The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. MONDAY, MARCH 31, 1924. MORE ADVERTISING.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 77, 31 March 1924, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

MONDAY, MARCH 31, 1924. MORE ADVERTISING.

far tha emuta that lack* aasUtanem, For the wrong that needs resistant*, For tha future in tha distance, And the good that im eon do,

Why is it that whereas Wellington has raised £1000 to advertise Wellington at the British Empire Exhibition, an appeal for a similar fund in Auckland has produced only £285? Wellington has not shown itself readier than Auckland to give for general public purposes. On the contrary we Aucklanders pride ourselves on onr public spirit. la it that when it comes to advertising our city and pushing its interests commercially we are slack? The local fund is to remain open a few days longer, and we commend it to citizens. It is in no parochial spirit that we do so. The Government has taken the responsibility of advertising the Dominion as a whole, and it fallß on the cities to push their own particular interests. That the Government seems to be doing this advertising thoroughly and on sound lines is suggested by the general handbook on New Zealand that has been prepared for free distribution at the exhibition. "New Zealand: the Brighter Britain of the South," has been written by Mr. L. S. Fanning, an able journalist who has had a good deal of experience in this kind of work. We do not remember having seen anything go good among hand-books on New Zealand. The very title page of, the book arrests the attention, for Mr. Fanning goes to a chorus of Euripides, beautifully translated.by Mr. Gilbert Murray, for an appropriate quotution. iWibere the voice of living waters never ceaseth. In God's quiet garden by the sea: And Earth, the ancient life-giver, increaseth Her gifts among tlie meadows, like a tree. That a journalist in New Zealand should use a passage from a Greek play, written centuries before the Christian era, to attract population to a new land, is another proof of the living influence of Greek literature. One of the many things we like about this book is the prominence it gives to the cultural and urban sides of New Zealand life. We are well aware that our chief asset is farming land, and that our greatest need is more settlers, but these are no reasons why the development of the cities and such things as facilities for education should be left out in advertising the country abroad. It should be emphasised that people who come to New Zealand do not come to a land that is entirely in the pioneering stage, but to one that has fine cities, a complete educational system, and reasonable opportunities for intellectual culture. Mr. Fanning takes a broad view of his task. He describes for the people at Home for whom this book is written, the history of New Zealand, its system of Government; its climate—British people should be impressed by the fact that Wellington, which is not the sunniest place in New Zealand, averages ,2077 hours of sunshine a year, as compared with 1400 for the British Isles— its fertility, its primary and secondary industries, its educational system, and the opportunities it offers to the immigrant. Having more important things to write about, he wisely leaves the purely scenic section till near the end, and gives it only a few pages. Mr. Fanning properly says something about the recreations of New Zealand, and the illustrations he gives of fishing and golf may turn the scale in the mind of some Englishmen who are hesitating whether they will go to Canada, Australia or New Zealand. The book is profusely illustrated, and we have never seen a better collection. Every phase of colonial life, from the busy city street to country children riding to school, is depicted. "this bit of advertising should bring in a good harvest. That something of the kind is needed is shown by the figures for emigration published at Home last week. The number. of emigrants who chose New Zealand declined last year by nearly three thousand. ___________