MR. SALA IN AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7271, 9 March 1885, Page 5

MR. SALA IN AUCKLAND.

Mr. George Augustus Sala, one of the most versatile and beat known journalists of this age of journalism, was a passenger to Sydney by the mail boat which arrived yesterday. ' During his brief stay in this city, he spent a few pleasant hours with some local members of hi 3 profession, and: made the acquaintance of His Worship the Mayor (Mr. Waddel), who, with characteristic ?ood nature, placed two carriages at the disposal of Mr. Sala and his journalistic friends. Mr. Sala, accompanied by the Mayor, Messrs. A. G. Horton, F. Weston (Messrs. Kignold and Allison's representative), W. Berry, W. Douglas, and J. Wickham, was driven round the suburbs of Auckland, and had the various objects of interest pointed out to him. On returning to town the party called at the Northern Club, where Mr. Sala was introduced to several of the members. He was greatly impressed during his drive with the signs of vitality and prosperity which he witnessed, and remarked that he regretted he had not visited the colonies years ago. Mr. Sala intends to spend a year in Australasia, during which time he will deliver a seres of lectures in the various centres of population, having; entered into an agreement to that effect with Messrs.. Riguold and Allison, of Melbourne. Mr. Frank Weston, the official representative of those gentlemen, who is at present in Auckland, met Mr. Sala on his arrival yesterday, and they were found at the Star Hotel by a representative of this journal, who had called to pay his respects to the prince of journalists. "Ah! pleased to meet you, I'm sure," said Mr. Sala, in his hearty manner, as our representative shook hands with him, "and delighted to be on land agaii>, if only for a few hours. Our voyage across has been very pleasant. We have had charming weather, and a summer sea nearly all the way. But I am always glad' to* get on land. The few hours we had at Honolulu was a welcome change. What a paradisical land that is ! It is a perfect Garden of Eden. Bat it is an Eden with a serpent —leprosy. The fairest spot on earth contaminated by the • most terrible scourge which afflicts mankind. _,I was introduced to the King, who seems, to be a gonial cultured gentleman. My letters to the Daily Telegraph will begin with Honolulu. In fact, " Across the South Pacific : ' is already written. During my stay in the colonies I shall write two letters every week to the Telegraph. Indeed, my principal object in coming here is to write about your social history and characteristics. They are absolutely unknown at home. We have books galore dealing with your wonderful statistics, and historical facts, but nothing at all about your social features. I intend to deal with them. There is now a keen interest being taken in the colonies by public men in England. They are discovering that it is necessary to their political training they should know something about them. You have had Lord Kosebery out here—a man of advanced Liberal ideas and keen intellect. lam very glad that he has visited the colonics ; but his stay was short. He did no:; see enough. Then there is Mr. Froude—one of the greatest minds of the age, a man of extraordinary breadth of view—among you. lam sorry he is not going to stay longer. Now I shall be here twelve months. Perhaps," added Mr. Sala, with a laugh, "I shall stay too long for you. You may begin to talk of that 'notorious Sala,' and wonder when on earth he is going home. But I want to know you thoroughly. My first lecture will be delivered in Melbourne some time next month. It was my original intention to have gone'to Melbourne via Suez, and I had made all my arrangements to go by that route. My wife has gone by it. But at the last moment I had an offer to lecture in America and accepted it. Yes; my lectures in America were very successful. The last wera delivered in San Francisco, under the management of De .Nivo. You know him. He's an extraordinary man. I met him by chance in a railway carriage. *I am De Nivo,' he said, 'do great De Nivo,' and he rattled along ia his remarkable style, and in the end it was arranged that the last part of my lecturing tour should be under his management, and very well he managed it." Mr. Sala talked in a discursive fashion on a large number of topics. He is a fluent and extremely entertaining conversationalist, and the best raconteur one could listen to. Easy and hearty in his manner, a thorough man of the world, one who has been everywhere and seen everything. and everbody, he is an delightful a companion as he is a writer.