LORD NORTHCLIFFE

Hokitika Guardian, 24 August 1921, Page 3

LORD NORTHCLIFFE

v INTERESTING INTERVIEW. ' '• VANCOUVER, Aug. 4 Interviewed on general topics oil f wo of bis departure for Australia, Lo Northclifl'o said: “1 am uiwler the i pression that there is. more activity I connection with emigration from En rn _ land to Australia and) New Scalar ~)> than to Canada. Rhodesia is attractii many farmers with capital, to- I “The scientific development of imn a | gration is one of the most prossir n j. j needs of the moment. The war has be< a, tremendous shake-up in every con: ise H’.v, Capital has moved in uncxpmfcc Rh ways. in. I “The phrase that England is ebanj ims big hands is no misnomer, ..Take T>r vo tisli East Africa, for example To tl Canadian mind, I find it suggests e]< a . plaints, tigers, and snakes; but, as „ s matter of fact, it contains some of tli finest farming country in the woric yj. Many skilful agriculturists have got: ild there since the war. } lc , ' “I think that indiscriminate imm til gration is a. mistake, for T have soGi I men and women in Canadian cities wh had come out with entirely wrong idea and were much disappointed because <i t tin 1 misinformation. nl | “I expect a British election nox nt year. I believe Die result will be ai v, overwhelming victory ‘for anti-wast* a candidates.” m CANNOT FIND PROHIBITION. to Regarding the liquor question, Lon ici Northdiffo said: When I first eann ie to the UPnited States I gave the folit lowing answers to the reporters: “ ?r you will show me prohibition T will tel you what 1 think about it. Tam s.til unable to find att}\ ! have carefully inquired outside my own circle attiongsi mechanics and surburbaiiites, who re i- plied that liquor was easy to get, but y very expensive, and often bad. In ad h (lition, the statement was made that it H was much easier to get than it bad ■r been. I agreed that the closing of sals' ' nous may be of beneii't, but on the ,v |.oilier hand, this lias been followed by a* the setting U]i of innumerable privat* ir stills.” e “Prohibition does not look nice in ( 1 visiting foreigners. One finds <no > s friends anb'|diiig all sorts of shifty <lcs viecs—cr■Tying flasks and thermos hotP ties and drinking in hotel rooms. Rich ' people are indulging easily, while the II poor drink vile wood alcohol eoncoc- “ lions. h "The conditions of sale in some parts of Canada and the. United States al e '' so complex that 1 cannot master them. '■ Meanwhile l prefer the ways of lobti Hull, and the beer lie ini* be'bi toft,■lining for hundred* of years.” IF CONFERENCE FAILS. | .in d Nort-lirliflV. ii» a speech at Vancouver at the Canadian Club on | the subject of disarmament, said that '■the failure of the coming, Washington j Conference would bo a- catastrophe. If I it failed, the had old days of compeliI ! jive armaments would come again ' and with them the old rancours and , the old fears of wftr; j "When t spoke in Canada some . years ago,” be said, “I spoke of a , ! war that few people realised wa s comI ing, and some people thought me mad. Now 1 speak of peace that will come if we work hard, honestly, and unselfishly for it, and of the, dire consequences which must CnSue if we fail to read aright the signs of the times. "I am betraying no secret when J say that I believe that President Harding and Judge Hughes have a very deal understanding of the momentous ohnraet r of the Washington gathering, which may well prove tile greatest and most pregnant gathering of its kind evei held. 'Tii England we are disarming. ’I be British Army has been reduced to ,a figure below the peace strength before the war, while the navy is weaker than in January 1914, both as regards big ships and personnel. The statements made in the House of Commons mi Wednesday regarding the construction of four post-Jutland ships to replace obsolescent battle-cruisers do not essentially alter the fact. To-day we have only the Howl that partly emi bodies the lessons of Jutland. These* ships ni’e undoubtedly necessary, and cannot be completed in less thall five j rears. NEW SOCIAL PROBLEMS. “The world is sick and needs time to recover from the tremfendous shock \of the war. Social questions are prosi sing mid millions of men and women j who during the war attained a higher ' stnndad of life are anxious not to be thrust back to the positions they occupied before the war. “At, the same time, there is a reaction from the high idealism Rmt j animated the Allies during the war. I People are feeling somewhat disheart- ! eiied, and aiy wondering whether human affairs will ever he settld by anything but force, and whether goodf will, reason, and common sense will ever regulate the intercourse of naI ions. “At such a moment comes President Harding's call to a conference, wii special reference to the I’acific. If j the delegates constantly represent the desire of their respective nations, 1 am I convinced that an agreement will be ' reached. A new era of peace will be j opened in the Pacific, and this ex- : ample "ill extend from the Pacific to Europe and throughout the world.” | Lord Nortlieliffe wishes to advise his J Australian friends that his Vancouver speech is the only one which li ( < will make on bis entire tour. He will not speak publicly in Australia or the Orient.