A POPULAR LEADER

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10280, 15 May 1919, Page 8

A POPULAR LEADER

TALK TO EX-SOLDIERS

GREAT RECEPTION TO GENERAL

RICHARDSON

ADDRESS ON POST-AVAR PROB-

LEMS,

The reception accorded General G. S. Richardson by returned soldiers in the Concert Chamber of the Town Hail last night was no-able for its enthusiasm and for the display of good-will towards a distinguished soldier. There was a very Targe attendance, over which AH J. D. Harper, president if the loca. association, presided. In introducing General Richardson, Air Harper referred to his work in the Old Country, and remarked that the soldiers who had been abroad owed a debt of gra.itude to the General for the interest he had always taken m" them. Now the General had come hack after splendid service abroad, his advice and counsel would bo invaluable in the work of re-establishing the men in civil life. Ho was sure tho General’s great ability and energy would be reflected in tho work he would accomplish in this country. Air Harper specially stresssed the great necessity for re-establishing the men permanently unfit. Mr D. J. Seymour, general ‘acre:ary of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association, also welcomed the General, briefly on behalf of that body. General Richardson was received great applause, the men joining in tho singing of “Eor He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.’’ This was followed by lusty cheers. He referred to the work that had been done for the men in England, and pointed out that if any credit .was due to him, all he could say was that the men were well Worth it. The secret of success attained was that he had always been able to look bn everything from the men’s point of view. While it was possible that all the men had not received complete, satisfaction, he could honestly say that. their oases had always been given full considera•tioral (Loud applause.) He .thanked tlhe men very sincerely for the splendid welcome they had given him. His groat aim was to see tae men happily settled and contented after the war. The 1 General pointed out that General Russsoll, who they would shortly bo welcoming, also had the.r interests at heart, and the same could bo said of other responsible officers. They looked upon him' (General Richardson)' as their champion, but, as a matter of fact, they had lots of champions. (Ap-

pkmse.) . , "In the great war,’’ said General Richardson, “you men did - your little bit, and you just have to consider for a moment what the position would hare been in the Empire if Britain had lost tfes war—and we were' not Tory far losing it once or twice.’’ In his w«rh in England he had -always had the assistance of the Government, and all that was left for him was to go ahead in doing what was best for the men. Wherever he went in England he heard extraordinarily high opinions of the Now Zealand soldiers. He did not want to fla cter the men, out it vas perfectly true that the highest" authorities, military and civil, right throughout the country, were convinced of the worth., of the New Zealand'soldier. The men bad left behind thorn one of the best names of any soldiers that had been in the United Kingdom. Referring to Peace, General Richardson said that one of the greatest problems to be dealt with was the return to civilian life. On that hinged the industrial development of the Em-

pire. He warmly eulogised those whose efforts enabled the industries of Britain to carry on, and they would know who was responsible—the women of Great Britain. (Applause.) The General emphasised the fact that practically every man returned was in a somewhat unsettled state, and he could not get down to work right away. The public did not appear fully to understand the cause of this, but it was not

to be wondered at that returned soldiers were in that state after enduring the'trials'of war. He strongly appealed to returned men, as far as possible, to minimise, the unsettled State of affairs hy getting back to civil life again as quickly as they could. From what ho could ascertain, this was going on satisfactorily. General Richardson had something to say with regard to the policy to he adopted by the Returned Soldiers’ Association. He had noticed in England that the returned soldiers were not united. There were various distinct organisations and each l claimed different objects, a fact which did not tend to promote the welfare of the returned soldier. He was pleased that in New Zealand they had one association, and if it was on the right lines he was confident it would ho to the advantage of every returned man. Ho deprecated the splitting up of the organisation into different political groups, and told the men they would attain a higher standing by banding together as they were doing.

The speaker paid some attention to demobilisation questions. /Witih regard to the sending back of the New Zealand troops, ho said that when approached on the subject ho had asked for fifty vessels. To this the War Office replied that there wore only ships available for unfit men, and tho General’s rejoinder was that he would see that all the men were unfit in order to get them home. This had been responsible for the comparatively bige number of ships which had arrived in Xew Zealand recently with returned soldiers. This country was now faced wTh the question of dealing with tho

large number of men who were returning, and, as far as ho knew, all the men would be back in tho country by September. Ho was satisfied that every man would do his part in getting hack to civil employment and would help himself if given the opportunity. The idea was that tho men should go back into the jobs for which they wore temperamentally fitted. The factors which made for success wero training, education, and character. If the Repatriation Board did its duty, there should be little or no hardship. At the conclusion of the address there was a further enthusiastic demonstration, which continued- until General Richardson ha<J left tho hall.