AN INTERESTING TOUR.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12748, 27 April 1912, Page 3 (Supplement)

AN INTERESTING TOUR.

, .->OTKS BY THE. WAX- -«■ „- . Mr (.'has. .Hanes, who -left Gisborne for England on May 27 of last year, accompanied by Mrs Hanes, has forwarded to his ,«on a. most interesting description m detail of the various places visited, including the Australian cities that Avere called at en route. Taking up the description from the point of reaching .South Africa, some extracts are appended. DURBAN. This is considered., the . prettiest nnd most Knglish town m 'South Africa. The entrance to the channef'is between the breakwater and pier, beloAV a lighthouse and battery. The harbor is a landlocked bay eight miles square. There is a raihvay ...round the. piers. The town. Avhich is situated on tint land,, contains a handsome -..town hall, built .at a cost of £300)000/ aiid situated m a beautiful square. With the green hills beyond, the. .land, sea ancl ships make. a fine panorama. "".Thfe ocean beach, Avith no better conditions than exist m Gisborne, has been ma,de a charming spot, and is much' frequented. The inhabitants total ' 67X100, 32,000 being whites. There are 100 miles of roads and 20 miles of electric car tracks. The telephones and ti'arils are municipalised. There is a good sewerage svsteni, and the death-rate is 12 per 1000. The cranes m use at the Avharves are like those m Wellington. It is a great coal port, and during the month previous to our arrival 72 vessels called, for 62,800 toils of coal. During the Avork of coaling the Kaffir boys make a terrible din, and look comical, dressed m sacks, old coats of soldiers, and other odd garments. They. Avork stripped to tbe waist, and are champions at moving -coal. They get about £3 per month and foPd. They last about three years at the work, and then retire and buy wives. They are very healthy, rarely being sick. Iri an iron shed near the Avharf 2000 Kaffirs sleep, and they are locked up eA-ery night at 9 o'clock. Part of the tram tracks haA-e garden patches betAveen the rails where there are double lines. The 'rickshaws are an interesting sight, with the Zulus having AVhiteAvashed legs and Aveird get-up, and horns on their/heads. They are a fine .stamp' pfjnien physically, and are mostly 6ft m Height.,', They are licensed for three years, arid then the term cannot .be renevyed, otving to heart troubles. 'Thej/.tr&mcars. are electric, doubledeckers, Avith _uii-blinds. No laAvns are to be seen, but there are many gardens, having '.(.range trees, which were all laden. The vegetation is tropical, and one large scarlet-leaved shrub, tlie ,pom settia, is plentiful, and is a picjture. In the botanical gardens the shrubs, '-flowers, and plants are quite a noA-elty. There are avenues of palms, variegated laurels, and the fernery and greenhouses fire very fine. Everything •m, DjUi'bq'n seenis dear, excepting fruit aiid ; 'Wokes'— loo oranges 2s 6d, 100 bananas 2s 6d, pineapples 2d each, naartjes 50 at ls. A distinct novelty ,hv the _Etaffir Salvation Army, also the •Kaffir boYs as.' "nurse girls." CAPETOWN. The port is poor, and Durban has sdp_rid.ity m : that respect. There are the '. Jlot_.es of Parliament, City Hall, Government pjost office, and other fine buildings. Tlie city stands at the foot of Table Mountain,' 3800 ft' hi^h. A road cut round tho hillside extends along the .sea front for eight miles. The trees appear to he; 'chiefly gums. The trams aro /electric/. Hnd/are /gpod and cheap. A visit/wras .*Ulso ! paid"to Johannesburg, "the bj-Utjarfft. largest city." , /^eTeroote SOHITUR,*' ojtthe late Cecil Rhodes, Avas -'-."chief objebtW interest, a 30 minutes' tram ride taking one to the gates. A long avenue of pines and a fine drive of red clay or sand brings one to the !l_Mser!mi-^ t: Vri^i%ferit house, beauL tifrilly ( fu*-riT_hedV '|ntf'«ie grounds extend for ten miles around. There is a small zoo, finely caged, for animals of South Africa, and there are open confines for South African buck, zebras, and peacocks, and squirrels run everywhere. Ou the hillside there is a fine monument erected m memory of Cecil Rhodes. The house and estate are a gift to the people, and are kept m splendid order. The house has a Avide verandah, laid m tiles, and here and thb'i-e are' largo 'cedar • cheats '"with brass handles. There is a spacious billiardroom, and the dining-room has handsome tapestries. A grand vieAV is obtained from the house, which stands i half-way up the mountain side. ' WHITE OR BLACK?' ' ' Impressions .of South Africa are very mixed. Will. it...^Q. white , or black? If it continues* to £6*' on as iri "the past seven years*,' m" fifty ygari-"hence .it. would contain ,3,00Q,000. Avhites. and 12,000,000 [ colored people. In Cape Colony (five times the size of -.rigland) the whites decreased' by 16,000' in seven years; arid the "natives increased by , 54,000, m the sariie period— this after two' centuries of Aylijte ' 'settlement. , . Taking p.ll South Africa, the; Avhites inc^e.asfed by 161,000, and natives by 621,000. -hi.s even y^ars;,England appeal's to he trying to build up a .white jiation'. \yjf;th cplbl'ed . labor. All rough work is done by Kaffirs, 'a^,d all foodstuffs are- largely from overseas. The English may. rule, the Dutch, or the Dutch the English, /or the blacks both. The Dutch seem... to .'.run_ the show-.; at present. / /' '

Tlie AVriter theft "'des-ribes' the voj'age to England, h,;'landrhg ,' bgijig , riiade;;at Tilbury on - the day -the big strike, smarted. Commencing Avith the great "gloving*.' centre, a; description is given Of each place. \4sited/ l , .w{th 1 t special refferenqe to tjie historical.^assbciatiqns. ,At Ye6vil ; a- ' visit Avafepaid to Raymond's great factory, where .the*, manufacture of the gloA^s. was explained 'from the handling of the skin.! to t/he finished pr.odu.6t. there -are- between 215 arid 30. ?actoj*ies for gloving at Yeovil,, as well/fts other important industries; ' . '''''/ ''"''-' '_,/ 'i'Oitliei* '.places vjSitSß ; rfrj'd" , ;de»or'ibed"atre Bristol, Dorset,. Sfjpierset/^Wells.rGl'astorihury and" its. abbey, Ch-ddar arid its caves, Weymouth,' ' 'Ljeamifrgtori. WarAvicjc St^atford-on-Avdn, -GuVs Clitt'e, Kehilworth' ' Gastle, \St6riele\gJi Ab^.cf J, Bnrton-on-Trent (including a. day at, Bass «*ind Co.'s breAvery), "Lfchflel'd. Derby, Haddon Hall' ChatswortH' Hobs., Canibridge arvd -Vft ' universities"/ and it_ .garden • city,' : , Birmingham, Leicester, Lutterworth, Coalville, ;Lancashire,' xiricl mariy "btber '*' pld'ces of'gre^t interest. 'Aniqiig the:*natnsf f . m. .^aS«s he fbrind" that there av^s "an .. ayy f ul ,a,ppe'arance but'a'good sound m sitbh titles as Mynyddysellyn, NhVityrVes/'-'arid Llwynigpia. In Yorkshire he saw rows of miners' h ou *P*?* •' two . -stories high, all alike as pe*s_ m a; 'pod^ the' rents being ls 6d.1,0 ls' t 9'd aVAVeek^ ..vinilt 3s 6d and 3ss „r ates,. yearTy homse, ' -Avith -gas and Avater indoors .and a' giird-li. ' In' South York-hire '--model vill'agesr nV6 *"spfiriging . 'up/, ! 'and semi-de-tached 'housed can '.% seen. vi ,\. questionthat 'AA'as creating •muah,.,disqvssiph.* i in \'ljO#don Ava_ as to 'the.relatiA'e merits-of el^((tri,c cars arid lhbtor 'omnibuses/'"^-fei-rihg tb ' Warwick Castle a_ ambn§' the objects of note/the Avriter mentions that the f Countess, of Warwick, now a socialist', Av'fe getting £300 «Kelt % her "lectures, m America.. At. Ab'Sey '^'^ the AvrltVr saw, 'Graham, ;G.i^mp)ir giving, a pei'fect exhibition/of flying (Gilmbm* was siilisequently killed/ ih _ RicfHriiond deer park). „ t ./ '", „..')/. -," „. '., . . Mr Hanes made copjpus notes m, regard to some" industries, "giying special attention to the cbndition of the coal 'miiij-rs i ' l nTiir't , o..tlie .^ttferrient.'bf their demands for a minimum, Avage arid other imp. ov fed conditions.