QUIET CONFIDENCE

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 68, 13 December 1932, Page 8

QUIET CONFIDENCE

England in the Crisis CONTRAST WITH U.S. Attitude of Bewilderment England’s quiet confidence in the pi esent crisis was contrasted with the bewildered attitude of the American people to the depression in their country by Dr. L. S. Talbot, of Timaru, who arrived at Wellington by the Makura from San Francisco yesterday morning. Dr. Talbot lias been absent from New Zealand for nearly a year, the object of his visit abroad being to undertake post-graduate work in London and Edinburgh. Dr. Talbot informed a “Dominion” representative that superficially the conditions in England appeared to be reasonably good, although the shopkeepers stilted that business was bad. Retail prices were lower than he had found them when in Great Britain on a previous occasion. The only things that appeared to be really booming were the motor industry and the artificial silk factories.

“The general tone in England is one of quiet confidence, and among the people there is a feeling that they will pull through,” he said. “I hardly ever heard any grumbling, and the people are wonderfully cheerful and steady.”

On bls return journey, Dr. Talbot, who was accompanied by Mrs. Talbot, travelled across Canada and then south to San Francisco. Both in America and Canada there were large numbers of unemployed. From what one could gather conditions in the United States were far from good. The American people appeared to be overawed and dismayed by the effects of the depression. On the other hand the English people seemed to be tackling their difficulties in a different and more hopeful spirit. Dr. Talbot was in Canada at t.he time of the recent election for the President of the United States. Great interest, he said, was taken in the poll by the Canadian people, who appeared to him to lie more concerned in the tesult of the election in its relation to the prohibition issue. New Zealand’s name stood high in the Homeland, added . Dr. Talbot. Medical students who qualified in the Dominion and went Home were highly spoken of, and appeared to be able to leadlly get positions as house surgeons in quite good hospitals. He had been told that some hospitals would rather have |a New Zealand trained man than English trained house surgeons.

Dr. Talbot left for Lyttelton bj- the ferry steamer last evening.