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MR COAD ON NEW ZEALAND

A representative from this journal had a short chat with Mr Richard Coad, the well known temperance lecturer on Tuesday morning previous to his departure from Ashburton. . A statement as to Mr Coad's impression of the ! Colony, its people, and the conditions of social , life here may be of interest to our readers, and we are glad to have ths opportunity of stating " t that our visitor is so well pleased with his tour m. the Colony that it his intention to lecture throughout Great Britain on the advantages to be gamed by emigrants coming from the older countries to these new colonies. Mi Coad is aCornishman of the Cornish, speaks m the vernacular of his native county, has had a long experience m his particular line m Great Britain, and is one of the most successful agents of the United Kingdom Alliance for the suppression of the liquor traffic. He has conducted missions all over Great Britain. His first engagement with the New Zealand Alliance was for a peried of three months. During that time he travelled from Auckland to InvercargiU, covering 1200 miles m his various journeys, addressed 115 meetings, and according to the best estimate, 70,000 persons attendel those meetings, and heard that the New Zealand Alliance exists to secure the liquor traffic by the will of the people, and without compensation. The executive Council of the Alliance has expressed to Mr Coad its high appreciation of the service he has rendered to the cause of temperance, and the very gratifying results of the mission. Mr Coad is now working under engagement with local temperance and religious bodies and his dates are filled up to May 1890. In answer to our representative's questions, the following views were elicited.— My impressions of your colony are very favorable. So far as my experience goes New Zealand is one of the finest Britbh settlements m the world. The natural features of the countiy, its many clear-watered rivers, streams and brook?, its snow-capped mountains, its rolliag downs, and sweeping plains, will all help to make it a great country. Your towns for the most part ate well laid our, and provision is made m these for a population very much larger than now occupies them, and this, too, without the over crowding which we have m England. — What do you think of our climate ? It does not come up to my expectations. Its reputation m Eng'and- is highejr than what is supported by actual fact 3. It is not so equable as I expected to find it, I knew there was plenty of rain, but it is not warm rain. Your high • winds are a prominent feature. I would almost as soon have a London fog as a Canterbury north wester. Of your leading cities, I thing Wellington will become the Liverpool of New Zealand, Dunedin he Torquay, Christchurch the London, a great place for business, and Auckland the Brighton of the Colony, where wealthy persons, retired from business will settle. In religious matters I dont think any 700,000 people m any other part of the world are better provided for than you are; It is a very pleasing feature to find that almost every country village has Its church. Ministers of religion m all the churches are on the average equal m ability and earnest zeal to any I have ever met with, Your young people, relatively, are better educated than m the Old Country, Boys and Girls m England are put to work earlier m life, and consequently have not the advantage of extended schooling. It is very cheering to find the best people all over the Colony on the side of re'igion, temperance, and prohibition. I have formed a very high opinion of your Christian ladies, North and South, who are engaged m the work of social reform. No finer Christian workers are to be found anywhere. Gambling, horse racing and the driok traffic are the serpents which are stinging the national life of the Colony to the quick, and as there are no reptiles m the country to harm the inhabitants, the Christian conscience, and religious senti* ment ought to be strong enough to put these down. The expenditure on strong drink is too heavy a handicap to allow the Colony to prosper, It criples trade, saps the sinews of life and commerce, and blights everything and everybody it touches. lam glad to find the young people are growing up a sober genera, tion, notwithstanding the older officials are following them up with special licenses for selling liquor. This feature of colonial life accounts very largely foi the lessened consump. tibn of intoxicating liquor. During the )ast few years, your population has gone up enormously, but your drink bi'l has come down from an average of £n per head of population to about ,£3. This is decidedly encouraging. The colonial press is a splendid institution. I am surprised and more than pleased at the success of newspaper enterprise. Why every little town has its paper* But it is deplorable that only the worst side of life at Home is telegraphed across the water. Public scandals, prize fights, murders, etc., are the burden of the cablegrams. This ought to be remedied. In civil matters your protective tariff, as at present existing, does not work for the good of the people— i-not promoting the comfort and well-being of the community. Many articles that it is impossible to have made m the Colony are taxed enormously high, and this mustretard its progress. More discernment is required m fixing duties. Your railway fares are prohibitively high. This prevents travelling and getting about. In England since the. various compares started the third class carriages the returns have increased largely, and the public are satisfied. Here you have ligh rates and dissatisfaction. Your produce freights ou£ht to be lower. There is a great danger m putting men into ligh positions who have no moral character, little ability and a narrow experience. There are plenty of able men m the Colony, and the voters ought to bring them forward and stand by them. Your Licensing Committees are a failure. It is hardly to be expected that local men will stand the responsibility which pro- >■ perly rests on the public. Whet you want m the Colony is 1,000,000 people, each with a capital of £100 to /"too to cultivate the land; Your cities, shops, railroads, bridges, etc, are all ahead of the population ever so far. If you had more people, New Zealand would be all right. It Wou'd be hard to estimate your mineral wealth. Your cattle are very fine. I have seen no finer m England than I saw at the Dunedin show. Your horses too are a good sort, they seem able to go farther and with less fatigue than those m England* In conclusion let me say I have enjoyed my tour very much. Your audiences are good listeners, attentive and intelligent, and it has been a great rjleasure to, talk to you; Thanking iMr Ctt»d for 'his courtesy, our representative withdrew. T

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AG18891227.2.14

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2315, 27 December 1889, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,187

MR COAD ON NEW ZEALAND Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2315, 27 December 1889, Page 2

MR COAD ON NEW ZEALAND Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2315, 27 December 1889, Page 2

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