A DISTINGUISHED VISITOR

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21084, 8 February 1934, Page 10

A DISTINGUISHED VISITOR

PRAISE FOR DOMINION SCENIC ATTRACTIONS AND SPORT "I had heard so much of New Zenland and the attractions of the country for a great many years that I eventually decided to visit the Dominion. I have been here since November, and everything has been fully up to my expectations." -In ! these words Lieutenant-General Sir William Raine Marshall, a distinguished English soldier, author, and sportsman, who arrived in Christchurch yesterday after visiting the southern lakes, expressed his appreciation of New Zealand to a reporter of "The Press" in an interview last evening. Sir William Marshall, with Lady Marshall, intends leaving today to visit the West Coast glaciers. An enthusiastic fisherman, Sir William Marshall brought his trout rods with him, and most of his time so far in New Zealand has been spent fishing in the North Island, mostly in the Rangitaiki, and for a brief time in the lakes. lie was warned that the best season for rainbow trout fishing was not until March, but nevertheless he had fairly good sport.

"New Zealand is a very delightful and charming country," he told the reporter, "and I have been greatly impressed with the beautiful scenery. We have been told that the glaciers provide some of the finest spectacles in the country, and wc are looking forward very keenly to our visit to the West Coast,"

One of the features of New Zealand life that lias most forcibly impressed the visitor is the high standard of its journalism. "It was quite a surprise to find that every little place we visited had its own newspaper, while the cities, with their relatively small populations, had two or three, or, as I believe is the case in Christchurch, four." He said that it was not only their number but the high standard of the journalism that had impressed him. He thought that the leading articles, not only on domestic topics, but dealing with overseas questions, were remarkably good. The newspapers were such as to keep New Zealanders fully abreast of current aft airs not only in their own country but all over the world.