TOO MUCH FORMALITY

Taranaki Daily News, 7 June 1930, Page 28 (Supplement)

TOO MUCH FORMALITY

ENTRY INTO NEW ZEALAND. ' FRENCH VISITOR’S VIEWS.' “The more formality you. have the more isolated. you will) be,” was the opinion expressed by M. J. E. Powell Fuchs, who is engaged in a comprehensive tour of the Dominion in the interests of a large group of French manufacturers, when discussing at Wellington last week the many formalities to which foreigners are subject when entering New Zealand. M. Fuchs considered that some of the things demanded by the authorities were positively childish, and corresponded very unfavourably with conditions in France, where only a 10s entry tax was charged in the case of finst-class travellers, and a . smaller amount for others. “For instance,” he said, “on my arrival in Auckland there was first the : question of passports on the boat, and | then there was trouble with the Customs officials in regard to my samples. L Following a medical examination, I had to'take the form of oath subscribing to the laws of the country. I consider that ridiculous, as it is only common-sense that any foreigner knows that he has to obey the laws of the country where he may be.” M. Fuchs went on to say that he considered the £lO which the Government demanded of all foreigners entering the country a very foolish restriction. Truly, it was refunded later if no business were done, but it was most troublesome for wealthy tourists and business men to have to be bothered with the tax. and in many cases buyers and travellers had to pay the money out of their own pockets owing to the difficulty of collecting such odd sums from their head offices. He considered that it would be better to have a fixed tax calculated on the length of time spent ih the Dominion. Generally the average business man from overseas had very little time to spare, and he could not afford to be bothered with trivial matters. “The simplest method will be the best,” he said. “It will be the cause of bringing more competition from abroad, lowering the price of goods, and bettering the quality.” Although '(. Fuchs has had little time for or exploring the Dominion’s natural wonders, he is convinced that New Zealand is a wonderful little' country. He added a word of warning, however, in regard to land settlement. “You must be very care-, ful,” he said, “not to give too much laud to one man, and the Government should pass legislation so that all the -land be -1 -: ’ gV’ . " As compared*-with '' • •: -i tt

j that New Zealand’s soil was • barely scratched, .and he attributed much of the prosperity there to. the fact that the people did not remain in and about the cities as was the case in-Now Zealand and Australia. Of a population of 40,000,000 there were four'' millions in the capital, Paris; one million in Marseilles, and the remainder of the population was ,evenly distributed .over the country. Every scrap of, earth was under cultivation. . . French industries were booming at the moment, said M, Fuchs, particularly in the wine and spirit,’ metallurgical, and clothing trades. They did not have the methods of mass pro; duction as in the United States, but rather followed the English style, where the work done by craftsmen, although slower, was superior in quality. The average working man was paid from 35s to 40s a week in the country, he said, but it was very hard, to compare the respective standards of living between France and New Zealand. There was no unemployment in France at the present time, and they had to go as far as bringing operatives from other countries to work in their factories. They had an enormous trade in clothing, and as all the fashions of: the world were get by Paris, they could command their own prices. M., Fuchs said that he realised the, difficulties with which a new country like New- Zealand -had to contend, but he :’hot think ‘an adverse Allan- ') ; ~C ■ ■ .. ..

cia 1 balance very much to worry over. The country had to have roads, railways and harbours, and in many cases the population'did not warrant suclu

“New Zealand is a very fine place, ;he . said, “but your population is small and you need to increase it, •' ' •' ‘ ' • * .... - ‘'dj-