THROUGH MANY LANDS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19730, 27 December 1926, Page 2

THROUGH MANY LANDS

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES i VISITED AUCKLAND LADY RETURNS I NEARLY FOUR YEARS) . ABROAD ' After three and la-half y pars abroad, [during which time she travelling exten sively through Groat Britain, France, ‘Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Italy, I Mrs C. E. Maquire, wife o|f: the medical superintendent of Auckland Hospital, | returned homo on the M&ainganui. “The most outstanding# impression reI maining in my memory after three i years abroad is that of the groat strike in England,” said Mrs. Maguire. “Amazing scenes were ♦ witnessed in London during that time.. Never did I. think so highly of the »character of British people as during; the troublous period, when the gentlefolk of Knglftnd' rose to the occasion magnificently, coming forward with their ■ expensive cars and limousines to help solve the transportation problem created by the cessaj tion of work amongst j ransport workers. The Oxford drawls of the students (who manned the train? sounded most curious. To hear ‘All sdats, [please!’ was one of the most amusing i things I have ever hu ard. But they •did the job. and did it treallv well.”

Mrs Maguire and her daughter spent i three summers in Lora ion. The first ; winter was spent in ( Italy. and the I south of France, while they visited • Tunis land Algiers during their second i winter, the third bei!ng enjoyed at Malta. “Ah, if the woriking classes - of Britain would only work as’ do the people of France. Bsdlgium and Germany, there would bieicno talk of want and poverty,” saikf Mrs Maguire. “Contrasting conditions in Englund with those in the throe countries I mention is not pleasant, for everything is so different. 1 thinly New Zealanders might learn a lesson^too. In France all are working, and working hard. In the fields one can see t;Eem, stooped under their burdens from ithe youngest, to the oldest. Everywherot there is thrift, and the countryside is prosperous in appearance.’’ i “Germany is prosperous. Hard work is the lot of all classes. People are saving money. The decent, hard-working type of man whom.: we met in the streets seemed glad; to see us. and we wore treated kindly on all hands. The average German has no time for the. late Royal family. There is nothing of the old militarist spirit. ‘Where you stand, madam, wsls once the greatest fort in Germany.'’ said a German on one occasion, adding, quite simply, and without a flicker- of a smile, ‘but now by order of- the* Peace Conference in .1918, it has been.- converted into a playing park for .cljjldren. ’ Most of the palaces formerlynoccupicd by the Kaiser have been disraaqitled or transformed into show educational institu-

tions, or Government offices. German* dislike the Kaiser because he ran away. I was impressed by the cleanlineM of the German people. The streets of Berlin has recovered something of old gbiety. In the south of Frnn*. there is the old-time atmosphere. Th a resorts are all filled with wealthv people. What is apparently a new rule lias been introduced at Monte Carlo, where the permanent residents are for bidden to enter the gaming places, so that there are now no representatives of that class which existed on the earn ings resulting from systematised betting. ’ ’ “Paris is not the gay city it those far off pre-war days,” said Mrs Maguire, who recalled that she hs-1 been in Ffiance prior to 1914, when the great capital was the merriest place in all Europe. r ‘To-day Paris is more careful in its observance of Sunday, though I do not think this can be ni tributed to religious causes. At all | events, there larc fewer stiops open, and | life is quieter generally.” Mussolini Popular with His People. ■ Mussolini has left his impress <»n Italy in a remarkable way. When my daughter and I first visited Italy, cundi tions were not really safe. The post office system was so bad Ihnt one could never be sure that letters would roach their destination, and travelling wan risky. All is changed now. One of the first things Mussolini did was to restore the efficiency of the post office, and tn place armed guards over the luggagi jon the tr’ains. It was curious to ?.«.• I soldiers with fixed bayonets standing guard in the luggage vans. Under the dictatorship, conditions improved bv leaps and bounds. To-day the people have a real sense of honesty and thrift. There is a rising tide of prospcriiv. Mussolini himself is immensely popular with the majority of the people. 1 saw great Fascist gatherings in Rome, Flor once and Naples. Priests and people took part in outdoor processions. The Church made a spectacular showing in these scenes. “Yes, I visited Venice, but I think it is an over-dated place,’’ said Mrs Maguire, who confessed that it was nor Ihe wondrous city one would imagine it to be, judging it only by watercolours with sunset effects.” Airs Maquire said the men of tho New Zealand Expeditionary Force had made a wonderful name for themselves. English people h&d a very soft spot in their hearts for all Now Zealanders, as a consequence, and Mrs Maguire attri buted much of the kindness she had received in England to that fact. Tak ing turns ht the wheel with her daugh ter, Mrs Maguire motored extensively throughout England, Scotland and Wales. The roads, mostly macadem over concrete, were a joy. Most of the roads had a slightly rough surface for the purpose of preventing skidding, and were thus superior to ordinary concrete roads, especially in wet weather.