WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 September 1922, Page 1

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

CLOUDS IN THE EAST. OVERSHADOWING EVERYTHING ELSE. SPECIAL TO GUARDIAN. WELLINGTON, Sept. 20. Tlic ominous clouds in the Near East are oyershadowing, everything else ol national consequence and personal concern in the capital city. Party politics commercial affairs, industrial aspirations have faded into comparative insignificance and the question of peace •or war is the all absorbing topic of discussion. The New Zealand public knows .more about.war. to-day than it did at the beginning of the long struggle with Germany in 1914, and in Wellington, at any rate, it is not jubilating over the possibility of the Empire again being calledi to arms. But its loyalty, its determination and its confidence remain unabated and it is reported to-day that the rush of applicants for enrolment in the new Expeditionary Force exceeds by a very big margin all the records made during the great war. Aren are not waiting to examine the quality of British diplomacy nor to understand the nature oi Turkey’s claim, but are crowding to the military quarters eager to be included in the first,,ten .thousand. The volunteers are coming from every trade and occupation and from every grade of society, including many returned soldiers, and, according to the authorities, are, if anything, of a better physical stamp than the recruits of eight years ago.

' THE GOVERNMENT’S ACTION. In the House yesterday, when there was a full attendance of members and crowded galleries, Mr Massey explained what had happened. The cablegram from Mr Lloyd George informing him of the situation had reached him at the Investiture at .Government House on Saturday night and he had at oiiec taken counsel with those of his colleagues who were present. It was decided to reply to the cablegram that the Dominion Government desired to associate itself with the stops being taken by the Imperial Government and ;■ that it would send a contingent to assist in whatever measures might be deemed to be desirable. The PrimeMinister went on. to sav that he . had not always agreed with Mr Lloyd George on matters of policy and administration, hut on this occasion he was in full accord with the attitude of the Imperial Government. He felt, indeed, that in the circumstances no other course could In' l followed m ith honour and safety. Mi Massey spoke with studied deliberation, being oh- ( viouslv impressed hv the gravity of the , situation and his own responsibility, j but he made no apology for having act- . od without the authority of Parliament j and concluded bv moving for flic- apnrnrfil tllP TToiISO. !

THE LIBERAL PARTY. Mr Wilford. the leader of the Onpo- j j sitinn, seconded the Prime Minister's motion, and promised the Government , . the cordial support of the members of I his party in giving such assistance as | was possible in the crisis that had j arisen. Air Wilford spoke with an I omnivorous newspaper reader’s knowledge of the situation and emphasised the vital importance of the various parts of the Empire standing shoulder to shoulder in the hour of peril. Air Holland, the loader of the Labour Party, was loss happy. TTo protested that the sanctity of the Constitution , bad again been flouted and that the eountrv had l*ecn committed to war, it might be. without Parliament being | consulted. Apparently Air Holland’s i colleagues. Air J. AfcComhs and AH D. ; G. Sullivan had spoken to the same ' effect in Christchurch twenty-four , hours before, but these gentlemen were at the disadvantage of not knowing as ! much as their leader did of the conj tents of Mr Lloyd George’s cablegram, i A permissible comment upon Afr Massov’s promptitude was that when Sir Joseph AVard offered a Dreadnought- to the Imperial Government without con- | suiting Parliament the present Prime Minister was the loudest in denouncing the “imeonstitutioiial proceeding.” Rut. since then the country has realised that the Constittiuon must adapt itself to circumstances.

SIR JOSEPH WARD’S VIEW. ! In the course of a brief chat to-dav Sir Joseph Ward expressed ‘the I staunch Imperialist’s point of view, j Though ho would deeply deplore the misery and devastation that would he occasioned by another war, while the nations wore’still staggering under the grievous burdens brought upon thorn by the one barely concluded, lie would have no fear for the ultimate issue so far as the British Empire was roncerned. There could he only one iesult. But all the wisdom and tact and patience of the men who direct the affairs of the world should he devoted towards averting a resort to arms over international differences that ought to j he amenable to diplomacy. Meanwhile | the clear dutv of New Zealand was to j stand unflinchingly by the side of the : Afother Country and to give her all the moral and material support it omihl offer. Nothing was more likely to help her iii tier negotiations towards peace than the world’s knowledge that in the event of war her Dominions would stand by her as resolutely and effectively ns they had done before.