THE PRINCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 December 1920, Page 5

THE PRINCE.

LESSONS OF THE TOUR. WELCOME AT GUILDHALL. A BRILLIANT FUNCTION. By Telegraph,—Press Assn.—Copyright. [ London, Dec, 7. Large crowds lined the route and cheered the Prince of Wales during his drive <to the Guildhall. Ev.ien the Thames Embankment, despite the cold weather, was lined by crowds, who waited hours for his appearance. Traffic was diverted and policemen were stationed the whole length of the route it short intervals, on both sides of the roadways. The city was a blaze of color, and buildings were beflagged, some flying the Union Jack and Southern Cross together. ' The Prince was in the uniform of a captain. He drove in an open carriage, preceded by a guard of mounted men in khaki with swords drawn. On arrival at the Guildhall th« Prince received the Royal salute and received a warm ovation on entering the library. Those present at the Guildhall included several members of the Royal family, the whole of the Prince's suite, leading commercial men and financiers of London, the High Commissioners and Agents-General. The Common Sergeant read the address of welcome in the library, and the Prince, replying, said they met tinder happier circumstances than in the time of the coal strike, which necessitated the postponement of the ceremony. "You addressed me in the name of the whole City of London, which I, in common with all my fellow Londoners, regard as the greatest city in the world. Distant travel gives me an everincreasing appreciation of its influence and charm. I find I love it better every time I come back."

THE PREMIER'S SPEECH. At the luncheon Mr. Llovd George, proposing the health of the' Prince of Wales, said the Empire was the most remarkable in the world's history. It was_ loosely knitted. There was no dominion, but all Dominions; no centre from which dominion was exercised; an Empire partnership, but all free nations controlling themselves, and free to choose their own path, free to choose their own population, free to make their own history. Such a combination would be of the weakest if not cemented by a friendship of the strongest and the influence of mutual attachment and goodwill.- Everything depended on the existence of an invisible attachment to the Empire. The great services of the Prince consisted in the fact that he had strengthened those invisible ties by the qualities which the Empire now knew, as we knew boforc, by "his charm, his remarkable charm, the winning charm, the joyous charm of his personality." (Cheers.)

Mr. Lloyd George hinted that the reaction following the .war had created a vital necessity of finding some method of keeping Britain and "the Dominions together. The occasion demanded a man for the emergency; the Prince of Wales was such a man. (Cheers.) He was just as much at home in the Dominions' cities as in London; just as much at home in the Dominions' wildernesses as in the cities, which latter was a good omen, because the future of the Empire might well depend on the development of those vast regions.

HIS TOUR DESCRIBED. - The Prince in his speech thanked Mr. Lloyd George for his presence and speech. Though lie was sorry he was not visiting India until 19-21 he was delighted at the prospect of an undisturbed year in the Old Country—a treat he had'not had for six years. The Prince raised a laugh by saying that when a man was handsomely' entertained it was usually because his hosts wanted to get something out of him. He knew they wanted to get some account of his latest Empire tour out of him. His impressions were still rather kaleidoscopic, but he would do his best. He detailed his reception in the West Indies and the achievement of getting the Renown through the Panama Canal, whence he went to Honolulu and Fiji, crossing- two oceans, where at every group of islands the renowned name's of British sea captains and explorers made one realise the spirit of these men of old who faced uncharted seas in ships not one-sixtieth of the tonnage of | a modern battle-cruiser. | When he reached New Zealand and Australia he felt he Had come to the culminating point of the untiring work of the early pioneers, for there were two great nations settled and developing in the very furthest quarter oi the globe from their original home. When he landed at Auckland the New Zeauvnders made him feel at home at once. Within five days he visited the Maori people at Eotorua, a gallant and remarkable race who were not unknown in London. He was grateful to them for gathering in such large numbers to greet Mm. Ho worked his way down the North Island to Wellington, the capital city, where he was specially entertained by Mr. Massey and his Government. He spent a week in the South Tsland touring, and finally crossed the Otira Pass to the Canterbury Plains and Chvistchurch, thence to Dunedin and Tnvcrcnrgill, where lie almost felt back in Scotland. Auckland's kindness and enthusiasm was carried on everywhere. What impressed him was the intensely Old Country character of the people. CHARM OF SYDNEY.

The Prince continued: "I landed in Melbourne on the Queen's birthday. I had to spare you details of my New Zealand travels, and must be still more sparing as regards Australia. I had a wonderful time in Victoria, but no better than in Xew South Wales. Comparison is odious, and both States together hold well over half the population of the Commonwealth. Sydney, as I told myself, is indeed the London of the southern hemisphere. If any Sydney men are present I wish to tell them not only did I see their harbor, but I appreciated it. (Great laughter). I only wish you could .see the kind and onthusaistic crowds of those two great cities. ■'l was welcomed with the same enthusiasm on a smaller scale in the other States. I was able to visit several goldfields and get some idea of Hfp-in' the back-blocks on sheep and cat*'-' «t.a7 ttons. It would take a man at Ten* 4 a year to see Australia properly. < was sorry to leave, having missed so much. "It is a land of great spaces, immense resources and vast possibilities. Its his'tonr is a c«ntury old, And s. continsnt

as large as Europe with n population much leas than that of London, A striking indication of Australia's power and character is the size and beauty of the! capital cities, which hold one-third to one-half of the population of their State. I thought those cities impressive of the quality of the people who are nuilding them. The developed area is a splendid testimony to Australian worth, although the population is but email in proportion to the size of the country as a whole and of its cities. This is a situation which involves a great respon-' sibility, but the courage and self-con-fidence of Australians is great. I can assure you it requires both assets out there'for success."

A HAPPY AUGURY. The Prince then went on to describe his return journey and recalled two features of his visit to Australia and New Zealand, which he said had struck closely at his heart in both Dominions. "I was very struck by the appearance and bearing of the children and the wonderful way in which the Government is carrying on their education. One can truly say of their systems that they instil discipline and patriotism into their youth without militarism. Gatherings of thousands of school children were organised for me everywhere and I never saw a single child which did not reflect on its healthy, happy face the widespread well-being which is the pride of those Dominions. This is indeed a happy augury for the future. "You will guess the other feature I have very closely at heart—the Australians and New Zealandera who fought and won in the great war. I felt I was a comrade to the Diggers. I first met them in Egypt and France, but had not landed one moment before 1 was hailed as a Digger, and by the time I sailed from Sydney in August I hardly knew how to answer to any other name. Now I take that as a very great compliment and hope they will always regard me in the same way, and I Want all ex-service men of the Empire to look upon me, aa a comrade."

NECESSITY TO PULL TOGETHER. VALUE OF IMMIGRANTS. Received Dec. 8, 5.5 p.m. London, Dec. 7. The Prince, continuing his speech, said: "You will not he surprised to hear that in both Dominions I found ex-ser-vice men the 'backbone of the country. (Cheers.) Think what they did volunteering in thousands to face the great adventure of war for the Empire thousands of miles away. Can anyone dare say in face of that fact that the same spirit that took the old sea captains and explorers across the world is not only alive to-day, but is thriving in the young British nations? (Cheers.) But then all ex-service men are the backbone of their peoples, whether in the Old Country or in the Dominions. "I have only one plea to make in this connection: All the British nations must work together in a spirit of comradeship if the Empire is to endure. The Dominions are putting their shoulders into the work of the nation building its development, but they need our help arid sympathy. We must do our utmost to appreciate their viewpoint. Here is a practical example of what I mean. All the Dominions want population from us; we have spare population but purely a business method of emigration, which is no good nowadays. A flaming prospectus will not draw emigration steadily from the Old Country, and what is wanted most is plain, human co-opera-tion. (Loud cheers.). They, on their side, should welcome our emigrants as friends and comrades the moment they arrive, and make them feel at home as they made me (Cheers). They should make them feel they're really wanted. (Cheers). There is no worse check on emigration than emigrants who fail, and no better advertisement than emigrants who succeed. The British population is very valuable nowadays, but we must ■see it remains British. (Cheers). Closer intercourse will make the movement of men of capital within the Empire easier."

The Prince concluded a forty-minute speech, delivered in a clear, strong, and resonant voice unhesitatingly, and easily heard in the remotest parts of the Guildhall, by saying: "The lesson I've learnt from fifteen months' travel is, if we are to restore our'well-being and credit, it is necessary that every nation of the Empire should pull together with a true spirit of comradeship and co-operation in all our affairs. This can, only be done by maintaining here the same spirit which links the nations of the Empire to us. It is due to our ancestors who overcame the difficulties of their time, as well as the present generation who've fought and won a great victory, that their work shall not be m vain. It can be done." (Great cheering).—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn