TRAVEL TALK.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 236, 5 October 1937, Page 5

TRAVEL TALK.

ROTARIAN'S ADDRESS.

SIR CLUTHA MACKENZIE. "Are we doing enough in helping the Mother Country in her maintenance of our great Empire and the guardianship of world peace, or are we rushing ahead too rapidjy in the creation of an Arcadia in our own land?"

This was the query put to Auckland Rotarians yesterday by one of their members, Sir Clutha Mackenzie, as the concluding point in an address covering his recent visit abroad. Sir Clutha's experiences included participation in the Coronation ceremonies—where, with his sister and son, he had a place in Westminster Abbey—several weeks spent in Italy, and a week in Geneva. In Italy he met General Garibaldi, a grandson of the famous patriot. He had just returned from Spain. The general offered the opinion that the Spaniards on neither side were good fighters, but preferred to stand back and let foreigners take the brunt. Regarding the Italian army, the opinion the speaker gained from military authorities was that despite the marvellous organisation carried out by Mussolini it would crack in a major conflict. The speaker was taken through Italy on visits to various branches of returned soldiers' organisations. The epeaker described the efforts that were being made in Britain to deal with the problem of depressed areas by bringing workers from stagnant industries and placing them on small farms. The result, he said, had been heartbreaking to those entrusted with the task of helping Tyneside workers to become farmers.