BRITAIN PRAISED.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 52, Issue 205, 11 June 1932, Page 8

BRITAIN PRAISED.

HER PLACE IN THE WORLD. A GERMAN'S POINT OF VIEW. Dr.* Adolf Halfeld, the London correspondent of the "Handmrger Fremdenblatt" wrote recently to his newspaper: "For weeks we have been waiting for this English inflation, but it does not come—and why not? Bestates the writer, "an Englishman never despairs and if firmly convinced that at the eleventh hour he will be able to muddle out of the mire The Englishman does not get excited. "Here in London we have not seen any runs on the banks or on shops; everything is continuing just as usual. In the House of Commons the Chancellor of the Exchequer rises and resoundingly states that England to-day —as ever—is the greatest creditor tion in the world, .and everybody goes home deeply satisfied. "The Government has not the slightest intention of trying to make out that things are better than they are. Thus did the British Government publish the daily figures of tonnage sunk-by German U boats. England is supremely contemptuous of world public opinion; Great Britain believes in herself. Thus calm and mental balance are preserved although the people are conscious of a national disaster. The Bank of England here is not a financial institution, but a kind of national shrine, and one has to try and put up with the sovereign no longer being quite a sovereign. "The English people seem to be feeling this a kind of disgrace with which the God o.f Puritans has punished his chosen people. An amazing thing happens. Under the stress of circumstances each individual feels responsible for the well-being of the community. "Daily the Treasury is receiving jewellery and sums of money_ from unknown people for the amortisation of the National Debt, and several times recently auctions have taken place at Christie's the proceeds of which we«e intended for the national Exchequer. "Undiminished moral force in the minds of the whole people; that is the secret of the English in this hour of crisis. Business remains as respectable as ever, no dizzy speculation in paper sterling is seen on the Stock Exchange and it is not necessary—as in New York or on the Continent—to assist or to carry various concerns. No bank would be a party to any deals which might give the impression that confidence in the sterling had wavered, and big shops and small shops, restaurants and public authorities, act in the same way. Even to-day I am able to tele-? phone as previously to Germany at the same rate. This policy may for the moment cost the Government appreciable sums but in the long run it will pay for itself, for if the IState demands that the merchant should not put up his prices, it must itself, set an example. "The miracle is actually taking place in England. Prices, though they have risen slightly are still below those of 1929 and 1930, Circumstances, of course, are in England's favour; the general slump in gold prices and the fact that England gets a large part of her requirements from other countries also off the gold standard—these conditions, of course, help. The chief help, however, is the absolute refusal of Englishmen of any class to believe in the existence of an inflation. "How did our inflation and the crazy dance of figures start in Germany? With mushroom,companies and make-believe elegance. England, however .appears to be going the opposite way. She is trying to find her way back to Victorian matter-of-fact simplicity and economy. "Another great danger from which England has been able to keep clear is intellectual inflation and that fact in these days is one of the greatest assets of all."