A CRITICS CRITICS

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 170, 20 July 1935, Page 18

A CRITICS CRITICS

The humdrum of everyday life in Auckland has been somewhat relieved recently by the advent in our midst of Mr. F. W. Doidge, with his humour in speech find Press. In a recent "Star," in his answers to his critics, in which he answers nobody and explains nothing, he is particularly humorous. He charges New Zealand people with being fond of writing letters to the Press, evidently forgetting that he himself is also guilty, both of writing to the Press and also expressing his views and polities by numerous speeches on every possible occasion. He says the interest received by British investors of capital in the Argentine is only £(!,r>oo,ooo per year. Now it has been published in the British Press repeatedly that Britain has invested in the Argentine £400,000,000 and in the whole of South America £000,000,000. So either one of two things is obvious, either Mr. Doidge is wrong, or else the Argentine has been able to raise loans at a very, very nominal rate of interest —about 1A per cent, which is absurd. New Zealand is reported as paying from £8,000.000 to £10.000,000 in interest to Britain, and it has repeatedly been published in the Press, during the meat negotiations, that Britain has much more money invested in the Argentine than in New Zealand. Mr. Doidge resents being called Rip Van Winkle, but that is what he surely is, and his politics of like vintage after being in London for 20 years. Some time ago Mr. Doidge came to New Zealand for a holiday or was it a mission? About that time the first whisperings of the new Democrat party were heard. His creed then, as I suppose it is now, was free trade for New Zealand. Now as long ago as May 27, 1935—very soon after Mr. Doidge arrived back in Auckland —the "Daily Express" published in London that Mr. Doidge was standing for the New Zealand Parliament in the interests of "Empire free trade," under the auspices of the newly formed Democrat party. The "Daily Express" is the paper that Mr. Doidge worked for in London and is one of the Beaverbrook chain of papers. Lord Beaverbrook boasts that he was responsible for the present protectionist policy of Britain. So there we have it. Lord Beaverbrook, represented here by Mr. Doidge, advocates protection and tariffs for Britain; while Mr. Doidge, representing Lord Beaverbrook in New Zealand, advocates free trade for New Zealand. They want it both ways—to eat their cake and keep it. U.M.P.