"A FREE PEOPLE."

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18306, 13 February 1925, Page 10

"A FREE PEOPLE."

NEW ZEALAND TO-DAY.

MR MASSEY'S SURVEY.

The following article, entitled "The Dominion of JNew Zealand," has been contributed by Mt Massey to Whitaker's Almanack for 1925, advance copies of which have just arrived from London:— "The climate of New * Zealand is probably the healthiest in the world, and to that statement there is ample testimony in the low death-rate in the Dominion. The variation in the: climate of the islands of New. Zealand seems to have been specially adjusted by Nature to suit virtually all: tastes. The northern end' is" semitropical, and there oranges and lemons can be grown, out of doors. It has, indeed, become a the residents 7 to claim that the territory in which they live is winterless. If absence of frosts and snow means that the people of the north are. without a winter,; then they are right in the praiseworthy appellation applied to their land. At the southern end fo the Dominion—there are nearly 1000 miles between extreme north and extreme south —the climate; is like that of Scotland. The population in the two southern provinces is mostly. of Scottish descent, and Scottish in their characteristics. They are industrious, hard-working, and energetic settlers, enthusiastically loyal to King, country, and Empire, as is typically the New' Zealander.

Natural Features, "In scenery and the grandeur of. its natural features, New Zealand stands out pre-eminently. In almost every part of the three islands there is the same endowment. •of scenic beauty. From Auckland in the north to Southland in th,e south a range of snowcapped mountains like the European Alps runs practically through both big islands, and gladdens the heart with their majesty and magnificence. With mountain and glacier and forest and lake and torrent, the finest scenery it is possible to imagine is provided./ New Zealanders must be a free :people now and in the future, and will, as the poet puts it, look up to their hills and thank Heaven the land is free-r- ---" 'Free as the torrents are that leap our rocks And plough our valleys without asking leave, Or as our peaks that wear their caps

of snow, Iri very presence of the Tegal sun.'

?'The thermal, springs of the North Island of New Zealand have become world famous; The- large areas in which they are located are dotted over with lakes and springs, some cold, some, hot, even to boiling point, and geysers spouting here and there, to varying heights. In places the roar of steam (generated by subterreanean heat caused by chemical action), escaping to the surface, adds to a scene weird and wonderful, such as can be witnessed in very few countries of the world. Many of the hot springs of the Dominion are possessed of important curative properties. Around a number of them there are bathhouses, comfortably fitted up; in which sufferers from rheumatic complaints particularly may 'take the waters,'- and indulge in a course of baths as recommended by medical experts skilled in the knowledge of the healing properties of the different springs.* During the'summer months—from November to March—a very large number of tourists come from all parts of New Zealand and overseas to enjoy the sights of the wonderland, or to test the efficiency of its waters. And remarkable results have been achieved in the treatment of sufferers.

"The fishing in the cold lakes and streams of the thermal district of the Dominion is among the best, in the world. There rainbow trout especially have grown to abnormal size. Trout of 201b in weight are not infrequent. In the southern lakes and rivers, both Atlantic and Pacific salmon are increasing very rapidly, and enthusiastic fishermen from England, the United States, and other countries come to New Zealand year after year to enjoy the fishing alone. It is a fact, though by some hard to believe, that in the thermal regions fish may be caught in one stream or lake, and cooked in a boiling spring only a very few yards away.

Pacific Dependencies. "Besides the three major islands which New Zealanders regard as the mainland, members of other islands are under the control and guardianship of the Government of the Dominion. There are, for example, the Chatham Islands, which. «a oeeusied bz settiew^

both Maori and European, them mostly for aheepfamißf Mj|u Then there is the Westers hw Group, formerly belonging to u£|H| the control of Germany, cupied by New Zealand t«y|p|| days after war was celerity with which the Saaeam jmfj were taken makes interesting" m£B The news of the declaration wflj came to New Zealand on Aanjjj|d| 1914. Ten days later fru laTifll 2000 of the Dominion's iiiiifißjjMi board, folly equipped, nrilfidfiß^l Wellington harbour for SanaanM tory, nearly 2000 miles away,<~elll the German cruisers, nliiili ■w'a'CT Pacific, and landed withouta £■§■ on the principal island The German Governor and w«H| surrendered. Since then been under the control <f l|| land, held under a mandate fcoiil League of Nations accepted Wm Majesty.' The Samoa Isaada VMM tile and the climate natives are now quita r*cana«§f their new friends of the Britiaiaß pire. Brigadier-General 6. SL'JH ardson, formerly of the New aH Expeditionary Force of the GujiMH holds the_poßitian of AcbniaicSßMH the Islands, and bis work a great success. 'Then there mS Cook Islands, where the the Samoans, are Polvnesian. «j§l tires, are civilised, their educated by European the young people are being tanUß latest methods of scientific im| suitable to a tropical dunatoX^^| "New Zealand is with the Governments of Greaylßpi and Australia, in working tfiHH phate deposits of Nanra jumBJMI Islands. The Union Samoa, is also likely to be pkwß der the administration of taNH Zealand Government. FrcttijMJM lands up near the Equator flffl| Boss Sea, at the Antarctic, %sffflß what, far cry, but at the JjMMH the British; Government/ am? HB| object of protecting the wigHM seal fisheries here, New ffiwfWll consented to the €ateufam«jggXM boundaries to take in .that iM| The whale fisheries in the jjsjg|g are well worth lookinjr aflerv-ejjpl whales being caught there -WjlH can whalers in a few weeks **iH| whaling season. '. \y\3Mi "New Zealand and her Beptafgi occupy a unique position, tbe British Empire* but w awicfaH parts of the world, aid as PWMI and national wealth uicreiwffifj§| influance and nsefnmen wto MJPKI become verv much greater tBBOP! are to-day." V?«