ENGLISH VIEWS OF NEW ZEALAND.

Evening Star, Issue 9834, 24 October 1895, Page 4

ENGLISH VIEWS OF NEW ZEALAND.

Mr Charles Louisson, when on his visit to England, observed that whoever seemed to know anything about this colony spoke highly of it, but that the number of people who knew even a little about New Zealand was very small in proportion to the multitude of those who knew nothing, even of its geographical position. There is in England, it seems, a bazy but widely-spread notion that New Zealand is near Melbourne, or, at all events, somewhere in Australia. A like ignorance prevails on other points. Mr Louisson received a striking proof of

the state of affairs when a man on the staff' of one of the London newspapers called upou him to ask whether it would be a paying speculation to form a syndicate for the purpose of introducing the electric light, as something quite novel, into New Zealand. The gentleman who put this question seemed considerably astonished on being told that the people of this colony had had the electric light for many years, and that-one of our cities (Wellington) was illuminated with it. The prevalence of ignorance concerning New Zealand is, Mr Louiason declares, certainly not the fault of our Agent-General or his subordinates. Not only is Sir Westby Perceval very highly thought of, by Londoners as well as by colonials, but it is also admitted that he is facile princeps in keeping himself m touch with everything affecting the interests of the colonies. Mr Louisson did not find, by the way, that English capital was at all afraid of coming to New Zealand. On the contrary, he soon discovered that it was possible to get almost any amount of money for bona fide enterprises in this colony, and other colonies too, for that matter.—' Lyotelton Times.'