MR. A. W. RUTHERFORD INTERVIEWED.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 626, 1 October 1909, Page 7

MR. A. W. RUTHERFORD INTERVIEWED.

——:■ . t .'■■■■ .. AUSTRALIAN IMPRESSIONS. ' • IBjTelecrapli— Special. OurrcapuDdDQt I 1 ' u r _ Septomber.SO-' Jrr/A. W. Rutherford returned te Christchurch on Wednesday; after a, seven months' : stay in Australia, during which time he visited, many, portions, of .all tho : States excepting. Western .Australia. ■ .Mr. Rutherford has'.not • visited the Commonwealth for ten years, and he noted signs of a great advance having been' made everywhere .sineo then, : being, impressed most:with the progress of South Australia. He found the whole ofrAustralia in-a wonder- • fully-prosperous condition, result 1 of splendid seasons. , Very little interest was mini.' ; fested.in. New Zealand affairs,,and there \fas a , considerable amount of jealousy on account or the Dominion's past prosperity, and not a littlo secret rejoicing that she\had had,to face comparatively -bad times.' "Land occupation in Australia -#tvthe :present •.time,"' said-" Mr. Rutherford, * is now more or less of a gamble. vF a , s t w i O, fi tory in a train'by a pessimist. which-I didinot wholly credit at the time,.but wnioh I subsequently came to believe thoroughly. My informant stated that two young fellows-one an English barrister, and the other the son of a colonial bishop—purchased a run out back at the end of-a succession.of good sbasons, Two years later, a ' drought : occurred, and,' every sheep on the place died.. The two young men were ruined, ahd* I myself saw the English barrister salting tongues in k Queensland meat works.. . Such . instances as this\are i all too numerous." ;' •• ' i ' v-Mr: Rutherford inspected- the much-talked-of Darling Downs country, and camo to the conclusion tha,t. it was not quite so valuable as nad. been, represented. . Although 'the .soil wis. fertile, it was very poro t us,' and required more rain than .it usually got, and-the climate was cold, excepting in tho summer , time. . ■ Tho dairy. industry was extending in Australial owing to 1 the good seasons, • and' it was yielding, a good profit. ' A lot of worn-out sugar-cano land ■in . Queensland . was : being, utilised for dairying, and more especially since the doportation of tho Kanaka. 'Mr: Rutherford mentioned he tasted some Queensland butter, and found'it quite equal 1 to the New Zealand." He could not say, how 'it was landed jn London; however, and all the Australian cheeso which he. tasted was decidedly inferior to .mrs. '. -He was also impressed with the magnitude of the '-'yellow peril" menacing Australia. The Chinese were a prominent feature in the populations* Cairns, in North Queensland. With tropical trees, and extensive, Chinese quarters, the' place had nuite an .Oriental Appearance. At Atherson, CO miles inland from Cairns. ' quite half the population were, Chinese, and all cultivation was done. by theft on their own account.- They-could not hold the fee simple of .land themselves, but the law was evaded by white people _ taking up the land and letting it-to the Chinese. .... - . The sneaker further stated that he attended the Sydney sales, "nl which upwards of 6000, rams wero sold. Ho noticed a tremendous improvement in the finality of the stock at Sydnoy, as well as at other sale centres. -