HON. HALL-JONES RETURNS

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2105, 3 February 1908, Page 3

HON. HALL-JONES RETURNS

A WARM WELCOME. SOME IMPRESSIONS OF HIS TOUR. Special to Times. WELLINGTON, Fob. 2. Tho Hon. W. Hall-Jones, Minister of Publio Works and Railways, who loft Now .Zealand some months ago. broken down in health as a result ol liis arduous work, returned to Wellington by tlio Covinthic to-day, and received a fitting and warm welcome from his colleagues and friends. The Corinthic steamed into the harbor in tho early hours of the morning, and shortly after 7 o’clock all the Ministers at present in Wellington went out to hid their colleague welcome. Tho public will he pleased to learn that Mr. Hull-Jones is in excellent spirits, and will resume duty at an early date. In the matter of weather, the trip was not all that could, perhaps, be desired, but it served its purpose, and served it well. Tho other members of the party, Mrs. Hall-Jones, -Miss 11 all-Jones, and the •Minister’s private secretary, Mr. Geo Schmidt, who accompanied the .Minister on Ibis voyage, are also in good health. In an interview with a representative of the “Post,” Mr. Hall-Jones expressed himself as delighted with the results of his trip, and his temporary release from duty, and was optimistic about the iut-uro. "I am glad,” he said, “to be able to state that I am feeling in first-rate health. Wo have had an enjoyable trip out, and this lias added io the benefits received in the Old Country. I was some few weeks in England before I began to feel any improvement in my health, but I am g-ud to sav I am now feeling my old self again. Acting upon advice, our trip throughout has been a quiet one, the. time being occupied in visiting different parts of England and Ireland, and of course I rested ns much as possible, and now feel so well that I have no hesitation in resuming my duties. 1 cannot speak too warmly of the kindness and consideration which was shown to us on all hands.” RAILWAY MATTERS. “Did you find time to look into railway matters whilst in England?” tho reporter usked. “Not so much as I should like to have done, or ns much as I should have done, hud c:rcumstances of the trip been different,” the Minister answered. ‘'Naturally railway matters attracted ray attention, and I think, considering tho requirements our railway system has to meet, it compares very favorably with Home lines, especially when one considers the very great expenditure on English lines. We sometimes hear of greater speed on lines at .Home, but this is.to a large extent owing to the long distances and nonstop trains, which only a large population renders possible. Take, for instance, the Great Western Company’s express, which runs from Paddington to Plymouth, a distance of 2201 miles, without a stop, and compare it with the Christcliureh-Dunedin express, running about a similar distance, and on where thJre are nearly 20 stopping places, where the train has to be slowed down, stopped, and started again. When you make a comparison between Home trains and N.Z. trains, which stop at every station, there is not much to choose between tho two services. On the fast through trains in Great Britain the rolling-stock is good, but on the slower trains and bin noli lines mostly out of date. A proposal foi the nationalisation of British railways,, although probably a lon-j, way from realisation, is, I think, gaining ground, and recent events have undoubtedly tended to strengthen the arguments in its favor. _ When one considers the competition between the different companies serving vari-

ous centres, and observes the traffic, it is soon recognised that under ono control there must be a great reduction in the cost of running. As an instance: Between 1,-ondon and Manchester, where several companies run trains, there are no less than 50 trains a day, and on most days a very m-eat deal of spare room is noticeable in all trains. Again, from London to Edinburgh there are _ 23 trains per day, in cither case more trains than are necessary to meet the -real requirements of traffic, except, of course, on very special occasions, when special arrangements could be made. Negotiations are now in progress between some of the different companies with the object of amalgamating a number of services, and thus minimising the waste of ex-

penditnre, but it is doubtful to what extent the authorities will approve of tho proposal. On the other hand, also, the proposal of the companies presents the possibility of some undesirable features which have recently been disclosed in connection with American railway administration. “There were no very important- railway construction works .in hand when I was in the Old Land, and sneaking of those I did see. I prefer N.Z. methods. Some years -ago the narrow, or 2ft gauge, railway was advocated by many as being suitable to our requirements, ‘but as the result of a visit to the -Barnstaple Lintc-r line, the latest example -of 2ft ga-ir'e construction, I am more than ever convinced -that our decision not to undertake this class of work was amply justified. During our visit to England there was talk of a strike -occurring amongst railway employees, and from what I learnt from the hours and rate of par- etc., of the men, I .must confess and think there was room for improvement, aiul I am hopeful that the agreement arrived at, between the society and the directors will .result in the removal of many legitimate grievances. At one stage of the negotiations matters assumed a very grave aspect, and Mr. Lloyd George’s successful intervention and settlement of the dispute is deserving of the highest commendation.”

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE ‘‘Did you give any attention to the matters affecting New Zealand ■produce?” “Yes; and I found our products were much appreciated. I visited Smith field market, and wis most favorably impressed with the ■appearance of our mutton and Jamb. In comparison with. English, produce, it suffered nothing, while it showed to great advantage against tlie Argentine and some of the Australian produce. From inquiries I made at various places, I was surprised to learn to what ail extent our mutton and lamb is disposed of by retailers as native grown. It is only necessary to see tlio two articles at Smithfield to realise how easily th's can he done. From tins point of view, however, we suffer nothing from the practices of tlio retailers. On the contrary, it is rather to our gain that wo arc able to take advantage of such an outlet, but it is when a retailer disposes of inferior mutton in New Zealand that injury is done, nnd the- prejudice against frozen meat is strengthened. I believe there is scope for a great extension of our trade in food products; there will naturally be variation in prices, but with cai'e in sending only products of good -quality, wo need have no fear. Wc. shall always retain a st.ro 11" position in English markets.” PREFERENTIAL TRADE. Fooling in Savor of preference within tho Empire, Mr. Hall-Jones believes, is making great strides; similarly the feeling in favor of a point of retaliation against foreign trade is being strengthened. The exßmt to which foreign manufactured articles are being dumped into .English markets is., lie stated, no doubt -beginning to impress people more and -more. He heard considerable adverse comment upon certain features or the new Commonwealth tariff, although in manv items preference was givnn to the ‘Home country (as against foreign countries), the duties imposed on British products were increased to such an extent that they would, in the opinion of many people, prohibit export to Australia. Comparisons were drawn from the New Zenland tariff of last session. an<l it- was shown to bo much more advantageous to English manufacturers than the Australian tariff. “Speaking generally, he added, “1 should sny that our new tariff was very favorably received in the Old Country.” WHERE EXTREMES MEET. Asked if ho had any observations to make regarding the relative condition of people in the United Kingdom £na _N.Z V Mr. Hall-Jones said he was

afraid this opened up too large a question to discuss in an interview, but certainly the most striking social feature to a Now Zealander visiting tho Old Land was the extreme* wealth and poverty which one noticed, and particularly in tho larger centres of population. “On one hand,” he said, “you see evidences of enormous personal wealth, sometimes well used, more often extravagantly ill 'Used; nml on the other hand, there are thousands upon thousands seeking employment from day to day, going hungry, and leading a life of extreme'and bitter hardship. These people have not the means of Booking fresh avenues of employment or leaving for younger countries, and the majority of them could not exist but for the aid of private and public benevolence." IMMIGRATION. “'Canada lias recently been boomed for the purpose of inducing immigration to it's shores, and 1 was informed bv the managing director of ono of the big Canadian railways that for some 18'months past immigrants have been pouring into tho country at the rate" of 1000 per day. At this rate the Dominion could not properly absorb them, and the result has been that many have had to return. Apart from this, I think it yet remains to be proved that Canada's policy, in this respect, is going to be a permanent advantage. So far as immigration to oar own country is concerned, I have no doubt that large numbers of suitable people (who would prove desirable settlers without- disturbing the labor market) will come of their own volition, as they are made aware of the advantages 'which New Zealand possesses. lam glad to be back once more in “God's own country,” he concluded. “The weather we have experienced during the greater part of our trip, especially in England, has been such us will cause us to more iirty appreciate our own climate. The reunion with my lamilv, my warm-hearted friends, and of- colleagues, who were so kind and considerate during my illness, is a deep Measure to me. and 1 feel it is good to he home once more.”