PIONEER SETTLERS.

A HOLIDAY TRIP HQM& (BY OXm SPKCt-L BEFO-fiirEft.) Two of the oldest and most successful of the early' settlers of Papanui, Messrs J Jackson and H. N. Nunweek, rclorned an Friday from a visit to the Old Ooun--try, after mt absence from the land of their birth of over fifty years. Seen by a re r presentativ. of "The Press," both were able to tell sir interesting story of the changes that have taken place in half a century, and of the manner in which their adopted country compares with the Mtitherland.

Mr Jackson arrived in Canterbury in 1851, settling on land in Harewood road. After a time he went to Wellington* and then to the gold diggings in Otago, subsequently returning, and in 1866 opening the Seven Oaks butchefry, which he carried on most,' profitably till seven years ago, when he retired from business. His visit to England was the first made since his arrival in the colony, and when he reached has native town—Macclesfield—he did not know it, and found only one man who knew him. In reply to a question as to whether he would like to live in England again, he emphatically replied in the negative. "New Zealand is my home," he said, "and I wish for bo better country; I-have certainly seen none better in my travels." Rera*rri_g to the'- crops, Mr Jackson said the only place at which he had sssn crops which, in his opinion, equalled those of Canterbury, was m the neighbsurhood of Edinburgh. With regfiid to New Zealand meat he said, " I saw to-day better beef hanging in my old shop at Papanui than J. discovered at any shop I passed while in Britain, and I kept my eyes open and made enquiries too. . In Kent I found a shop selling New Zealand mutton, and was told that Canterbury brand legs were sold at 8d per lb. At the place I was staying they told mc that they used New Zealand meat, and found it cheap and good. T asked the price paid, and was rather astonished when told that 9_d par lb was being paid, at a town not more than thirty-five from London. I think there must be something wrong, and that the middle-man* must be getting a good deal too much to account for the difference."

Mr Henry Nunweek, whose fruit farm on tho Harewood roadi is. noted, is a native of Yorkshire, and has risen from the position of a piateplayer on the Midland Rail-., way to that oi a prosperous farmer. Mr! Nunweek arrived at Lyttelton in 1856, and worked at road making for -the Goivernment. In 1861 he *we_t to the Otago-gold-ficd's, and w»th a party of -others took up a claim which for the first day's work gave each of the five members of ihe party a return equal to about £40 per man. The leader, who waa an old Australian digger, attempted to frighten Mr Nunweek and his mate away, so that the rich claim might be shared by the three others only. ' Mr Nunweek would not budge, and offered to i arbitrate the matter by physical force. The j Australian and his mates debated the position, and were overheard to remark that they had better let "Ginger" aione, or he would "hammer the lot of. them," so the cairn was henoeforwapd amicably worked "till it "petered out." Mr Nunweek then wisely -decided on investing the considerable capital he had obtained in land, and returning to Canterbury ha purchased his .present .property from Mr J. Jackson, and started a fruit farm. Of late years it has grown and prospered wonderfully, and with the assistance of three sons and a number of labourers, some big crops are harvested, and a market is found for every- j thing, although there was a time when Mr Nunweek.had to wheel his peaches by the ' ton to the -pig-troughs, because there was then no demand for them. Like Mr Jackson, his recent journey to England was the first .trip sinoe he came to the -colony. Being naturally interested in -fruit growing he journeyed to Kent to see what improvements on the colony's methods were in vogue- "After spenoing a few days looking round, I was able "to say that I can grow more fruit- on = one acre than • they were growing on three acres in Kent," said Mr _nLnw.dc. 'They did no*i seem to he educated up to recognising tha ravages of various kinds of blight, and I was able to point out* some cases of blight-infected trees, which the owners hod supposed to be unfruitful from other causes. Kent's light chocolate soil appears to be admirab.y adapted for fruit-growing. I am convinced that we in New Zealand have not much to learn from the English fruit-grower. Certainlly it was am exceptionadly bad season, but the crop was not the twentieth part per acre of what our crop promised to be." Asked if he would like to live in England again, Mr Nunweek said, "Not a bit of it. The farm my own father tilled for fifty years was up for sale, and I went to see it. I daresay I could have found the money to buy the property'right out, but even'with a_ the old associations I wc_ldi-_t live on it if I were paid to do so. No, New Zealand ia a good enough country for mc to end my days in—and, well, I am not doing -so badly here either.