What is occasionally said of as.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume IX, Issue 993, 1 November 1881, Page 2

What is occasionally said of as.

A Pekth paper publishes a letter from a recent arrival in New Zealand, from which we make the following extract ;—

“ 1 was heartily glad to get out of Dunedin. Business was perfectly abject. . An ex-mayor, himself a merchant said to me, ‘ Happy the man who can realise, and leave New Zealand just now !’ The climate of Dunedin is a very nasty one, and people living in other towns |hate it on that account. Oamaru decidedly has the best climate in New Zealand for Scotchmen in health, I asked the chief officer of our steamer in which town he would prefer to settle ; he said at once, Auckland. This town covers as much ground as Edinburgh, if not more, although only 40,000 at outside, with all suburbs. But then a vast number of the houses haye large gardens, Ind there are extensive public parks with-’ . in the limits, and the ground is very hilly and broken, though not so bad as Dunedin. The principal business streets are mostly brick, all else wood Houses generally have very small rooms, and few fire-places—they do not please people from Britain at all. Auckland climate is very relaxing, extremely oppressive when the north or equatorial wind blows ; but pleasant with any wind southwardly. Of wihd there is enough and to spare; but there is plenty of sunshine, except iu the winter, which is more properly a rainy season than a winter. Working men's and humble clerks’ houses are'terribly small poky places—mere boxes ; but as people seem to be so much out of doors they don’t mind. We returned here on 19th July, and since that day lam sure there have not been more than 10 days on which a lady could not get as much exercise in sunshine as she. cared to. Colonial living is not pleasant at first. Servants are ruinously expensive, and must live on the best as their master, or else they leave. House rent is extremely high. For a wooden box, with partitions into, say, six rabbit hutches, about £6O a year is demanded. Town taxes, Ac., are very high everywhere. Meat is cheap in name, but somehow the meat is inferior, and does not go so far as at Home. Poultry very dear. Fruit monstrously so ; poor apples, 6d per lb. Bread rather dearer than at

Home. Whenever labor touches anything in New Zealand, then up goes its cost skyhigh. This is all from the millions of borrowed money. Money seetris so have been like water. But a change is setting in. My wife wanted an orange the other day, being thirsty in the sun, and had to pay 2|d for it. I knew the pamphlets about New Zealand told crammers, but I didn’t think they were such big ones. Nevertheless, it is a line country on the whole, with a climate, generally speaking; superior to the Home one ; but at present, for £lOO at Home one can live as comfortably as for £l5O here, if not more so. Farmingis pretty precarious out here. Oats were sold commonly at Is a bushel this season. I find fhat in this province farmers may live on their farms by hard personal work, but they never put anything in the bank because they can’t ! Many retired military men and young professional men have gone on to land, at cheap prices too, but away in the bush, far from markets, and working their lives and their wives’ lives out. Very many have had to giv« in. On the Canteibury plains some skilled men are making money, aud many unskilled have lost it, even there. The air of New Zealand is so moist that one feels chilly at a higher temperature than that causing the same effect at Home, and fires are welcome, but fuel is monstrously dear ; poor coal, 28s to 30 per ton, although there are many mines in this province. Here, again, comes in the high cost of labor. Rheumatism and neuralgia are common disorders from the great moisture. There is a much greater variety of climate in New Zealand than at Home, and it is difficult to understand it. This is midsummer, and people wear Indian helmets during the day, and then can bear two blankets at jiight, the change is so marked. The country around Auckland is most charming, the splendid gardens con-' tabling such brilliant shows of flowers. I have seen geraniums here 8 to 10 feet high, and growing quite wild and untended ; but neither have flowers the scent nor fruit the flavor of that at Home.”