SLUM CLEARANCE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18202, 25 September 1933, Page 5

SLUM CLEARANCE

FEATURE OF LONDON VISITOR’S LM PRESSIONS The slum clearance which was going on in London was what impressed Mr. H. M. Peacock, of Masterton, most on revisiting the metropolis after an absence of 12 years. Mr. Peacock, who returned by the lonic, said that he had lived in London for 30 years, and, therefore, knew the city well. He found that some of the worst slum areas were being cleaned out, and a problem had arisen owing to the higher rents for modern houses, which were taking money badly required for food.

On the other hand many of the beautiful hpmes formerly owned by the wealthier classes were now either deserted,or had been turned into flats owing to the. high taxation. He had heard of a' beautiful home, together with 10 acres of land, which had been sold for £IOOO. He said he had not been at all satisfied by the way in which some of the Dominion’s produce was being marketed in London. New Zealand butter was being retailed at lOd a pound, though Londoners were quite prepared to pay more for it, and were surprised at its cheapness. There was a tendency to describe Dominion products, especially fruit, as Empire produce. Mr. Peacock attended the international conference of the Oxford Group Movement, at. winch 27 countries were represented. At this conference he met the chief physician of the Henry Ford Hospital at Detroit, a bishop from Hongkong, and another-from Persia. He had been told that it was mainly due .to the influence o! the Oxford movement, that the union between the English and Dutch had been made possible in South Africa.

As the examiner in dental surgery at Otago University, he spent a good deal of his fime in studying the latest advances in dental science.