A NOTABLE VISITOR

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 223, 26 October 1909, Page 3

A NOTABLE VISITOR

MR. G. P. SPARROW. Mr. G P. Sparrow, one of the principals in tlie firm of Mills and Sparrow, lor whom Mes'srs. E. Griffiths and Co. of New Plymouth, are .New Zealand representatives, has just spent a few'days in *ew Plymouth. .Mr. farrow is one ol the fcugUsh delegates 10 U,e went Conference of the Chambers „f Commerce in Sydney. Having business interests ill Australia, he was unahle to leave there with the remainder of the delegates for New Zealand, and only arrived in Wellington on Wednesday last, leaving on Saturday morning by the express train for .New Plymouth. Yesterday he accompanied Mr. Griffiths on a brief visit to the country. His interests as a dealer in dairy produce lie in the country rather than in the towns, hence he is not accompanying the other parlies of the delegates who are visiting the various centres. Mr. Griffiths has arranged his itinerary, ami by the time he leaves Wellington a fortnight hence he hones to have seen most of the dairying districts in the North Island.

Air. Sparrow was seen by a Daily News representative last evening. He said he 'had seen very little of New Zealand as yet, and as for the dairying industry he had a decided aversion to talking too much "shop," winch ini»ht he looked upon us a sort of advertising dodge. He had been struck, however, with the remarkable greenness of tin countryside, the richness of the pastures and the number of rivulets which watered the country. The New Zealand and

! Australian towns he had seen were not • the novelty to him that they were to • some folks, for .he had seen these "cities in the making" during visits to America. > To the inevitable question, "Have you seen the Recreation Grounds?" he an- ; swered in a pleased affirmative. He had ! admired the grounds very much, and expressed his pleasure in finding so much of the park left in its natural state. It was the natural beauty of Hie place that appealed to him most, whilst he had a word of admiration for the sports amphitheatre. He regretted that his business prevented his making a longer stay here. It would be some time in January before he got back to his own office in London, and he had already been away since July 17th. As to the butter trade, he said that New Zealand butter was assured of a good market at Home from the fact that it arrived there just when the Continental and Home supplies were short, if not stopped altogether. There was a big demand for it, and this would douDiless continue, as the consumption of butter per head of. population was increasing. This was largely accounted for by the fact that during the winter months now the masses were supplied with this fine article from Australia and New Zealand at, a reasonable price. New Zealand butter "carried well." Of course, they 'l|sul to thank the refrigerator a good deal for enabling them to send the butter Home and land it there '

in such splendid order. Continental and Home-made butters as a rule, would not stand being stored for a couple of months; yet the butter from New Zealand had of necessity to be frozen for ' a couple of months or more, and yet it opened up in good order and condition, with but slight exception. It had an excellent name. In answer to a question, Mr. Sparrow said that during the winter months, when our butter was arriving there, he used New Zealand butter in his own household.

Chatting on other subjects, Mr. Sparrow mentioned that business' relations between New Zealand and the Home land were considerably hampered by distance. At present mail matter took from six weeks to two months each way, and a similar period had to be devoted by a principal desirous of visiting his colonial bouses, agents, or correspondents. Doubtless' these disabilities would be removed in the near future by the speeding up of the mail boats, fit was all a question of business, of course, and Australasia could secure a faster mail service at 'any time by paying a little more for it." The itinerary! of the mail steamers was' now based upon the speed of the slowest steamers in the service, and the faster boats had to run to suit. them. Why, oven on the journey out their boat steamed at only fourteen knots, when eighteen could easilv have been pot out of the vessel. But it would never do to arrive ahead of schedule time. There was, he explained, an immense difference between the co--t of steaming 14 knols and the cost of sending the steamer along at IS knols. A tnnsenntinental railway from Frcnv.intle to Melbourne would greatly shorten the journey to and from England and the shorter the journey the better would be the trade relations between England and the colonies.