A WITTY SPEECH

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 223, 8 June 1918, Page 12

A WITTY SPEECH

ON THE SUBJECT OF Will) NOIiTIICI.IFFE HOUSE OF COMMONS CONVULSED What is generally described iu the London t'reas as one ot the .wittiest speeches ever heard in tho Uouse o£ Commons ivns mude by -Mr. Spencer Leigh Hughes, a journalist, on March 11, during the debate on the relations between the Government, and fits newspapers. The question, which was raised by .Mr. Austen Chamberlain, arose out of the appointments as Ministers of Propaganda of Lord Northclitl'e (proprietor of "The Times,'" "Dally Mail," and other papers) and Lord lieaverbrook (a former Canadian journalist). Mr. Hughes, who is reported in full in "The Times" of March li, said in the course his speech:— In regard to Lord Noithcliffe, he thought the attacks upon liini had been ridiculously overdone, ft was always a mistake to overstato one's case. Lord Noithclifi'e had boon Held up as a sort of sinister figure brooding over this country and over a great part of Europe with ft hidden hand, a cloven hoof, an evil eye, and a forked tail. (Loud laughter.) That was tho wrong way in which ■jo criticise Lord Northclilfe. No man really resented being called a monster; it added to his senso of self-importance. (Laughter.) He. believed that any man would rather bo called a colossal monster than a well-meaniug man. (Laughter.) The way lo approach Lord Nort.hclifl'e was to begin by recognising, as ho did, that lie was human. Ho believed Lord Northclilfe resented tho suggestion himself, and it might go hard with any member of his staff who stated the fact to him bluntly. (Laughter.) The fact remained that Lord Northclilfe was human, and being human he was subject to some of the faults and failings which were inherent in human nature.. He believed all Lord Northcliffe's faults and failings could be traced to one cause, that was, that he thought ho looked like Napoleon. (Loud laughter.) There were those who blamed Lord Northcliffe for lust of universal conquest and worldwide dominion; there were others among his critics who complained of him that every now and then ho made all the organs under his control play the 6am» tune. He raised, if not one grand sweet song, at all events a sturdy chorus, and then he said, "Look at this great outburst of Independent public opinion!" (Laughter.) But that had not always been the case. Lord Northclilfe was not ever thus, His Napoleonio instinct at, one tune Induced him to address the public in effect in this way:—"lf you do not like tho Unionism preached in my London papers, try the Lib-' erallsm and free 'franc in the Leeds "Mercury." Or observe my honest sympathy .with Labour in Glasgow. Again, if, as is only too possible, my humorist papers, such as 'Comic Cuts/ sadden anil depress you, you will always find an excuse for ati hojiost laugh in my religious publications." (Loud laughter.) Instead of what ltnd been called simultaneity. Lord Northclilfe sometimes presented all the attractive- ! ness of a variety artist. All this went j to show that lie might make a very sik- ! cessfiil Minister of Propaganda. Being j human, as ho was snbicct to faults and j failings so also he had merits and virtues, though Ihey might bo negative virj fues. There was one which had always attracted him; Lord Northclilfe was not and had never pretended to be a philanthropist. (Laughter.) He was not one of those pestilent people who pretended to run newspapsM's in order that they might leave the world a little better than they found if. People could not lie made to see that Ihe best way for f hem lo leave the world better than they found il: would be to leave the world at onco. (Langhtor.) What was it that, the Government required Lord Norlliclillo to do as Director of Propaganda? It w . as , collect—he ntmld not say concoct—information, to distribute the iulormation, and to get the people to believe the information. He had been engaged in that, arduous task for vears with varying success, and so lie thought, a case was made out for him as the Director of Propaganda. Ho was absolutely the man for the position. With regard to the influence supposed to be exercised by the Press over the Government:, wlieiwia the appointnicntct Lord Northclilfe was a mailer of fact, the other was a matter of conjecture to a. "real: extent. And here, again, he thought the critics of the Government were verv often mistaken. They said, "Look at'tho Northclilfe Press and other papers; they attack certain individuals, and then those individuals go under. But one should remember- that it was a very old art- of tho Press lo find out what was going to happen, to advocate it, to insist on it, hd<l then when ilift thing happened, to say. "See what we lu\vß done." No one was' wore candid alio it I' that, than the lat'i Mr. Labouchere, who had often told him with chuckling satisfaction of his successes in that way many years ago.