WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 19 November 1930, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS

RIGHT HON. GEORGE FORBES

NEW ZEALAND PREMIER AT

HOME.

(Special Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, November 17

A letter from the Right Hon. George W. Forbes, written so lately as October 8 last, is full of interesting allusions to his experiences and observations in the Mother Country. This is the' Prime Minister’s first visit to the “Other end of the Empire,” as he puts it—with the obvious view of keeping New Zealand in the pictureand he has encountered many strange and impressive pictures both in London and in the provinces. He enjoyed his trip across the Pacific thoroughly, if only for the rest and quiet it gave him; but he was a little disappointed by Canada. Of course he had “no time to see things beyond the beaten track while crossing the Big Dominion” and the impression he received was one of being much further from home than he afterwards felt in London. The Canadians were not lacking in hospitality, quite the contrary; but they did not understand New Zealand quite as well as the Home folk did. “That,” Mr Forbes hastens to say, “may have been our fault, not theirs”

LONDON AND HOME. “We dropped down in London,” Mr Forbes goes on to say, “ns if it had been our birthplace; and but for the Conference and the obligations of this great gathering-we could have: had a most enjoyable time without interfering with the business of anyone”’ But obviously lie was deeply interested in all the “gathering of the nations implied.” He was not personally overawed by the presence of the great men he had viewed from the other end of the world; but he was impressed, generally, by their broad views, their knowledge of the Empire, their courtesy,. : and their. fprebearance. ‘ ‘There were times, no doubt,- when they differed widely from some of the overseas, delegates upon' matters of importance, asj well as upon . matters of little consequence; but they were betrayed into neither retort nor speech that could be regarded as offensive.” ’Apparently' there were occasions on which they indulged in warm exchanges of words between themselves, but to the overseas representatives they were nothing but courtesy and suavity. THE CITY. At the time of writing.the Prime Minister had not by a very long way completed his tour of the city of London. With Sir Thomas and Lady skley . and Ml's Forbes he . had seen many of the big sites of'the world's metropolis; but he had many more to inspect and he did not see, at that time, ]«>w and when they could be squeezed in. All the casual visitor could view of London in a week or two would lie. but the most prominent and prosperous part of the city, and his own desire was to get out into the country and learn how the rural districts were faring. So far he had seen little of the poverty said to be rampant in the great city. He yet had had no time to look for it. He had marvelled 1 , however, at the wonderful management of London, so far as he had seen it, and had joined the admirers of the city’s policemen, reputed to be the finest body of the kind in the wide world. RURAL ENGLAND. At the beginning of last month the Prime Minister had seen little of rural England; but he had made weekend trips into the country and! gathered some information concerning the agricultural and pastoral industries, of one or two of the southern counties. August and September are not bad months to see these districts .and on the whole Mr Forbes seems to have been pleased by what he saw and heard. Farming in these districts is carried on generally in small areas and on the whole it is done well though often in a more laborious fashion than is the rule in New Zealand. Mr Forbes would not be favourable to the introduction of numbers of English farm labourers to New Zealand, but lie thinks—or at any rate, thought a couple of weeks agO'— that the English field hand, with a little experience, would hold his own with the average worker in this country. His implements are not always up to date but he uses them very effectively.