ENGLAND THROUGH COLONIAL EYES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXIX, Issue 7349, 2 December 1907, Page 1

ENGLAND THROUGH COLONIAL EYES.

Mr C. E. Daniell, who recently returned to Mastertbrt from a nine month's tour of England and-the Continent, gave some interesting impressions of his trip to a Wairarapa Age reporter. . "What- was the first striking thing you noticed in England i 3.'.' asked the interviewer. '-J 1

" Well," was the reply, "I made this remark 'at Homey'anil'--I say it again , that the first arid most important thing I noticed was the great improvement in the men/of all classes. The average man of to-day is of a fine stamp. He is generally well-edu-caied and tho spirit- of aspiration pervades him. This, mind you, was most] noticeable areonr* tho industrial classes, and made ipe'foel proud of., my nation while still remaining, grateful that I was colonial." Continuing,.the speaker said that the spirit of conservatism vvas still very strong amonp; the..\vealt:haccumulating people, andj 'there : still seemed to be, in many, ;!saases, a big barrier between tho'employe'r. and employee, 'The "manufacturing 1,'., trades in all branches, -seemed to* be;, thriving and doing profitable work, "and.^'the men appeared to be 1 faring betterthan when he was last in: England. Another thing, the conditionof living

was much improved, though, to his mind, the agricultural classes seemed to be the worst housed and paid of the whole community. Of.course there were congested areas in the big cities but the worker on the land did not ?et as just a return for his labour as his brother in the city. Thore were still a good many- unemployed-. to be seen, but they appeared to be the men' that preferred to walk the streets. rather than the actual labourers. There were idlers at both ends'of the social ladder, but, on tho other hand, there were men at each extremityv'tha't were, doing good for the commiinity.

} EDUCATION IN BRITAIN. | Education, said Mr. Daniell, was developing a fine moral tone in spite of what the sectarians said. He had visited a number oft schools of all grades, ' and he was struck, with the iplendid equipment for the" teaching of all classes. Education generally was much on the same lines as iii New Zealand. Primary education ivas free and compulsory, and its prorisions were valued. The evening classes in technical education., were very | successful, and in the large centres were carried, on in splendidly, equipped buildings. English youths nbw recog-

nise tho value of education//'and; the opportunity to learn is taken advantage of. ''■'"■■' ' '* '

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. The manufactories of Great Britain, Mr Daniell went on to say, were inesting in the eyes of a colonial, and ■ everywhere business seemed to he brisk. Shipbuilding on tli6< Clyde and the Tees and at Belfast .\^a|-booming, while the cotton mills in Lancashire were working at high pressure. Everywhere tho buzz of machinery was in tho air. LONDON AND ITS TRAFFIC.

"You spent some time -in London, I suppose?"

" Yes, I must say that the city has wonderfully t improved since I first left it. The "street traffic, which is the marvel of all visitors, was the best or- j ganised of any city I visited. The control that tho police ;iiave over the traffic in the most congested areas, simply by, slight movements of their 'arms, is remarkable. Motor- 'buses are coming into' favour a good,:deal, but tho old horse 'bus still holds its own, and if you want to se© London traffic properly you must rido on the top of a horse 'bus. The underground railways, or the 'tuppenny tube,' as they are called, have proved a great success, but the competition among the various companies controlling them- is pretty severe, and makes it hard for the individual company to do a profitable business. Electric trams are coming largely into favour in the outskirts of London, and the feature about these is that in most cases the current wires are underground. Comparing the. Electric tram system of the cities of New Zealand with some of those in England, I think, generally speaking, the colonial system just as good, but of course the conditions existing in the matter of efficiency and cheapness, however, there is not much difference. RAILWAYS.

The noticeable feature' about the railways of' England, Mr Daniell proceeded to say, was the wonderful intersection of systems. There were plenty of trains on all lines, the travelling was speedy and < comfortable, and the trains ran fairly punctual. Here again, there was great competition among the companies for the carrying business. The standard of fares was much the same as in New Zealand, but on special occasions, such as holidays and week ends, the fares were greatly reduced. The speaker instanced one such trip he took in Ireland. The journey wa« 65 miles each way, and the fare 2s 6d third-class return, ' the time occupied being two hours each way. TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES.

Telegraph and telephone arrangements were much on the same lines as in New Zealand, said the speaker, in answer to a question. He could not see that New Zealand was very much behind England in these matters. Sixpenny telegrams were in vogue, and the telegraph offices in the country .were open till 8 p.m. and in the cities all night. The telephones were often managed by companies, but the Government were gradually acquiring them. He noticed a good system of street, telephones, where anyone wishing to speak simply dropped twopence into a box on the telephone and ring up the exchange. If the desired connection could not be made, the two pennies were returned from the box automatically. Another thing the traveller noticed, and considered a good arrangement, was that all the telegraph and telephone lines all over the country were xinderground.

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE. (;Is there a great demand for New Zealand produce at Home?" queried the pressman. "Wcllj" was the reply, "in the west and south-west of England the people were very favourable to New Zealand butter. In the north, however, they are prejudiced in favour of their own and Danish butter, the argument being that New Zealand is too far away, and the butter cannot possibly be 'fresh. Where New Zealand butter is sold, it is retailed alongside the English product at the same price. The speaker saw no instances of "faked" butter, and went on to say that the New Zealand Government brand was respected. The colonial grading and packing system was admired and if the merchants saw New Zealand butter gradee^-firsts-class they knew it was the genuine article they were getting. Mr Daniell said he lost no opportunity to. explain the co-oper-ative system existing in the dominion, and the conditions under which the butter was produced. Much meat was now consumed by English workers, continued the speaker, and the New Zealand product received its fair share of patronage. He noticed, however, that whero New Zealand mutton was retailed in shops, there was nothing to show that it 'had come from this dominion. Sometimes it was merely marked "Zealand." In meat, as well as in butter, Ife noticed nrejudice against the article coming from such a lone distance away as New Zealand. That prejudice would take some time to overcome, but once I such a change came about, he thought j j the colonial product would be in much heavier demand.

NEW ZEALAND TOO FAR OFF. "Is there much talk about New £ea-

land atrHome?" " ' / .. "No; it is all Canada, but there is no doubt that the New Zealand footballers have done much to advertise their country. Englishmen respect the colonies, but the great distance is the trouble, and, besides, Canada is advertising herself tremendously and thereby attracting large numbers of immigrants. The great advantage that that country has over New Zealand is it's proximity to Great Britain, and therefore it is better known. Many Canadians go to England, for holiday purposes in winter as'well-as ■'summer. IN THE EMERALD ISLE." "Yes, I went to Belfast, but I could

not find the riots that were so much talked about. I was there at the time of the trouble, but to my mind all the reports of the strikes were exaggerated. The whole trouble was stirred up by political parties to gain their own ends. Belfast is quite a busy and up-to-date city, and far ahead of Dublin. I W(!iit to the Dublin exhibition, and v/as very pleased with the whole affair. Here the colonies were well ..represented'. I might mention, incidentally, that while at the Exhibition I had the pleasure of .seeing the King. My impression of. him is that he is a plain, commonsense man of the type that would make any. Briton feel proud of his Sovereign. I saw one or two of his little acts that have made him respected by all classes." • _ ■_■■_

.*- ' " OTHER LANDS. , Mr Daniell also journeyed through France, Switzerland and Italy. He noticed that the rural districts in France wore well cultivated, as also was itp.lv, where there seemed to be lit tin oho but vines growing. Switzerland bo found very interesting and much like southern New Zealand, but be could not help noticing how visitors were"made to pay dearly for everything. These countries seemed to him to be the recreation ground or Englishmen,' and wore to be found in almost every hotel at all times.