Notes and Comments.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 8, 21 January 1905, Page 3

Notes and Comments.

A “ yolly littla yerman," to wit Dr Herz, of Christchurch, h«s

As been contributing articli s Others on New Zealand to the Sbb Berlin “ Tageblatt,” so the Us Christchurch Press is in-

informed, and the extracts therefore are truly sui prising. Our Teutonic " friend” states ; — “ The New Zealander has a right to be proud of his country, hut it remains a strange fact that he does not know if at all except from photographs and | from the information of strangers. The New Zealander travels little or not at all for pleasure' in his own country, if he does travel he goes home to England. The New Zealander speaks bad English, and With aff twang’ which to the ear is horrible.’ He pronounces ‘paper’ ‘ paiper,’ ‘ home' ‘heome,’ the • a’ he generally pronounces 1 ai,’ and the whole pronounciation has a greater similarity to cat music than to the King’s English. One always hears of ‘ ’am and heggs.’ The New Zealander puts no importance on outer appearances, and there is not a good tailor to be had. nothing fits, and clothes are terribly dear. My friend Dick will be shocked when he hears that his people wear loose cuffs, ready-made ties and ‘ dickies,’ and one generally observes woollen shirts with turned-down collars and soft caps. The main thing is to be dressed a hat with is of secondary consideration. As far as the ladies are concerned. I am too big a coward to express the truth. I hope what I say here won’t be read in New Zealand, anyhow, not until I have passed Cape Farewell. The ladies dress without taste, and their dresses hang on them like sacks. Their combination of colours is indescribable, and one's hair stands on end when we see them. And their hats—good gracious ! Directly a new fashion appears, everybody wears the same within twenty-four hours. Worst of all is their hairdress, quite horrible, they wear their hair down to the nose, and with young girls of eighteen and nineteen, it is still worse. They pay no attention to their footgear, and American shoes are mostly worn in this colony. ■ At dances , whether public or private, they are very loud, and the women never look pretty. Cards play a considerable part in their amusements; young ladies, boys and oilmen are invited to poker and euchre parties, in fact, everybody plays cards —a horrible sight 1 In the same paper of November 6th, Dr Herz goes on in a similar strain stating that every village has a racecourse, the Englishman considers his sport not as a pleasure, but as a labour. You further read that ‘ the grain business is in the hands of Germans.’ In the paper of November 13th he runs down the volunteers, and, says it is all play with them, and even in” the schools there is only joking going on. “ The whole of New Zealand,” he says, “ is like one big family, where everybody knows everybody else, every wedding appears in the papers and each couple is photographed Everyone has his own little house, his bathroom (daily used), and, unfortunately, his piano- Most people have false teeth. The New Zealander loves his tea, he drinks it at 7 (before washing himself brrr!) at 8.30 a.m., at 11 a.m., at 1 for lunch, at 4 in the afternoon, at 7 p.m., and at 10 p.m. as a night-cap." Poor Herz. Surely he has had a very narrow circle of acquaintances or he has a bad bilious attack. Things that strike English visitors forcibly are rhe purity of the English spoken in New Zealand, and the well-dressed appearance of the colonials. As for tea, would he rather see lager drunk. Donner und blitzen, bod dot vos der reckenschap mit ons geven, Herz.