NEW ZEALAND COMPLACENCY.

New Zealand Listener, Volume 18, Issue 458, 2 April 1948, Page 16

NEW ZEALAND COMPLACENCY.

, Sir-On a‘recent Friday night I listened at first with interest but later with a great deal of consternation to the session "Let’s Have it Out!" The debate began with Mrs. McPhail’s fluent, coherent and altogether delightfully expressed opinions of New Zealand and New Zealanders, All too seldom do we

have the opportunity in this country of hearing speakers who have the ability to express themselves with ease; and of hearing’ pleasant voices, almost never. Mrs. McPhail had both these things and her observations to my mind stamped her as an intelligent person and a competent observer. I-found nothing in her criticisms to disagree with. I was pleased to hear that she found New Zealand people so pleasant and friendly, for they can be that. But I do agree that we are self-satis-fied and complacent toa degree that we put up with poorly-made articles and that our clothes are without style. I have spent enough years away from New Zealand to know this to be true. Two New Zealand women replied to Mrs. McPhail’s interesting and helpful talk and here my consternation began. The speakers, one in particular, were fairly representative of New Zealanders. Their halting incoherence and inability to express themselves made a most unfortunate contrast, and, while denying that New Zealanders were complacent, gave a most positive exhibition of complacency. Many times the old excuse that New Zealand is a young country, just 109 years old, is offered as a reason for the poor quality of New Zealandmade goods. The truth is that the vast majority of New Zealand goods are inferior in either quality or finish and we offer no complaint. If we did, either the quality would have to improve or we should be able to purchase good quality ‘from other countries. Those articles made in New Zealand which are up to standard, woolléns, for instance, are fantastically high in price and are not, as most New Zealanders think, much better in quality than woollen goods in other countries. ‘Those who have bought woollen goods overseas will agree with this. I would like to point out, too, the number of times Mrs. McPhail was misquoted. It happened alto. gether too often and when Mrs. McPhail attempted to correct her critics, she was not given a ghost of a chance.

C.S.

E.

(Dunedin).