IMPRESSIONS OF NEW ZEALAND.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14564, 15 January 1913, Page 6

IMPRESSIONS OF NEW ZEALAND.

INTERVIEW WITH THE REV. J. E

WATTS-PITCHFIELI)

A WORD OF WARNING

(rno_ oi'R owx coßßESro>>n_.VT.*i

LONDON. December tl

1 The Rer7 J. K. Watts-Iyitchf.eld is | once aeain immersed in tho manifold i activities of St. James's Parish. Bethna! | Green. He found tint?, however, to | accord mo a short interview on the : results oi hi* tour in the Dominion, and i his. impression on ft few aspects oi" New 1 Zealand life will not be without in- , teresf. ! In his world-tour on behalf of t*ie Churcii of England Men's Society he corned 40.000 miles. Travelling via Sue:-., he visited Australia and Now : Zealand, and returned by way of i Canada. He enjoyed his journey very i much. He was met with unbounded hospitality, am]- in hi< opinion New ,' Zealand i«i n country v.ith a very groat : |mure before it. One result <'i tho i tour. .Mr W:ML:->l>itchtiold thinks, will i be tho appointment of a paid organising secretary. who will devo'.e. tlie who!" ot ; his timo to the movement, which may j be expected to flourish ar.d prosper not J merely in the In rice toivns b-.it also in ■ the <oantry district-. It was necosi sarv to develop in Church life in New ! Zealand the s; hit of agression, ami 1 bri-vi the manhood of the Church to | work really for the •'ontMiicr." At present there w.-is tor- m«;-h self-centred | feeling. The members of the Church i were tor* much centivd u;imi the work !of the Church, and not eimigh upon | outsider.*, whe.-cas it should lie remem- | bered tint the Christian' work was fur | the world. I Britain of the sovttt. J "I was struck.*' said Mr Waitsj Ditchfield. "by the immense work that • lias already been achieved in New Zen- ! land by the (iovornment and peo])!e. i When you remember that that po;r.ln- | tion of ono nirlion, has a territory alI mo«t equal t:> tiie British ls.'r-s to i;ial I with, it is really remarkable what has I been achieved in the way of railways, ■ cities, and the cultivation of land. I ! could scarcely believe it was possible i fov the New Zea'anders to have accomplished what they have done in th>u ! comparatively short history. The country gave me more the impression of j England than any other dominion I ! visited, and if tiie houses had been built I cf. brick or stone instead of wood, I -should have thought 1 was in England. 1 t.hink that the conditions of climate and other aspects of country life have. ! contributed to make the people of NewZealand more English than the people either of Australia or Canada. One thing I was impressed by was the happy relations between the New Zealander and the Maori—with the .evident desire ton -lie mar* of rthe. Britisher in NewZealand to treat them as civilised beings.

"What 1 fci>3 about Australasia is this:—Although the social reforms which have been carried out are, in many cases, beneficial, such as the Eieht Hours Act and the Minimum Wa_e Act, yet 1 feel that such legislation wants carefully watching, lest it run to extremes, which, while had in an old country, might lead to disaster in a new.oountrv.

"What Australasia needs to-day is capital and men. When you think thnt in Australia only GJ :>er cent, of the land i? in any way being cultivtitedj or held in privnte ownership, every effort ought- to be made to draw men with c:r ital into the country. If the conditions are of such a. nature that Trion cannot sco an adequate interest for their money, or if they are scared by *.!ie .tendency of legislation, one cannot expect those men to prefer Australia or New Zealand to other countries where restrictions are not to he found. The tendency to hasty legislation should be chocked, or the remedy may be worse than-the disease. .'•. 'T was very glad to realise that the Eight Hours Act was in actual operation. There again, there is a great (iatiSer as to'how the additional hours cf leisure are used. If they lire being used in certain directions, then the national stamina and vigour will be decreased. For instance, if the growth of pleasure went beyond a certain pointit would make the rising generation effeminate in the worst sense of the term. Therefore, apart altogether from t'w military question. I think in Australia, and *Ncav Zealand that tho compulsory training of cadets is all to the. good in bringing to bear upon the younger generation some sense of discipline, and making them perform some physical exercises themselves, rather than merely watching a few men kick a ball about. In t-nat sense compulsory training is all to the "In the prohibition electoral districts that 1 visited','l. received valuable testimony as to the alteration in the character of neop'c and the character of towns since drink was prohibited.