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Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 2, 3 January 1901, Page 1

Return of Mr Q. W. Tiffen. INTERESTING COMPARISONS. A former member of the Cook County Council, Mr G. W. Tiffen, accompanied by Mrs Tiffen, returned from Australia last week. “ Yes I am very pleased to get back to the old place,” said Mr Tiffen to the Gisborne Times representative. “ Travelling strenghtens one in the belief that after all there is no place like Gisborne.’-’ The all-important topic of federation being uppermost in the mind, Mr Tiffen’s opinion was sought on the subject, that gentleman having given it a good, deal of consideration from the point of view of a New Zealander. He believes that the elections will always be largely based on the fiscal question. The effect on the calibre of the Australian statesmen will, he believes, be to secure- the services of men of greater ability than would be brought forward under the old system. The Premier of the Commonwealth, for instance, would not merely have his own colony to consider —he would have to keep in mind the joint interests of five states and would need to be a man of exceptional tact, firmness, and ability to successfully hold the position. From an Australian standpoint Mr Tiffen considers that federation is an excellent thing, and that the step forward will be a most important factor in the development of the vast resources of the Australian continent. But- the people of New Zealand should gravely consider all the issues before joining the Commonwealth, and for his part he believed it would be wiser for this colony to maintain its own position, for once it joined the Commonwealth its interests might be subordinated to those, of the centres with the largest power. “ Taking a local matter by way of illustration,” said Mr Tiffen, “ how would the people of Gisborne like to have the Karaka railway brought to a standstill by the decision of a Government in Australia, comprised of people the majority of whom would have no knowledge of the local circumstances.” At present New South Wales imports oats, wheat, barley, potatoes, maize, bacon, and fish in large quantities from New Zealand, and in his opinion they could not afford to do without New Zealand -products. The policy of the Commonwealth would probably be moderate protection, and the most satisfactory way to deal with the matter would, he considered, be to have a reciprocal tariff somewhat on the line's suggested by Mr Seddon. “ We may take it then,” said the Times representative, “ that you consider Federation so far as Australia is concerned will be of great benefit ?” “ Australia,” said Mr Tiffen, “ has sdJh vast resources, and intercommunication can be made so expeditious, that if the affairs of the Commonwealth are managed with prudence, the new nation under the British ring must become a power in the Pacific that no Continental nation can afford to despise. It has great sources of wealth, such as rich minerals, awaiting development, and it stands to reason that the separate colonies acting individually could never attain the same power proportionately as must result from the grand combination in the form of the Commonwealth. There are, of course, many little difficulties yet to adjust in the details of government, but those should soon be righted. The colonial Parliaments must necessarily be lessened in importance by the Federal Parliament. I believe the step forward will be a great advantage to Australia, and will also be of great benefit to New Zealand if some reciprocal arrangement can be made that will not necessitate the handing over of control of departments that can be better managed in New Zealand. The trade of New Zealand is almost as essential to Australia as the trade of the world is to England.” Many other points of importance were touched on by Mr Tiffen, speaking as a New Zealander. The change in temperature was most noticeable to him, and on his return to New Zealand he had felt the weather uncomfortably cold. The meat in New Zealand, he found,.has a much more palatable flavor than that he had tasted on the other side. There they grew about the best class of “mutton” sheep that could be grown, merino with a lot of Southdown in them —black-faced sheep, but the meat had no comparison to the sweetness of the New Zealand, mutton. He attributed the difference to the climatfe and the kind of feed. They could not grow the grasses as in New Zealand, ryegrass for instance.

The lack o£ extreme poverty in New Zealand as compared with Australia was a pleasing comparison for Mr Tiffen to make. “ Although there may be isolated cases of poverty in New Zealand,” said Mr Tiffen, “ in the Australian cities and suburbs it is distressingly in evidence. At first I thought it might have something to do with protective tariffs, but on looking into the matter more closely it seemed to me that the crowded state of the cities and suburbs and the consequent fierce competition have a good deal to do with it. Often it is very difficult to get laborers in the country, while in the cities hundreds are in want of work. If one goes to a shop and asks to be shown an article, the shopman has a surprised look if one asks for something better than that shown, being so accustomed to be asked for the cheapest article. A peculiarity pf monetary dealing in Australia (said Mr Tiffen) is that nearly everything is done with gold and silver; if a person wanted a note he had to ask for it. When about to leave Mr TiffeTi went to the Bank of New Zealand to obtain New Zealand notes in preference to carrying gold, but was told that he would have to pay a shilling exchange. His reply was that he thought he had better keep the gold, as he did not feel inclined to pay the Bank for bringing its notes over. If you are travelling to Australia never take a bicycle, is the advice of Mr Tiffen. He had seen bicycles brought out of the ship’s hold in Australia in a condition that made them unfitted for anything else but old iron. Mr Tiffen gives the palm to New Zealand people for honesty in business- matters. Though there are splendid exceptions, a great many Australians have an idea that “business is business,” but not necessarily honesty. The Australian colonies all show a fair amount of prosperity, there being vast wealth, individual and national. In educational matters he considered that New Zealand went on better lines than Australia. He had noticed the school children of one suburb going by train to another suburb, and on being asked the reason they said that the master of the school in their suburb went, asleep during school hours, and just did as lie liked. There seemed to be a deficiency in the method of inspection of the schools. Pronunciation was apparently not made a strong point, for he could not help noticing the frequency with which the children mispronounced words, such as “ die ” for “ day.” “ The first time I had been able to fall in with the prohibition programme,” said Mr Tiffen, “ was when I was in Australia.” He went on to explain how different were the hotels to those of New Zealand, a great many of the suburban hotels in Australia being run simply for drinking purposes. He related some of his experiences in trying to obtain meals at hotels, being told that they did not supply meals. One man he had met told him that in a suburb where there were two hotels he had sought, board, but was informed that neither hotels would take boarders —the travelling public were not considered at all, except as drinkers. Mr Tiffen thinks that a good strong prohibition party would have a healthy influence in Australia.” A peculiarity that struck Mr Tiffen was that in Australia they sp e ak of so many acres to the sheep, instead of so many sheep to the acre, as in New 'Zaalai)d; and in regard to the capacity of land they always speak; of the stock-carrying capacity in j