AN INNER GLIMPSE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 14126, 19 October 1916, Page 5

AN INNER GLIMPSE.

BRITAIN AT WAR. NEW ZEALANDER-;»i IMPRESSIONS ON TOUII ABROIAD. ■ - :..v- --, "It was a great experience," said Mr G. J. Parr, t'.M.G:, of Auckland, who is the first of the .' New : .Zealand , repm eentatives to retui'n. after a- visit ■ -to Great;©ritain aaid J*aace as a?giiest ot the Imperial Governments >' : He added •tliat Mi' Balfoiu' had JBaad in hi^ fare- | well speach that thpv.. visiting j mentarians had seen .things which no others civilians in the 'Empire had been privileged to view. /'it':, was thrilling," .piHiceeded Mr i J arr,f "to see the great British Navy up ni\ the -mists of the great North Sea, aiid to .meet admirals lib. to rank Avith England's greatest sailors of the past—^lellicoei '.Beatty, and Sturdee. Then a week slater 3we visited the great dockyards of; England and Scotland, and our confidence in Britain's power to. maintain the supremacy of the sea Avas still further 11 , .strengthened. Among the wonderful sights were mammoth ships nearing completion, with gveat guns that will smash, anything afloat, a.nd will .h-a-ve amazing ■ttirns of speed, ; i aaid?ieloße by were new submarines, . destroyers, / and mine sweepers, upon which thousands of men., ware working bx, night as well as by day.-' -- ; '.. ...... .' : ..,.'.■ /,;..;;.;. „'; "I ani convinced," said Mr l J arr, "that the Germans will not venture to stand up in ' fair .fight with our Navy. They will, however, seek to worry our merchant service with; their submarines, though their successes will only be temporary. The British _ Admiralty is full of resources, and will cope with each situation as it aiises. 'On the sea England is-rightup to date and- absolutely supreme. • After seeing a«d hearing for himself i tho returned New Zealander' considers that iu -tire miatter of Jand wairfai^ei t-Jrcut Britain has had rare good fortune. •Her recovery, marvellous as it has beeiv, was jieaa-Jy too late.\ During the first year there was especial ,delayHiu . the* manufacture of munitions.- • -Had Gerinany then struck i^vith ! ]ror ; f ull force, iiistead of blundering, there would doubtless have been an ending, very dif- , -ferent from 1 tliat which has b€come apparent from the past three months. Up to that stage the war was swinging iu the balance. . However; the benefit is' now being felt of the great organising ability displayed by Mi* Lloyd-George in- commandeering the big factories and enlisting the aid of the best business and . industrial brains of Britain fpr the manufacture of 'munitions, and the armies of , Great Britain/ are to-day literally, blowing the German, lines to pieces with huge high-explosive shells. A GREAT MORAI, W-LPFT. - "We saw hundreds of thousands of women-all over England," said' Mr Parr, ''working day and night in 1 . the niaking of guns "shells. Thsy are- splendid. Parliament .'cannot •■ refuse women the vote after what they have don©- in this w.ar:v Nor will womfin in -England ever consent: to go back^tp the position eco- • rtomically they held before the war. Their whole outlook" on life is being swiftly changed,, and after this, in industry and politics,, the British woman is going to speak with no uncertain .Voice. ■•'. i-r ' -••• •■ '• ; > •■ ■■':'■■ ■ ■•' •'.■/.■■ - ; . '„ ";The. dosing of the hotels for cei'tain hours' iin the day has greatly decreased drunkenness and increased- ! efiicien6y. Bift with «11 these 'restrictions there is' still far , top; much drinking ■among, the working people;/ I believe one result of • the ->var. -will ;-be a gieat uplift among the: Britsih masses. . • IN HEROId FRANCE. * ''Our visit to France was an experi- i ence never to ' be forgotten. Pans is greatly since IJwaa . there 14 yeai-s ago. It is to-day »' city of inourningi Poor France has felt the blow: of .^Prussian barbarism as no other nation has. Its' finest teritpry is- still in German hands. : Its 'sons liave died in hundreds of /thousands to ;' ( sayp thejr belbred country and , then' km. iriom tho homble fate of BQlgium. Thevf. have ' pot; died in vain. Tha tide has turned, ' and Germany is paying evervj.iveek now ' for; her barbaric methods./ jPrance will keep right on till the Hohehzgllerns bite ihe; dust. It. is, hovreyer, a "inislake to thiiik that . the enemy "will easily gLvo in. , TKe average 'Ge'rman s'tUL believes thai tho. Fatherland is-tlio.vvictim of - a yU4 cphspii-acy and that he is fighting fvgaJnst an unscrupulous cpmbinatiqn. to pvepyhelM Gerhwnyi Ha ha» been, tod pn iies, and still believes that his countryj is in the bright.. „ „ ; , „."35v.ery Frenchman ,who is^ physically fitis afwan We saw the old men and thei 'girls everywhere'.^^ -getting -• in ths . l&'dfnch ■ harvest. In their muiutioh factories ther a ai'e Algeriaii sixbjectsi, ,in . hundreds of, thousa/nds making shells and amunuution',- We had x a. day along ■jtheV. Fi-ench' /fro^lt., I was : in ' t as. fprest whei v e';lho : French . .ba-ttenes ",.\v]ero.. con- | cealed. : iFi'om". our :obsei.vdtibh ■■pbsjb i three, 'miles from the 'Gerniflai ;trenclies,' wo wa'tclied the French shells; dropping •behind -the Gerin^n fronty r 'and . every , now and again, we could hear the Scream . of a G&x*nifltt explosive in reply. Thousands- of soldiers were in the U'enches, yct-^ not a soul .could :jbp seen, r / NEW ZEALAND: ARMY. '■ ■ fl jThe next.da5 r ; tt'iis'; tho 'm'Pst interesting* 'experience of oUi* trip. Wo motored in pie dark toithe N&w |J2Bal^hd front, where, our boys ircre holding .sonieimiiefi <)f irenohfis. .: - r There was not aAlainp ,or as light .-onj.thß , 20-tiiilo road.-tSL Total, datknes^vreigned.; r/rWe.hajd no » lights, 'i 'Eydryi. ffl\v f ;nules we AMore .chaUeaigedr by Kevr >Ze.alandtor English, guards/ a;lan« terh ••t>*as / -..l]|tl)shed- mi: \to-z'*)xfc' posepprtsj , Hud the .sergeant passed j, us on.*. 4*We passed 'V;lini).dre'd^ of /hnge^lorries, r 4Llong. the^ route,. ■beamtg'mu.nitipns iand|£su|)r plies W/.^he 1 frCttit.<i all i without rl|ghts; -418 ;we neared the battle-frpnt the'aiight waa illvjmined Avi,th hundredsiof buHstuig stair^hells^ >;■ Thpss- shellafWare* fired> by eaeWpside to UghtiNo Mata-'B liand betwefen the trenches, ,soi:jfe <^ to '> guard agajnst surpj&le'. attacks op: raids. -.-> ...< /:.'Vjy«,ilmd- pu iourj ariival at'^l > a.m/, .with General ilussell. . Lvdidnot sleep onUAch that 4 night 'as ' one could hear thei artillei^ <!Continuously.^V They, s,ay, howevei*,- oue!get3 ustd> to it.:- Tho next dayi I spent, in : the fxK)iit tronphes. •• We •lifeached them, by trench and subterratifeaii passages. : , In , places nwe were Prtljr rso yards ;from. -the ■Germaiir works; X ""?)&<}: ' 8om.^ lunch 'with the. men in ;a 1 duisjput. The, food was good, r and !after 1 Galjipoli, thei,^boy». aaid, .'.'the fare I : was first-class. Our soldiers were bright and cheery. The. ' : work ' iii ..the . benches is Datber monotonous, and tl»«y said they ■all prefeVred. tlie; ,' big' -pii^li 1 '^ to ). sfow , trench, warfai'c. f ',i.'ftlso savv* the hospitals^ a*^the.;ffent, : r .whererr' t metifsovem^ tHe.V A'uqkJapd' doctors; > I/think -the"; hospital' ayr^nge^ieiits , at/the; J f rbriti, which are cp'nprplted %^'. ?•' : B'egg, are v quite; satis'factQrvu -ATA;uoklja.rid SSfait*. : "