AS OTHERS SEE US.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16681, 2 March 1920, Page 5

AS OTHERS SEE US.

DOMINION,-. THROUGH BELGIAN EYES. ESSAYS BY SCHOOL CHILDREN. A series of essays upon New Zealand, written by Belgian school children, recently came to The Sun office for perusal. The essays, are all written by little girls between 10 and 14 years of age, au<t they make excellent reading, containing as tliey do the Belgian elm(lren's viewpoint of the Dominion, and oeing replete with strange and wonderful •■facts" about Gils country, little dreamed of by its inhabitants. Evidentiy the New Zealand soldier,, noted at all times for his “boosting”, capacity, has been putting in a little advertising- work for his country, and many of his “long shafts” have found their mark in the imagination of these little Belgian girls. Admiration for the New Zealand soldier is the keynote of most of the essays, winch aro written in French',' in the beautiful coppov-plato hand-writ-ing taught in the convents of Belgium and France. “They had the courage, the bravery and valour to. dure xlie seas, the storms, and the submarines,” remarks Anna, aged 12, “these splendid soldiers, wiio think of, ‘swot, swot home,' and wonder if over they will .see it again!” '■ .. . Fernando is also a staunch admirer of the sturdy “digger,” and says that although there were many of them in France during the war, none of them had "cold foots.” Speaking of tho Maoris, who wore at all times regarded with awo by the French, Denise remarks, “They have a bronzed skin and very black hair and thick lips. They aro not wicked, but they are so black that they give great fear to the Bosches.”

A pretty tribute to the New Zealander is paid- by a little girl of 14 who says, ‘•Never' will we forget the good New Zealand soldiers and their bravery; Wo pray le bon Dieu to permit them to return as soon as possible to their beautiful country and to rejoin their dear families. We will never forget their brave brothers who have fallen on' tlie Field of Honour, and if we have not tho consolation of placing flowers on tho tombs of each of them, we will pray to the All Mighty to accord them a place in his glorious Paradise.”

Many and varied are the opinions as to the products of the Dominion, which is described as a “land flowing with milk and honey.” (That advertising New Zealander ligajn!) . Lucille, for instance, states that “the soil contains most precious minerals—diamonds, gold, silver, capper, etc., and considerable quantities of oil.” Later, the little lady casts a slight on Christchurch by stating that, the chief towns of New Zealand are; Wellington, which is the capital; Auckland, an excellent port; and Dunedin, also a flourishing port—clearly indicating the need of a campaign on behalf of New Zealand’s “Garden City.” Mario Therese, evidently imbued with the idea that the Dominion is in the immediate vicinity of tlio tropics, includes in her list of New Zealand " products “the sugarcane, the .spices, the cocoa tree, the bread-fruit tree,” and all the vegetation of equatorial regions. “There are also rivers where all the children and their parents' cai; -go for little trips in boats on Sundays,'’ concludes Marie Thcrose, who had without doubt come in contact with a soldier from Christchurch.

Germaine is another young citoyenne of Franco who is somewhat hazy about the latitudes and longitudes, and states, somewhat inaccurately, that “in the south of Now Zealand it is very warm, because there they approach near the equator. It is just the reverse in the north, where it is the same climate as in the European countries.” Louise is of the opinion that “the aspect of the country is very dangerous on account of the mountains!” “While we suffer cold,” she adds, “they are enjoying spring. This is very good for the scholars on their holidays—ires bonne!”

Isabelle, aged 12i, possesses a true southern , temperament, and her “redaction,” as she terms-it, is covered with a net-work of kisses. She discourses chattily upon .Now Zealand and remarks, inter alia, “I forgot to mention that there are gold mines in New Zealand. lam not-sur-prised that the country is rich, and I see that nearly all the soldiers have gold tooth.” Amelio, in gathering facts about our fauna, has not been misinformed, and tells us that ‘‘the rabbits in Now Zealand are as numerous as the rats in France!” Ilayraonde, however, takes the remarks of the New Zealander with a grain of salt. -'She says, “The.other day a soldier told mo that at his place in Now Zealand ho had millions of sheep.” “Do you , not think,” she asks pertinently, “that ho would need to occupy many shepherds?” ;

There are also 'a few essays,' written in English, dealing with iho occupation of llenaix. These, although containing milch that is humorous, have an underlying current of sadness, and a natural bitterness against the Germans, under whose heel they suffered so long the humiliation of capture. The first essayist in describing the occupation says : “A deep calm reign in- the town of all the doors are shut. We stay at home afraid of the arrive of this terrible German soldiers. See, ’they arrive with their pointed helmet, revolver at fist, bayonno.fc to the. barrel, spreading terror everywhere. . . One-day a soldier call at -home and- ask; to have petrol. As wo have not: ■wo refuse. The soldier do take' it giin, turn toward to us, and exact money for to! buy caindles. That is >a sample of a German!” . ~

“What wickedness!” says another,: speaking of the occupation. “After; their departure many bombs exploded' that were put in the ground by the:! enemies. Oh yes I, Tho Germans mustindemnify us!” “When the onomy came to our town! in 1614 nil tho people were a fright,” says Yvonne. “Many German soldiers went to the station, took al the books, documents, and shoot tho telephoniste.' We cannot do the. description of the great cruellty of tho Gormans to, the poor men [of Renaix], They must work every day and received not eat. Many gentlemen return at home ill, tired, pale, and a few day after their arrival they expire. Helasl how many Belgians have died—the fault of the terrible treatment of the ‘Gerries.’ ”, One wonders from what stalwart son of tho Dominion little Yvonne gpt her name for the invad^X - .