SIR RIDER HAGGARD.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1683, 25 February 1913, Page 4

SIR RIDER HAGGARD.

■- ' '■■■■■ ■rr ; ;"rr _ 7^~ i -^—■'. ; .'„ : \.- •.' ARRIVAL IN 1 NEW ZEALAND, Sir-H. Rider. Haggard,' one. of the Imperial, Trade Comrnissioners, arrived, at. tho Bluff froni,.Melbourne yesterday, Judg-, iug. by a •telegram from Melbourne.which, appeared in the Sydney "Daily Telegraph," trie. last thing Sir. Rider Haggard desires to talk about apparently is his- own work' a. novel writer.-',, Statistics of immigration", tho "state!'of', tho. rural of' ilip United' Kingdom, the resources of- tho Coinmonwealth—this and similar, matters are in'the forefront of his horizon., ..r "Everyone in Australia ' knows you by your books;" remark made to .hini; Ho. waved the point aside.' "I hayo-been' carrying on' ffti-jiiiiiff operations! oil. a! large. scale," lie. observed; ' , , ' >'-'"'''•"''• Presumably, you ;take time; from • your novels— 7-1;' '■ ''. . '"'.'■•. ""•';■' •,■"■■ "I have been closely associated witling-:' riculture for a number'of. years," l said Sir Rider Haggard, "and I have written' one of ".the largest books ou agriculture that has yet appeared., My. holding" is in Norfolk;..-t do"morp dairying than anything else." ' ' : , " ' '.' "!'...;!'' ." ■Would'you, say the. rural population of England" is declining? ' '('"■•'• "Yes; in joint oft'numbers,.-certainly.''. What do you consider tho main cause P ' ■ "Well, it has a. good deal, to' do, with the. land laws." : ' ' . •''■'''■"• • Is the tariff a fac'togC ... ■:, "I would ratherndt discuss the.tariff." On.the emigration question, Sir Rider Haggard spoke. with 1 manifest .interest. "But I tell you thi».:We"<ld 'not want all: tho best of our agricultural population' to. go abroad.' Many of■ tho best hayo gone to: Canada] and:are still; going there,;lately, of course; there has been a movement towards[Australia, as well.'-.'.We consider,this country ono of the very brightest iow.els in the crown of .Empire, but Wo' do not want all the best to leave- us to go. to you. It may only say it may.bc-r that you. may finda larger proportion of those not qualified to do well at Home coming here.".-. '•'.'' There has been an impression in <somo quarters that England is not sending out nor.:best now. ' "Indeed," ;said Sir Rider.. Haggard, in apparent' surprise. "I was not aware of that. But you certainly want your resources advertised. That is a . fact that has struck me very forcibly; The bulk of the people in Great Britain know very little about Australia yet." '. '.-".,' You know South Africa well, of course? "Oh,»yes, I was there with She'pstono when wo annexed tho Transvaal in 1877. I have not been there lately.". j •-'-. And you obtained the materials for your. South African romances while , "Certainly, but as I was saying you oould'do a lot rilo're t<f advertise Australia •.than, you are doing. It is rather extraordinary now little oven well-informed people know about it—rijally extraordinary." , ',"'"' ■ The attempt to "draw" the novelist on the subject, of, his own successful novels had failed, but one more question Was in? •evitable. '•'■'■'■.•■ ' ' 'Have yon any intention of writing, a book on Australia? Every literary, man who has yet'eonie here has done eP,, Sir Rider Haggard replied! "It is far. too early yet, for me to say."