AUSTRALIAN CRITICS

Hokitika Guardian, 11 February 1929, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN CRITICS

A VIGOROUS REPLY. LATE LORD XORTHCLIFFE DEFENDED. SYDNEY, January. 81. Australia has many critics but it is able to welcome Air Yyvyau Harmsworth, a brother of the late Lord .Yorlliclifl'e, as a staunch friend. Air liarmsw ortli is on a health visit to Australia and is staying at one of Sydney’s seaside resorts. “Don’t for one moment think,” said Air Harmsworth the other day “that I regard myself as competent to judge Australia or the Australians. But from what I have seen of the coun try 1 love it. ami as for the Australians, I have met with nothing from them, but courtesy and kindness. I notice in the Press that a Air Oswald Lewis. Conservative candidate for Clochester, after a mere six weeks” stay in the country, has been referring to the average Australian as ‘not merely discourteous, but as rude.’ For my part, I don’t- think that I have noticed one rude action, except perhaps on the part of a railway official at Albury, hut one cannot judge the people of a country on the action of a booking clerk.

“If you want downright rudeness—studied rudeness—go to the United States, where officialdom in that respect will give you an eycopener. Your iPress appears to take far too seriously those criticisms passed on Australians by people whose names are never even heard in their own country, but who manage to get all the publicity they want here merely by making unfavourable comment on Australia and Australians’ ways. In case any of their remarks have found their way into the British Press, though T don’t think it would.be possible, I shall do my best to refute their stupid stories when J get Home.” Mr Hamsworth- expressed himself as highly indignant with certain remarks recently made by the Leader of the Opposition in Now South Wales, the rather uncouth Mr Lang, head of the State Labour Party, to the effect that tune as a result of me,” he said, “I the late Lord Northdiffe made a fortune as a result of the Great War. “For the life of me,” he said, “1 cannot understand why a man, who has lieen Premier, is now Leader of the Opposition, and may be Premier again, should go out of his way to attack a man who is dead, but who while living rendered inestimable service to the British people as a whole, Australians included. Mr Lang says that Northed iff e made a fortune out of the war. As Lord Northclill'e’s brother, 1 can tell you that he came out of it a great deal, worse off than he went into it. Remarkably few people made anything out of the war. except, perhaps, the armament firms. I know the newspapers did not. And every cent of my brother’s money will eventually go to newspaper charities. Don’t think for a moment that I would resent fair criticism from anybody. I don’t, but I say that, any man who deliberately utters what is untrue should be branded as a perverter ot the truth. Air Bang certainly deserves to he so branded. Northdiffe often said to me lmw fond he was of Australia and its people, and what, he said he meant. It was the war that killed him. I don’t think lie bad a good night’s sleep for four years.”