The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES.” GISBORNE THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 1946. HELPING BRITAIN THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21922, 17 January 1946, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES.” GISBORNE THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 1946. HELPING BRITAIN THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES

Zealanders are born travellers. Before tlie war a, large percentage of them were finding their way abroad, with Britain the chief centre of attraction. For New Zealanders who wish to see the Mother Country once more or who are anxious to see it for the first time or for people born in Britain who are keen to find out for themselves how their relatives and friends have fared during flic war it must conic as a big disappointment that the task of obtaining a passage is not easy. One official statement after another makes it evident that the shortage of passenger accommodation on ships will persist for some time. As applied to oversea travel the war emergency regulations are slid in force and persons wanting to travel from the United Kingdom must first obtain a permit from the Department of Internal Affairs. If good and sufficient reasons can be produced why a trip is necessary or desirable the permission will he forthcoming, the only stipulation’being that the rules of the waiting list, have to.be observed. On the conventional globe-trotter and sightseer officialdom will have no time to waste at the present time—cither here. or in Great Britain, the opinion expressed by a prominent British shipping man being that there will he little chance of resuming this class of traffic for at least two years. It is a blow both to the New Zealander who has money to spare for an enjoyable casual holiday and to the good folks at the other end who, in normal circumstances, would he only too glad to welcome him. Unfortunately there arc other reasons besides lack of travel facilities which discourage visits to the Old Country just now. Britain’s war wounds have not yet healed. She is in no mood, to receive gladly visitors whose only business is to do the routine tourist rounds solely from the view of personal enjoyment, and idle curiosity. That time will come, for in the long run traffic of this kind will help the country to swell the national exchequer and will play a useful part in the programme of winning back the national prosperity. Meanwhile Britain’s cupboard is bare. Letters from the Homeland will have indicated to many people that there is sad truth indeed in the news cabled yesterday that, in the words of a doctor who obviously has closely investigated the subject, malnutrition is rife. “All England is under-nourished,” he said, causing mass loss of initiative and resulting in delays in mobilisation and reconstruction.” Until this situation is remedied an influx of visitors would he nothing short of an embarrassment. People of the Dominions ambitious to travel should wait till the United Kingdom has had a chance to recuperate. A much more laudable plan would be to act on the assumption that the war is still on and to continue to despatch at every opportunity the food parcels, particularly of meat, which will help our kinsfolk over the difficult transition period between the cessation of hostilities and victory in the economic Battle of Dunkirk.