COLONIAL INSTITUTE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 21, 26 January 1892, Page 8

COLONIAL INSTITUTE.

THE AGENT-GENERAL'S SUG

CESSFUL DEBUT.

The feature of the Colonial Institute meeting on Tuesday evening waa the successful debut of tho new Agent-General for New Zealand, Mr W. B. Perceval, who (under particularly trying circumstances) made the speech of the evening. Most of the Colonial Institute " big wigs " were away doing honour to Sir Graham Berry at the St. George's Club, consequently the platform waa less smartly peopled than usual, but the attendance of ordinary Fellows and Anglo-Australians was exceptionally large, in fact, the spacious rooms were crowded. Sir Charles Nicholson occupied the chair, supported by Sir H. Barkly, Sir Frederick Young, Sir Malcolm Fraser, Sir George Chesney, Sir P. Bevan Edwards, Mr Samuel Deering, Mr Perceval, and Mr Kennaway. The chairman opened the proceedings with a mumbling speech of outrageous length. The audience listened sympathetically to his blundering but wellmeant reference to the loss tho Institute had sustained by tho death of Sir Arthur Blyth, and even permitted him to ramble on to the subjecb of the paper Sir Edward Braddon wae about to deliver withoub remonstrance. When, however, after ten minutes of semi-audible twaddle the portly baronet showed no signs of pulling up, tffe audience grew restive. Coughs, applause and, finally, cries of "time," rent the air. But all to no purpose. Mistaking the applause, apparently, for encouragement, the old gentleman ambled equably along, and it was not till Mr O'Halloran, in despair, had clutched at his coat tails and dragged him forcibly into 'a'seat that this ex-Speaker's flow of husky, fusty verbosity could be checked. Sir Edward Braddon then proceeded to vindicate Australasia and (as somebody elegantly put it) " spiflicate " Mr Forteecue and Mr Christie Murray. With the firstnamed gentleman he was (thanks chiefly to Mr Howard Willoughby, whose paper he quoted) completely successful. The only thing (as I think Sir Malcolm Fraser asked lately) is, are we politic in answering " nonentities like Fortoscue at all ? Does Australasia require vindicating from the slanders of the casual globe-trotter? If the colonists themselves had not " squirmed" under Fortescue's blundering criticisms, is it likely the rest of the world would have paid any attention thereto? I trow not, Mr Playford, of South Australia, set the ball rolling with his cable denying something or another Fortescue said. I reckon the cable was worth quite £20 to theastuteyounggentleman. The fact that the Premier of South Australia felt constrained to deny his charges gave Fortescue aa importance he would never otherwise have possessed. You have heard this before, but I repeat it) because it was the burden of more than one speech at the Colonial Institute on Tuesday evening. I send you Sir Edward's paper, but I scarcely think you will care' to publiah it entire, as it contains nothing particularly new or particularly original. MR PERCEVAL'S SPEECH. Sir Malcolm Fraser opened the discussion on Sir E. Braddon'a paper with come rather conventional remarks I do not think I need trouble you with. He was followed by Mr Perceval, who met with a very cordial reception when it began to dawn on the audience that the youthful-looking speaker was Sir F. D. Bell's successor. His speech was such a success I _ have been to some trouble to obtain a verbatim report for you. Mr W. B. Perceval said: "Our excellent chairman has unexpectedly called upon me to say a few words by way of comment on the very able paper Co which wo have just listened. Unlike the laat speaker, or, rather, like him in ono respect, I am an absentee, but I am an absentee on very short duration, for I have been in London on the present occasion for three days only. (At this point the audience recognised the new Agent-General for New Zealand and welcomed him.) I quite agree that absenteeism is one of the worst evils the Australias suffer from, and the colony I have the honour to represent thinks so too, for during the last session of Parliament a small additional tax wae imposed by way of warning to absentees. (Laughter.) Owing to my having arrived so recently,; I regret to say, or in one sense I racher congratulate myself on the fact, that I am not so well up as many of you no doubt are on the subject of what Sir E. Braddon ha 3 called these ' atrabilious and unwarrantable attacks on Australasian manners, morals, and money.' But nevertheless when I got up I felt inclined to hang down my head. I am a colonisb born and bred in New Zealand, and for tho most part educated there, and I felt I really oughb almost to apologise to you and explain that I AM NOT A DRUNKARD, that I do not blaspheme, and that I am not more disloyal than any other citizen of this Empire. (Laughter.) Attacks _of this sort are received in the colonies with the scorn they deserve. (Hear, hear.) But I do not think it does to ignore them here. Unfortunately, people all over tho world aie very easily gulled, and no doubt the attacks that have been made have had some effect on the British mind. I think, therefore, the colonies owe a great debt of gratitude to Sir Edward Braddon for his vindication, aud I look upon it as an indication of the trend of public opinion that the Agent-General of 'one of the colonies (the smallest of the Australasian Group) should stand up in defence of Australasia as a whole. It chows, I cay, the way public opinion is trending; that we recognise that the interest of one colony is the interest of all, and that in all parts of the Empire we should join hand in hand to defend any particular part which is attacked. (Applause.) Absurd people talk of