NORTHCLIFFE’S VIEWS.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIII, 20 May 1922, Page 1

NORTHCLIFFE’S VIEWS.

ON AUSTRALASIAN QUESTIONS. WARNING AGAINST JAPAN. Per Press Association—Copyright. LONDON, May 18. • Lord Northcliffe, ata luncheon given him by the Australian and New Zealand Club at the Hotel Cecil, made interesting references to the .Japanese question. After allusion to the fact that Australia had no arsenals, he added: “Our little brown friends are getting nearer and nearer Australia. Any person who goes to Japan will realise the true position—the remarkable growth of population—and will understand that Australia, which is practically empty is in very great danger. Australians tell me ‘we will keep . them out.’ Australia keeps them out because she has the protection of the British fleet. Can Americans and Canadians keep them out?”

Lord Northcliffe thundered “No!” British Columbia and Honolulu are alive with Japanese.”

He regarded the Japanese as the Germans of the East, with propaganda of spying and emigration all over the world. They have covetous eyes on the Commonwealth and the Dominions. Lord Northcliffe criticised the emigration scheme. It was easy to put men in ships at Tilbury, and land them at Perth, Sydney, or Melbourne, anywhere except Northern Queensland, but there were no preparations to receive them when they arrived, such as in Canada, where the CanadianPacific railway made wonderful preparations for reception, hence the numbers of people who return from Australia. There was an alarming number returning and this should be stopped. Everyone who returns to his native village in England was the worst advertisement Australia can have. Lord Northcliffe referred to the Australians designating immigrants “pommies.” He did not understand what it meant, but it was regarded-as an insult.

He sounded a note of warning about the large number of Italians emigrating to Australia. There were several types of Italians. “Are you getting the right type? We want to hold Australia for the British.” He stressed the necessity of the careful handling of immigrants on arrival, and paid a tribute to the Barnardo boys as the best type of immigrant. “A man of 35 becomes a grouser. 1 met plenty such. They are slacking about from town to town, getting the extraordinary hospitality that everybody gets in Australia, and cursing the country.” Lord Northcliffe launched into a discussion on the feeding of the Australian workman. “He is as well fed as anybody in this country. The workman of England has no idea how well the Australian workman is fed. No man’ in England can imagine what Australia is like until he sees it. “There are all sorts of unexpected things and places which you can never contemplate. “What surprised me was the beauty of the places. We have heard for the last 90 years more about New Zealand than Australia.” Lord Northcliffe deplored Labour’s attitude in certain Australian States. There was no place in the world where Labour was king to such a great ex-

tent and in Queensland it was dictator. A contrast was Canada, which had not tied herself to ridiculous Labour dership. Canada had not made Labour Bo dictatorial and ’costly that it could not be an exporting country. This was true of Queensland. “I became unpopular for saying these things, but I am used to unpopularity.” In New Zealand Labour seemed more orderly and less arrogant. Australia was so far away that Australians had no standards of comparison. They had many beautiful things, but did not admire them because they lacked the means of comparison with other places. “In Australia I was asked to admire the second rate buildings and bridges, but not the magnificent physique of the people which is the best in the world.