The Return of Hans

Within a week of the expiry of the embargo on German trade the steamer Port Curtis will arrive in Melbourne with cargo from Hamburg.

Hoch! they're coming again across the
sea,
With their pure tin knives, as it used
to be;
With rotary engines and guns and
glue;
Keen on their selling to me and to
you
Their chemicals, dyes, and the eight-
day clock.
Hans, with his samples, is coming!
Hoch!

They're coming again, with their eye
on trade;
Never forgetting how once they made
Marks in this land that was ever a
mark
For the foreigner hawking the Noah's
Ark -
Toys for our children, clothes for our
wives,
Cheapness and shoddy and pure tin
knives.

And what are we doing, oh, brothers o'
mine,
To check the invasion from over the
Rhine?
Are we loafing along in the same old
way
As we did in the years that preceded
"The Day"?
Have we learned our lesson from Hans
and "Gott"?
Or is cheapness and shoddy again our
lot?

Hoch! They're coming again, as we
knew they'd come,
With tools and machinery, guns and
gum,
Pickles, perfumery, scissors and socks.
A smile charming and hearty "Hochs"
And what of Protection? Friends, will
it stand?
Or will cheapness and shoddy destroy
our land?

Brothers o' mine, it is hard to say.
Yet, sometimes I think me that this is
"The Day".