OF N.Z. INTEREST

Evening Post, Issue 88, 12 April 1924, Page 7

OF N.Z. INTEREST

DOCTOR'S STRANGE ACTION

MR. BARTRAM'S SLUMS

BUTTER GRADING.

(PROSI OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON, 3rd March. Irish journals have a subject which has become a hardy annual. Each year well-worn arguments are worked to .a standstill in connection with the important matter of a national brand for Irish butter. New Zealand and her dairy, industry^ are invariably held up as an nxample, but-a writer in '-'The^lrish Statesman" gives his personal' experifince of the quality of -New Zealand butter. ' "In my own household," says this writer, "we huve had three different qualities of New Zealand butter in as many weeks; all came' from the same. Siiop, and ono of them -was quite' unpleasant. During the summer montliß •A last year the New Zealand butter supplied to the Dublin public was anything but a. recommendation for the island colony. It will, of course, be borne, in mind that New Zealand ie now the largest exporter of butter in the world, and. that a percentage grading at the ports must leave plenty of room for interior butter to pass undetected. Merchants and importers alike are aware of the fact that New Zealand butter is not uniform in quality, and it is a wellknown fact that the products of certain hrst-elass creameries will fetch a higher price than those of others that the grader Places m the same category., It may be that before long New Zealand, ever desirous of improving, may find it adIISAl ISAn letV 011™' the example of Now bouth Wales, and accord to bacteriology a much larger part in the manufacture of butter than it has hitherto done • New has done a marvellous thing to I bring it s> butter industry to its present-! position in such a short period of time ! but it is not yet the equal in uniformity j w ,? UaI lty °J Ule butter in Denmark, | ■Holland, or Sweden." ; WHO WAS THE DOCTOR? For several weeks the experience of, medical nurses in New Zealand havebeen_ the subject of letters in "The pursing Mirror." In the current number of the journal a " Ship's Surgeon," ' wlio has been meeting thousands of citizens from New Zealand during the past e.ght years, expresses the opinion that the Dpminion is an almost hopeless place for the English-trained nurse. "It is I undoubtedly true," he writes, "that in respect of nursing the local feeling is New Zealand for the New Zealande ■ ust last, and all the time,' The^home pioduct 13 looked on critically, and in many cases askance. ■ Conditions at Home and out there are certainly different. I know of a Home-trained nurse in a military hospital there who had the misfortune to sprain her ankle, and re quired treatment at the hands of the medical officer. He had a bill sent to her -° r Pa>'lll el!t' for services rendered, and the bill had to be paid, and was paid j and I have the receipt now in my pos-1 session as an example of differing conditions. I do not know whether colonialtrained nurses suffer from a similar disability, but to mesudra bill is unique and quite unheard of I .,and to the Hometrained doctor and nurse a teratological phenomenon.' To, any adventurous hospital nurse who is tempted to try her fortune j'n New Zealand I extend in all seriousness the class advice of "'Punch ' — Don't." I am going back there again, and can truly say that if there is anything finer than the voyage out it is surelythevoyage Home." ' THE COOK ISLANDS. Some interesting details oi the produce of the Cook Islands are given by a writer in " The Grocers' Journal." Inspiration for the article is derived from a report of the islands recently made by Dr. R. S. Troller to the New Zealand Government. Rarotonga, Mangaia, Atiu Aitutaki, and Rapapaka are all treated separately, and the information with regard to the chief crops,-. the; methods of handling and the marketing of these,'1 will be interesting' alike to commercial houses and the consumers.' OUR PLACES, OCR' TR-ibITIONS. "Pandora," writing in "The Sunday Times," expresses sympathy with all the I schemes for helping and entertaining visitors from the Dominions during the coming months. "I. am hoping," she says> "that all information bureaux will rather specialise in friendliness, and that their directors, guides, etc., will never, never forget-that overseas'people detest being lumped together as 'Colonials,' and will resent the people at Home forgettingthat they'are just as British themselves as if they had been born within sound of Bow Bells. - - ■ "How k-ind of you to be interested in our old places and our traditions,'.' said an untravelled Londoner graciously to an enthusiastic New Zealander. • ■'But they are our old places and our traditions, ' the New Zealander gently reminded her. ' REPLY TO MR. BARTRAM. . ■ The High Commissioner for New Zealand writes to the editor of a Folkestone journal to say that his attention has been drawn to a statement concerning the conditions of life in the Dominion! Ihe statement was an excerpt from an Auckland paper, and comprised a portion of a speech delivered by Mr F N Bartram, M.tf. for Grey Lynn.' The High Commissioner states that Air Bartram was greatly exaggerating when he said.that the people in New Zealand were herded together" in \hovels, "livino. m rooms and in slums which", would disgrace London, and that it was "a cryinoshame for the Government to spend £8, or even 8d; to bring out immigrants to make the conditions worse." Mr Bartram's speech, said the High Commissioner, was, no doubt, delivered for a special political purpose during a. criticism of the Government; and his remarks, shorn of their context, were liable to give an entirely wrong impression to readers in England, who were ignorant of the conuitions under which the speech was made. Sir James says that such conditions, as stated, do not exist in New Zealand. . • ■ ' WELCOME TO. HUNS AND . .. RUSSIANS. There were the usual number of lecturers and correspondents dealing with New Zealand this last -week, and whose statements are to be found in provinj cial newspapers. A Bury man in the Dominion writes to his home paper among other things : "The Labour Party are fairly strong here. Why they call themselves by that name I don't know, as there are no bloated "* millionaires or idle aristocrats; neaily everybody.works, and so trade unionists do not have the monopoly of working; certainly their officials work hard with their tongues, trad industrial unrest is always with us. These people talk a good deal of the 'brotherhood'of man,' but when it comes to .welcoming migrants from the Old Country, really kith and kin. that is another story; although they know the awful conditions prevailing at Home they do not

want to share the good things here frith their less fortunate biethren o\ersedj» > Huns and Russians escepted." "New Zealand/the-brightest gem in the Imperial Crown," was the subject of a lecture by the Rev. G. B. Hititon at Deptford Town Hall. "A very high standard of life prevailed," he said, "and the son of the poor "man had an opportunity equal to' the son of the richest, the only merit which counted being willingness to seize every opportunity and determination to rise to the top of the tree: Everyone 'spoke..the true mother tongue, and, although they had so much to be proud of, there was no such thingas swank." .... , * "The Bazaar; Exchange, and Mart" supplies on behalf of an inquirer much information regarding New Zealand. It is remarked-: "Though one of our most distant Dominions, New Zealand is British to'the core, with a strong element of bcotch blood. The country has been apt-' ' Iy described as a 'Brighter.Britain', by: a famous English writer. The phrase-is a_ true,one, for, whereas its people-are' of our own stock, the climate ismMeiv and sunnier, the atmosphere dearer, andl the_ 'scenery grander and more varied," while the remarkable prosperity of the Dominion renders life far more pleasurable than in the Mother Country. ■ Commercial prospects are excellent. New, ' Zealand is rapidly developing the'raanu-" ;fucturing industries." - ' STATE TRADING "IN"' SAMOA, "Truth" notes that New Zealand is now making changes in the administration of Samoa, and says "that these changes justify the criticism which the paper published some time ago... "Tlie* axe is descending on the swarm of re- ' clundant officials, and an end is being put' -' to sundry well-meant but unfortunate experiments in the way of State trading in this, mandated territory. . , . It will interest the Army to know that the Ad- ' nmustrator chosen by the New: Zealand trovernment to- put things right in Samoa—where he has already made an excellent impression—is • Major-General/. G. ■b. Richardson. Originally he went to New Zealand 'on loan1 from the - War Umce as a sergeant-instructor of- Erannery Royal Artillery. He is a graduate of the. Staff College-. Camberley, and - served with distinction, throusrh the war." , . . '•-'■.■'■ >■■■■■ -- :' ■- . PRINCE CHARLIE. ':'%- :- "Truth" considers its readers may be interested to know that "whatever the condition" of Jacobitism in this country, it is still alive in, New Zealand. The Aritip<sdes may seem a' little remote from the scene of the historic wrongs of the Stuarts, -but-.the "contributors to "The Jacobite' (most of whom seem to iive m London) are not going to let" this stand in their way. While the prospect or New Zealand becoming a limited monarchy looks even more distant than, the Dominion .itself, nobody need be sorry to hear that the daughter-country is keeping alive something of the old fire and poetry which breathed round Prince Charlie wherever he went.'?. Ihe writer goes on to quote from, a poem called "To John Drinkwater, After Sitting Through 'Oliver 'Cromwell,' at His Majesty's Theatre, London,", which/ evidently comes from an enthusiast in" the Dominion. .'.'': ,-. ■ DOMINION ILLUSTRATED;, :J In issue of "The Scots-" man, almost a whole page is devoted *o three excellent prints depicting New Zealand scenes. The first is a "Typical Scene on an Ostrich Farm." No indication is given that such a fine group of these birds'is rather an unusual sight 'After Shearing in the Wairarapa Dis- . tnct, is a picturesque "' mountainous scene with river-bed and ■ gorge, and a very large'flock of shorn, sheep in the foreground. , The third picture shows horse-drawn disc ploughs in operation. EMPIRE DAIRY FARM, " r New Zealand Co-operative, Dairy,. Company, and a recently-published book-' let, are the subject of an appreciative ■Paragraph in "The Grocers' Journal " Grocers who are interested in -the pushing of Dominion ■ produce— andl we hope and believe they -are many—will be intensely interested,'!,: says the writer, by a well-written and handsomely "illustrated publication'which, has just" reached this country, and which, under the title of 'The Empire's Dairy.Farm,' . gives an absorbing account-of the start and progres.of the. New Zealand dairy industry, and particularly, of.the prominent part played therein by the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Co., 'Ltd. :• :We have'on previous occasions' drawn attention to the wonderful achievements and record of this organisation, and a ) perusal of the new publication, has> if possible, increased our admiration andour appreciation of the reasons underlying the remarkably fine quality of New \ Zealand produce. As enthusiastic be^ lievers in the development of Empire trade, we'- congratulate the company upon the book's production, and ourselves | upon its possession, and we' shall hope; |- a little later on to pass on to our read-. ' ers some extracts that we believe will bs appreciated." „,.'■ . ■ „ ' ELECTRICIANS AS'MIGRANTS;1" "Inductor," writing to "The Electrical : Review," gives a lengthy report on conditions in New Zealand! for skilled mech- .' anics. In the course of his letter he says :— ■-. '•. ■' •.; -■' ' ... -; .'.: "The employment", situation ,ig\ such that last-winter, in: Wellington, a"-fund for the distribution of-free meals to the i necessitous was established in the city ! hall; in other words a 'soup - kitchen;' -, such as, I believe, are very welcome ! now in Central Europe. It is well that '. intending immigrants should know.' things. I have lived and worked:in many of the 'new' countries of the ■ world, but I will'say that, according to my observation, ; the greatest number of mis-informed immigrants appeared rt6 be those who arrived in New Zealand since the war.-. .There are' plentyVof uood experienced electricians of all kinds in New Zealand, and the immigrant generally finds that his .first job is digging post-holes or punching concrete walls. Every man a -pick and shovel in New Zealand, electrician or ■ what not he may be. This soon .disgusts the average English immigrant toll of hope, and roseate dreams of wonderful opportunities. . But more disgust follows, for he finds. that the colonial man knows as much as he, and; in' addition, has all the preference. I have seen many a good technically-trained' man digging post-holes in the streets, with, unfortunately, no m-ospect of anything., else for many years to com! mesa conditions are an unconscious e\- ' pression of New Zealand's real labour ' needs. "What are required to develop the country are labourers of the 'iac£ of-all-trades variety • that is, those who can turn from pick and shovel to rough carpentering, of concrete boxing, or any like constructional work. Trained engineers and 'skilled engineering mechanics are not required generally a! there are already resident a great number surplus to requirements , 'The whole trouble with most of the immigrants of late years appears to be lack of information about the conditions of employment, and far too much w liance appears to be placed on the often misleading statements issued Vy the High Commissioner's Office in London and by other offices interested in encouraging immigrants. The fact that -We " unfortunate English test-rcom:'-a*afctZt or other highly-skilled .man ?s W blasting rocks around L-ak'e Wakw moana does not cause much consterna" tion the officials comfortably seated in; the Strand." 'woiy The writer has evidently had no dealings with the H,igh Commissioner', Of, face in recent years , -