THE HON. T. FERGUS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15301, 15 November 1911, Page 23

THE HON. T. FERGUS.

; IMPRESSIONS IN CANADA. ELECTION RESULTS NO SURPRISE. (Fnou Ot)B Ows ConaESKmnm.) LONDON,' October 7. The Hon. T. ( Fergus, of Diinedin, has arrived in England by way of Anicrica, andhas joined Mrs Fergus who, "with Miss B. 'Fergus, fcamo Hbmc' by the Eastern route. Air Fergus naturally attended the tercentenary celebrations—really- quincentenary—of the University o£ St. Andrews, at .which Mr, Hay represented, tho'University of New Zealand, and he received on the last.day of the celebrations an intimation that he had been appointed to represent the Dominion officially. -He had, however, been sent an levitafjon. from the university authorities before that:arrived. . *. Mr Fergus was one of the few who were not-surprised at the result of tie Canadian . elections. In company with Dr. Orchard, of ChHsichurch, ana Mr John Duthie, jun,. of' Wellington, he spent pome weeks' in a leisurely and exhaustive journ'oy through Canada with the specific object of ascertaining how things stood in the Dominion, with respect more ■especially to land settlement and education, ana the conclusions he came to quite prepared him for the announcement of the defeat of' Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He also heard much of reciprocity.' Crossing the Rockies to Calgary, tho little party went'north to Edmonton, in Alberta, and would have pone further but for the shocking state of the roads, which became almost impassable by reason of late nuns. iAcoordingly'they went from Strathoona down the Central Pacific to Saskatoon and Regina (the Capital of Saskatchewan), where.they were much interested in a w6nderful exhibition of agricultural products. Thence they made (or Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba. There fhey Lad the opportunity of observing 10,000 men arriving in a single day for the harvesting operations in the provinco, and they all disappeared from the town within the 24 home. As a matterof fact, Winnipeg was expecting to receive and distribute from 60,000 to 60,000 harvesters during that week Mr Fergus met a number of ex-New Zealanders during his travels, and they all said they would not go back. " Why," Mr Fergus remarked with emphasis, " a man who spoke about abolishing the freehold in Gmada. would be laaghed at as a crank. These men have on absolute title to their sections, and the freehold is easy to acquire." Some young New Zealanders whom the party encountered in the run across to Canada had only been in Vancouver a week when they obtained land and went to settle on it. They had been in bailota in New Zealand timo after time ami could not get sections! " We met a great number of Canadians, both new arrivals and people who had been there for a long time, and they were very bitter on the question of reciprocity. In the weetora provinces, where tircro has been a very large influx of United States farmers',' they were in favour of reciprocity, ana the foreign element was also." The appearance of Western Canada, Mr Fergus- says, is very- striking to a New Zealandcr. Tlera are few plantations or gardens. The people oeem just to have squatted down ana commenced to grow wheat, oats, barley, linseed, etc. It is an agricultural country pure and simple. Coining from Ota go, Mr Fergus .was naturally interested in the horses which hi). _ saw in Canada. In the west he noticed many of the finest das of medium draught and light horses in Vancouver were very striking. . After spending some time in Ontario and the eastern provinces the party went through to New York and enqesed the Atlantic in the Olympic, and since then Mr Fergus, has penetrated, to the extreme north of Socttaid. He has been much fenp'reeeed - ttHJi tie . extent to which the country in the north, „ east, and west of Scotland' had suffered through young people leaving . for Canada. _ There is scarcely a family tbero from which, one or mora of the young men have not left for that Dominion. When ho was last in Scotland a few years ago ho was besieged on all sides by : inquiries about New .Zealand. Now it is very different. It is all Canada now. _ If ono tries to talk of New Zealand be is soon led oft the subject and told what people are doing in Canada. Mr Fergus will probably have' something to say later on land settlement and educational matters.