VISITOR’S IMPRESSIONS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18619, 15 July 1930, Page 2

VISITOR’S IMPRESSIONS

INDIAN MEDICAL OFFICER. COLONEL STYLES-WEBB. A son of a Maori War veteran in the person of Colonel Styles-Webb. of the Indian Medical Service, is spend- | ing his furlough in touring New Zea- : land. At present he is in Timaru, and i will proceed to the Hermitage to-day. ! Interviewed yesterday by a “Herald” representative, Colonel Styles-Webb said he was pleased to be able to avail himself of the opportunity of travelling through New Zealand, and visiting some of the places Where his father saw service during the Maori War. Ostensibly he is studying conditions here with a view to possibly settling in the Dominion when he retires from the Indian Service. “My father,” said Colonel Styles-Webb, “died about two years ago, having attained the age of 93 years. I was anxious to see this country after having years ago heard so much of it from my father. I had a look round Wellington, and in Christchurch I met two veterans of the South African War with whom I saw service. Imagine my surprise after all the intervening years, when I was called up on the telephone by my former comrades, and all this as a result of a personal paragraph inserted in one of the newspapers. It was a great joy to me to meet them, and we spent a good time going back into what is now ancient history. I was taken to Leeston, and was astounded at the extent of the crops they can get off the land .there. Wheat, barley and oats grow in quantities per acre beyond anything I ever saw in Australia when I was there a good many years ago.” Land Values. “One impression’ I have gained here,” said Colonel Styles-Webb, “is the very high value placed on your land. I suppose it is a stage you are passing through, but it seems to me from the impressions I have gained, that it would be a difficult thing, with values as they are, for a person of moderate means, plus a fixed income, to secure anything like sufficient land to supplement his income adequately compared with his outlay. This is merely my impression. You may be passing through this stage, but perhaps as time goes on you will return to normal values in keeping with the downward trend of the value of produce.” Dominion Newspapers. “One thing that has impressed me exceedingly,” continued Colonel StylerWebb, “is the number and the excellence of your' newspapers. You have, in fact, extraordinarily good newspapers, which carry a very fine news service altogether. I have seen some splendid articles, and your leading articles are well thought out.” Presence of Goitre. “Another impression I have gained,”' observed Colonel Styler-Webb, “is the prevalence of goitre among many of your girls. This is supposed po be due to a deficiency of vitamines in the food, but if I may judge from my own personal experience in the hotels I have lived in since my arrival in New Zealand, that should not apply here, and one would have to look elsewhere for the cause. It may be due to your water, but here again you have an excellent water supply.”

Red Hair. “What has struck me as somewhat remarkable,” said Colonel Styles-Webb, “is the fact that one rarely sees a redheaded person. I understand there are parts of New Zealand where this hair colour is more plentiful among the people, and I dare say that as one gets more among tne people of Scottish descent that it may not be quite so rare as I have found it up to the present.” The Empire’s Best Market. Asked to discuss political affairs in India, Colonel Styles-Webb said he could not do so, but he thought that the condition of India economically should be the concern of every portion of the British Commonwealth of Nations. “ India is the Empire’s best and largest market to-day,” he observed, “ and it is of moment that this should be preserved and fostered in every conceivable way. If we lost this market then the bottom would fall out of the whole show. Consequently any consideration of India economically should concern the whole of the other portion of the Empire. Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa are just as interested in the future economic development of India as is the Mother Country. It is a great problem, and one meriting the most sympathetic thought by ’the other units comprising the British Commonwealth.” Indian Diseases. Referring to diseases in India, Colonel Styles-Webb said that the greatest menace was cholera. It was a great curse, and required immediate handling. Plague could be controlled, as could other tropical diseases, but cholera was their difficult problem. Speaking of big game hunting in India, Colonel Styles-Webb said there was no-finer animal in the world than the tiger in his native jungle. The lion was regarded as the king of beasts, but the lion when hunted ran away, whereas the tiger would fight to the last ditch.