We were particularly interested in a speech made recently at
Bagshot by the Minister for Overseas Trade. Mr. Samuel urged, quite on the lines of the Spectator, that more British houses, and in particular gardens, should be opened to American tourists. We have sug- gested hospitality of that kind mainly for friendship's sake, thinking of political and even sentimental advan- tages of intercourse. Mr. Samuel did not neglect those advantages, but added a practical consideration, namely, that we do not now get the share that we might expect of the money spent by Americans in Europe, because we do not attract them as other nations do, though we certainly have no less of interest to show them. France, he said, estimates her income from foreign tourists at £70,000,000. We respect and sympathize with the Briton's tendency to preserve the privacy of his home, and the modesty that cannot believe that all and sundry can want to see into his home life ; and yet some of us have learnt, perhaps with surprise, how Americans and our Colonial fellow-subjects appreciate seeing the inside of private grounds and of houses that are not hotels.
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