New Zealand Revisited.

Otago Witness, Issue 2883, 23 June 1909, Page 41

New Zealand Revisited.

TO THE EDITOR. Sin, — To one who has been long absent from his native land, a, visit; home is the acme of lolight. Bu^h has been my experience. The question naturally ari&£s-ilsa there been aav advance ip.ud& in tho^a years? To this the answer is pioir>ptly returned, " Undo'i btedly, not only jdvance, but marked advance." liefc me stake- a few ir,?cajices. I ani t;aturally proud of my nav.v-e city, Dun-ed'n, and after visiting tho te-t cities of tho v.K>rld, I unhesitatingly • place- her in the front rank with tho very best. It has been my good fortune since leaving- my narive heath to travel 80,000 ! niiips, from China, in the West, to Turkey in tho East, and for triendiiness and geneial - all-round " goodness "Now Edinburgh" com-°s nearer to my idoil than any city I have s^eu. There are reasons for this. , JL-«.uivdin was built twon -a fetrong Kligiou? i foundation by a pious, .Godfearing people, j honce the proportion of church attendance iis much higher than the average. CM this rali£»ioii3 substructure rises the fabric of your prosperity. I noticed with pleasure tift power of the pros m -.our midst. An ciilightened people i,s tv) outgrowth, to a large extent of an eniig-hto;i~-d prw-s. The Standard papers of your « iry may bo with safety taken into the nomfl. This cannot be afnimed of some with which I am acquainted, Which have long ago J.3gene/a^ed into "yellow" journals Tha city has enlarged its borders, ard Souih Dunsd'r> b;.? assumed tiie proportions of a city to itself, while on every side the fimiiing suburbs teli of thousands of happy : homes, where peace and plenty reign. Ycur citizens are not overworked ; they aw wi«e c-nough to bake time to rest. To see tho masses on a. Saturday aiteinoan on : reoieation bent is one of the pleacan.t pic- '• tur&s ; especially to one accustomed to the j " ru-h "' of American life There are bettor pursuits than more njoney-inaking, and recreation in reason is one of them. I Again,' I sa.y/ not one person under the | influence of~hquor. I saw no beggars in I your streets, and was delighted to note | ba-ppy faces, -good nature, and optimism 1 evary whore. Do I believe in prohibition? Yes, indeed ; we aro seeing its wondrous fruits in this "country. Slowly but fiur<?ly the serpent i<? loosening his slimy folds. Your glorious victories and "ftalwart example help as to achieve great 'things in this redemptive work. Your people- live long ; you have a lower death rate than any European country — a distinction unique as it is desirable. Sour measures promote life, and in do?rroying th-3 Jiquo'r tiv.ffic are not making a covenant with death, but, as Gladstone affirmed, you are making it " ea<=v for men to do right." Your citizens ought to b? clean and upright ifour system of education, free, soci-lav, and compulsory, tends to make intelligent fizizens. io aa=isr tho needy, and to cherish the umbiticvis- those who wish to succeed in Hfa. The University of Otago had a record that any city might be proud of— a star of the first iragnitude in the echoljistie firmament. Ygui- hcspitaJs ar-o do->:g a noble work. The good Slamarit^n spirit m-ii.it indeed be strong; while your public domains show your appreciation of pure an*. You, before any other British coloi.y, did accord to women the pailiamentaiy franchise ; hence it is a nioof that ycu boliove that they have the good of "tho Dominion at heart. When my vision takes a wider sweep, and I pas*? through your rich agricultural regions, with smiVng plains and rich harvests, I pee the guarantee of conunwio? prosperity: you rai=»o wondrous eiops. When first the honve-eorcer sees the mairnific'ent station at ths terminus of his journey, his heart swells with a just pride. He sees t'n-e Kuril ish idea in building — namely, "Build for to-inarrow." Begin not to say, " There ehall be no enlargement," but make provision for a great future, greater than anything- past, or present, ior with your wonderful history what may not evpect? And every loj"al son of England cries, " Advance, New Zealand, and thou, Dunedin, noble daughter of a splendid ancestry, do thou stand in the front rank of all the fair cities of the blessed southern Dominion." — I am, etc., Aethuk M. Geowden, &£A. El Faso. Ulinaisr Aoril la.