DOMINION PRAISED.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20274, 7 April 1934, Page 20

DOMINION PRAISED.

Retiring American Consul’s View. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, April 6. After a little over three years as Consul-General for the United States •in New Zealand, Mr Calvin M. Hitch, accompanied by Mrs Hitch, left Wellington to-night for Auckland. They are sailing by the Mariposa to-morrow for Los Angeles. Mr Hitch will reach -the retiring age of sixty-five years in July next and is returning to the States to have a holiday before his Actual retirement. Mr Hitch said that he and his wife had greatly enjoyed their stay in New Zealand. He had found Government courteous and obliging and the -people had been very kind and *bps•pitable. *‘l was surprised when I landed here to find that the country had made such wonderful development in 'the very short time since the first settlers came to New Zealand,” he said. M Your public roads are wonderful, and staking all things into consideration, the "development has been somewhat in advance of the population of the country. With your present development, 'New Zealand could easily accommodate double or three times the population you have, but these things, of course, will come along in the ordinary course of affairs.” Mr Hitch said that he was particularly interested to find New Zealand so well supplied with first-class newspapers. He thought it remarkable in a country the size of New Zealand and with the long distance it is from the other centres of population that the newspapers should be able to carry so much foreign news each day. Mr Hitch said that he had also been particularly impressed with the agricultural and trade journals in the Dominion.