MR E. PRIDHAM'S RETURN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 330, 23 January 1909, Page 6

MR E. PRIDHAM'S RETURN.

lXTiiUJiS'i'liNl! IMI'IIL'SSIOXS. Mr. JJ. Pridiian), principal of the High School, who has whh Mrs. l'ridham been absent from New I'lymuuth lor about a year on a trip to Linope, rel'i,.,ed home on Thursday evening. Seen by a. "Daily News" representative yesterday, Mr. i'ridliam said the journey had been undertaken on account of tho state of his health, aud, although lie had had a couple ol severe illnesses during the year, he returned to -\ew I'Jymoutii refreshed and ready to re-enter upon his duties. And certainly he looked all the better for the trip, which he said had been most enjoyable. Air. and Airs, l'ridham reached Alarseilles on the 7th Alarcii, and 110111 there travelled througii ' the Kiviera. \ isits were paid to Nice, Monte Carlo, Uenoa, and other places of scenic and historic interest. Atonic Carlo was especially beautiful, and the drive from Nice to Monte Carlo was the loveliest} he had ever seen Thence they visited Rome, Naples, Florence, Venice, .Milan, and other places in Italy, experiencing lovely weather. The ruins at I'ompeii could not be passed by, and llie wonuerliul results of liie excavations were inspected. Air. l'ridham said that almost daily some new house was 1111caruied, and many of the articles Jound; therein were ■ excellently preserved, sucn as the ladies' mirrors, pull-boxes and powder, and so oil. lie had been informed mat among the discoveries made »ere mechanical devices ot those nays, winch nad been lost and li'orgutteu, only-to be reinvented by other people year:, and years later. The journey liirougii Switzerland to Cologne and up the llhine was very cujoyaole, ■Lucerne being in Air. i'ridham's opiuion one of tile most attractive place.i visited during ins travels. Venice, by the way, did not appeal to him, though some people raved about it. JJul perhaps Uiis was because his health was slot good during his sojourn there. lingland was reached on the 25iii of April, in the middle of a snowstorm. Up till that time there had been a very mild winter, so much so that the python and the giaut tortoise at the Zoo, after having slept their annual winter sleep for about six weeks, were templed by the warmth to bestir themselves. After having a big feed, however, they seemed to" discover their mistake, and went oil' again. The summer that followed was the finest .that had. been experienced at llome for forty years. A question or two elicited Irom Air. l'ridham the remark that he could not say very much about conditions hi the various countries, for lie had been resting, not working. At the same time lie was able to visit some of the larger educational institutions. B.e stayed a.t Cambridge for a fortnight with Prof. AlcTaggart, whose sister-in-law resides at Lcpptirton. Among the schools visited were the Whitgift Grammar School in Croydon, a fine building, richly endowed; the Girls' High School at Croydon; and St. George's College at Harpenden, one of the two or three large schools at Home which admitted both hoys and girls as pupils. The work of tiro, schools seemed to be carried on along lines much the same as in the secondary schools here. The one notable difference was the very much greater amount spent on the schools, not only in providing exceedingly fine buildings, but also in the matter of, employing' larger stall's at larger salaries than iu the Colonies. But as for method and organisation he had not been struck with U7iy extraordinary proficiency. The primary schools, he should say, were ahead of tile prim-, arv schools at Home.

Various parts of England were visited, some time being spent at Evesham, Bristol, Hurton-oii-Trent, Croydon, lind Cambridge, amongst other jiiaces, and scleral weeks in the Channel Islands. What struck him most in the social conditions in England, ami what struck most visitors from this part of the globe, lay in the extremes of riches and poverty. It was a distressing time for the unemployed. Processions of People out of work were of daily occurrence, and whilst many of those taking part were anything but anxious for employment, a large section was composed of bona-fide seekers after work. " I didn't see anything of the suffragette movement," said Air. Pridlnini,

" and I suppose you ve heard enough about it here/' There wis 'no doubt, ho said, that the leaders in the cause sull'ered a good deal, but they mad? others suffer also. Thev ive|re a great nuisance, .uul, although their ranks were growing, they weiv losing th* sympathy of the public owing to their unwomanly, not merely unladylike, methods. It seemed to liiiii that'these women, many of whom ivero ladies, had completely irascxed tlncinsolvos in their entliusiastic advocacy of female suffrage. On tin' return journey Mr., and Mrs. I'ridhain (ravelled through I'aais to Mar seilles, where they picked up the 1\ and (). slcainer for Sydney. lilhey passi'il through the Straits' of Messina, within a stone's throw of Wtromboli. •It was at about eight o'eloelk in the t'vening, aud it was a peaeel : ul spot. They had not learned of thes earthquake disaster until they veaclued Fremantle.

In answer to a question, Mr. PWdham said he came out from England _ tj> New Zealand thirty years ago, aTlil revisited the Homeland ten years later. On this his second visit to England he noticed great changes ill the. places that lie had known in his earlier lifcjl But the greatest change was in the people themselves. There was not' the same difference now between the colonial and the Englishman. . frittl people at Ilome, particularly the work-ing-people, seemed to be far more independent. Certainly wages were lr/iv, but the operations of the workers' conrpensation for accidents legislation and other similar measures had materially improved their outlook. Another thing that could not fail'to impress a New Zealandor visiting England was the" cheapness of merchandise. Boots could , be obtained for Rs (id a pair that would cost about 2os here, and first-class sac suits for from Xi 10s upwards. The remainder of (he convcrsnlion was the reverse of a newspaper man's "interview," Mr Pridhani endeavouring to ascertain briefly what New Plymouth had been doing during his absence.