REPAIRING WAR DAMAGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18021, 21 February 1922, Page 8

REPAIRING WAR DAMAGE.

FRENCH AND BELGIANS. <

REMARKABLE INDUSTRY.

Some interesting impressions of his trip, abroad were given yesterday by Mr. W J. Napier, who, with Mrs. Napier and their youngest son, returned by the Niagara after a 13-months' tour of Great Britain and the Continent. Several months were spent in Belgium, France, and Switzerland, during which time the visitors had good opportunity of seeing the (stupendous efforts being made by the people of the ravaged areas, particukrly the Belgians, in restoring their country to something like pre-war conditions. "The whole country-side was a scene of remarkable activity," said Mr. Napier. "In some districts we saw no one but old men, women, and children, all the men being engaged in clearing up the debris of war. Many of ;the people were still homeless, and lived in caravans, while others were trying to build houses for themselves after the work of the day was done. Far more has been done in the matter of restoration in Bejgium than in France, Belgium having received five millions sterling in gold as the first payment from Germany.' At Louvain, continued Mr. Napier, the streets were gradually being cleared, and some very fine buildings were in course of erection, but it would taken another five years at least to make Louvain a city again. The famous university was still a heap of ruins, but Louvain was to have a new university before long, the people of America having agreed to erect one as a gift. At Ypres, the Belgian Government was preserving in its entirety the ruin of the famous Cloth Hall as an enduring memorial to the savagery of the German hordes. France had received practically nothing in the way of reparation payment from Germany, said Mr. Napier, although raw material to the value of about £3fi0,000,000 had been supplied for the restoration of her industries and the repair of war M. Loucheur had recently made a. business agreement with Germany for the supply of further materials, and Germany had offered to sunnly 500,000 labourers to reconstruct the devastated regions. When this offer was put to the vote in the ravaged districts, however, it was unanimously rejected by the people, who had had quite enoueh 'of the ways of the German in their midst.