ADDRESS ON RIGA.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 116, 15 April 1940, Page 5

ADDRESS ON RIGA.

THE LATVIAN CAPITAL. Prefacing a talk on “Riga” to the Palmerston North Citizens’ Lunch Club, on Friday, Mr \A'. Maxwell said that one of the important factors contributing to the state of affairs in the world to-day was Jack of understanding of other countries and peoples. Air Alaxwell lived in Latvia for three years, and his experiences there were those, which lie related to his listeners. Tito speaker stated that Riga was by no means a small place, being tlie capital of Latvia, and situated on the .southern shores of tho Baltic. It had a population of 400,U00, the cosmopolitan nature of which was shown bv the fact that it included 200,000 natives (or Letts), 100,000 Russians. 50.(100 Germans and many of other nationalities. Tlie Germans liad always been in control in business —that was, tlie Baltic Germans, who had lived there for hundreds of years, although of late tiie Letts had been greatly extending their influence. Riga was a very beautiful city, with spacious streets, tlm main thoroughfare being two or three times the width of Broadway, Palmerston North. The climate was in some ways similar to that of New Zealand, except for the winter, which was much colder. In December it started to freeze up and tlie temperature went as low its 45 to 50 degrees of frost, but owing to the comparative dryness it was not as cold as one might imagine. Tho'houses were constructed to afford protection against the climatic variations, the windows being double and the space in between being filled in with sand or cotton-wool in winter time. Ninety-nine per cent, of tlm people lived in flats, which went as high as 10 or 12 storeys. During tlie summer months, however, the majority of the people of Riga left the. town to reside at tho Strand, a beautiful summer resort about 10 miles along the seashore from Riga. There was a distinctive variation in the cultural pursuits of the Latvian people, the speaker proceeded. Music played an important part in their lives and they went to the opera just as we flocked to the pictures. The admis"sion charges were much lower than in Now Zealand, being in the vicinity of Is or Is Gd. It would be interesting, concluded Air Maxwell, to follow the fate of Latvia, and its two neighbours, Fsthonia and Lithuania, in the near future. One would think that they had little chance of maintaining their independence and it appeared ns if they would he ab sorbed by Russia or Germany if the latter was successful in the present war.

On the motion of the chairman (All F. G. Opie) the speaker was accorded the club’s thanks.