ROUND THE WORLD.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 12001, 19 October 1906, Page 7

ROUND THE WORLD.

Observations of a Returned

Wanganuite.

Mr Edwaid Tingey, who has been on an eight months' trip round the world, returned by this afternoon's express troni Wellington, accompanied by Aiie lingey. Mr 'Imgey, who is looking in excellent health, told a "Herald" reporter this aflernoon that he had enjoyed the trip very much. Travelling via Suez, he spent a short time in II 11I 1 ranee, and crossed the Channel to England. He remained some time in London, where he was greatly struck by the appalling poverty of the lower classes, a condition ot things which he says we in New Zealand have no idea of. He obtained a good deal of literature and many photographs illustrative of some of these phases of London life, which he brought back with him in older to show how much Tfcetter off is the lot of the average colonial as compared with the worker in the Old Land. Mr Tingey was greatly struck with the London traffic, and the facilities for dealing with transport. The twopenny tube in particular was much admired by him, being clean, bright, and fast, and always crowded with passengers. He was not greatly struck with the motor 'busses. There are thousands of them running in London, he says, but unless they are much improved they will never be a permanent success. Their smell is highly objectionable, and they are always breaking down. He instanced a lide he took on one from Old Kent Road to the City, which came to a complete stop through failure of the machinery as soon as it had got over the Tower Bridge. The reason for the large patronage bestowed upon them, Mr Tingey considers to be simply because they are a new thing — people riding on them for the novelty of the sensation — and also because they cover tho ground faster than a horse 'bue. The Abuey and St. Paul's .Cathedral were of course visited by Mr Tingey, who found them to be all that te had expected of them. He agreed th,at it ia : a splendid thing for any colonial to take a trip Home. He sees things that he has never (yen dreamt of, and it i 9 a perfect eyeopener to compare the lot of the dwellers of these islands with those of England. Mr Tingey returned via Vancouver. In Now York ho was fortunate enough to obtain an introduction to the famous financier, Mr Pierpont Morgan, who r. r°cured for him the privilege of going through the United States Treasury in Wall Street where the gold reserves are kept as security for the dollar notes which are such a feature of American currency. He said it was a wonderful sight to sec piles of gold coin, amounting in all to £307,000,000 sterling. They keep here also great piles of notes for future issue, and Mr Tingey enjoyed the novel sensation of holding in his hand a roll of highvalue bills worth 10,000,000 dollars. He also, while in New York, ascended some of the tallest sky-scrapers there, as well as the "Statue of Liberty," the panorama from which would be hard to beat anywhere in the world. He had the pleasure of a steamer trip up the famous Hudson River and through the Lake of a Thousand Isles, both being of surpassing beauty, while the trip through the Rockies showed scenes of exceptional grandeur. He was less impressed with the country between Toronto and Manitoba, where the train passes hour after hour through nothing but bare rock, on which it is impossible to grow a blade of grass. While in New York he heard Mr W. J. Bryan, the eloquent Democratic leader, who is a candidate for the American Presidency. The scene was one never to be forgotten, the vast hall holding an audience of from 25,000 to 30 000 people. Mr. Bryan he describes as a wonderful orator, who rouses his hearers to the highest pitch of enthusiasm, and who is a deadly enemy of the trusts. The applause at American political meetings, says Mr. Tingey, appears to take the form" of flagwaving, and it was both a curious and amusing sight to see everybody, whenever a telling hit was made, -waving thousands of flags bearing the Stais and Stripes, which were distributed beforehand. He found much interest taken in N.Z. and its affairs, both in England and America, and the far*t that he was> a New Zealander was a passport wherever re went. At the same time, there is a great deal of ignorance concerning these colonies, and vwherever he went he found New Zealand and Australia confounded as the one country. Canada, he remarked, left New Zealand far behind in advertising her resources. The great evils of American life, Mi Tingey considers, are the Trusts an<? t'^e Unions, which are at perpetual war with each other, and with the mast of the people. Workers in America are by no means so well off as those in New Zealand, for while their wages are higher, the cost of iiving is so excessive that they can save nothing, and he quoted the case of a Wanganui boy whom he met in Vancouver, and who said n~e would sooner be working in Wanganui for there he could put money by. New Zealanders, he said, always got on- well in the States, where they were looked on aa capital workmen. /

Asked as to the position of employers in the States, Mr. Tingcy said that, although they made more money than in New Zealand, they were on the whole not so well off, spite of the fact that employers here sometimes found the labour laws harassing. In America an employer was subject to constant worry and anxiety from the Unions and the Trusts, the latter of whom controlled anything, and never ?ave the small employer the slightest chance. A buider, for instance, could not tender for the erection of a house unless he belonged to a Trust, and it was the same in nearly every line of business. Want of space prevents us referring to many other interesting observations of Mr

Tingey 's, who seemed very glad to be back home again, and who left the impression that — to use his own words — "New Zealand enjoys advantages which other countries can show nothing to compare with."'