PLIGHT OF HUNGARIANS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16282, 15 July 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

PLIGHT OF HUNGARIANS.

GREAT FAITH IN GERMANY.

AN ENGLISHMAN';* NARRATIVE. An" Englishman who recently returned home after having lived for some years in Hungary gives the following narrative. His knowledge of the Magyar language and acquaintance with Hungarians of all classes lend special interest to his statements and conclusions.

" I came from Hungary by way of "Vienna and the Voralberg to Switzerland, and thence home through France. Though I have been most kindly treated in Hungary, and naturally feet grateful for the consideration shown to me, an alien enemy, it was like passing from obscurity into light, and from dearth into plenty, as I found myself successively in Switzerland, France, and England. " Those who have not lived in an enemy country during the war can hardly understand the sense of relief that an Englishman experiences when he breathes, for the first time, an atmosphere uncorrupted by German influence. Switzerland is neutral, though many of the Swiss sympathise with Germany. But in Switzerland, at least, it is possible to hear two sides of war questions, whereas in Germany and Aus-tria-Hungary there is only one. " I was warned, also, in Switzerland not to buy more than was strictly necessary, because ' everything was so dear.' But things in Switzerland seemed to me astonishingly cheap, and when I reached France, and especially England, I wondered whether the people realise what the stress of war is. Here everything is plentiful, prices are very moderate, and the strain upon the resources and daily life of the people is hardly noticeable. In Hungary and Austria it is very, very different. Feeling the Pinch. "At first-, of course, there was great enthusiasm for the T.ar. Servia was to be crushed in six weeks and then all would be well. When it was known the war was extending and that Germany was siding with Austria-Hungary complete victory was felt to be certain by the autumn of 1914. Hungarian admiration for German strength, German efficiency, and German power of organisation was unbounded. It is still strong, though it cannot truly be said that the Magyars love Germany. Indeed, they fear her, though they believe in her almost as strongly as ever. " During the early months of the war there was no lack of anvthing. The pinch came during the first winter. Wheat and bread grew scarce, and sour maize bread had to be eaten. The price of meat rose rapidly. It is now 4s 2d a pound in Buda Pesth, while bread costs &£d a pound. Milk is practically unobtainable by private people, and is reserved for the hospitals. iTiere is no soap. Leather is very scarce. Shoes that used to cost £1 3s a pair now cost £1 14s, while boots have risen from £1 14s to £4 5s 4d a pair. There is practically no cloth. . Soon after war broke out everybody who could afford it bought English clothing, and everybody is still buying English goods wherever there are any left. There is no petrol for private use except in some cases where it is needed for agricultural _ purposes. There are no methylated spirits. I am told that even in the hospitals the pinch is being severely felt. Medical friends informed me that the operating instruments can no longer be nickel plated. The Germans, it seems, ceased some time ago to nickel their medical instruments. England and the English. "It is remarkable that, though the Hungarians attribute this shortage chieflv to the action of England, and in partix he blockade, their treatment of English people has, so far as mv experience and information go, been umformly good. In the one or two cases ini which British subjects have been interned or otherwise interfered with, it has been due to their own foolishness or indiscretion. English people are absolutely free to go about and do what they like as lone as they behave themselves. Magyars who knew I was English often avoided any «f r * nc to the war ™ m 7 presence. ' Attempts were made at first to work Jip a 4 Gotfc strafe England' movement, but it had little success. Some Hungarian ladies gave up learning or speaking English, and the English and French governesses m Buda Pesth feared that their occupation would be gone. But I was told by several of these young ladies recently that _ they had never had so many lessons to give as during last winter. " This is all the more remarkable because the Magyars have an entirely perverted view of the reason whv England came into the war. ' The English onlv want money," they say. "They do not wish to fight themselves, so they employ blacks and Canadians to fight for them.' "The Hungarian public knows nothing of the German gas attacks, nothing of the brutal treatment of British prisoners by the Germans, and does not believe that any atrocities were committed by the German _ troops in Belgium or France. It imagines that the action of the British Empire has been inspired solely by greed, and that the war is regarded' as a good business enterprise. e "All rumours that England might adopt compulsory service were treated as nonsense, though some of my Magyar friends admitted that, if ever compulsory service should come in England, it would be a bad day for Hungary."