Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/115/1 - June 1918 - Part 3

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11 prisoners." "Our troops in / Villers-
Bretonneux sector made a successful
raid & brought in 2 prisoners & 3 m. guns."
"Our troops made a daylight raid near
Morlancourt (or Ville) - & so on . .
If they had mentioned what troops they
were who were occupying a third of the
communique they wd have had to mention
/ Australians almost every day -

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It wd be noticed in America - & tt
wd not do Great Britain good; it wd help
/ German propaganda in the States. But it
wd store up in / United States a knowledge
of Australian valour & an admiration of our
country wh we may some day most
bitterly need.  It can only be left to me,
if possible, to make known someday to

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Americans, & indeed to / English themselves,
what / Australians have done in this time.
- Well Hughes talked to Long of
his Munroe Policy Doctrine for / Pacific -
I think he leaves New Guinea for to be held
either by Australia or by a group of friendly
powers - & Samoa to N. Zealand. The 
Japanese Ambassador told him, he

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says, that the Carolines & Marshalls they
held & they wd keep.  They intended
to stay there. [I have been told tt these
were to have been occupied by Australia; tt
the force to occupy them ws raised & ready;
but tt / English Admiral whom we had in
commd o / Austln fleet wd not take
/ expedition there - & when he ws ready
to take it, it ws too late, / Japanese were

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there first. I do not know if this acct
is true].
Hughes also told Long tt Austlia
was not any longer going to be content
w / attitude or organisatn o / Colonial
Office.  "We shall have to be recognised as 
an equal" Britain is a leader amongst
equals" he sd - "a father w grown up
sons" - & this wd have to be recognised or

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the party opposed to / Empire, wh ws
very strong in Australia, wd become a 
party of independence.  And it
was always on / cards tt some day
it might reach power in a period of
reaction.
After Long had gone Murdoch
& I had a long talk to Hughes.

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While we were there, Howse arrived, with
Griffiths & Dodds, to call upon Mrs
Hughes.  Hughes finished his talk w 
Murdoch & me first. He asked me
straight, in / course of it, what I thought
of Gen. Birdwoods capacity.
"He did not strike me as a man
of great intellect," he sd.  "White -
when I was last here - White did st impress

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me as a man of intellect; & Monash I
know - Monash struck me as I believe is a man of
great  very considerable capacity.  But Gen. Birdwood 
struck me as relying more upon
social arts" - & he spoke of Birdwoods 
habit of writing letters to a very great
number of officers, & parents of men
& so on - the little mans kindly

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practices on wh certainly a great part
of his power is based.  Hughes probably
does not value hold his straight leadership or
his instinct at their true value - but on
/ whole, he has summed / three men correctly.
Hughes I s think understood tt M Cay ws impossible. Legge
didn't like him, he sd - nor Pearce.
Howse came in presently, carrying
Hughes little daughter, to break up our
party & to get Billy into  / drawing room.
I purposely only went into / drawing room

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for a minute or two, so as to give
Dodds a chance to say what he had to
say on behalf of Birdie. He took /
chance. Howse had to go in later with
Murdoch, for they feared tt Hughes wd
be tired out. The conversation ws
just over - Hughes ws saying:
"Well, it seems to me tt Gen. Birdwood