M. DE HARVEN INTERVIEWED.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXII, Issue 7414, 3 December 1884, Page 5

M. DE HARVEN INTERVIEWED.

* (nv ovn si'Ki'iAt. hki'outkh.l (% 1 p So mu<'h gi'iu'ml intereisl is Iwing excited „ throughuit the Colony by the vwtl. of „ M. do Harven, that we have lakeii «tepH te 1 aarertaln from that gent lonian''« own lijw „ I In* nature* and object of hi« mWien. A , u representative of (hi* paj'er waitinl on him , yesterday, and wn* rereivid with givat ; oi'iub’iy'by M. ib* Harven, who. with much . a readinegave a suei'iiict little history oonreining Jiis doing* in the matter of further--3 mg ip'oeral reiimieri'ial relation* la’twi'i'n „ Uet,;iuiu and this reniilry, and ab<* teuehing (Jte particular scheme on which I lie 5x now engaged. Men wlio take prounn-nt part in any public enb-r- ---„ prise nonadav*, live in a light almost a* llejve a* that which haa alwaya la>iiien iijs-m n throne. In lhe»»* tinu-e of !urgt> 0 newsjmpers atnl exact intelligence, |>erf Fon»! details even are looked for. lti«, therefore, jvrhajw not, An nbuno of eon ft* r d»nee to say that our visiter from that |«'ft»'efnl and busy little lieehiveof aivnintry . allrtl Hcjgium is n man hardly yet of !, middle age, tali, well built, quirk and enert get;c, mark 'd <>{ feature, clear and concise in Ins explanation* and conversation. ? M ile Harven may be almost calle*l a man with a tnission Like all who are r thoivnighly engross'd with one subject, he t-»!k« fluentlv upon it,and needs no promptp mg. Hi« wnninereial connection* with t England have led him to master our language, and to »JKWk »t well, L t He is evidently prepared to deliver hvtun's in English ujon the iximmerce and mu'urces of Ihdgmni, tuui the necessity for m'cunng outlete for her superfluous manufactures ana energy at any moment of thn rl v) or night without the slightest hesitation Btill, French comes most readily and precisely to hi* bps, and it was in that longue that the Account of hi* previous labour* w&« given. For years Belgium ha* Iwx’n t>(niggling with the grim diftlcultie* of over-population. To those are now added something worse. Her neighbour*, J aftei the way of the world in the hour of * advenuty, are lieginning to turn the cold r shoulder towards her. Standing uocond on * Die list of the exporting countries of 8 the world (Australia's exports are * equal to XiH |kt head of tlio 3 population, those of Belgium to JB2I, r ana of England to X 10), her coal*, her f woollen fabrics, her cottons, her steel and J iron, her glassware, iKittery, and all the 1 rest of it, must flud a market, or their * skilled makers must face starvation. * Market* they have hitherto found with ‘ ease in adjoining countries. But prohibi- * live dutiee in France, and threats of tlte * same in Germany, are putting a very r serious aspect on the future of toe Belgian r manufacturer. He has taught his neigh--5 boar* their trades, and bo* they seek ao 1 more of his ware*. Like Alexander, he 1 sighs—pines—for new worlds to conquer. ■ They are commercial worlds, of course, and * self-preservation, not mere bloodthireti- ' ness, is the motive of hi* desire. But new f worlds, it is plain, he must discover. 3 Pondering in his leisure on these ocoao- * mi cal troubles, M. de Harven bit upon a r bright idea. He would be the commercial 1 Columbus of Belgium, and "discover” 5 New Zealand to his countrymen. A friend ■ in London heard him preaching the new r creed, “Ah!” said ho; “if Sir Julius r Vogel could only hear what youaroeayr ing ’” These little matter* are best ar- ? ranged, in their earlier stages, about des- * eert time. Sir Julios, under the genial r influences that bad preceded the dessert ■ arranged for by the mutual friend, and 1 convinced by the statistics and (arguments J of M. de Harven, thought the tiling should 1 be taken up. From Sir Julius to Sir Dillon 8 was the next step, and our Agent-General 1 placed his library of Colonial information 9 at the Belgian merchant’s service. He left tlie perusal of the books therein ooni tained more than ever convinced that New 7 Zealand was the new world for bis countryt men. Sir Dillon Bell’s famous paper at * the Colonial Institute came just in the f nick of time. Columbus was not a mere » navigator ; be could write as well. M. do I Harven went homo j he wrote a book oq ii New Zealand, perhaps one of the handiest, ft neatest, and best printed books on the Colony that has passed through the binder’s 9 hands, although its author modestly calls e it nothing but a compilation. Compilations by an enthusiast have often the force and s “go” of original works. At any rate, this one is most complete and taking. But M. de Harven did more than compile statistics and gather together a map or two and a report from a Chamber of Commerce. He stirred up public opinion. He will show you a scrap-book—a fat, well-to-do, imposing scrap-book—filled from end to end with leading articles, notices, para--7 graphs, reviews. Parliamentary reports— I all dealing with the New World; his new r world—New Zealand. They are from Paris, i* from Antwerp, from Brussels ; some of * them written in a strange language which most ordinary linguists can only trust is > complimentary towards Maorilond- It is > Flemish. M. de Harven is a Flamand, and ! though his countrymen, according to his 1 own telling before the Chamber of Com- ; uierce, love exceedingly cheap and pro- » bably very thin beer, he himself can quite r appreciate the virtue* of good English pale ole, and orders a bottle of Bass te help on ) the narrative. I With regard to that narrative, suffice it I to say shortly that our visitor lectured, I wrote, met Ministers, first on one side of the House, and then, when they were ousted, their successors of the other. At lust he persuaded people that he was a man to be listened to. Thf merchants gave him privately their countenance, and the Government their moral support in his design, which was te settle Belgians in N«*w Zealand In Belgium French enthusiasm is tempered by Flemish caution. People believed in the scheme; but they thought that all M. de Harven’* statis--1 tics and figures and reports might pert haps be a leetle hit too plausible. Would -it not be better for him Co collect informss iiou on the spot, spy out the nakedness of th lunl with hi* own eyes, and bring I*l tinm word? Nothing easier: M. di llarttn was quite ready to go, 8o i her lew with the influence of capitalists 1 a* bus I u k and the mom] .encouragement f I is i > v rnm snt (who themselves take no e { trt wl itevi r in the scheme, although f willing tft give its propouuder every facility), represented in the person of M. a Ik-cks, Consul-General for Australasia. m As yet it must iw understood that the matter has gone no further. M. de Harven y has come to ree if theory can with odvantm oed into practice. There is no J agree want or contract with our own (lovemment any more than with his . own Both see plainly enough the mutual gain to be derived from such a £ scheme as M. De Harven projssies. To i put a journalistic view of the case, M. D« ' Harven is a "special re|»ortef,” and it , t{ep«nds entirely on what hi* report is, whether the scheme comes te grief or not. He will take his time, mid examine New Z« aland from end te end, Mr M’Korrow's - “ department has given him every aid, and a route has be<« marked out which will a enable him te judge exactly of the capae bilitics of our waste lands for settlement, e Besides lading mahufaoturers, the Belgians c are famous agriculturists and dairy fanners, Hu start# for Southland almost burned te fttely, and will jkmis through Christchurch on bis way north again, some few weeks o hence, . _____