BACK FROM ZION CITY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13028, 20 November 1905, Page 6

BACK FROM ZION CITY.

The steamer Miowera, which arrived at Brisbane on the 6th inst. from Vancouver, had aboard three families who left Australia, recently' for Zion City. Two families emigrated from South Australia and one. from New South Wales, and they have returned anvthin" but favourably impressed with the Rev. J. A. Dowio and his city. One man, Edmund Hall, has a wife and six children; another, A. D. Bell, a wifo and four children. They were sheep farmers on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, and left the Commonwealth for /ion on June 13, 1904, aboard the Aorangi, which also took ninety other emigrants hound for Zion. When they left they understood they were to be found in employment and were to give, one-tenth of their earnings to the Zion authorities. For the first six months they found plenty of 'work, mainly because the Chicago and Milwaukee electrical railway, which passed through Zion, was in course of construction, and the Zionists were employed on the work. Mr. Hall stated that since that time'ho found very little to do, with the exception of shovelling snow off streets. There were about 10,000 inhabitants in Zion when he arrived, but. since then many had loft, and the number did not exceed 6000 at the present time. Of the ninety Australians who went over in the Aorangi with him fully two-thirds had left. Work was scarce, and the outlook very unfavourable. It was reported Mr. Dowio was saving money to put into some land in Mexico. where he intended starting a Paradise plantation.