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Prime Minister HomesLooking fit and well, the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hob. P Fraser, returned to New Zealand by the Anzac Clipper this iffe^noon from his fouT-months trip abroad. His first act on reihis hotel was to telephone to a hospital in Wellington to j,____as to the health of Mr. C. A. Jeffery. C.M.G , his chief priv^*secretary, who was seriously injured in a motor accident in when travelling with him.IV'lt;5tonratMr. Fraser spoke in glowing terms of the Newfighting forces in the Middle Last- He made special refcreate t»said the people he had met in the Middle ounting the heroic exploits of the Maori •ihe Maoris, and never tired of recounting“New Zealand might well be proud of them, ‘ he said.The Prime Minister had nothing to say regarding the of a general election or of the formation of a National Govei8510oThis evening Mr. Fraser will the Town Hall.be accorded a civic reception mWc are winning the Battle of the -AtianUr—we have been uinning it221111I iII liIt113D8j400010ID10for tho last three months/’ said Mr. Fraser He amplified this by saying That the shipping position as Tar as it applied to New Zealand was much better than anticipated- All the butter produced last season had either been shipped or was now being placed in the holds of vessels for overseas.Mr. Fraser said he had sat as a member of the British War Cabinet. He had been greatly impressed with the cahbre of the men of the Cabinet. They had been selected from the various parties—Conservative. Liberal and Labour—and hecould not see any desirability or the possibility of any alternative to the system which had been adopted. U had made for complete harmonj* andco-operation.He added that, of course, it mightbe necessary from time to time tomake changes in the personnel.War CabinetReferring to suggestions that had {been made for Prime Ministers of the Dominions io be included in the Cabinet. Mr. Fraser sa.d that periodic visits to London obviously had limitations. The New Zealand Govern-HulJ. Mr Sumner Welles CoWmKnox. .Mr. jJarri Hopkins {7*5? Lend administrator! and \i* U.1*I administrator! and Mr Pm-Tman ’’ ‘ ' a,«n-The Prime Minister said itmdelicate stage had been reached £respect to Japan and at the ___ time talks were proceeding TmIbZI*the Japanese Ambassador to W»? ington (Admiral Nomura) anifllPresident. ^Jt was impossible to say *t ^ present time whether these tHgotktions would be successful, kadmffediscussions on a wider basis.thin)? was clear—that there w*3 be no appeasement policy at expense of the Pacific nations.‘It is lo be hoped that Japan m accept that fact.” he added.If the basis of self-detennlnnW for each Pacific country were a(M upon then there might be an f*jh opportunity of applying the pfe ciple of giving access toio Iment. however, was prepared to con*rhienn9777materials, for peace^^^^jP0BI|*« tithe nations, as em Roosevelt-Churchill talks.Work of SJL Soldii998e300o00.st sider any scheme which would im-j prove co-operation in respect of con-lsullations on war matters. It was [impossible for the Prime Minister to be a permanent member of the War Cabinet because it was clear that his plare was in his own country, and that applied to a greater extent should there be trouble in the Pacific.Asked what nad been done inregard to the establishment of aNew Zealand Legation m Washington. Mr. Fraser said he had discussed the question with Mr. Roosevelt, [including thg establishment of aI united S^tes Legation in Wellington 1 and the negotiations were still proceeding. He said that Mr. Lang*stone, who had gone to the United States in company with Mr. Coates, 3 was doing excellent work and hadbeen in contact with a number of Canadian Ministers. When he had completed the work he was doing inrespect lo trade agreements, hewould return to New Zealand.The Prune Minister said that the agreement between New Zealand and Canada terminated on September 30and as the result of negotiationswith Ministers in Canada it had been decided to extend the agreement for the period of the war. subject to six months’ notice. Immediate steps be taken on his return to Wellington to ratify the arrange menuMr. Fraser also paid a tribute to the work done in the United Stateshy Mr. Coates.Referring to the NewTroops in Egypt. Mr. Fraser saalth* wherever he went he heard of S* wonderful exploits in Greece, aadtfc New Zealanders were spoken of b terms of highest praise for thdrin derfuily executed retreat1 and ag. imposed discipline and co-opentfcfc. The country had every reason tv hr proud of the fine lads who hut u overseas. These men in Greece, fc spite of being told that theydrop their Bren guns during then-iW a*.3211treat, refused to do so. ried them to the beaches, made the beach with the number of transport vehicle*. they destroyed before theybarked.This was a marvellous ance and had there beenair supoprt. Mr. Fraser wastherthlobPosition in PacificB : “I discussed the Pacific position .frankly and fully with President s~ i Roosevelt, said Mr. Fraser. “I also j. i had conversations with Mr. Cordelltlrr. .two noonlutriM IrVi‘that there would have been story, despite the odds being ao _ There had been seven German M sions pitted against one Niland division, one Australian and one British armouredMr. FTaser said the New soldiers on Crete were fitvnfcblasted out of the island. Hie ftr mans dropped bombs, some of vkkt weighed 5005b. “Our fellows, both* Greece and Crete, came back taifiNl spirit, but they' realised that dqcould have had results comroi with their magnificent effort* they had the air support The Air Force was absolutely tial to a successful effort, and then the air strength had been up in the Middle East.In the United Kingdom Mr. visited all the New Zealand stationed there, including the Ftetrv Battalion, and men training Ift; RJLfT lathe Royal Navy and theevery station in the United Ktnedow.id. IS*including England; Scotland, and Northern Ireland, there New Zealanders.
Newspaper Details
Auckland Star
Auckland, Auckland, NZ
Sat, Sep 13, 1941
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 28 May 2019
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