BETTER DAYS

Hokitika Guardian, 17 January 1929, Page 8

BETTER DAYS

; IN FREE STATE. DUBLIN, November 22. A hopeful view of the future of the Irish Free State is taken by ALr AV. T. C'osgrave, President of the Free State Executive Council. He said to me today : I am convinced that we have passed me turning-point in our efforts to restore prosperity. There is growing confidence on every hand. For six years toe country lias been apprehensive and uncertain, but now that is almost over. Our policy is to get value for every penny we pay out. A million pounds is nothing to big countries; it is everyuiing to us. The last two years ha.ve given people in the country the opportunity of looking at our problems with less tinted spectacles, and one of our chief obstacles to progress has gone. Finance is now our great difficulty, and we arc saving everything we can. GOOD HARVEST. Ireland will have to depend for a great number of years yet upon her agriculture. AYc have had a succession of bad seasons, but this year the harvest, generally speaking,'is good. There is an increase in our livestock and breeders arc beginning to show good results. Several schemes of the Department of Agriculture, such as the grading of eggs and butter and the or r ganisation of the dairy scheme, are making for an improvement in the economic position of the farmers. AVe have had to face considerable difficulties. AA’e 4 received the backwash" of the land movement. There have been many cases of congestion and of uneconomic holdings, and in the west the difficulties were accentuates. by tiie numbers of people who were engaged partly in fishing and partly in agriculture. It was hard to know where to start, but we have cleared up a lot of anomalies and the position is now very hopeful. Industrially there is a decided improvement. The interruption caused by the war left Irish industries depressed, but there has been a revival with the introduction of modern methods. AA e have made inroads into the importation of many articles. The Irish boot trade, for instance, shows a great improvement. I have worn Irish boots now for 25 years and have noticed quite a remarkable advance. Similarly with Irish woollens: the old complaint about the restricted patterns of Irish tweed lias gone. The importation of blankets is now almost negligible. MONEY FOR, BUILDINGS. AA’e are hoping to extend our small trade on the Continent by the formation of tli(' new embassies at Berlin and Paris, but internal matters are more important at present. Air C'osgrave pointed to schemes of reconstruction as an evidence of growing confidence: For two or three years there was scarcely a move towards reconstruction. Within the last twelve months there lias scarcely been a vacant site in Dublin. People are putting their money into, buildings, which is a sure sign of confidence. Throughout the country roads are being improved and made more suitable,, for tourist traffic and better lor the farmers. I don’t want to hark hack too mneb to our difficulties, but we have had 2.700 bridges to construct throughout the country.

NEW YORK DELHI HT. NEW YORK. Nov. 13. London came to New 'l ork Inst night in “This Year of (trace” and sweat the city of its feet. Critics stirred oiit of themselves hy the hrilliant success of the revue are this morning lavish in their praisi s. seekino by smartly turned phrases to catch the spirit of the play wliich on the previous evening went like good champagne to their heads. Then' are no captious voices. One critic finds that “Coward is here at his slyest, runniest, and , deadliest kidding" and all have lost their heads and hearts to Miss Rentrice Lillie. The chorus too has its mood of praise, one remarking that if “approaches tin l grace, agility, and harmonious action of our dancing girls." SKATS AT £1 EACH. Another says that when people who have paid £-1 apiece for their seats lvgi.n raving you may take it that they have something to rave about. Londoners can lake special pride in New Yorkers are advised that this is this magnificent reception, because t'sed to the most spectacular devices available to the world’s wealthiest theatrical centre, the critics revel in the simplicity of the new revue with its effects of colour not obtained by an essentially ißritish revile--some-thing very different from those which lliroadway produces with such marked success from its own standpoint.