THE WORLD'S WONDERLANDNEW ZEALAND.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8166, 22 April 1895, Page 3

THE WORLD'S WONDERLANDNEW ZEALAND.

Thii is the title of tho brilliant lecturo delivered by Mr W. Herbert-Jones. As a lecturer Mr Herbert- Jones Ins acquired a great reputation, and a? a journalist ho hna an unoximplcd career. Ho h*s studied Now Zealand. He hie fcraversod the colony north and south, ea^t and west, and is familinr with its peoplenatives and colonists — <nd its institution". Mr Horbort-Jones knows more about tho colony of New Zealand than the majority of the colonists ; and as it ia the duty of every man to learn all ho cm about the country in which ho lives, this able lecturer will tell more in two hours than from personal experience one could leirn in twelve months. Mr HerbertJones has •■nken over two years to gather togethor tho material for hn lectures. It is his intention to deliver them throughout Great Britain, and we are certain th it these illustrated lectures will do much to advertise the colony, and attract tourists and the right; sorb of pooplo lo New Zealand. Having Been Mr Herbert-Jones views, whereby he illustrates his subject, h'w hearers were forced to exe'aim that they had no idea that New Zealand was such a wonderful place. A keen ornithologist, he has obtained the finest collection of view 9 of bird life ever exhibited, and he deeply deplores the destruction of New Zealand's native birds. He is an enthusiastic botanist and geologist, and his exhibitions of the nativo flora and the forma 1 ions <4 various localities, notably of the volcanic area of the North Island, tmke up an interesting and instructive portion of his lecture. Mr Herbert-Jones also revels in adventure, and tho descriptions ho gives of hii excursions over tho Otira Gorge and up Mount Earnslaw constitute some of the finest pieces of word painting it has been our privilege to listen to. Ho is versed in Maori lore, and speaks in the most glowing terms of the nobleness and generosity of these people, and of all tho traditions or theories respecting their origin favors that of Judge Fenton in ascribing to tho Maori Egyptian origin. While deplorinp the destruction ot tho native birds of New Zealand, he regards the deforestisation of the colony with even greater disfavor. Man, ruthless man, was destroying tho kuiri forests which had been livo thousand years in I existence He considers that New Zealand, instead of being the nowest, was probably the oldest portion of the earth's surface. Mr Herbert-Jones has a ready wit and mingles a strong vein of shrewd commonsense with his utterances. Ho has little sympathy with the nostrums that are being applied to the body politic of the colony, and exhorts the colonists to treit life more seriously, with a view to preserving all that is good and beautiful in their country, and to developing its untold resources and wealth. Ho lauds the spirit of courage and enterprise of tho early colonists, and observes that it would bo better for tho colony if more of 'ho pioneer Fquattorand sottlei's self-reliance existed among its people to-day. The lecturer did not fail to add interesting and amusing anecdote to give ploasing divoreity to a brilliant discourse, and the views produced on the canvas by Messrs J D. and H. M. Scott wtro the finest picturoa of New Zealand scenery ever witnessed in Oamaru. Mr Herbert-Jones' second lecture will bo givon thi9 evening, and he assuredly deserves a crowded house.