THE INDIAN EMPIRE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17143, 27 December 1929, Page 13

THE INDIAN EMPIRE

GREAT POSSIBILITIES OPINIONS OF AN EX-NAPIERITE An interesting series of impressions of India, "the brightest jewel in the Empire's crown," was given to a Napier Telegraph representative by Mr. a 11. C. Gardiner, late of Napier, who has just returned to his home town on furlough after live years spent in the service of the New Zealand Insurance Co. in tho Indian .Empire. While his headquarters were at Calcutta, which ho described as "tho second city of the Empire," with a population of 2,5C0,000, Mr. Gardiner travelled over practically the whole of tho Indian Empire- by rail, which class of travel he described as most luxurious. He has returned full of enthusiasm for the future of India with its many sources of potential wealth. Undoubtedly the most wonderful and wealthresource of the whole of India lies" in tho jute industry, of which Bombay and Calcutta have the monopoly. "Business conditions in India are entirely different' to New Zealand, and it takes one quite a time to get used to them, but once one becomes, so to speak, acclimatised, the place grows

'upon you, and as soon as you leave it£ you want to get back," said Mr. Gar--' diner, who went on to refer to Bom*» bay as, in his opinion, the finest cits in'lndia, naving all the advantages of ( proximity to the coast. Ho returned to the Dominion by «C somewhat circuitous but nevertheless ex;; tremely interesting route, leaving Calcutta and proceeding to Rangoon, one.*; of the principal cities of Burma, where' ho found trade bad, due to the condition of the rice harvest. While in Rangoon Mr. Gardiner had the pleasure of meeting another old Napier boy, Mr. Basil Ward, who is practising as an architect in that city. From Rangoon he proceeded to Penang and then embarked on ja tour by car through the heart of Malaya, a most interesting trip through rubber ©states and dense jungle, with a, macadam road practically the whole of the way.. ' . While in Singapore Mr. Gardiner visited the much djsoussed Siß^fpor 6 base, where work at the time was* M>ceeding under a go-slow policy; due-io the attitude of the Labor Government in tho Homeland. Iu the course.,o|...a visit to Java, Mr. Gardiner was much impressed by the Dutch administration of tho island, which he described; as excellent in every way. He travelled from Java to Brisbane on a Dutch liner, the Nicuw Zceland. ... ...