THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 1934. TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22284, 9 June 1934, Page 10

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 1934. TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Concerning the scenic attractions of New Zealand the residence of the Governor-General in this country has qualified him to speak with authority, and it is gratifying to think that he is disposed so to speak. That must be wholly to the country's advantage, seeing that, as he confessed in an address to members of vhe Auckland Travel Club, he has fallen completely under the spell of the scenery of the Dominion. The assurance is indeed worth having when one who has travelled as widely as Lord Bledisloe, and has seen so much of what the world has to show, has no hesitation in saying that " New Zealand can claim without fear of contradiction to possess a greater variety of. outstanding scenic attractions than any territory of a similar area to be found anywhere in the world." The opinion formed by his Excellency has been formed by others competent to judge on such a matter, and it is the business of the Dominion, in its desire to develop its tourist industry, to make the.peculiar distinction of its scenic attractions as widely known as possible. Systematised publicity must remain the most effective means to that end, but,, in order that it may be effective, effort towards the development of the tourist traffic must clearly have behind it some real driving force. It has been suggested to the Minister in charge of the Tourist and Publicity Department that.a general conference should be called of the interests closely associated with the traffic, with the object of securing, a co-operation that would be of practical benefit, and the suggestion has been well received.

Co-operation of. that kind should admit of development in several directions. One direction will be suggested by Lord Bledisloe's comment that very many New Zealanders, even those who can .well afford to travel, know relatively little of their own' country. We believe that to be a very just observation. A surprisingly large proportion of the people of this Dominion appears to be content to take for granted the existence of the scenic attractions which visitors to it from other lands find so impressive. It will not be suggested that the New Zealander is a stay-at-home person, yet he does appear content to confine his movings about in a general way to a comparatively narrow groove. Explanation of this may be offered, of course, on various grounds, but when, all is said it is apparent that an increased demand for New Zealand scenery for home consumption would represent a very useful form of public co-operation for the benefit of the tourist industry, and would tend in the direction of attracting more visitors from overseas. Lord Bledisloe has offered sound counsel when he has emphasised the desirability of the promotion among New Zealanders of a better knowledge of their own land. Thus they would be the more fully •equipped to offer instruction and guidance to their visitors, while, out of their knowledge, enthusiasm in the rendering of this agreeable service would surely grow. Auckland has been referred to by the Minister as occupying a strategic place in relation to the tourist traffic. But if Auckland be fortunate in that respect the effect is unfortunately not helpful to the development of the traffic in a manner commensurate with the distribution of the attractions which the Dominion has to offer to the tourist. . Many visitors who come to this country and spend the time at their disposal in the North Island cannot be said to have seen New Zealand. Broadly speaking, the scenic wonders of the country are in the North, but the scenic grandeurs, of coastline and fiord, mountain and lake, are in the South. Far too often, there is reason to believe, the visitor has no realisation of this. The Tourist Department is no doubt very obliging and helpful to him in the arrangement of his itinerary, but unless he specially requests information concerning the South Island the officials in the North with whom he comes in contact are likely to be content so long as a tour that will occupy all the time which he has available for New Zealand has been mapped out to his apparent satisfaction, and thus the South Island is somehow overlooked. The question of facilities for visiting the South . is involved, but' a broad requirement is a just assessment for the travellei-'s benefit of the attractions which different parts of the Dominion have to offer. Lord Bledisloe has in no wise overemphasised the asset which New Zealand possesses in its scenic attractions, nor the value which its tourist traffic might be to this country. INDIAN REFORM Representatives of the Indian National Congress in conference in April arrived at a decision to revive the old Swaraj constitutional party, and put forward candidates for the Indian Parliament. Since 1930 the Congress, which now seems to be recovering from a more or less moribund condition, has boycotted the Legislatures. But, according to a Calcutta message of this week, the new Swaraj party's plans for the approaching general election in respect of the Legislative Assembly include the candidature of a very large number of persons, of whom it apparently estimates that 67 i

will be returned. As the Assembly consists of 145 members, of whom 104 are elected, it is the hopeful anticipation of the Swaraj party that, with the aid of a few independent votes, its representatives will be able to defeat the Government bloc on any issue. The programme with which the Congress proposed a few months ago to go to the polls was distinctly uncompromising, since it contemplated the rejection of the White Paper embodying the proposals for constitutional reform, and the substitution for it of Mr Gandhi's full Nationalist demands. Mr Gandhi gave the Swaraj party, with its plan of. fighting the elections, his unreserved blessing. The new Legislative Assembly may be expected to have under its consideration the Joint Select Committee's report relative to the legislation to give effect to the policy of granting home rule to India as set forth in the White Paper, and the National Congress leaders are evidently actuated by a desire to have a voice in that momentous discussion. 'But while in some quarters the move on the part of the Congress has been hailed as offering a chance for Congress co-operation- in India and participation in the reforms, which if well handled might grow into something better, it is evident that this renewed effort at self-assertion on. the part of the Swarajists hasjiad an effect in hardening opinion in a direction strongly opposed to the concession of anything beyond what is contained in the White Paper. Swarajist utterances, it is easy to believe, are little calculated to improve the prospects for co-operation,, and it is suggested that recent developments in India raise' the question whether all that is contemplated in the White Paper will be reflected in the final legislation. The outlines of Indian reform embodied in the White Paper have been before the public for over a year, and differences of opinion concerning their merits and practicability seem to have become more accentuated rather than •otherwise. In both branches of _ the British Parliament there is a considerable body of feeling unfavourable to the White Paper proposals. -In March last a group of members of the House of Commons expressed their general sentiments in regard to the Indian position in a letter to The Times in which they protested that pressure oft every sort had been applied to induce members of Parliament to refrain from criticism of the White Paper on the ground that, while the matter was sub judice, it was ill-advised and premature to pronounce an opinion, whereas high officials in India were perpetually giving assurances to Indian politicians which conveyed the impression that the British Parliament was already pledged. The main criticism of the White Paper is that it goes far beyond the intention of Parliament as expressed in the Act of 1919, and ignores the proposals of the Statutory Commission appointed under that Act to advise Parliament as. to .its future Indian policy. The trend of discussion, so far as it can be gathered from Home papers, seems to indicate that apprehension lest the British: Government's proposals in regard :, to India may go too far, and may represents premature advance towards the goal of responsible government, has been tending to increase rather than to diminish. In respect of the. question whether the. principle of trusting the people. can be successfully applied On the. scale upon which its application is contemplated in India there can unfortunately be no absolutely convincing reassurance. The existence of misgivings is encouraged by the pronouncements of men who should know India and her peoples. The issue is not as between fulfilment and non-fulfilment of a pledge to India in respect of selfgovernment, but as to the method of procedure. .