CHANGING FOR THE BETTER.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 22 October 1924, Page 10

CHANGING FOR THE BETTER.

VISITOR'S VIEW OF ENGLAND. , A STRIKING CONTRAST. England is changing and changing for the better was the dominant note of some remarks made by Mr F. Wilding, K.CI, of Christchurch, who has just returned from a visit to England, in the course of an interview. Mr .Wilding, when asked what had been the things that . had impressed him most, said that one of them was the well-fed, well-dressed appearance of the masses of the people. This was'in striking contrast to his recollection of the-state of -things, .on his previous visit abbut 18 years ago. It was in still, more striking contrast to the London he knew better—the London of 45 or 50 years ago. -The absence of rags and misery, be said, was a noteworthy one. He did not notice the amount that one had noticed 50 years ago. In the country districts people looked better nourished and clad; not that misery did not exist, but whether it was kept more in the background, his impression was that it does not now exist to the same extent as it did when he was a student in London.

Another thing that impressed him was, as a rule, the absence of drunkenness. “and, generally,” Mr Wilding continued, “amongst the working class particularly, the courtesy, the absence of rowdyism, arid ruffianism. The people generally are much more considerate to each other and to strangers. I was impressed with the liniversal civility. The old spirit illustrated in the dialogue, ‘Who’s that, Bill—a stranger? ’Eave ’arf a brick at ’im,’ seems to have gone out. altogether. It is partly due to‘ education, but also to the fact that the English people are learning from the Continental peoples. The Frenchman, the German, or the Belgian, unless hishostility is aroused, is naturally a polite, sociable animal, and I think the : English people have got a little more in touch with Continental ideas.”