THE EYES OF THE WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 188, 7 February 1912, Page 4

THE EYES OF THE WORLD.

Since an Auckland councillor declared that ''the eyes of the world are oil us"— meaning the City Council—we have diligently searched" very many British, a number of American and some Continental papers, without discovering any reference to New Zealand in any of them, if one bars a total of three inches in twenty-five London papers. It is, therefore, gratifying to know that Mr. Sedgwick, who is connected with boy immigmtion. has s:\id in Xciv York that many people have cu(|nired as to the whereabouts of Xew Zealand. Unfortunately, minor countries are never "discovered" by the outside world unless there is something in the way of bloodshed going on. The world, for instance, does not care twopence whether Mr. Massey or Sir Joseph Ward politically rules 'this country, although the world with money to invest may be turning up the atlas to find out where the oil is bubbling. We are apt, to find fault with the hundreds of millions , of people who don't know where, we live and don't care, and to regard the Londoner who hasn't the least idea whether we are black, white or khaki, whether Germany owns us or whether we are a Dutch dependency, as a very ignorant person. He may not be a bigger fool than the back-country gentleman who asked if "London was all in one paddock." Under present conditions

and with so small a population, nothing could happen in New Zealand of world interest. We are peaceful and prosperous, fairly safe and not likely to get into touch with great events worth a couple of columns in the Daily Mail. The other day a Consul told a New Zealand audience that when he was ordered here he had never heard of the place and that no one he spoke to in London had ever heard of it. He couldn't even find us on the map until he had a second long and arduous search. He of course, now knows that we lead the world, although the world isn't aware of it. It is a little galling to our vanity to be told that the world really is not concerned with us, and that it is not a question of ignorance at all. What, for instance, do we. New Zealanders know of Java and its thirty millions? Divide thirty millions by thirty and you have the answer to the query, "Why are the eyes of the world not turned on New Zealand'/"