IN MANY LANDS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 299, 11 September 1908, Page 4

IN MANY LANDS.

INTERVIEW"WITH A RETURNED NEW <D zander. "* When "Mr. 'F. ff'Wood, of Tauranga, Bay - Newj Zealand for a holiday • 'trip ; 'abroad, .rlip.rtEtfs■" armed, metaphorically speaking, cap-a-pic, with letters of introduc- ./ tion and.credentials,.. They were tho magic .• koys, to-.the,.,portals,; of tho interiors of s nations; with ; ,tlicm,.Jio was,able to peep be./jtipdr tho scenes'. ,Thoy wore very fleeting '■ had a. lot to sec, and little time to,.see] it in, ( ,' : Mf.'|ifooa stJoppecl qff tho lonic on Tuesday • lo'dkirig brohzSd and Well. He fished from his >' pocket some' r s"lieofcs-.af.paper which told a tale of: travel which tho mouth water— ■ Queensland, Thursday Island, Philippines, Japan, China, Strailb Settlements, "westward to Europe, Egypt en route, Turkey, tho Bal- • leans, through tho-Alps, Paris, and then the , " Old Countree." ! "Let's*begin'*o'n"Japan," suggested tho interviewer... "Is there going to bo another [l RpssQ-Jap swat? 'h; '* '«lEß%tt^depaiid», , ' Jl replied Mr. Wood. "If ■ Russia wants „a ...war, Japan, liko 1 Barkis,' . is 1 willin'. 'Eviorywhero you go it's fortifications kerpy-.-and:~fortifications -there. The burden ofajmilitary greatness is a very heavy one. ThayVo'got an income tax there which, unlike ours'"(whicirctaes not operate below a cortain does not reach tho poorgttHj) bgara-on everyone, right down to tho 'ooolies.'* They'll tell you in Japan that the&Vis~ao,-Pav£rty- But there-is, and what is jtifore, there is a simmering discontent arapijg the poorer classes which may come to something serious by and, by.'', Did yoti see his Highness, the Mikado? "No. £1. meant to, but they told mo at the British Embassy that the Mikado was only to'Go seen during two months of tho year, April and November. I did not learn the reason. A,tefesc times. he gives receptions." r' , Mr. Wood" was--next questioned about ; Turkey.- "sDifl you see-the 'Sick Man'?" ho was' asketl^ :"No. Of course you can- only seo him on ' 'Fridays, whail-ho—goes to prayers. • The ! .'tuoublejs, British are concerned, that jjou can^jrtr*tf(J , {idinitted within the gates witEbut"' a pass from the Embassy, and oven then,,.according to a recent edict by the Sultan, you inustlsubmit to a search. The. Bri--tish. authorities at tho Embassy won't coun"tenance this. The Germans don't mind being searched. I could have procured a pass i frorii , '*tih(r*"Q i esinan,7Embassy, and submitted I myself; to j? Season sit. the gates, but being a J3i'lt'isli""sutiject""tliat wouldn't havo been iplaj;ing • , w ls very marked .at. Cont .fftantiftpfrlft.?',' r „ ' ' n {Jcraan™iis'fl'uTnce" r is very marked' everywhere,"'was the startling reply. "The Bri- , fcish are.asleqp,",sa;d,.Mr. Wood. "Wherever ; L went j in trado and %oniinerce-=-in Turfiey, China, Japan, every- ■ Germans - are very." popular in ' "Tutkeyr v/ Everybody - seems'to like'them. They > certainly.varo- tho" most' go-ahoad nation in 'EWdpe <: -to-day Mr. Wood then switched off into AustriaHungary.. i.< His.credentials took him into the : press :gallery iiL'.thc Hungarian Diet. "The finest'legislative''chamber I ever was in," ho commented. "Of. course, I could not un'der- • standi",word ofith'o speeches." WelSftaiit Esperanto, eh? .He..nodded..'.. "I got on fairly well while I was travelling, but it was a nuisance sometimes; " 'On ono occasion I was in tho same railway .pqmp.artm.ent, with a Frenchman and ' .iTlGgXm&l, :bgth;real' good fellows,- and wo .were all dying'to' got acquainted, too, but liiw'asino.use. In Japan no English is spoken jyJipn I wanted to go north, jl.'jl^fin'd'mysolf-going'south, and would havo to get'ofT and go back again."