A YEAR OF WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2596, 19 October 1915, Page 2

A YEAR OF WAR

BRITISH CHEERFULNESS

A VISITOR'S IMPRESSIONS

Mr. Robert Lee, ex-chairman of the Wellington Education Board, returned to New Zealand from a vjsit to England a few days ago by the Turakina, and is now once more established at his home in the Hutt. Air. Lee arrived iu England only four days before war was declared on Germany. His interest in the war was acute, as ho had livo nephews and n son-in-law in tho service. One of his .nephews was shotatYpres. England was now dotted with huge, new camps, and among them Mr. Leo saw those of Bolton, near Grantham, Clipstone, near Alanslield, and at Ripon. Ho also saw large bodies of troops on the Salisbury Plains, in the New Forest, in Manchester and Southport, and everywhere impressive bodies of soldiers were to be seen on tho move. At Weymouth he saw a remarkably fine body of men embarking for France. Everywhere there were troops in active training, and all in the very best of spirits. Volunteers in England enlisted from a sense of duty, and not for a love of fighting. All tho same, they are keen on their work. When at Fulham, which is near ah aeroplane station, aeroplanes were in evidence each day. The lessons the war would ueaob England were many. We had oeen living in a fool's paradise, and we had ,1101 V to learn tho efficacy of preparedness and the folly of optimism by adopting modified free traue, universal service, a more practical educational system, and a better organiastion of our resources. Tho Army Staff must havo known that war was certain within three years, yet Cabinot liad trusted to chance and had taken no precautions. An offer to make shells by a Sheffield firm made »• short timo before war was declared was declined, and the machinery was scrapped. Excellent work had beendono in the army camps, in the equipment cf troops, in air service, in sanitary measures, in preparations for coastal defence, in hospital work, and in the supplying of troops wiih comforts. The British Navy had beeii, the saviour ol England and Europe.

The social life of England had been little disturbed 1 except Dy the loss of artificial lighting, and the bulk of the ordinary business of the country—the farming and the industries—seemed to be going on as usual. At Lyme Regis, Air. Lee saw the destruction caused by bombs, dropped by Zeppelins. The houses destroyed there were very old cottages, but considerabla damage was done. Some friends of his at Ipswich slept through a raid,' and generally they caused little alarm among the people. Ho was not permitted to visit Armstrong's works at Newcastle, which liad'been taken over by the Government; iior to go into Carlisle Castle, and tlioy were_ stopped whilst motoring iu Lincolnshire, and induced to screen the lights. On another occasion they were turned tack when travelling along a rural road, but other than those instances he could recall no further interference with their movements. The war had raised) the prices of foodstuffs considerably. As much as Is. 9d. per lb. was being charged for tlio best joints of meat, and the same for good butter, but the prices of jewellery and many manufactured goods had dropped. Tho war had a very depressing effect on most of the -East-' Coast watering

places, and many of the annual sports meetings and' holiday excursions had been set aside in tlie latter half of the year. Everywhere bridges, waterworks, railway stations, and ' places of strategic importance*, were guarded by 'the military. The railways often refused to take goods, and it was only by good fortune that Mr. Lee was able to get his packages down to the docks in time for shipment by the Turakina. It was often amusing to hear the

views openly expressed as to the charactor and. duration of the war. As a matter of fact, but little is made known, and the general public is not in a position to judge of events. No one knows the real story of the retreat from the Maine or of the lack of preparation for the war, or tlio reason of Russia's retirement, or of what actually goes on at the Dardanelles. All the same, the country is confident, and, above all, ■ there is an implicit trust in the Navy. The justice of the cause heartens the Allies. England now has an army far exceeding in number and stamina our greatest expectations. It is said in England that the German'battleships which raided the English coats were allowed by our own Fleet to get out, and that they would inevitably have been destroyed by the British Fleet but for the impossibility ! of tracking them owing to the thick fog which came up. As might be expected, the news of the battle off the Falklands, the destruction of the Emden, the landing at the Dardanelles, the sinking of the Lusitania, the conquest of South-West Africa, the decision of Italy and other events causcd immense sensations in England, and in connection with some of these episodes the work of the troops of Canada, Australia, and Now Zealand was acclaimed throughout the Empire.