NEW ZEALANDERS IN LEEDS.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 111, 10 May 1919, Page 8

NEW ZEALANDERS IN LEEDS.

AX INDUSTRIAL TOUR. Leeds to-dny hud some interesting visitors in a delegation of New Zealand business men, who are making a tour of a few of the larger industrial centres, says n Leeds paper of recent date. The tour has been arranged by the Federation of British'lndustries, the organisn- j tion which has been formed to I strengthen the bonds of sympathy and' understanding between this country and I other countries, and particularly the, i Dominions. The delegates are all men I who are still in the army, but who expect to return overseas within the next few weeks. They have been greatly impressed so far with the manufacturing resources of this country. They have come to the conclusion that the average Britisher is too modest, not only with regard to his wares and manufactures, but about things generally Said one of them on this point: "On Tuesday, in Sheffield, I went to Tinsley and Brightside, and saw the blackest portions of this begrimed city. Then I went out to Xether Edge, and, oh my! what a glorious spot. And yet the 'Sheffielders' look upon it with apparent unconcern. Why, in New Zealand we should make a shout about it." "What we find is," said another of the party, "that your manufacturers do not 'boost' their goods from the housetops to the same extent as do the Americans. When the Yankees send us anything, they send along with it a shipload of 'boosting' material." "The Yankees," said another of the delegates, "very successfully pursue the policy of adapting themselves to our requirements, witli respect to light ma- i chinery. While tho British engineer builds for durability, the American pays first attention to immediate utility. j "Take such a simple thing as a lawnmower. The American article is vastly I cheaper than the British-made machine. It may not be as soundly built, but it is handier —so handy that the wife can push it about the garden with ease, and it, does its work quite as satisfactorily. 1 grant you it may be only lit for the scrap-heap when the British mower is still good for years of work; but the fact remains that the Yankee type of mower is the thing that suits the Colonials' taste." The delegates have, however, gained the impression already that the British manufacturers are now keenly alive to i the possibilities of trade with the Dominions, and are desirous of altering, if necessary, their methods of production. The readiness with which men in business are displaying to the delegates all they have i i show, they regard as a true reflex of their feelings.

In the morning, the party visited the wholesale clothing factory of Messrs John Parrnn and Sons, and there saw the making up of suits by the thousands, the different processes, especially the cutting-out of the garments a few dozens at a time, exciting their wonder and admiration.