ALTERED HIS MIND

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 24, 14 June 1939, Page 3

ALTERED HIS MIND

—O : INTENDED SETTLING NEW ZEALANDER RETURNS Alter 40 years' absence from New Zealand, land of his birth, Mr H. Graham' returned with the intention of spending his retirement in the Dominion. However, the changes h.' found in New Zealand, particularly political changes, have deeided him to return to British Columbia, Canada, the land of his adoption. Forty years ago Mr Graham 101 l New Zealand to enter the service of the Canadian Government. His work has been with the Native Depart. m. nt > whose care is the Indian popu. lation. of the British Empire's great, est Dominion. Naturally he found tremendous changes in New Zealand, said Mr Graham in an interview in New Plvmouth. In his early days: in New Zca. land he had passed through New Ply. mouth once but now found nothing that recalled his earlier visit. It seemed to him that the Maori was getting e, little too much help. The more a native received the less he felt inclined to work for it, though of course, that also applied to tho white man. In British Columbia UKIndians received assistance only when they really needed it, when it wa« unavoidable. However, he admitted the native of New Zealand was very far superior in intelligence to the native Indian of North America. REAFFORESTATION! They had been impressed with the reafforestation work in New Zealand, said Mr Graham. Lumber was being taken out of the great British Columbia forests at a tremendous rate and nothing was being done to replant the areas lumbered, apart from natural growth. It did not seem that it would be many years before the supplies of fir,, the main'lumber tree, would be exhausted. Fir was the chief lumber tree, he explained and spruce and hemlock were used to ft lesser extent. SALMON INDUSTRY The salmon industry was very ex. tensive but stocks of salmon in the river? of the province had lessened in recent years. The province's rivers were very swift (lowing for British Columbia was a very moulntainous* province. In the Fraser one of the largest, he had seen fish at spawning time so thick in places such as the loot of rapids that one had to wriggle an oar about to get it lengthways into the water and had been possible to place a plank across the massed fish and walk across them. The fish just crawled over one another trying to make their way upstream. Because of the difference in climate there was a constant exchange of population, between British Colxinibia and the neighbouring states of the U.S.A., said Mr Graham. People of British Columbia went to the neighbouring American States to escape. the severe winter and people of these states went to British Columbia to escape the hot summer.