first Expeditionary Force to Egypt and Gallipoli, all the great events of
the war specially affecting New Zealand have taken place during the
existence of the present Parliament, which has been called upon to deal
with the affairs of the Dominion under unexampled difficulties. By the
extension at the wish of the Sovereign of my own term of office I have had
the honour of being His Majesty’s Representative during the whole period
of the war, and, looking back with you over those years of trial, I feel that
I may join you in the proud memory that this Dominion has never faltered
in its determination to give and continue its support to the utmost of its
power to the cause of the Empire, that no promise made by New Zealand to
the Imperial Government remains unfulfilled by this Parliament and the
Government of this Dominion, and that our soldiers have by their splendid
courage, discipline, and conduct won a name for themselves and a place for
New Zealand in the annals of the greatest of wars. I am sure you will join
with me in the deepest sympathy with those whose sons and relatives have
fallen, and with the many who have returned maimed and wounded to their
homes. My Ministers recognize that the first duty of Government and of
Parliament in the new era of peace is to the men who have fought for us
and to the relatives of the men who have fallen in our service.

You will be invited at as early a date as possible, by resolution of both
Houses, to ratify the treaty with Germany and to accept the mandate of
the League of Nations for government and administration by New Zealand
of that part of the Samoan Group which was formerly under German rule.
My Ministers are confident that you will not fail to undertake the responsibilities which those provisions of the Treaty of Peace impose upon a
mandatory Government, and they hope to be able to submit during your
present session in statutory form the methods proposed for the establishment of a new scheme of government for those islands under the control of
New Zealand.

During the past three years your legislation has been confined to
urgent matters arising from the war and to minor amendments of existing
general and local statutes. My Ministers recognize that, as there remain
only four months of the life of the present Parliament, and as your session
must therefore be of short duration, the legislation to be submitted for your
consideration should be limited to matters of urgency which cannot be
postponed for the consideration of the new Parliament. Although the work
of repatriation and training of returned soldiers has proceeded smoothly
and satisfactorily, the measures which you have passed in previous sessions
providing for repatriation and for assistance to soldiers in various
occupations, and especially for the acquisition of land for their settlement,
have in some respects proved to be insufficient, and amendments of the
existing laws on these subjects have been prepared and will be submitted
to you. The Mortgages Extension Act and its amendments expire on
the 31st of the present month and require immediate attention, and you
will be asked to pass with as little delay as possible an Expiring Laws
Continuance Act, which will extend the operation of those Acts for a further
period. You will later be requested to consider an amending and consolidating Act continuing for a certain period the existing limitations upon
the powers of mortgagees, and defining a time when these limitations may
be safely removed. Bills amending the Government Railways Act, the
labour laws, the Workers’ Dwellings Act, the Discharged Soldiers’ Settlement Act, the land laws, the Mining Act, the Coal-mines Act, the Chattels
Transfer Act, the Post and Telegraph Act, and others have been prepared
for your consideration.

You will doubtless be pleased to learn that the Lake Coleridge hydroelectric scheme continues to be a success. Steps are being taken to
complete those works to enable the extension of the benefits throughout
Canterbury. Initiatory steps are being taken in regard to the Mangahao
and Arapuni schemes. The purchase of the Horahora plant and transmission-lines from the Waihi Gold-mining Company has been satis-