American shake-up

Press, 21 February 1978, Page 10

American shake-up

An expensive brush with the seamy side of New York was the lot of a New Zealand member of Parliament last week. But the victim, the member for South Canterbury (Mr R. L. G. Talbot) is grateful that he and his wife got out of it w’ith only the loss of their money.

They happened to be out when thieves broke into tl’.eir room in the Biltmore Hotel, in Madison Avenue, and escaped with articles worth more than $lOOO.

“I just thank heaven j that we did not wander i back into the room while they were at it,” Mr Talbot said. “The hotel staff said we nrobably would have been knocked on the head, and the police would have written it off as just another unfortunate accident happening to a visitor.” Most of the stolen property w’as jewellery belonging to Mrs Talbot, plus other “personal possessions.”

“They reckoned it was probably an inside job. We

do not hold much hope of getting it back,” said Mr Talbot.

•1 have been in the States twice before, but this is the first time anything like this has happened.” Mr Talbot’s trip as chairman of the Government's select committee on fore.’gn affairs took him first to an East-West Pacific Seminar in Honolulu, and then to meetings with New Zealand trade representatives in the United States. He said he had been

pleased with the outcome of discussions about the potential of the New Zealand lamb market in Chicago. and the results ot his talks in Washington with the United States Secretary for Agriculture (Mr Robert Bt.rgland). Mr Talbot said he had found Mr Bergland sympathetic towards New Zealand’s trade situation, and understanding about the need to build international trade and the need to overcome the present instability of food prices.