AS OTHERS SEE US.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 24 November 1925, Page 9

AS OTHERS SEE US.

INTERESTING COMMENTS. FROM CANADA AND AMERICA. The 1924-25 edition of the Canadian Annual Review makes the following comment on political affairs m New Zealand : "i'cr the most part, the political alians oi tne xiominioii during tne veal were uneventful, save tnat some resiuenis or tne ooutn xslanu Degun to inane demands lor a parliament or Liieir own. jjut there is little possiDiuty oi secession becoming practical politics. m point of tact, the South isiand is getting more, in proportion to population, tnan it is entitled to. its railway tosses are made up out o;t the .North Island’s profits. xts electrical power plants nave been given preierence over those of Wellington and Auckland, and its roads are far better.” . The Canadian Review, which appears annually, is an unofficial publication, wnich is, however, widely read and quoted from as a work of reference regarding current history in Canada. It Ts published in Toronto by several wellknown publicists, and aims at placing on record the events of the penod under review. The reference to New Zealand appears in the chapter devoted to the British Empire, and is written bv Sir John Willison, an eminent Canadian journalist and political commentary writer. Last year he paid ail extended visit running into some months to Australia, but was only m New Zealand for a few days.

“PROSPEJRIOUS AND PROGRESSIVE.”

In marked contrast to this is t-h description of New Zealand gn the latest edition ot the NN ,° l^ l cyclopaedia, which is published New York. “New Zealand, it says, is £ lovely, mountain-covered land of the South Seas, one of the most prosperous and progressive ot countries, and the most lonely ill situation ol any large body of land in the world. Ot the people, seven ■in ten are native-bcn R, nearly all the rest being from the Britisli Islo s. p •‘Placed as they are, so remote from the Old World centres—New Zealand is exactly on the other side o± the ofobe from Spain —New' Zealanders have won admiration for tliev courage in adopting advanced legislation. Many of their laws were at first scoffed at in Europe or America; soon other nations bewail to pass similar legislation. References of a flattering nature are made to the land tax legislation, which has, says the Encyclopaedia, succeeded in breaking up big estates, to national ownership of .railways, to the early grant of the franchise to women, and to th e arbitration and old-age pensions legislation in force. “In, the construction of railways and public works; it. continues, “the Government allows co-operative contracting; that is, a number of labourers band together, undertaking the contract and sharing the profits. All ©turnings on the railroads in excess of 3 per cent. are. o-iven back to the people in concessions such as free rides to school children and free transportation on fertiliser.EDUCATION AND SUNSHINE. “As would be expected in such an advanced country, education is well provided for. All children between 7 and 34 years must go to school, and there is plenty of opportunity for them and the older students. Though one end of New Zealand is asi far from the equator as Canada, and the other extreme i s as near to it as Morocco, its climate is unlike that of either. There are more hours of sunshine in New T Zealand than there are in Italy. Insects ar e few'; snakes are entirely absent.” “New Zealand w'heatfields are the most wonderful in the British .overseas Dominions,” is a tribute paid in another section. “The lowest yield of the present century was 24.76 bushels per acre, the highest 38.87, and the average for 12 years, 31 bushels. This has been equalled only in Alberta, never in Saskatchewan, and only occasionally in the irrigated (regions of the United States. “In the war of the nations, New Zealand gave remarkable-proof of its loyalty to the British Empire. It had a greater proportion of -persons than any other part of the British Empire, excepting England alone.”