AUSTRALIANS PRAISED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16925, 10 August 1918, Page 8

AUSTRALIANS PRAISED.

GENERAL PAU'S TRIBUTE.

ENDEARED TO; THE FRENCH.

.'-: : ||>U '■ .■: •#■:.■ LONDON. Jul? $ The f sight ;of V the'; Australian voluntary army, said General Pau at' Mr. Fisher's dinner' to the French delegation at Olaridge's, filled my old sc'.dicr's heart with admiration. Though they are new soldiers under old "chiefs, the -Australian army is ■ equal to the best r in Europe in military. skill and knowledge of: miltary rules, as well as bravery and dash. We French veterans pay tribute to their physique, noble bearing, and valour, but also to their cheerfulness, for cheerfulness is the basis of an array's strength. General Pan paid a tribute cto the civilan leadership of the A.1.F., which added to the. supreme confidence which existed between the Australian officers and their men. It was owing to the lack of a. similar confidence that the Germans were doomed. In the course of an interview General Pau said Australia aud France have sealed with blood on many battlefields an alliance which will last for ever, bringing greater prosperity to both countries, ana contributing to the future happiness of all mankind. For a soldier like myself there I is no greater satisfaction than contact with troops so splendid, so admirably trained, and so filled with a sense of patriotic duty as we were privileged to see at rest, recreation, and work. Their confidence is justified by their success in daily conflicts on. the banks of the Ancre and the Somme, and they have been made illustrious by their tenacity and braver}'. Like all-brave soldiers, the Australians have allied with their warlike virtues those ; belonging to free citizens. • They' have full consideration for the greatly tried population of our country. Frenchmen 'will never forget the helpfulness with which they alleviated the misery of the people expelled from their homes, and how they saved and restored goods, chattels, and crops which would have otherwise been destroyed or fallen into the enemy's hands.. It is impossible to over-thank General Monash in that connection. The. Australian flag has floated beside ours for three' years, and it will be ( honoured and loved for ever by Franco i