The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-03-10
A BIT BACKWARD
Original Comment On Life
Beyond the Equator.
Slow In AuckIand-Missin and Pc
culiar lFeatures-Sydney Is Much
More Advanced.

It is real treat to hear L. G. Ables
talk about Auckland and Sydney and
the people and the customs down in
that country. Mr.. Ables is keen and
close observer and then in conversa-
ton has a neat and original way of
telling things.
According to the Honolulu man who
went down the other side of the equa-
tor to assist in the Introduction of the
Hagey cure for liquor, etc., the
most marked characteristic of the peo-
pie of the Colonies is their set refusal
to hurry in either business or pleasure.
The merchants are pleased enough in
way to have customers and sell goods,
but at times the dealers and their
clerks seen to be rather annoyed by the
calls of customers. They do not like to
be disturbed when they are thinking or
reading or talking. But they are all
good fellows. Mr.. Ables sticks to that
assertion. With all their faults as a
real live man from Honolulu would see
the shortening, the men of both Sgd
ney and Auckland are cordial in their
greetings to outsiders and when they
make friends are loyal all the time.
"But the mahope of this country" says
Mr.. Ables, sis a regular Chicago rush
compared to the wait and delay and
hesitation and representation of the
average Colonial on business prOpOs-
ition." 1t is a conservative country in
everything excepting legislation and
political agitation. Every man down
there when it comes to politics is a
raving statesman.
Auckland is place of $4,000 and has
two newspapers only and they use the
same cable reports. The papers do not
care for ordinary local news at all, as
such matters are handled in America
or here. They run to crime details and
courts and politics and official func-
tons. Auckland has no such thing as
a milk wagon. The needful fluid is dip
ped out of can set between two
wheels and dragged from house to
house by man or boy. There is not
shoe shining stand in the city. The
public conveyances are hanson cabs,
and a Honolulu hack would create the
biggest kind of sensation down there.
The tram lines (horse) are owned by
the Government as well as the tele-
phone system and both services are
away behind the times. For illumina-
ton gas is burned. This franchise is
owned by a powerful corporation that
up to date has succeeded in keeping out
electric light and power. The morning
paper and two or three other establish
ments have electric lighting and power
plants of their own. New Zealand has
many cities of 20 and 10000 people and
is prosperous, pleasing country, with
not few opportunities for money max
ing, but the average hustler" could
not endure the pain of waiting to get
a plan under way. To anything new
the "antedeluvians" merely shrug their
shoulders and remark that Our people
wouldn't care for that" or the "coun-
try is not far enough advanced yet.
The Hagey people it might be men
toned, have done fairly we'll In Auck-
land, but hope to do much better In
Sydney.
Sydney is mentioned with consider
able enthusiasm by Mr.. Ables. The
harbor is the pride of the people and
is said to be the finest on earth. There
are a great many Americans in sydney
and hundreds of them are prominent
in the business life of the place. Their
influence has had it's effect and Sydney
is more like an American city than
perhaps any place in any of the Colo
MES outside of Canada. There are fine
buildings there, some OF the best OF
them owned by American individuals,
firms or corporations. The city is
growing all the time and the future OF
the colony is assured by the undevelop..
ed wealth back of it. Large areas OF
new territory are opened up each year.
Mr.. Ables spoke of the love or the
Colonials for sport and of the success
of the Honolulu boys in the blcycle
business at Auckland, but says II ne
| goes back that way he will go into
some business in Sydney.