Correspondence
A LETTER FROM NEW ZEALAND.
SIR,—A silvery summer lave place to a golden autumn, but I am afraid the happy sequence was too good to last and we are now in the throes of a rather disagreeable winter.
Our present Governor-General, Sir Charles Fergusson, will surely go down in our history as the most travelled man who has ever inhabited the vice-regal lodge at Wellington. During the years that Sir Charles has been in New Zealand he has travelled almost continually over the whole Dominion, and there is not certainly a corner or. nook worth seeing which has not been visited by His Excellency.
This is election year and all camps are busy mustering their forces. The present occupants of the Treasury Benches are the Conservatives (Reformers), and their majority is at present of such dimensions that it is difficult to see it knocked to pieces at the one blow. The greatest danger comes from the Labour. Party, the present official Opposition, whose leader is an able fighter. The United Party consists of erstwhile Liberals, disgruntled Reformers and " undecideds." The election is not until the end of November but the air is already electric.
It is many years since Mr. Spencer Gollan sailed from these shores taking his steeplechaser, Moifa, and won the Grand National at Aintree. Moifa brought our blood- stock into the limelight. Now, after all these years, another freak jumper has come to light in Beau Cavalier. So far he has carried everything before him and it is understood that there is every chance of The Beau being taken home to repeat Moifa's performance. • Our famous " All Blacks " seem to have met their match, in fact more than their match, in their African cousins, the " Springboks." Although our men have fought for victory it has not come their way often, and the consensus of opinion is that the present team is not of the high standard of the previous carriers of the fern leaf and kiwi banner. However, they have fought cleanly, and, according to all accounts, have won the hearts of the South Africans. Such a pilgrimage as the " All Blacks " have been upon does more to cement the bonds of Empire than is generally appreciated.
Unemployment is rife and it threatens to become worse instead of better. In pre-war days such a state- of affairs was practically unknown to us, and this fact makes it all the harder to cope with the situation. It is a terrible thing for such a young country to have in each of its larger cities some thousands of men for whom work cannot be found. The causes are many but chief among them is an over-vigorous immigration policy. It is illogical for the Government, having regard to the large numbers out of work, to continue an active policy of immigration. The cure is difficult to find, There is no dole system here, but we are endeavouring to cope with the situation by the opening up of relief works. Secondary industries in New Zealand are in their infancy, but they are rapidly growing and with the additional labour so required it is hoped to absorb the unemployed gradually.—I am, Sir, &c., A CORRESPONDENT IN WELLINGTON.
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