BERLIN A SCENE OF DESTRUCTION AND DESOLATION

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 October 1948, Page 8

BERLIN A SCENE OF DESTRUCTION AND DESOLATION

[N.Z.P.A. SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT]

LONDON, October 18. The 87 delegates from 37-. countries arid States who will-attend the Empire Parliamentary Conference in London when ,it ..opens tomorrow are now all reassembled in London after visiting Western Europe, English industrial areas, Scotland and Northern Ireland. , The New Zealand delegates,.Messrs P. G. Connolly,. C. R \ p e tne 7 v W L,§p 1 k " livan, J. A. Roy, and Mr W. Black, ML.d., who arrived in London on. October 17 have found many opportunities while travelling to discuss common problems with members of other delegations. They have also had useful though- hurried opportunities to form, a first-hand -impression of conditions -iri’Western Europe and the United Kingdom. . . . .. Mr Sullivan’s Views .The chief .iriipression. left, upon him by his visit to .Berlin, said Mr. Sullivan in.an interview was.of desolation, de? struction and despair. Germans m Berlin appeared to be pinning all. their hopes upon the .success of the British and American air lift. ~■••-• . Conditions in Frankfurt, on the other hand, were a complete contrast with Berlin. In Frankfurt the civic arid political, authorities were func-tioning-and the currency , was stabilised, with trie result that the German population,bad a real.incentive to work. He had been impressed by the reconstruction and rehabilitation measures already • carried out by the Allied authorities. So far. as it was possible to gauge German feeling in so brief a visit, the Germans appeared to fear the Russians, to avoid ahv mention of Hitler and above all to be anxious to regain control of their own affairs. ■ Work In British Factories

“I have never seen people working so hard,”- said Mr Sullivan, describing his impressions of visits to two large factories in Birmingham and the Clyde shipyards. This applied also, to shipyards and factories in Northern Ireland, but there he had been even more impressed by the evidence on every hand of affection for the British Crown. Loyal and patriotice slogans with photographs of the King and the Union Jack decorated all the factory walls.

The proceedings of the Empire Parliamentary Conference will not be open to the newspapers and it has not yet been decided’ whether any newspaper bulletins will be issued. Mr Attlee will open the first session today in the grand committee room at Westminster Hall. There will be no resolutions or voting except on domestic affairs of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Among the most important topics for discussion are immigration, defence, and the relationship between the various Commonwealth countries. The delegates will attend the State opening of Parliament on October 26. The New Zealand delegates hope that when the conference ends on October 28, they will be able to accompany the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) to Paris and the meeting of the United Nations Assembly.