediate resnlts. "The first and most important subJjects for consideration were those of iforeign affairs and defence. With the • full approval -of my eolleagues I exjpressed at some length the views of Kew Zealand on for^ign affairs, always ■paying due regard to the f acts that we tare a small and isolated people a'nd that ;Ms Majesty's Government in the United ! Kingdom. are much more directly and •immediately affeeted by world moveiments and have much superior facilities ifor .forming a eonsidered and accurate •judgment. Never tlieless I expressed our Iview that mistakes — ainl grievous misitakes — had in the past been made in the Iforeign policy of the Commonwealth. *'I made no criticism. On the conttrary, I definitely affirmed the fact that }in ihe great majority of instances — :thongh not in all — New Zealand had jbeen a consenting party to the steps tthat had been taken and that, for our ;gart, we were prepared to accept our ■full share of the responsibility for •everything that had been done in the past. We felt, however, that l^iis was an occasion for a full consideration- of •the whole subject and that the Commonwealth should aim at a generally accepted Commonwealth policy, for which purpose greater facilities should be provided for mutual consultation than had previously existed. "I pointed out in detail where, in our view, errors of judgment had occurred, and I emphasised that, in our opinion, the cause of peace, to wMch every •single portion of tiie Commonwealth was devoted, could best be served by an earnest attempt to face realities and to day down and publish to the world the ilines which as a united Commonwealth ■we intended to follow in the future. "In this connectiqn I advanced two proposals. In the first place, I emphasised the fact that disputes between nations, leading as they have in the past to war, have invariably had an aeonomic basis, and I urged that this fact should receive its due consideration and that eoneerted international efforfc shonld be made to rectify and rcmove :the economic ci.uses of conflict. "I urged the desirability — indeed, !the necessity — of so raising the general istandard of living that tho working }man throughout the world should be enlabled to purchase to the samo extcnt tas he produced, and I expressed thc view that once tMs had been ellected dt wonld be found that the major possifbilxties of international conflict would Ihave disappeaxed. {'As my second point, I xe-enipha-•xsed the poliey expressed on behalf of New Zealand at the last assenxbly of the League of Nations— which we stilJ iioki' — and I xehffirnied our view that, until it had been possible to remove •economic injustlees, it was essential that the collective peaco system estabiished at Geneva should be made effecrtive, The Covenant of the League, we (felt, was an entirely adequate instruiiaenfc for this purpose, and I urged that •every possible step should be taken by ' fithe inembers of the British Common- ■ wealth, in co-operation with other mem- . 'bers of the League holding these views, to make the Covenant a reality and if necessary to streugthen it. * ' We saw, 1 said, no alternative in Me exxsting state of the world, and we ffeit that tkere could be no final eud to , ,»th« miseries of war uutil those nations 'v%.i0iat loved peace had made it abundant%'elear that they were determined to inaiittain it xf necessary by force. "Oa the subject of defence the view- " goint of New Zealand was that, just . we felt the Commonwealth should 'piKve a common foreign policy, so we jegreed it must have a conuuoxi defence

this in with the defence of our own shores and ■our own people, but also with the defence of the Whole British Commonwealth. During the conference we had the advantage of lengthy and detailed discussions on tMs subject, not only with Ms Majesty's Ministers in the United Kingdom, but also with the responsible heads of the British services, nnd I wish to say how greatly I appreeiate the extreme helpfulness of everybody coneerned. Their anxiety not to force on any Bominion Government a policy that mignt not be acceptable to the Government, Parliament or people of that Dominion and the complete and generous frankness with which every possible piece of information was placed at our disposal. I am convinced that New Zealand will benefit very greatly indeed from tMs aspect of the work of the conference. "Linked in oue sense with the question of defence were the inter-connected subjects, trade and migration. Lengthy discussions took place on the question of trade generally, not only within the Commonwealth, but also from the international point of view. Mr. Nash had, of course, been engaged with great energy on these subjects for some time before my arrival, and, indeed, discussions ara still continuing on the subject of migration. I made it plain that the New Zealand Government could not, if only from the point of view of the migrants" themselves, embark on a renewed policy of migration until it was clear what, on their arrival in New Zealand, the migrants wero to do. Clearly in a country wMch is peculiarly suitable for primary production migrants would normally be placed on the land, and I made it quite plain that, until it was clear that a market was available for the additional produce that would result, there could be no advantage to be gained by such a transfer of population. We had detailed discussions on the subject with the Overseas Settlemexxt Board, of which Lord Hartington is chairman, and the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, Bt. Hon. Malcolm MacDonald, is arranging to set up all the necessary machinery in order that it may be available for immediate application as soo'n as circumstances allow of the renewed migration, which we all desire. In tMs conne^tion I re-afiirmed the p.Olicy wMch we had already expressed — namely, that to the extent that the United Kingdom would purchase the expanding primary produets of New Zealand, we for our part would be prepared to devote the whole of the proceeda so derived 10 the purchase of goous in the United Kingdom, and I added that, if New Zealand could find no market for her expanding primaTy produce, it would be essential for us to endeavour to facilitate a more balanced economy in New Zealand by building up local manufacturing industries and thus extending Our internal market. "Oue matter diseussed at the conference wMch is of great importance to New Zealand was that of shipping, and as a result of those discussions it seems clear that modern vessels under the British flag will be available for the trax*s-Paeific service at no very distant date. "The question of air transport also received lengthy consideration, and while discussions were not finally coneluded, it is probable that in this case also air transport between all portions of the Commonwealth will be in operation in the near future. "I need not say," said Mr. Savage, how happy I am to be back in New Zealand, where I feel I belong and where the foundations of all our activities must be laid. This experience has been most interesting and most valuable to me, and while at this conference, as'in the case Of most conferences, one could not help feeling that there was some reluctance to approach realities and actually to tackle the problema involved, I am, nevertheless, convinced that some useful work was done and that it is essential that the Prime Minister of New Zealand, whoever he may be, should be present at such gatherings. "I cannot coneludo without referring to the warm and generous hospitality that was extended on all sides to myself, my eolleagues and staff, Nothing could have exceeded the kindness with which we were received in all quarters and the personal contacts facilitated by such visits are not the least valuable agpect. ""I am very grateful to my eolleagues in New Zealand for the extra work and responsibility which they have so ably undertaken during my absence. It must lxave entailed a good deal of strain ahd placed a heavy burden upon them."