ROUND THE WORLD

Southland Times, Issue 20081, 19 January 1927, Page 5

ROUND THE WORLD

AN INTERESTING TRIP.

GERALDINE DOCTOR’S IMPRESSIONS. A trip to England, via America, and a return to New Zealand through France and via India, was undertaken by Dr and Mrs Hislop, of Geraldine. The doctor, who returned recently, gave an account of his journey to a meeting of the Geraldine Businessmen’s Association the other evening. Dr Hislop has been a member of the Geraldine Borough Council, Mayor of that town, and has seen service on several ot her bodies. The doctor said that he and his wife left New Zealand by the Aorangi, and the first call was at Suva, which produced sugar, pineapples, copra and rubber. Then came Honolulu, a most beautiful place, which jxossessed the finest golf course the speaker had seen, and an aquarium second to none but London’s. The cars of the Canadian Pacific Railway made travelling through the Rockies delightful, while the white officials and negro porters could not do enough for the travellers. He spoke of the fine observation cars with platforms from which one could take photos of the grandest scenery, and suggested that such cars should Im* constructed on some of the New Zealand lines. The Canadian Government did a great deal to help settlers, giving them 160 acres free, and lending them money for stocking up. There were about 21,000,000 acres under wheat in Canada. Each train carrying grain was limited to sixty-five trucks. At Toronto was the largest university in the world, with 6000 students. Ottawa, the seat of Government, had magnificent Parliamentary buildings, occupying a beautiful site on a hill. This was a great lumber centre. It was not generally known that Canada was the third largest producer of gold. South Africa coming first and the United States second. Canada had produced over £6,000,000 of gold last year. Dr and Mrs Hislop left Canada in ’the Empress of France. Going down the St. Lawrence they had six hours in an ice-field. The control of the London traffic was marvellous, said the doctor. There seemed to Im? plenty of money about, though many of the landowners and nobility were suffering hardship owing to the heavy taxation. The roads in England, though narrow, were wonderful. Going through the country they noticed many beautiful war memorials. People were much better clothed than they used to be, and far more sober, partly due to the high price of spirits and restrictive measures, and partly to workmen having more amusement. It was not fashionable for a workman to get

drunk, and the speaker did not see any drunkards till he arrived at Sydney and Wellington. In Scotland he obtained New Zealand butter, honey and apples, the lastnamed being very tasty, though the Canadian apples were packed the best. It was said that Americans were spending three hundred millions a year in England, and one man bought £lB,OOO worth of champagne for thirsty Americans.

France was traversed by the party, and Bombay and Ceylon visited. Much work was done in Ceylon by elephants, who appeared to have a trade union, for they absolutely refused to work after 2 p.m., when they went off to bathe. The doctor

spoke very favourably of the Big Brother movement in Western Australia.