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New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18294, 10 January 1923, Page 7

MR. HUGHES AND ENTENTE.

CONSUL CENSORS PASSAGE.! A. and N.Z. ' '. ' SYDNEY, Jan. 9. '}■ A portion of a letter from Mr. W. M. Hughes, apologising for his absence from a : banquet given by the French ConsulGeneral to the officers of the French squadron now in port, was censored by the Consul on the ground that it would give offence to some of the guests* present.

In the passage omitted Mr. Hughes stated that if he had been able to attend the banquet he would not have alluded to the situation created by the differences of opinion between France and Britain on the ' question of the reparations. The letter went on to say:— "The position.-is serious, but it could be made work by indiscreet comments. We must leave it to those in authority and on the spot to find some modus vheudi, France and the British Empire must compose their differences. The alternative, a breach between the two nations, would be a disaster full of deadly menace to civilisation,'; and, would make us despair of the future," The message concluded .'.'We pray earnestly ; that the world may be saved from the appalling consequences :-i such incredible folly and wickedness." The censored passage is generally condemned.