“ROUGH AND READY”

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 112, 11 April 1929, Page 10

“ROUGH AND READY”

IMPRESSIONS OF AUSTRALIANS. MAUDE ROYDEN’S DENIAL. In a letter to a Sydney lady, Miss Mai\de Royden, who recently returned to England after an extensive tour overseas, states: “I am distressed to find that a garbled version of what I said to the reporters who met me on my arrival in England has been published in the Australian Press, and has given an entirely mistaken impression of what I said. May I explain that the actual words which have, given offence, and very justly, were not used by me at all, but by one of my questioners. “I had spoken of the wonderful hospitality shown to me in Australia, and added that it is difficult for English people quite to realise how much such kindness meant, since the women in Australia had an even greater difficulty in getting domestic service than we had over here. One of the reporters then remarked “that it would be a rather rough and ready hospitality then.” “1 answered: ‘ln some of the very out of the way places I visited it had to be so, of course, but the point I wish to bring home is that Australian women show this hospitality always, whether they live in beautiful houses in the great cities, or in the far-away little settlements in ho north-west, and whether it is difficult for them or easy.” The statement of which Miss Royden complains was cabled to the New Zealand newspapers as follows: LONDON, Jan. 13. On arrival in London from a world tour Miss Maude Royden was greeted at Victoria Station by scores of admirers, many of whom offered bouquets. Miss Royden was quite prepared for questions about her cigarette smoking. According to a news agency she confessed there was a certain amount of criticism in Australia. “In fact,” she said, “I could not conceive that a few cigarettes could create such a terrific row.” When asked if she. would smoke now she was back in a' free country, Miss Royden replied that she refused to be bullied in America or Australia, and she smoked all the time she was there. " Miss Royden described Australia as a rough and ready country, even in the cities, but Australians were wonderfully hospitable to her, "though they were a good deal scandalised at the idea of her . preaching in a cathedral which she did at Adelaide. Such a sensation was caused when she preached in the cathedral at Christchurch, "New Zealand, that the crowd was positively dangerous. Australia, she said was a little under the impression that England was sending her “duds” or “throwouts,” who had been living on the dole. She wished the word “dole” could be abolished, as it embittered people, besides giving a wrong impression. Miss ltoyden’s views were more moderately expressed in an interview with the Observer. She stressed the live interest of Australians in international affairs, and said she found them tremendously keen about the work of the League of Nations. Miss Royden urged speakers going to Australia to choose that kind of subject. She praised, the baby clinics’ reduction in infant mortality. Nothing was lacking in her reception at Adelaide oncethe ice was broken. Her biggest crowd was at Christchurch.