12 JUNE 1953, Page 16

The Lone Prairee

SIR,—" The Lone Prairce " appears to have evoked blizzards in the brains of your correspondents, Messrs. Desmond E. Henn and David Mitchell, which might be allowed td blow themselves out were it not for the penultimate sentence in Mr. Mitchell's letter. Your corres• pondent unfortunately associates " the majority of his fellow country men in Britain " with his distorted views and derogatory remarks. may '1 repudiate this unwarranted presumption.

Few men are so foolish as voluntarily to remain in a community they detest. By their very presence here the majority of Canadians is Britain affirm their respect and affection for this nation. May 1 conr mend to both Mr. Henn and Mr. Mitchell that philosophy so amiably expressed by Mr. Bairnsfather in his cartoon " The Better 'Ole." Like Mr. Mitchell I came to England from Western Canada as a scholar enjoying the beneficence of a renowned British charity, and was privi-, leged to enjoy the hospitality of an English University. With him I deplore the jaundiced outlook of the udsuccessful immigrant. That disgruntled attitude, I assure him, is not an English trait. Rather is it an aberration characteristic of unhappy exiles no matter whence they come or where they stay. It is not entirely unknown among Canadian students at English Universities.

May I offer a word of advice to an unhappy fellow-countryman. If Oxford cannot cure your malaise, Mr. Mitchell, and if it has per- sisted through the gaiety and camaraderie of Coronation London, then try an English pub in any English village. Stand your rounds with the

locals. Join in their conversation without indulging in egoistical boasting and after a few pints you will be cured unless you are incor- rigible. In either case your hosts won't let you down. Sir, 1 apologise for this intrusion into your columns and thank you for your hospitality, Yours faithfully, . J. F. LEHMANN. 10 Sandmartin Lane, StOckton-on-Tees _ (formerly of Edmonton, Alberta).