MR MASSEY AND SIR J. G. WARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3275, 20 December 1916, Page 9

MR MASSEY AND SIR J. G. WARD.

ARRIVAL IX ENGLAND THE PANAMA ROUTE. (From Oua Own Correspondent.) LONDON. October 10. Mr Masscy and Sir Joseph Ward readied England rather unexpectedly on Saturday nignt. For obvious reasons the port of arrival of the Rotorua was kept a .secret, and it was only three or tour hours before her arrival that the Now Zealand colony in London knew that the party was expected.

The Rotorua got to Plymouth on Saturday evening, and the whole party —Mr and Mrs Masscy, Sir Joseph Ward, Lady Ward, with the secretaries (Mr F. D. Thomson and Mr H. O. Browne) —camo up by special train to Paddington, where they arrived about half-past 8. A considerable tody of New Zealanders was there to welcome them, including the High Commissioner and Lord Plunket, and there was also a guard of honour of New Zealand soldiers at the station.

Alter the greetings Mr Masscy and Sir Joseph Ward inspected the guard of honour, and then drove off amid cheers to their quarters at the Hotel Cecil. For many years past overseas visitors have niacin this their headquarters; almost all the members of the last Imperial Conference stayed at the Cecil, and within the last few months Mr Hughes also had his rooms there

Early on Sunday morning callers began to arrive, and in the afternoon the party drove out to "Walton-on-Thames to inspect the New Zealand Hospital, with which they were very much impressed. On Monday rnorninof Mr Bonar Law, Lord Plunket, and Lord Ranfurly were among the early callers, and later in" the day the Prime Ministcr and the Finance Minister were summoned to Buckingham Palace, where they were welcomed by the King.

Lieutenant Gladstone Word. A.S.G., who is at present on duty in England, came up to London to r--oe his parents, and Mr Vincent Ward, who was discharged from the O.T.C. as unfit and has been residing in Ireland in the hopes of being accepted again, also came across to London. THE VOYAGE TO ENGLAND. Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward were both very interested to traverse the Panama Canal route, and both were very much impressed not merely with the immensity of the engineering feat, but with the evident influence which must occur on the relative importance of many countries. The three weeks' journey from Nov/ Zealand to the canal they both describe as the loneliest journey they could conceive. Not a sign of land, shipping, or even bird life was visible anywhere until thev came to the Bay of Panama. The canal, said Mr Massey, is undoubtedly going to be of immense importance to the whole Pacific. Just at present there is practically nothing- saved in time as compared with the Cape Horn route, but it is undoubtedly a more pleasant and a safer route. The canal must be a success, although it cannot be said to bo completed yet. A number of slips have taken place" at different points, especially at the Culebra cut. which, is really the backbone of the isthmus.. The trouble here is that, under the pressure of the banks, the bottom of the canal has bulged upwards, and a number of dredgers are required to keep a sufficient draught of water. Many thousands of men are also still employed clearing- away country which is liable to slip. The material from the dredgers is discharged cither at sea or into the Gatun Lake, which is said to be ICOOft deep in places. The American Government has spent approximately £100,000,000 in the construction of the canal and rebuilding Colon and Panama, and if it costs another five millions more to complete the success of the canal it will have to bo expended. "As far ;.s I am able to judge," said Mr Massey, "the canal will be of great benefit to New Zealand." From Colon, the Atlantic end of the canal, the steamer went to the great American coaling station at Newport News, which is in many respects an appanage of the canal. The coaling equipment here is remarkable, and the fine steam coal of Virginia and other States can be delivered to ships at about l&s per ton. While the Rotortia was coaling the Mayor and Chamber of Commerce entertained the New Zealand statesmen at lunch. They were able to see a good deal of this important town, including the aircraft station. From Newport News the Rotorua went to Halifax for the routine object of shipping a gun, and the voyage across the North Atlantic, although quite pleasant and free from any serious inconvenience, was carried out with all proper precautions against submarine attack. One of these precautions is _ the establishment of a police force, consisting of male passengers, whose duty it is, in case of emergency, to control the passengers and direct the' filling of the boats, etc. Mr Massey was appointed chief constable, and Sir Joseph Ward was also a member of the force. The confidence of the passengers in these precautions was secured by several dress rehearsals. SIR JOSEPH WARD'S VIEWS.

Bit- Joseph Ward's description of the canal and its possibilities was particularly interesting from hie long association with the shipping industry. He, too, is very much impressed with the possibilities of the undertaking. The town of Bilbao, which is at the Pacific end "of the canal, is, Sir Joseph says, a creation of the American citizens of the canal zone. None but American citizens —who are all employed on the canal—arc allowed to reside in it. There is only one hotel there. A few miles from Bilbao is the ancient city of Panama, now rapidly being reconstructed on modern lines, though the old portion remains as it was 250 years ago. The community is a very cosmopolitan one, and there are many evidences of rough and undesirable types of people. Bilbao" is a splendid illustration of town planning. It has abo.ut 5000 people, and everything has been arranged with a view to the prevention of infectious disease. The houses are all built upon an elevation so . as to allow the wind to blow under them, and they arc nil cased in with netting to keep out'mosquitoes and flics; and to prevent the mosquitoes from breeding there is a permanent staff employed pouring kerosene oil into any cavities where water may stand for even an hour or two. So effective have these steps been that whereas a few years ago malaria and yellow fever nave to the canal zone the name of the White Man's Grave, there have been no deaths there from these diseases for seven years' past. THE CANAL PASSAGE. " Tho passago of the canal was in every respect a great surprise to all of us. The

seenery is a revelation. Where we had expected to find nothing but unpleasant-look-ing cuttings made by engineers, we found rugged scenery and luxurious foliage of the most charming description. The scenery on both side's was magnificent. Of course, the rainfall is very heavy—it would be abnormal in any part of New Zealand, but the result of this and the warm climate is that the

gardens, trees, and shrubbery are luxurious and beautiful. The country is evidently volcanic, and it is not until you get to the

Culebra Cut that you iincl any rock at all." .Sir Joseph considei'ed it marvellous that a steamer the size of the Rotorua could he handled with apparent ease. Within a. few yards of leaving the Pacific she entered the first look, the water being- on the same level as th

ocean. Working by electricity, the B reat doors closed behind iier without a pound. Without noise, too, raid almost imperceptibly, the water poured into the lock.

and within about 10 minutes the stcanier had risen 29ft. The gates in front were then opened in the same noiseless and imperceptible fashion, and the Rotorua passed into the next lock. Another 10 minutes raised her another 29ft. The same process occurred again, and within another 10 minutes the Rotorua's keel was 85ft above the level of the Pacific Ocean. While in the locks, the engines were not used -at all. Large electric motor engines, called locally mules, run on rails alongside. They aro hooked to the sides of the steamer, and move very slowly, but very gently along. On leaving the last of the three loeks, the vessel steamed under her own power until she was about halfway through the Canal. There she entered the Miraflores Lock, at Pedromiguol, called by the Americans Peter-Kiacgilf. This was negotiated in similar manner, and the Rotorua proceeded to Culebra. The whole of the mechanism was fully explained by the canal engineers, and the precautions which are taken to prevent mishaps were a remarkable tribute to the skill and foresight of the American engineers. Everywhere aro double gates to guard against the emergency of one going wrong. Each of the locks is a thousand feet long and 110 ft wide, capable of taking the largest, ships afloat. There were two or three steamers ahead of us in each lock at the same time. THE CULEBRA CUT.

The Culebra Cut has been the subject of a great deal of anxiety for the engineers. Only a fortnight before the party was there, in consequence of very heavy rain, a portion of one side of the canal had slipped in. The channel is narrow, and although the water is very deep, the authorities are never free of anxiety, and they have decided to widen the whole waterway by the complete removal of a hill which contains a good deal of solid stone. In my opinion, says Sir Joseph, it will be only a matter of time before this is done. The canal is certainly a marvellous undertaking, and when you see the permanence of everything- that is being done from start to finish, you realise that the United States Government will stop at no trouble or expenditure to make this highway of the utmost possible service to the world. GATUN LAKE.

After leaving Culebra, ships steam into the artificial lake of Gatun, which has an area of 180 square miles. It has been formed by the diversion of the River Chagres, and until it is pointed out to one it is difficult to realise that the embankments are part of a great artificial undertaking. This is very largely hidden by the prolific growth over everything, a growth which has already hidden all the usual signs of engineering work. When you know that there is a rainfall of lSOin here, you realise that there is not much fear of any shortage of water to keep this big waterway navigable. We then reached the Gatun locks, by means of which the ship is lowered to the level' of the Atlantic, just as she was raised at the other side. Hero the party disembarked and motored to the town of Colon, where the steamer had to stop for the night, to coal. Everything in the canal zone —wharves, stores, and appliances, are of the most modern description, and everything is worked by electricity, generated from the River Chagres. There is abundant evidence of the wonderful administration of Colonel Goethals. Everything that is wanted by the canal employees, that is by the whole population from Bilboa to Colon, is provided by the Panama Canal Company. The system of distribution has been so" that every person along the route is served daily from the depot of the P.C.C. with supplies of eveyrthing they require. A special train with supplies leaves Colon every morning, and traverses the whole line of fifty miles to Bilboa, delivering orders made up separately for every individual home. Under this'system, fresh food, meat, butter, cheese, etc., are supplied to all the employees. No one else is allowed to interfere in any way. The provision, for social amusements is also very complete. Every Saturday night a train leaves alternately from Bilboa and from Colon to take people to the other end of the canal, where they may meet their friends and have dances and other entertainments. This is only one item in the groat organisation to make life worth living for white people in the canal zone. Sir Joseph met while there Conrmandcr Cone, who was in New Zealand some years ago in command of one of the American warships, and has now complete control of the transport arrangements on the canal. He has been in Panama for two years. He told Sir Joseph that the whole of the work is being carried out without friction, and with complete amity between officers and men. The Panama Canal Company rules the territory. All the employees are provided with houses free of rent, with free coal and free electricity, and they get two months' loa\;o every year on full pay. It is the only way in which it is possible to keep an efficient staff, for conditions of life such as New Zealand knows do not exist for nine months out of the 12. The New Zealand visitors were struck by the large numbers of negroes working on the canal in various capacities. They are almost all from Jamaica and Barbadoes, and, though working under tho Stars and Stripes, they are loyal Britishers. A GREAT FUTURE. Sir Joseph says: "I was greatly impressed with the potentialities of this canal. When the Suez Canal was opened it was the dawn of a new era for commerce, affecting profoundly all tho British trade connections with India and the East, Australia, and New Zealand. _ The Panama Canal, in my opinion, is going to work a much greater revolution, and tho changed conditions are going to affect the British Empire, as well as the rest of tho world, politically, commercially, and strategically. Wo in New Zealand are brought closer lo the Old World, but this ie a mere bagatelle to the revolution that will be brought about on tho Paciiio side of America and Canada.

Some countries .are actually brought 6000 f miles nearer to the Old World. American manu r acturing towns are brought actively, into competition with those of Great Britahi in regions where hitherto there was no competition. And this revolution, of which, there are already signs, will advance with great rapidity. '" As far as New Zealand is concerned, the effect will be distinctly advantageous. In the canal zone alone there is an mimed** ate market for our meat and dairy produce, and when it is remembered that oniy seven days beyond Colon we tour!.; at a port from which railway lines radiate right through America and Canada, with their teeming millions of population, it will "do seen that New Zealand will reap very great advantage from such a connection on her route to tho Old World. It is. moreover, a smooth-weather passage, and this is going i*o be a preat incentive to many people to travel to New Zealand who would not go before. I was very p;lad to have had an opportunity of seeing the canal, both from the scenic point of view and because of tho greatest engineering* feat the world has known. It is going to bo a greater highway for commerce than the Suez Canal/'"