NEW ITALIAN CONSUL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19550, 1 February 1927, Page 12

NEW ITALIAN CONSUL.

ARRIVAL AT WELLINGTON. FAITH IN COUNTRY'S FUTURE. PROGRESS THROUGH UNITY. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN correspondent.] WELLINGTON, Monday. The new Italian consul for New Zealand, Commendatore Michele Blumio, arrived to-day by the Maunganui. He has had a career eminently fitting him for liis new duties and speaks English perfectly. For many years he was an officer of the Agricultural Department of the New South Wales Government at Sydney. From 1917 to 1918 he was analytical chemist for the Colonial Sugar Refining Company at Suva. Returning to Italy in March, 1920, ho was shortly afterwards appointed principal of the School of Com- j merce in his native town, San Severo, and remained in that position for about two years, when he was asked by the Emigration Department of Italy to take charge of a course to train young men for an agricultural degree in order that they might proceed to not over-populated countries offering Italian emigrants a living on the land. Like all true Italians Commendatore j Blunno is an ardent believer in the future j of the new Italy and in the aspirations of j the party of young men who do not ia&j tend that the loss of 600,000 lives and over 1,000,000 wounded and crippled; in the war shall be in vain. Already their success in the campaign against rampant Bolshevism and the united front being given to national problems by Capital and Labour foreshadow, he believes, ,roost satisfactory progress on new; lines in Italy. "We aim at a real and sincere collaboration between the capitalistic and working classes," he said, "and we do not think it at all impossible. We cannot imagine the country progressing while there are continual clashes and fintagonisra between them. Italy is a country, just a little bigger than New Zealand, yet it holds 41,000,000 peoplo, although a largo portion of the land is hilly and far. from rich. We iack coal and the materials for manufactures. Italy is like a'.family of great traditions that, lias outgrown its finances. It is only by united' effort that she can progress."