Tension in Europe

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 35, 25 February 1937, Page 7

Tension in Europe

TRAVELLER'S VIEWS Miss M. G. Wood Returns After Extensive Tour CONDITIONS ABROAD Tbat war was at present regardOd a* inevitable by th« people of Europe was one of tbe tbiugs wbioh impresaed Miss M. G. Wood, M.A., of the teaching staff of the Hastings High School, who has juet returned after traveliing abroad for over a year. Miss Wood spent a great deal of her stay in Switzerland, but while in England shie spent some tame in London and also visited t£e south-west, Devon, Somerset, Yorkshire and Northumberland. She also toured Scotland and crossed the Channel into France. On her return journey she Spent SOttiO time in India, visiting Delhi, Darjeeling, Oalcutta and Madras. The weather in india was q_Uite cold during her stay thera * People in Europe had a depresSing way oj; regarding waf as certairi, Miss Wood remarked to a Herald-Tnbune reporter yesterday afternoon. Bven in blocks of flats in Paris there were prof minent notices giving warning of Wbat t0 do in. tbe event of an air-raid and directirig "peOple tO 'the nearest gas- ^ proof sheltefs. Tbefe was great tenrsion betweeii France and Germdny, and the Swiss were building fortihcar tions. The Continental peoples seemed to have a way of taking tbe possibility of war as a matter of course. Th© prestige of the League of Nations had suifered from its inability to cope satisfactorily with the recent trotibles in Spain and Abyssinia. Miss Wood visited tbe League' s buildings while in Switzerland, She was charmed with Lake Geneva. Miss Wood was in London* for the tuneral and lying-in-State of ^hng Geofge V. last year. A great deal had been Wfitten of the loyalty of the British people towards the Royal Family, said Miss Wood, but, having been among tliem at sueh a tifne, she was able to see utimistakeably the very real and sincere sense of pei'sonal loss shai'ed by all claBses. Miss Wood also fea# the ceremony when King Edward presented maundy money to liis subjects — tbe first ocCasion, incidentally, on whicb the Sovereign had iiiade the presentatiott in person. Netvs of the abdication was received while Miss Wood was at sea in the Mediterranean, and as soOn as the new King had been proclaimed the British passeiigers on the vessel assemhled on deck and sang the National Antliem Tramping and Cyoling PopUlar Tramping was very popular in England, whefe it Was a snnpier matter than it was in New Zealand since* the viUages were so close together and tbe couiitiry was less hilly and. rough. A large nUtober of young people went hiking, and the esrabJisnment of youth hostels had encouraged this form of exercise. Miss V\ood joined a party on a tramping expedition aiong the itoman Wall, and 'stayed at two youtn hosteis during the tnp. Tandem uicycles wero now tremendously fashionable, The provision of an interchange of school pupils betWeen dilferent cohntries heiped to broaden the ovitlook of the young foik, and, in adclition to this, parties of school children were taken by their teaohers during the summer vacation on tours abroad. One tiiing which Miss Wood noticed partichiarly was that games played ^uite a secondary piu't in the schools of France and Bwitzeriaud. The ciass distmctiom in Britain were a tritte irritating, there seemed to be a total lacb ot interest among the weli-to-do in the plight of the slum dweliers. Tippmg, which was very prevalent, was an example of class ieeling which destroyed all ideas of friendliness. " New housing schemes were being carried out to house poor, but many of the buildings erected were eyesores in coiltrast to the attractive flats m Paris and Switzerland. in parts of Lngland wlible streets of oidfashioned houses were now bemg remodelleu mto blocks of flats. The talkiiig pictureS had taken quite a hold in Knglund, and tbere was marked keenness about attending "firstnight" performances, when as inuch as 12/6 a seat was charged. Miss Wood went to Stratford-on-Avon and attended the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre there. Miss Wood iar preferred London to Paris, but she was in Paris at an Unfavourable time. Tlie "stay-in" strikes Were in i'Ull Swilig, most of the big shops were boarded np, and trade was practically at a staijdstill. There were riots at' the time and mucli opposition to M. Blum's Socialistic Government. There was extreme tension in the air, and a number oelieved there Would be a re^plntion befote the end of the pre-

sent year. A new law stipulated that the larger part of one's money mnst be invested in France unless oue were domiciled outside of the coulitry, and to avoid this, large numbers of wealthy people were buying homes just over the border in Switzerland. The Latin Quarter of Paris was the part _ that most appealed to Miss Wood. Miss Wood also paid a visit to Versailles. * Cost of Living High

Fverywhere slie Went she foUnd New Zealanders were well received, and she met d surprising number who had relations in New Zealand or other associations With tbe country. Of course, she had encouutered to some exteUt the usual ignorance of the exact location oi this jDominion, but her experieuce was that most people knew iairly weli wliere it was, tiiough many thougiit it nearer Austraiia tnan it really was; The £>wiss viere pdrticular,y inendly. Ciitfl ' ^witzerianu aoanuoneu tlie goiu stanuaru, nowever, the rate of exf'iiaiige Was quite eACJruitaxit, ahd tno cost oi: livmg corresponaingly Uigii. in Lngiaiia, on tiie otner iiund, iood Wus tieurer than in dNew Zeaiand anu irequentiy of poorer quanty, out cioLnuig vvas cheaper. i>ew nealanU outtm und honey nau quite a good sale there. Urahges were cneaper and oetter. in Fngiand about U0 per cent of the people traveiled third ciass on the raiiways, and this was supenor iu comfort to our nrst ciass. iVnas vVood traveiled to bcot.and on tlie • 'b lying ecotsluun" and remarked on its stritu aulierence to time-taoio, times beiUg nsted to the haii-minute, Miss Wood was rather astounded at tbe poor quality of the provincial newspapers— even iu quite large centres— and was surprised to hnd m them far less ioreign news than New Zealand country joutnals contained. The London papei's, however, were obtainaule all over the countl-y sooir after they were printed, "1 w*as agreeably surprised to hnd one newspaper contained a larger amount of New Zealand neivs than the others," remarked Miss Wood, "and it was a while beiore 1 realised that it was a Labour paper and that its interest in this country was due to our cbange of Goverumeut." At Mow Zealand House Miss Wood was able to read the Herald-Tribune, files being kept of all New Zealand newspapers — even college journals. There vvas a fine reception room at New Zealand House and tickets could be obtained entitling one to various priveleges. By tbis means Miss Wocd was conducted "behind the scenes". at the Genel'al Post OiSice, shovvn over the Mansion House,. the Royal Mint." and the Royal stables, where she had a glimpse of the State coach which is to head the Coronation procession. "I had an interestmg trip, but I was glad to get back to the New Zealand habit of morning and afternoon tea," concluded Miss Wood witb a smile.