"The railways in Zelania are a valuable asset. Their construction has doubled the value of the public lands, and, as at cheap rates they are yielding a good per cent. on the total cost, they are worth to-day the full amount of the investment.
"The railways are being extended and improved as rapidly as the demands require, and the finances justify; and with the post offices, telegraphs and telephones, they are under the watchful eye and control of a Cabinet Minister--at present Sir Joseph Ward--the early evidence of whose sagacity was shown in his having selected these antipodean regions as a country in which to endure life's fitful dream.
"Sir Joseph is an ornament too, as well as a pillar in, the political and social structure of Zelania. He is affable, polished, ambitious and patriotic. He is brilliant in his business conceptions, and, possessing a pleasing personality and persuasive speech, he rarely fails in the execution of his well organised designs. While he has hardly passed the noon of life, he has long been the skilful lieutenant of the sturdy Seddon, and if the chief, at whose side he has so unfalteringly stood, should weary under the burden of public cares, it would seem most fitting that the mantle of leadership should fall upon the trained shoulders of this able and versatile statesman.
"Then the construction of all the railways, with all their _et ceteras_--the highways, bridges, and other public works--is also directed by a Cabinet Minister.
[Illustration: _"Hongi," Maori Salutation._]
"Well, from all the 'millions' that have been spent under this tireless guardian in the promotion of these stupendous improvements, in a country, too, in which very many intelligent people would sit up 'all hours' to find something to criticise, there is probably not one person who could be persuaded that there was ever a sixpence coined in His Majesty's Mint sufficiently nimble to find its way into the wrong pocket.
"This 'Minister of Works' works twice as many hours per day as any one of the thousands of men in his employ, and the thought of his being influenced by any consideration save that of the public good, could not be advanced to the debatable stage in any company in Zelania. These people trust their 'servants,' and rarely, indeed, is their trust betrayed. This is a Zelanian 'trust.'