ADVERTISING THE COLONY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1747, 30 August 1905, Page 2

ADVERTISING THE COLONY.

THE RETURN OFMK T. E. DONNBL By the Moeraki. which arrived froT* Sydney last Wednesday, Mr T. J?. Bonne* Superintendent of Tourist and : HealtH Resorts, and Secretary for Indnstries an«§ Commerce, returned to Wellington after over a year’s absence in America an® Europe. He left New Zealand as Commissioner tb 'the St. Louis Exposition, at which great show New Zealand. weS bravely represented.. . Speaking to a New Zealand “Mail” re* porter, Mr Donne said if New Zealarul was to be advertised there was no betted place to exhibit her suow-card than at St. Louis, and the exhibit made stood out conspicuously as the only one of any, pretension from tne whole of He only discovered one man who purported to represent Australia, and h®~ merely had a selling concession. Mft . Donne is of opinion- that the St.' Lotus Exposition was a great opportunity that was taken full advantage of by the Government of this colony. He had severaw. interviews with the late Colonel Job*; Hay, on Government business, met MrTaft (the Secretary of War), and most of the State Governors, many of whonj were kind enough to, invite him to visit their States. During a visit to Washing* ton, he had an interview with President Roosevelt, who manifested great interest in our legislative acts and administrfetion. He heard Mr Roosevelt speak iH; public, and though' he was. not. an ora#» tor.' he was a most- earnest and convincing speaker. Among, other “personages’' he> had the honour to meet was. A® lß * Helen Gould, who wished’ to • know all' about the women in the country yher®they had the franchise. Her charming personality and philanth.opliy make heft immensely popular everywhere. ■Mr Donne seized an opportunity tf visit America’s great “show’’ Yellowstone Park. He had to hurry, for the winter was approaching, and fotf five months out of the year the place fit closed —snoAved up, sometimes to a dept It of five or six feet. It is a noble spot* tt is America’s hot-suring .district, but anything “more, uni Ice Rotorua’* caul® not be imagined. The springs have. n# curative qualities, or at least,, if thej£ have, they are. not used in that direction at all. He was informed that the- waters.

■ of the springs have a large percentage of silica, which, oi course, is the-reverse; of beneficial to invalids. Before leaving the . nited States, He interviewed the heads of big. manufactories, and placed beio. e them the advantages that might accrue from advertising; • and showing goods at the New Zealand i Exhibition, to be held next year. The idea of exhibiting their ware in such a far-away little-heafd-of spot was new t# them, but when the possimnties of trad® were pointed out. they look to the- notion*: readily enough, and became quite alive to the advantages oi advertising in * new country unuer the wing of its Gov* i'ernment. For the past few month®- Mr Donna had been rushing about the: Unite® Kingdom and the Oomiuent on business ; in connection with the Exhibition. Making Lornlon his centie, ne journeyed t* such large manulacturing cities as Man* cheater, Liverpool. Leeus, Sneffield, Bin* lhinghain, Dairy, Ca. ui if, Bristol Glad* goer, Edinburgh, Beliast, Dublin and Cork, and, speaking generally, the subi ject of his commission was most favourably received. He inwt received definite promise® in writing nom a large: number of' British manufacturers that they, , would' be represented a«, next year’s: ea;i hibition. When he left they were waiting for the official prospectus' (since dee* .patched) before making their arrangements. He visited: several big manufacturers in France, anti spent two days at the Liege Exhibition. It was muck i larger than he expeecea to see, and was really a capital show. Canada, as usual, had a fine exhibit, housed in a. building., of its own. The Dominion’s Commission*, er had with him a Si.aii of young mew reared in Canada, who spoke English, French, German, and'ltalian,-and during, the time he was there tne whole staff was: | kept busy answering-. questions and sup- ! plying information to an eager stream o£ ■inquirers, d Mr Donne went to famous Gontmanjtal watering-places, such a®' pelle, Baden Baden, and Weiabaden, an® while there, succeeded in obtaining con? siderable data, which will be of : use. the Government in. respect, to. Rotorua, Hanmer, and other resorts. Wherever he went he found, that con- , siderable interest was displayed regarding the conditions, which exist in th* polonies, but there was an astounding: . amount of ignorance in many quarters. : In America there is a coionising association, which has for its object the deepatch of small colonies of young farmer* i.and farmers’ daughters to new lands. Mr Donne ivas asked to supply information 1 as to settlement conditions in. this colony, with the result that later on he was informed that the association had decided to despatch representatives to New Zealand to spy out the- land and report whether conditions were suitable to th* requirements of the, members of the asso*. ciation. He found, a wave of unrest existing among the agricultural classes iw ’ America and Great Britain —in the. latter country chiefly on* account of the insuffic ciency of land for young farmers, wh* had to look elsewhere- Canada,, being, thefirst to offer facilities, was gaining them , by score®. . Mr Donne intends ta make a senes or { recommendations te the Government for ! attracting, settler®.