N.Z. WELL KNOWN

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 830, 26 November 1929, Page 16

N.Z. WELL KNOWN

OPINION OF VISITORS FROM U.S.

LEGISLATION WATCHED "In the United States New Zealand is better known than any other country in the Pacific,” said the 'Rev. Dr. John Clarence Lee, who arrived by the Tofua last evening. QNE of the principal reasons, be

said, was because of the Dominion's progressive legislation which was watched eagerly by thoughtful people in the States. The leading newspapers in New York published articles quite frequently dealing with the affairs of New Zealand and this was responsible for bringing the country under the notice of the people. Dr. Lee, who is accompanied by Mrs. Lee, is making a world tour which will last well over a year. He is a graduate of Harvard University and was formerly president of th<g St. Lawrence University in the State of New York and later president o£ the Lombardi University, Illinois. For the past 10 years he has been pastor of the oldest Universalist Church in the United Stater This is the Independent Christian Church at Boston, which was founded in 1770. Both Dr. and Mrs. Lee are interested in the work of the English Speaking Union and both are keen to help in cementing friendship between England and the United States. ESSENTIAL FOR PEACE "This lasting friendship is essentia) for the future peace of the world,” said Dr. Lee last evening. “The English peoples of the world must keep together and co-operate. The antiBritish sentiment sometimes echoed in the United States is not representative of the majority of the people and should be disregarded.” Dr. Lee was enthusiastic about the visit of the Right Hon. Ramsay MacDonald to the United States. He caught the public eye and did a great deal of good by the way in which he met people of all classes. His daughter did not indulge in a round of social teas and entertainment, hut attended juvenile courts and went among the poorer people to find out for herself the general living conditions in New York. The British Prime Minister pleased the people immensely by his oratory, which was direct and to the point. It was a wonderful visit and will do much toward cementing the bonds between Great Britain and the United States.

Mrs. Lee intends to look into education while she is in New Zealand. From her conversation she is a wonderfully well-informed woman and earnest in her desire for humanitarian legislation. Mrs. Lee is an author of some note and probably New Zealand will receive some attention from her pen when she returns to the United States at the end of her trip round the world.