THROUGH MANY LANDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 302, 21 December 1926, Page 8

THROUGH MANY LANDS.

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES VISITED. MRS. C. E. McGUIRE RETURNS. NEARLY FOUR YEARS ABROAD. After three and a-half years abroad, during which time she travelled extensively through Great Britain, France, Belgium. Holland, Germany, and Italy, Mrs. C. E. Maguire, wife of the medical superintendent of Auckland Hospital,, returned home to-day on the Maunganui. She was accompanied on her travels by her daughter, Miss Ellie Maguire, who has adopted literary pursuits, and is now continuing her studies at Kensington. Mrs. Maguire was joined in England by Dr. Maguire, who was absent from the Dominion for about a year. "The most outstanding impression remaining in my memory after three and a-half years abroad is that of the great strike in England," eaicl Mrs. Maguire. "Amazing scenes were witnessed in London during that time. Never did I think so highly of the character of British people as during that troublous period, when the gentlefolk of England rose to the occasion magnificently, coming forward with their expensive cars and limousines to help solve the transportation problem created by the cessation of work amongst transport workers. The Oxford drawl of the students who manned the trains sounded most curious. I To hear them shout 'All seats, please!') was one of the most amusing things I have ever heard. But they did the job, and did it really well." I Mrs. Maguire and her daughter spent j three summers in London. The first winter was spent in Italy, and the south of France, while they visited Tunis and i Algiers during their second winter, the third being enjoyed at HMalta. In July, 1025, Mrs. Maguire was pre--sented at Court by Mrs. Amery, wife of the Colonial Secretary, and Miss Maguire was then presented by her mother. Ac-1 companied by her husband and daughter, Mrs. Maguire flew to Paris in one of the Union Air Line's aeroplanes. \ "Ah, if the working clashes of Britain I would only work as do the people of France, Belgium and Germany, there would be no talk of want and poverty,": said Mrs. Maguire. "Contrasting con-1 ditions in England with those in the three 1 countries I mention is not pleasant, for everything is so different. I think Xew Zealanders might learn a lesson, too. In! France all are working, and working, hard. In the fields one can see then!, stooped under their burdens, from the youngest to the oldest. Everywhere there is thrift, and the countryside is prosperous in appearance." "Germany is prosperous. Hard work is the lot of all classes. People are saving money. The decent, hard-working type of man whom we met in the streets seemed glad to see us, and we were treated kindly on all hands. The average German has no time for the late Royal family. There is nothing of the old militarist spirit. 'Where you stand, madam, was once the greatest fort in Germany,' said a German on one occasion, adding, quite j simply, and without a flicker of a simle, 'but now, by order of the Peace Con-1 ference in 1918, it has been converted into | a playing park for children.' Most of the palaces formerly occupied by the! Kaiser have been dismantled or trans-' formed into show places, educational' institutions, or Government offices. Ger-J mans dislike the Kaiser because he ran away. I was impressed by the cleanliness of the German people. The streets of, Berlin were spotless. Berlin has recovered something of its old gaiety. In the south of France there is the oldtime atmosphere. The resorts are all filled with wealthy people. What is ap- ( parently a new rule has been introduced' at Monte Carlo, where the permanent [ residents .re forbidden to enter the j gaming places, so that there are now no representatives of that class which existed on the earnings resulting from eystematised betting." "Paris is not the gay city it was in those far-off pre-war days," said Mrs. Maguire, who recalled that she had been, in France prior to 1914, when the great capital was the merriest placo in all Europe. "To-day Paris is more careful in its observance of Sunday, though 1 do not think this can be attributed to religious causes. At all events, there are fewer shops open, and life is quieter generally." Mussolini Popular with His People. Mussolini has left his impress on Italy in a remarkable way. When my daughter and I first visited Italy, conditions were not really safe. The post office system was so bad that one could never be sure that letters would reach their destination, and travelling was risky. All is changed now. One of the first things Mussolini did was to restore the efficiency of the post office, and to place armed guards over the luggage on the trains. It was curious to see soldiers with fixed bayonets standing guard in the luggage vans. Under the dictatorship, conditions improved by leaps and bounds. To-day the people have a real sense of honesty and thrift. There is a rising tide of prosperity. Mussolini himself is immensely popular with the majority of the people. I saw great Fascist gatherings in Rome, Florence! and Naples. Priests and people took part! in outdoor processions. The Church made a spectacular showing in these scenes. "Yes, I visited Venice, but I think it is an over-rated place," said Mrs. Maguire, who confessed that it was not the wondrous city one would imagine it to be, judging it only by water-colours with sunset effects." Mrs. Maguire said the men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force had made a wonderful name for themselves. English people had a very soft spot in their hearts for all New Zealanders, as a consequence, and Mrs. Maguire attributed much of the kindness she had received in England to that fact. Taking turns at the wheel, with her daugh-! ter. Mrs. Maguire motored extensively I throughout England. Scotland and j Wales. The roads, mostly macadam over j concrete, were a joy. Most of the roads | had a slightly rough surface for the pur-! pose of preventing skidding, and were j thus sunerior to ordinary concrete roads, j especially in wet weather. j