COMPLIMENTARY BANQUET.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 30 August 1911, Page 3

COMPLIMENTARY BANQUET.

Sir Joseph Ward and Sir John Findlay -were tendered a compliment arv banquet on Saturday evening last. to welcome them back to New Zealand. The Major of Wellington (Mr T. M. Wilford) presided. Amongst those present were Sir James Carroll, the Hons; R. McKenzie, D. Buddo, J. A. Millar, G. Fowls, and T. Mackenzie; Sir Arthur Guinness (Speaker of the House of Representatives), and Ma jorGeneral Godley, Mr Wilford, in proposing the toast of tho returning guests, congratulated them upon their safe return to "the brighteat little country in the world."

Sir Joseph Ward, on rising to respond, received a most enthusiastic ovation. He said he felt deeply grateful for the reception, It was enough to make any man returning from the Old Country feel that he had been doing his best there. Their first duty at Homo had been to CRiry out the work imposed upon them, and he could 6ay that no greater work bad ever been done than that which took place at the Imperial Conference. Sir John Findlay, in the course of his speech, combated the Canadian idea that they woula not take part in a war without the people saying so. That was not Imperial unity. Germany was bound to find new territory somewhere, and they and Great Britain must come together, The German

population was iccreasing bj ,900,000 a year—five times as fastas ours was. The population cf the self-governing countries wera increasing by 1,100,000 a year, and if, as Canada had said, they were not prepared to stand by the Empire, something should be done, and at once.