KEIR HARDIE.

NZ Truth, Issue 130, 14 December 1907, Page 8

KEIR HARDIE.

WHAT HE SAYS Concerning Calumnious Cablegrams. '*-.■'* > HARDIES f ICIJIL TALK TO "TRUTH." WHY THE ANGLO-INDIAN PARASITES SLANDEftEO HISI. ■^ w Mined With the Common People " -Whereby He Discovered the Truth Concern ing India's Sufferings -The Sage, Sound Swadeshi Movement -Fremantle's Bumptious Mayoral Bumble Wouldn't Welcome Hardie— Famine-Stricken •v dap s : Will They Come to Australia P—Hardie Says the Social 1 DemoeMs: Will^Gaptura Japan 3 in *Ten Years.

<.'--.-'■ '" ■'_■. . ". . ' ■•.'•. ' ' .- ' ■ ' ' s*rom s pur Special Correspondent.: ,"V '■■■.'-■■ ■ PERTHV W.A.,; NoYV 27:.. • Few .visitors to ■ Australia bayef -fceen so: well. advertised as. Mr James Keir Hardie; M-P., who arrived •at vPremantle" late on Monday night per •R.M.S; India from, Colombo;. Frpni .the date of %is departure on a , tour to the oiitlayingv portions pftneEm- ' pire, when he - announced that ... he - .Would know^ neither creed, npr caste, 1 :np'r : ,- color 'in his . endeavor, to reach human nature and discover the trtt|h« Mr Keir Hardie has been subjected Up consistent misrepresentation,, slander- and calumny by the v subsidised press organs of the enemies of the people.- In T?here 7 : HIS RECORD STANDS • -.- - as the., 'convincing . answer.' to" the pylrotechhics, of the plutocratic press, •Mr Keir Hatdie's. reputation did not suffer /by this campaign of calumny, Australiatis, however, ; ar6 mainly de-t 'pendent for news of the outer world on the /capitalistic, cable cpnibine. "Therefore, many 'deliberate lies and gross slanders, have gained circula'tioa m this:;! country concerning, the veteran Labor leader^ and, though "Truth" 'ha^ nailed. -down -t^ese lies and • exposed the. slanderers by ■: far the best. answer to. -his slanderers is tibe . presence of- Mr- Keir Hardie Irimself^ His strong,, straightforward personal:ity, and. sane, logical, mind, aaafl convincing style v must • invariably im- ; press Australian^ with the man's frfy solute sincerity of purpose and earnestness of-.ttiind. In appearance; Mr Keir Hardie is an improvement on his photographs,. . which fail to 'convey the personal magnetism of the- nian. ; He is of ' middle -height and erect buiMy and- is square shouldered, deep-che_stedj and .of alert and vigorous carriage- He looks more active than Ms years; but his face, is that ol a man wlio has seen and suffered many sorrowsHis eyes, wJhich are iight brpwnaai'd Vfeepljr get", i speak eloquently of a Mnflly, sympathetic and shiewd nal>ure, while ttie iifh, broad forehead bespeaks 1 great tatalitx,, and the firm oval mouth .denotes* sensil^ity andi strength "p£ will. H/b is almost bald pn the-; top of tbe.'jfcad, and his 'iron grey hair .forms' a, sort of aureplarround the siftes , and back, !&• light-brown mousta«Sie wipHy cpnpeals,the upper lip, aid: abort, crisp', iron-grey foeard covers the ohm, with 'light-btown v patches on . the ;.,cheekbpnes. ,It is undoubtedly -.v , ' •■:•; /' ■ ! A : STRONG ®MsE> ; /'■ . somewhat sett .and serious ias^ repbsev ' but^ responding" tP many jnood§ wien ii Speech, With the-eyes giving, tone and eplpr to laark a qxrieti^^spokeii sentence. . ' ' ■■' ■■"■ .Tli'e '"Triith" ; represeiit^bwe ! " was ainPtig thp pressmen ' who disturbed Mf Keir Hardies shmtber : dn the -R.M.S. indio.- early. 1 on Tuesday- morr nin'g, . and, a! h^ppy^ ' qlKßnce', ; " he msCs ! instrumen-tal. m intrpdncing Mr Tltomas BatK, leader of '- the, Labor Party m the State 'Parliamejrfc,., to - *he leader of; the iiniepent' tLabpr ; Party m. the .'House of.^minions. A striking contrast these two leaders, of democracy presented, as thejj stood; pa .-(the ' deck pf the muaxl-bQat, syrorboli- =. cal of the' 'old wiorld and, the newi Mr Keir Hardie is, a 'Smoker-^He -'Jenjoys a good cigar and jn^kes a. r friend of his ;pipe- His vo'iceasr clear '' and pleasant, wtfch -just /a trace •' of lowland Scotch^ He speaks what is in' his mind in 'terse, idiomatic Eng- , -lishj His whole demecmor is.jtb.at; of the older genitis, who sees lire, steadily, and sees it whole. 'Above allj he is a man. of. method. . He chatted .'quietly " -arid' informally witli Mt Bath and a. couple of piessmen this morning, till,; the clocfc - bugle for breakfast rang out, 'vc&en he went below to the saloon. 'For him, after breakfast, the serious business^ v th e day' woWd begin. „ -' 'i ■ From the informal. 't;onversation vc before breakfagt; : it /was learned thai Mr Keir Hardies ,World! tour is pri- . marily.a health t^>p. . A -little, more , .-tvlian a year.; ago 'he was operated- on for appendicitis • but, as he -had delayed the .operation owing to press of work, it wfos not \s'holiy suc"cessful. About, April last, the doctor offered -OVfr Keir Hardie the alternative of A SECOND OPERATION 'or a complete change of scene and climate, and -tlie, Labor leader's choice was for, a World's tour ' \ iir .search of health and information . .When asked .^what/had been the..result, so far', of, his physical well being, ,Mr ' Harrt/fe replied, with, somi emphasis, "V/ery satisfactory. : ] feel better arid stronger m ever? .way," which Is a matter for genera congratulation. Of course; so. .prominent a publi( ' man as Mr* Keir HarOie could no 1 hope to escape the inevitable, inter viewer. Early on Tuesday morning his cabin was invaded,' and his toile' interrupted, fj some half-a-dozrn re ' ;presentatives of local and other pap ers • 'but "tho veteran Labor, leadei was m no -way perturbfed. "Aftei breakfast." was his invariable reply and, after breakfast, the pressmei jvere given an opportunity to pu 1 their inquisitorial -queries.. Each o lbs fttitortori was Atmed With clip

pings.' of the cablegrams purportingto; relate' to Mr Keir Hardies do.injgs and sayings m India ; but that .geritleSnan could not be induced to give any stronger reply than the that, for over a quarter of a century^ he had made it a. rule never to attempt to correct press niisstatements. .- It was particularly noticeable that Mr Keir Hardie gave: • congi^.er^ti'oh to every question, put. •toMiin. IpoEß^reiiying, and that his manner was^guarded and deliberate. He'-vbMit^eered'no - information be- f yonji 1 answering iiis interviewers. He,, -apparentMi?was determined that ■the^^b'ul^"'^^^..'''^ 1 possible excuse for •%.is%ep t rese%ta%ion of his "words. "Later ii. 'the day, however, at his Hotel, Mr Hfcrdie spoke rather more . freely to: the • 'Truth representa- ■■ tivei ; - It. was mentioned to. Mr Hardie that- the democracy of Australia vyere stall: somewhat m the darfc' as.-' to their;- visitor's Indian doings. , "You: mil ''understand," ," .-..5-iiD-vMtt KEIR HA-EDIE, ".that ;I must careful m all I say, because I am visiting the oversea portions of the Empire to acquaint myself with f local conditions, and cannot • speak authoritatively till I have had time , to sum up my observattons. I went to India' to see the Indian -people*, determined to meet with all classes,; if! possible; ? and that .1 carried out this intention' is the ■head and front of my ofionding. In every town, 'm every village, that I ; yisited, after obtaining all the officda]M information possible, I mixed, with' the ' 'cpnumon people, and at' tempted 1 to: learn from, their o\vn lips what were their real, ■ grievances. In this I committed, of course, an unpardbii&'b-le siii m, the -eyes of the Anglo-Indians.' It .has been said, I notice, that I met only the Sikhs, atid allowed -myselt to be influenced by them/ TC&Dllyr >That is very far from being tlie truth. I made 16 my business to? meet- all classes and all/ creeds. I found as 'good friends among the Mahoinedans as among, the Hindus ; among the loyalist Conservatives •s . 'as- . aiiiong the so-called '^agitators*- and "ex^emists" ; and, m- reply t» certain newspaper misstatements, I may say ..-. that I received' 'the:' most courteous treatment from the/ officers of the Government' and the -Jcivil servants, ■ 3?ROM .THE VICEROY, :DOWN- };/ /:y^ wards." : ;■ H'Aanong. other calumies," said 'our "it was alleged that you were •. postering 'sedition—seating; the blacfc man against the white man.'." 1 - • '■.--.•...< - , ■• ( \ 'Well, as- 'I^t'bld you this .morning,'? saidMr.:iCeir Hardie, "I' didn't ■.intend to corsrect siioh gross, misre- • 'presenit^tiorta. of li act'; b^t, it ;inay beof. interesifc to Australians to know ■ that "just • before leaving; India I was entertainea at firstly, the Landlords'; Association, comprised , of the. ultra •- loyafist' section .p& Hindus aim- MaiJtomedans, -at*, later, by the British. , fj^ndian. Association, • I was ithe g'us&t at-a garden party, given m. my rionor by, the . {European merchants and big men of Calcutta, when I was presented witb/ -a silver tea md. toffee service, and,.,although.' 'it'wasnot,said;'in words,,' I ■.interpreted this presentation as a protest; against, ithe . exaggera-ted and. distorted^ reports, presented of, me by a (certain section of the pressV ', Hospitality was offered me on all sides, msuph of which I could not accept ; for" Imiade.it a .rule to stop at hotels wherever I went. Even at Simla;'where I was invited to be the 'GUEST OF THE GOVERNOR,, I preferred ffco stay at ah hotel. . Many of the leading Government offi•tcials greatly ; v exerted themselves to ,'ass-istimy, investigations, and I am inidebted 'to generous Maiiomedan friends- .foi: many kindnesses. I mention tßfese matters to show that, by 'Angl6"!6iidians ' and loyalist natiyes, I was wot. regarded as a stirrer up of strife ; ;' rbut 1-ather •as an ; earnest seeker after knowledge. Certainly I went .to the peop,le,. for that knowledge—l,need not have gone to India had I been able to accept the information from- .oflQcieil, sources—but, as 1 say, I" tried to' glean my inf or J matiron from all classes ; from the. Government officials, European merchants, native noblejnen, and educated, gentlemen who arc the leaders of the" Swadeshi movement, and from the, ..'/agitators., '. ' but mostly from the people, the peasants; and .it .was- because I committed the unpar■donable sin of treating the Indian peasant as a fellow human beingthat,my.'action and, words were so GROSSLY MISREPRESENTED by certain sections of the semi-offi-cial press." •■•••••■• "Some Australians have formed the opinion, Mr Keir Hardie," said our representative, "that because of. your sympathy with the hard, lot of the Indian peasantry, you must essarily be opposed to. our Aliens' Exclusion Act. Is that so ?" '■I do not desire 1 to express an opinion on matters Australasian," ! replied'Mr Hardie. "I am here to learn, not to criticise, and your Exclusion Act is one of the many things that I mean to enquire into. ■But I may, say, this : I believe that

every self-governing- colony, must be absolutely free to make and . enforce its own laws regarding : immigration and emigration,' and I hope that the colonies which enjoy these rights will be willing to extend to the Indians the same privileges ■of self-gov-» eminent as they themselves enjoy." •■■ ■Truth".ha s,, suggested, " • • said.. pur . representative, "that' when stating your belief m 'India for 1 the Indians' you mean much as' - we do by our policy of 'Australia for the Australians;?' " ■■ ■ . ■"Yes, ".'.said Mr Keir Hardie,. af-- 1 ter. a moment's reflection, J 'l should say 'that's a very/ fair " way of putting it. There as •no more ' loyal people tlian the Indian .people-;- they are a-bSQlutely loyal to the Empire, and,, except for a few extremists, they do not\ desire to see Britain let. India go ; but it would' be idle to say- that there is not serious dissatisfaction with existing, conditions "of ■ Government, which, if not allayed by drastic and immediate reforms, may. grow" INTO OPEN REBELLION. We/have been told that the Swadeshi movement aims at the ousting, of the Anglo-Saxon— absolute nonsense ! It . is a perfectly sane and logical agitation for. the development of native industries, coupled with a desire fpr political rights. There, was profound and appalling ignorance m England of Indian conditions and aspirations •;. I presume it is the same m Australia. The average tourist, who accepts, his information from 6f'ficialdom,. leaves . India/ as ignorant of the true state of affairs as when he first .landed there^— not' that I wish to impute anything against the Indian civil servants ; .but they represent officialdom and naturally see everything from the official standpoint which is, very often, . a veuy false and biassed standpoint. Indeed, it is for this. reason that I advocated the holding of the next Indian Congress fn England. It is. very necessary that the public men of the United Kingdom and of the colonies should ibave Some knowledge of the true state of. affairs m India. I helieve the solution of many present ills is to be found m a measure of self-government. It is "said that the native, t while intellectual, lacks moral fibre, that he " is incapable of self-government. Well, that has got to be proved. What I do know is 1 that the peasants of In-~ dia are at the last stage, of -poverty, The conditions of- the peasants m. -some parts is TOO APPALLING .FOR- WORDS ; I can't bear to think of itV" A look of pain, flitted across the face, of Keir Hardie. /■.,'...-■ .. "According to the cablegrams sent ,to Australia by the capitalistic press combine," said our representative, "the Governor of Ceylon :was not 'at home . when you called ; he . declined to receive you, m fact?" • • ' . "I simply left my card, m the ordinary 'Way, ' ' said Mr - Keir Hardie, 'With a .philosophic pull at his -pipe.'•'Even if he had declined to meet me, I should not. have been, grieved.!' '•'To come closer home," said our representative, '-'.it -may amuse , you to know that the Mayor ot Fremantle declined te- • accord you a Civic welcome." "Well, that's his look-out," said our visitor. "I have been kept busy enough to-day as,;it is." "Will you make any public addresses while m Australia?" said "Truth." "It is not .my intention to," replied Mr Hardie. "I may mention that I' made no' public speeches while m India-; the only thing that might have been termed a- public .address was when I replied to a municipal address of welcome at Tuticorin." . "Touching on British politics, MrKeir Hardie, particularly the Labor mpverdent, will the Labor Party increase 4ts forces at the next elections?" • "I hope and believe so. You understand, of course, that there are two Labor Parties m the House of ConxmonSj the Liberal-Labor Party, and the Labor Party proper. Within the latter, there is the Independent Labor' Party, which is more. Soeialistaic than trade unionist. The Labor Party is a combination of trades unionists and socialists. All the members work amicably -together, aud I exoect the two parties will soon affiliate." "You, will be advocating PAYMENT OF MEMBERS shortly, no doubt ?" said* "Truth." "Some of the party may/but I shall not •;• I believe our present system, I am speaking for Labor only, is the best. There is a small levy on trade unionists lot the support of , their Parliamentary representatives, and the very fact of * pay ins that contribution makes the unionist take a greater interest m political affairs." "You are not a believer m the pledge ?"- said "Truth." "I am not, 5 ' said Mr Keir Hardie, with' emphasis ; "it is unnecessary to tie the honest man down to the- performance of his promises, while the dishonest man will not keep from

traitorous actions by any pledge, however hard and fast it be. Besides, a certain amount of. discretion should be permitted a member of Parliament." "The new commonwealth tariff has created some stir m England ?"■ said our representative. Mr Keir Hardie put up a protesting hand : "No local politics, please. I am a stranger, and I shall not presume to even offer an opinion on local affairs till I have studied them. How is Andy Fisher ? I see he has followed Mr Watson as Leader of the Federal Labor. Party. I know Mr Fisher, and I know his people m ; Scotland. lam looking forward to meeting him, again." "You have been m Japan, Mr Hardie, and that is a country. of muchT interest to Australians. Do you think there is any danger of a Japanese invasion?" "I scarcely think' so ; the 'Jap.- is by nature peace-loving. Among the ' people there is no desire for Imperialistic expansion; but at present there is^ DANGER OF FAMINE. : The nation is faced with the prob--1 lem of fin-ding food for its millions, : and this is- the class of immigrant to California which has created so much trouble. Possibly the floods .of emigrants may he turned towards Australia ; but there will be no hostile invasion, because the • rulers do not. desire it, and m another ten 'years the Labor Democrats and Socialists will be m the ascendancy, and their policy will certainly not he one of aggression. The East is developing . rapidly, and is going to be a new. and. serious problem m British polities'; but I do not think that this.develop--ment will mean any expansion of territory." As there were many visitors wait- . ing, and the interviewer had exceeded the "stipulated time, he put a final question. "Could you' give'meamessage to the Laborites of Australia ?" •"I'm afraid not," returned Mr-. Keir Hardie, with a. smile. "I have not brought any. message, except one of greeting from the Unionists o| the Mother Country, but you may say this : that I am intensely interested . by what I have read and heard ol this country and its people, and that , I hope to return to Great' Britain so primed with local conditions and lqcal aspirations that I shall be qualified to speak on behalf of Australia and the Australians on all Imperialistic ■questions that come before the House of Commons." , ; On Tuesday morning a formal wel- . come was extended to the distin- ' guished visitor at the Fremantle Trades Hall, when several members of Parliament and of the Coastal Labor Council, together with private citizens and some ladies, were - present. Mr A. McCallum, President* of■the Coastal Trades . and Labor Council, presented Mr Keir Hardie with a handsome illuminated address on ■behalf of organised labor m Australia, and Mr Bath, the leader of the Labor Party, m a eulogistic speech, proposed the guest's health, which was honored with enthusiasm. Mr Keir Hardie, who received a great ovation, responded with a spirited and interesting speech. FUTURE MOVEMENTS. [ Mr Keir Hardie leaves for Adelaide by the Kanowna on Saturday morning, and his future movements, approximately, are as under :— Mr Hardie leaves Adelaide for Broken Hill on Thursday, December 5 ; and returns to the holy city on Saturday. He leaves for Melbourne oil Sunday, December 8, 'and gets off at Ballarat ;• and arrives m Melbourne on Monday,. December O.He visits Ben- . digo from tliere, and leaves for Sydney on Thursday, December 12. It is not yet certain how long Mr Keir Hardie' will remain m Sydney, or whether he will visit Queensland. He will -spend some time m New Zealand ; and then he returns to England via- South Africa. -...,.