AFTER 20 YEARS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 21 November 1927, Page 9

AFTER 20 YEARS

ENGLAND REVISITED DEMOCRACY AND THE FUTURE. ADDRESS BY MR. MASON CHAMBERS. Mr. T. Mason Chambers, of Havelock North, was on Friday the guest of honour at the Hastings Rotary Club’s luncheon, Chief Rotarian A. E. O'Meara presiding over a full attendance. Mr. Chambers, in introducing a very interesting address, explained that, in the course of a tour like his, one might formulate conclusions with would convey wrong ideas, because, in going through, one had little time to make thorough investigations and, consequently, one had to form one’s ideas from conversations with what, after all, were only n few men, out of the millions forming the population, so he desired them to understand that he was only submitting his own personal impressions. THE PANAMA ROUTE. He opened by making a passing allusion to his experience in the oildriven steamer, hoifieward bound on the Panama route, saying that the oil boats were far -more comfortable than those that used coal, as everything and everybody looked clean on board. One could, for instance; wear white clothes for a week without them being particularly soiled, which could not be done on a coalburning steamer. The Panama route was also warmer and the passage smoother. Much had been said about the Panama Canal and every-, one knew about that great engineering feat. The control of the canal reflected the greatest credit on America, and those who planned it. The region, instead of being the plague-stricken district it was, had been transformed into a health resort, with thousands of people employed, and provided with racecourses, recreation grounds, gardens, hospitals and everything calculated to promote the health of the people. THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE. “Arriving in England, especially in Southern England, one can , not help being struck with the singular beauty of the rural scenery and, in passing through, one felt that no other country in the world could offer scenery with the reposeful, homeinspiring charm of the English countryside. The picturesque old cottages, so natural and unpretentious in their atmosphere of content, harmonising completely with their setting, convey to the spectator a sense of restfulness and comfort which it is difficult to translate into terms. Some years ago one attempt was made to effect what was intended to be an improvement, but the result was disastrous, with over-ornate buildings, which were altogether out of touch with the gracious simplicity and tranquility of their rustic surroundings.” COURTESIES OF THE ROAD. “After 20 years’ absence,” continued Mr. Chambers. “I was struck with London’s traffic, with the cars almost touching one another and, further out, in the suburbs, where the space between was more lengthy, the cars ran in one continuous stream each way. People are not allowed to travel slowly, and if I slowed down I was told to speed up, so that, at intervals, I travelled at 30 to 40 miles an hour to avoid being bumped by other cars. The motor driving in England 1 is wonderful. Everyone understands and uses hand signals and extend to each other the courtesies of the road. A driver always sounds his horn when overtaking another, but he did not pass him until he received a signal from the driver in front that he can go past in safety. If a driver in front is slowing down he gives a signal notifying his intention to the driver behind, who, in his turn, passes it to a car in his rear, to prevent them from running into each other. They are going to abolish all speed limits in England and to prosecute for dangerous driving instead of for exceeding the limits.” Twelve to fifteen h.p. cars, with marvellous accelerators, were, ho said, much in use in the Old Country. The whole idea of these instantaneous accelerators was to enable ears to pass or jump out of the way of other cars in safety. FARMING. The speaker spoke of the state of farming in England in the terms of his recent interview. The bulk of the people, he said, lived in the towns and ,if the farmers cannot produce their food then they get cheap food from_ outside. The Government were subsidising the beet-root industry ,but the subsidy expired in about four years, by which time it was anticipated that the farmers could carry on themselves. In Scotland the farmers were better organised and they were doing well fattening lambs and sheep and growing a certain amount of grain. LOVE OF LIBERTY. The old love of liberty, he said, was still as strong as ever in England, and as long as a man did not interfere with his neighbour and behaved himself, he could do as he pleasqd without being harassed by petty by-laws. He said he saw a man who was driving do something which would bring him under a bylaw here, causing him (the speaker) to say, “You mustn't do that,” to which the driver replied, “We’re not in New Zealand now, you know, we’re in England.” In Hyde Park speakers held forth on all sorts of conflicting subjects—political, social and religious—close to each other, but there was no disturbance and everyone said what he liked. He heard one man abuse Mr. Chamberlain in full and frank terms and the crowd seemed to be so well acquainted with his speech that.

when he stopped for a moment, his audience carried on his address in recitative to everyone’s groat amusement, Another speaker, in the course of his harangue, asked his hearers, “Do I look like a murderer?” to which the crowd, amidst much hilarity, replied, “Yes, you do!” INDOMITABLE SPIRIT. “I was,’ ’said Mr. Chambers, “much impressed by the dress, appearance and the cheerfulness of the people in general, who seemed to be enjoying life, despite the crushing taxation. The attitude of these everyday people demonstrated the indomitable spirit of England, which inspired them to stand up to their difficulties, to manfully face them out and to pay their debts.” (Applause.) DRASTIC MEASURES. Some of the buildings put up 30 or 40 years ago, he said, were now out of date and, as an instance, the Hotel Metropole, so well known to visitors to London, was about to be demolished. The London by-laws were partly responsible for this, but it appeared to him to be a frightful waste of money to pull down such a splendid pile as the Hotel Metropole. THE ROADS. “The English roads,” he said, “are as near perfection as possible, as far as the surface is concerned, but, in the matter of alignment, though beautiful, they are not in accord with the ideals of motor car drivers. One can travel a hundred miles and not see a hundred yards ahead l , owing to the curves and turnings in the roadways. I asked the question why they were not straightened and I was informed that such an act of vandalism would spoil the beautj- of the country. So you see England, with all her stolidness, is prepared to sacrifice herself to preserve the scenic effect. The old Roman idea of building roads still holds in England, where they lay tremendous foundations in trenches, which they fill in with big stones.” The roads ,l,ie continued, were saved from destructive traffic by military six-wheeled trucks and caterpillars. The six-wheeled trucks effected enormous saving on the roads. PRIDE OF RACE. “After being in England,” said the speaker, “a man feels exceedingly proud of being English and perhaps prouder still of being a Scotchman. The Scotch were more national than the Englishman and they seemed prouder of their race than their English brothers, but each is proud of his country, though neither talks about it. A man ought to feel proud of his British stock.” (Applause.) DEMOCRACY. “There is a feeling abroad,” said Mr. Chambers, “that democracy is not what it might be. It has failed among the Latin races. It has failed in Italy and Russia, whilst in France it has created much difficulty and it is only the English, Dutch, Danish and such Nordic races who are meeting with any success. The general population appears to he too slow to take up the advanced ideas held by leading thinkers who see the trend of certain things that must be dealt with in order to prevent disaster. If the democracy could only be brought to see that progress can be made along the sane and safer lines laid down by those who have given the situation the most serious thought, then democracy will bo the government of the future. “Some people express grave doubts of the future and say that civilisation is going to destruction, a calamity that might be overcome if all thought like the thinking few. Dean Inge and other writers speak of this great danger which, if not tackled with understanding and statesmanship, will result in a sudden decline in civilisation.

“I am not by any means a pessimist, but I think civilisation must decline unless something adequate is done to meet a critical situation. 1 am only expressing my own personal ideas. You must use your own judgment as to whether you accept it or whether you take it at what you think it is worth.” (Applause.) At the conclusion of his address Mr. Chambers was accorded a most hearty vote of thanks.