PRAISE FOR DOMINION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 176, 26 June 1926, Page 8

PRAISE FOR DOMINION.

LETTER FROM LORD BURNHAM

NEAREST APPROACH TO IDEAL.

AVELLINGTON, June 24. In order to demonstrate the rapid advance of tho AA’lellington district, and also tho growth of the Dominion from tho old colonial days, the chairman of the AVellington Harbour Board (Mr M. Cohen) some time ago forwarded to Lord Burnham, wlio visited New Zealand with the Empire Press delegates last year, a number of photographs of sketches and scenes illustrating three definite periods in the history of the city—lß4o, 18/0 and 1925—and also showing the growth of AVellington harbour. The photographs sent were all framed in rimu, as characteristic of New Zealand timbers, and last evening a letter was received from Lord Burnham acknowledging the gift, tho letter being read to tho Harbour Board at its meeting. ... , , “They (tho photographs) will be ot tho greatest interest to me,” wrote Lord Burnham, “and I need hardly assure you that I shall value them as a happy reminder' of the exceeding kindness and hospitality with which my, wife and I were welcomed in New Zealand, and nowhere more than in the City of AVellington. It is wonderful that in less than a hundred years you have been able to do so much to take advantage of all that the, bounty of Nature has done for your Dominion. I have said several times that New Zealand is the nearest approach to tho ideal commonwealth that I know of in climate and character and in social organisation. Ido not pretend that it is by any means perfect, but I should think that you have the most suitable and reasonable standard of life in New Zealand of any country in the world —certainly that 1 have seen.

“It would not be wise for yoir to have any great wave of immigration, because you want to absorb the newcomer’s gradually, fitting them into their proper place in your national economy, but 1 am persuaded that you can take every year even more people from the Old Country than you have since the war. All the accounts that arc given by those that go out to you are full of hope and promise.”