Let us, resolutely putting
aside all considerations of party, class, and doctrine, without delay,
proceed to devise a policy for the British Empire, a policy which shall
cover every phase of our national, economic, and social life; which
shall develop our tremendous resources, and yet be compatible with those
ideals of liberty and justice for which our ancestors fought and died,
and for which the men of our race now, in this, the greatest of all
wars, are fighting and dying in a fashion worthy of their breeding.
"Let us set sail upon a definite course as becomes a mighty nation to
whom has been entrusted the destiny of one-fourth of the whole human
race."
Hughes is the most accessible of men. The humblest wharf-rustler in
Australia hails him by his first name. A characteristic incident will
show the comradeship that exists between this leader and his
constituency.
On his last visit to England he crossed over to France to visit the
Australian troops at the front. He was walking through a trench
accompanied by General Birdwood, who is Commander-in-Chief of the
overseas contingent, and stopped to chat with a group of soldiers who
had fought at Gallipoli. Suddenly a shell shrieked overhead. A Tommy
from Sydney yelled to the Premier:
"Duck, Billy, duck!"
Here is practical democracy. Nowhere, in all the varied human side of
the war, does it find more impressive embodiment than in the self-made
little Australian whose life is a miracle of progress.
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