A TOUR ABROAD.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14525, 29 November 1912, Page 4

A TOUR ABROAD.

IMPRESSIONS OF MR H. D ACLAND.

NEGLECTED NEW ZEALAND

After an eight months' tour in England, Ireland, Denmark, Norway and tho other parts ot Europe, lr li - **• Acland returned to Christchurch yesterday. Mr Aeland travelled via Suez both going to and coming from land. To a "Press" representative yesterday Mr Acland imparted some interesting impressions of his tour. In reply to a question lie said he mad.» enqiiiiies on the subject of municipal milk supplies at # home, and no found a municipal milk supply lia« existed at Glasgow, but liad been liiscontinued. Mr Acland found a great deal of mtontiou being puid to the question, ot road making in .England, and an International lload Congress was to be held next year in Louuon. The Rond lioard, which was the name of the governing road authority, was carrying out experiments with regard to tarring nnd road meinlling near London. '"i« England,'' said Mr Aoland, "it is quite a common tiling to rind country roads tarred, and, 1 should ■say, as good tor motor traflie as the best, streets in Cliristchurcb." Mr Arhmd. thought their way of getting rid of the dust at Home'was to go in for tarred roads; most ot the motor roads in English villages wero tnrrcd. "Questioned in respect to tramway matters, Mr Acland mentioned that tho motor 'bus appeared to bo everywhere in London. It not only travelled fast, but was very comfortable, und it was competing very seriously with the London County Council tramways. Christoliurch, Mr "Acland considered should be very careful about increasing its tramway system, because tho motor 'bus. which could go everywhere, might injuriously cut into the tramway tralFie after tho expense had boen incurred of putting the tramways down.

Speaking on tho . subject of town planning, Mr Acland thought it would bo a very good thing if wo could stop tho crowding together of houses hero as ouo saw , places bemg built at Home now. Wholo streets of hidoons-look-ing places, each exactly alike, wero goin<_; up every where. Mr Acland found that in England educational matters and the police wero in tho hands of the county councils. Generally speaking, tho local governing bodies at Home had a great deal more power than those out here. "I think the German menace is a very real thing," remarked Mr Aclond, in reply to a further query, "and I found that this opinion was shaml by the Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes I spoko to." Mr Acland had a look at ono of the British. Dreadnoughts at Portsmouth. . People wore hopeful of tho Germans and French being compelled to open their ports to New Zealand meat, but tho agrarian influence in those countries was strong enough to prevent this at tho present time. Mr Acland wont round tho meat markets of Paris. He saw meat for sale thoro which would never bo passed in Ohristchurch. There weje shops he said, for tho sale of New Zealand meat in every town ho wenfc tb in England, and New Zealand lamb, whether ifc came from Canterbury or not, wns invariably sold as "prime Canterbury." Apparently tho bulk of New Zealand lamt> was sold as "Prime Canterbury." Apropos of this, Mr Acland related a rather amusing experience which may reflect on North Island meat. In ono shop which ho went into he was informed that some meat was "Prime Canterbury," when it actually had tho label of a well-known North Island freezing company attached to ifc, Mr Acland had no doubt that deal of the meat sold at .Homo is" really New Zealand meat. Tho thing that impressed Mr Acland very much' was the absence of mention about New Zealand. Apart from "Tho Times, ,, which had special cables about New Zealand, and tho "Standard," which ran a special edition on Thursdays, one saw practically nothing about New Zealand in tho papers. Australia and Canada wero. on tho other hand, extensively advertised in England, and in this respect Mr Acland mentioned the signs that were daily put up in front of Australia's new buildings in tho Strand. Tnousands of people every day passed this spot, and it wa9 quite a common thiag for overyono to ascertain what the message for the day was* Ono day_ it might read: —-"Australia's population is (so much). Go to Australia; we want people," and on other days there would bo other messages. It was a grand advertisement for the island continent. Canada and some of tho Australian States, moreover, had exhibitions of produce in windows, but ono heard practically nothing at all about New Zealand, and one had some trouble to find out from ordinary papers what was happening politically here.

"There is Labour unrest at Home," remarked Mr Acland in reply to a query, "and it is very marked indeed. It is hard to Bay what the cause is, but undoubtedly the masses nt Home are very dissatisfied with their present conditions."

Mr Acland went to tho House of Commons several times, and he heard three or four debates, one of them being on tho Homo Rule question. He heard nearly all the Ministers answering questions, and lie heard Mr F. E. Smith make a speech. Whilst there he saw Mr J. C. Wason, M.P., ex-member tor Sehvyn in the New* Zealand Parliament. Mr Acland was told that - a colonial candidate for Parliamentary honours at Home had only to say that ho was from New Zealand, or Canada, dr whatever his native place might be, wavo tho flag violently, hurrah for the Empire, and be elected for perhars an almost hopeless seat. One feature about tho House of Commons that Mr Acland noticed was that it could only take about half the members.

A thing that impressed Mr Acland very much on coming back to Australia, especially, was the vast amounS of country devoid of any population, and one heard it freely mentioned at Homo that in the event of England suffering a reverse, the spoil to the victors would be part of the British Empire on this side of the world. There wae apparently a big stream of immigration setting towards Australia of its own accord, and Mr Acland was informed that it was Quito impossible to get a third-class passage to* Australia unless booked six months ahead. There were over 700 third-class passengers on the ship that Mr Acland camo out in.