MANNIX DEFIANT.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VII, Issue 2026, 12 August 1920, Page 19 (Supplement)

MANNIX DEFIANT.

STANDS TO WHAT HE SAID.

PROFESSES CONTEMPT FOR MR HUGHES.

By Cable. — Press Association.—Copyright. (A. & N.Z.) LONDON, Aug. 10. An unending stream of callers interviewed Archbishop Mannix all day long. A crowd assembled in the evening outside Nazareth House. Archbishop Mannix delivered an address, concluding with'his blessing and an appeal to the crowd to disperse quietly. The Archbishop of Perth arrived from Paris, and proceeded directly to greet Archbishop Mannix at Hammersmith. . ; Jt is understood that Archbishop Mannix will remain at Hammersmith resting for a few days'.' His next move is the closest secret. Detectives are keeping a very close watch outside the convent.

Archbishop Mannix, wearing his episcopal robes and scarlet cap, posed for the kinema in the garden at Nazareth House. He walked backward and forward with a bearing. Father Vaughan remarked: "This will be a good picture for Australia and America." Archbishop Mannix said that since Jutland the British Navy had not scored a success comparable to the capture of the Archbishop of Melbourne, without the loss of a single British sr.ilor. He said he did not know whether his exclusion from Ireland was lejjal. He was seeking advice on the point. He intended to press his lights for admittance unless the Republican Government intimated thai his presence in Ireland would be unwelcome. He did not consider himself in the least hound not to go to Liverpool, Glasgow, or Manchester, but whether he would defy the orders was another question. While his exclusion from Ireland entailed certain personal inconvenience, it made the British Government the laughing stock of the world. "I adhere to everv syllable spoken in America," he said. "I am bound to return to Australia. Mr Hughes is not my superior any more than the Shah of Persia."

In a later interview. Archbishop Mannix stated:—"l am an Australian ctizen, who wishes to visit his native land after seven years spent in Australia. I thought it my duty as Archbishop of Melbourne to stand by the weak against the strong. I was, therefore, compelled to use my influence on behalf of the workers. Thus my name became associated with Labour politics. The Australian volunteers did more than their share to win the War." .The interviewer asked: "Were you then in favour of recruiting and volunteering?" Archbishop Mannix -replied:—"l asked no man to go, and asked, no man to stay." He assailed Mr Hushes as being a defeated and discredited poM-ijcjan. He was feeling nervous because he was losing his hold on office.'I*' 1 *'

The interviewer asked: "Do ; you contemplate taking part in a political agitation?"

Archbishop Mannix replied: "I have made no plans." The interviewer: "Have you seen Mr Hughes's statement that your return to Australia may be difficult?" Archbishop Mannix: "Yes, but I am bound to return to Australia. Mr Hughes is not my ecclesiastical superior." ... , Archbishop Mannix said he deplored Irish crime, but it was political crime. The Irish people were the most crimeless in the world. He further stated: "The Irish Republic is already in existence, and nothing should alter it except a ehangp of opinion among the Irish people themselves. You English -people seem to agree that if Ireland asks for Dominion Home Rule it should be granted. It seems to follow logically that if Ireland asks for a Republic she is entitled to haye it. The English say they cannot allow Ireland to be independent • for strategical reasons. Germany might have said the same thing about Belgium, and Russia might say the same thing about Poland. Apparently, some people in England think the principle of self determination should apply to our enemies, but not to our friends."