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The Dominion. FRIDAY, MAY 26, 1916. A TONIC INFLUENCE

The Australian Prime .. Minister ! (Mr. W. M. Hughes) has allowed himself much latitude in giving expression to .his opinions on his visit to England. He has spoken with more freedom and frequency than is customary with Dominion Ministers during their visits to the Old Country, and ho does not appear to deem it his duty to hold scrupulously' alo.of from British political controversies. Not that he has deliberately taken up the attitude of a partisan. He has simply stated his views on current topics without regard for traditional shibboleths. He does not use the language of the old political schools, but speaks with the unshackled tongue of one who has been "a pupil in the University of tho World. Mr. Hughes is the possessor of an/assertive personality, which keeps him constantly in the foreground. He has the faculty of saying things in a forccfid and' striking way. He is a master, in the art 01 phrase-making. His words "stick." With all these qualifications for gaining the public car, combined with the help of: the psychological moment, it' is not surprising that the Australian Prime Minister has cut a somewhat heroic figure in tho eyes of the British people. It was, of course, inevitable that journalists and politicians should endeavour to make use of his utterances to further their own ends. Attempts have been made to extract -party capital from his appeals and warnings. The blame for. this is not his. It is nof his fault that some of the newspapers have manufactured out of his speeches weapons for attacking tho National Government. This method of attack takes Ministers at a disadvantage, as they cannot very well engage in public controversy with their overseas guest. ' But tho hustling effect on tho National Government of Mr. Hughes's eventful Btay in England may do some good.. It will certainly do no harm. It is having a bracing influence. It is opening the eyes of the public to the fact that tho traditional "pros and cons" of some long-standing political and economic controversies clo not cover the whole ground. There are other arguments and other points of view which may lead to a solution of some very difficult •problems. From the standpoint of the British public the main value of Mr. Hughes's speeches lies in their tonic influence—their power to inspire and freshen thought. What the war has been doing on a vast scale, that Mr. Hughes has done in a comparatively small way. People are being shaken out of old ruts, fixed ideas are being undermined, and the minds of men are restlessly' waiting for the establishment of the new order of things. Tho public now realise in a vague and general way that great political, economic, and social changes are coming—that they are closo at hand. A big stride in Empire organisation is about to be made, and there is much need for clear thinking in this direction. Mr. Hughes has given tho public soino unconventional ideas to ponder over. He has not solved any problems. Ho has merely fastened attention to the urgent necessity for working out solutions. It is easy to talk in an attractive way about revolutionary alterations in the fiscal policy of Britain, but it is useless to ignore the tremendous difficulties which beset the path of reform. An oldestablished nation like Britain cannot make far-reaching changes of a vital character at a bound. Yet thero is ajwa.vs the danger of too

hurriedly arriving at the conclusion that an obstacle is insuperable. Empire problems which may havo been insoluble fifty, twenty, or even five years ago may be solved now. The war may have made all the difference. This is what Mn. Hughes'has been endeavouring- to impress upon the public and politicians in England. He has done something to make them understand that some of the impossibilities of the past have now becomo possible,, and that a tragic mistake would' be made if, through lack of courageous statesmanship, the disastrous blunders of the past aro allowed to be repeated. It is not the business of the overseas Dominions to foreo Britain to adopt any particular trade policy, but they will be bitterly disappointed if effective measures cannot be devised and adopted with tho object of strongtlp ening the commercial bonds which bind the various States of the Empire, and of extending the existing naval and military co-operation of the Empire and its Allies into the economic sphere.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19160526.2.20

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2780, 26 May 1916, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
748

The Dominion. FRIDAY, MAY 26, 1916. A TONIC INFLUENCE Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2780, 26 May 1916, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, MAY 26, 1916. A TONIC INFLUENCE Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2780, 26 May 1916, Page 4

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