KEIR HARDIE.

NZ Truth, Issue 128, 30 November 1907, Page 4

KEIR HARDIE.

Was He Insulted?

Some person, possibly the. fellow that cabled most extraordinarily untruthful statements to Australasia concerning ICfeir Hardies visit to India, has cabled to Australia and New Zealand the following choice bit of news, which thus appears m the Wellington newspapers .—

LONDON, Friday, 3.10 p.m. Colombo telegrams, report that Mr Keir Hardie, M.P., called at Government House yesterday, but that the Governor (Sir Henry McCallum) was too busy to receive him. Mr Hardie sails for Australia tomorrow.

Probably Keir Hardie, being a member of the House of Commons, called upon the Governor of Ceylon, as a matter of courtesy, and as a matter of discourtesy, apparently, the petty satrap that presides over Ceylon has treated him with Boorish rudeness. This tin-pot Governor of Ceylon has behaved towards Mr Hardie, ,it seems, with a lack of urbanity that contrasts most churlishly with the reception given Mr Keir Hardie by the Governor-General of India, the Earl of Minto, w-ho rules over a population of nearly 300,000,---000 Indian British subjects, as contrasted with the comparatively paltry number of 3,000,000 to be found m the Island of Ceylon. Of course, it may be that the cablegram man is j lying, just as the Reuter man lied, as ■ we show m another part of this issue, m his cablegrams to London relating to Mr Keir Hardae* If the-Gov-ernor was not ill or intoxicated, and is the typical English gentleman, it is hard to understand his conduct ; for, as we have said, Hardies status as the Leader of the Labor Party m the British House of Commons so impressed itself on the Earl of Minto, m his extremely important capacity as the Governor-General of India, that lie received Mr Hardie with the utmost cordiality, and m so doing j acted with perfect propriety and proper patriotism. It is of the utmost importance that whatever information it might be m his power to impart as to the condition of the great Empire over which he, as Governor-G-eneral presides, should be placed at the disposal of a man occupying; Mr Hardies position, freely and fully. Mr Hay-die, by his outspoken denunciation of the wrongs inflicted upon the Indian peoples by the gang of bureaucratic blood-suckers who are probably pulling the wires against Hardie, may be doing England the very greatest service, by showing that there is one Briton, at least, and he one- m a position of considerable importance, who has the courage and honesty to expose and denounce the infamous injustice with which the Indians are treated. It would be possible for the peoples of India to drown British rule m a sea of bloort, and of this fact they are not ignorant. Let them understand, however, that the great mass of thn British people have no sympathy with the official cliques that have fastened themselves, like blood-draw-

ng pantiles, to the Tndionbody po-

iitic, find they will take care to rid themselves Of the ..British parasites without taking, up a hostile attitude to Britons generally, or to Britain as a power. England's downfall might be brought about by India, for, according to an account of. an interview with Mr H. M. Hvndman, One of the greatest living authorities m Europe upon the condition of India, the present state of affairs is most perilous to Britain. India is seething with sedition, and it may even be too lnte for Britons even now to show that they are prepared to do iustice to their colored fellow-sub-jects. Keir ITardic, however, does right to protest, and to show that he, at least, as a representative Briton, is m favor of justice. The leader of, the British Labor Party is acting a 'truly patriotic part, for he has actually been impelled by a. sense of .public duty to prolong his stay m India, and thus to reduce the amount of time left him for the purpose of to'iring Australia and New Zealand, m order that he might, investigate for himself the condition of the people of India, some of whom are, it may be mentioned, m spite of the place of their habitat, _ very closely allifd racially to ihe T!uroDean race. Hardies-u nselfish :in;l pub-lic-spirited action may, possibly, yet save Tn'Ha for Britain, bin if so, it will be m spite of the venomous hostility of the Yellow Press, and its crooked concoct ors of cooked cablegrams.