CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DINNER.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 134, 8 June 1910, Page 6

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DINNER.

BRILLIANT AND SUCCESSFUL FUNCTION. COMMERCE A—) POLITICS. THE KAIL SERVICE DISCUSSED The annual Chamber of Commerce dinner was held at Government House last night, the function proving a brilliant success. The State 'ballroom was used for the occasion, and there were nearly 200 people present. The Chairman of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce (ilr. -J. H. Gunson) presided, and I at the table at the head of the'hall Avere ; seated the Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward), the Hon. J. A. Millar (Minister for lkiilways), the Hon. Dr. Findlay (At- : torney-G-eneral), the Hon. G. Fowlds (Minister for Education), Mr. W. F. ' Massey (Leader of the Opposition), Mr. . L. J. Bagnall (Mayor of Auckland), and Mr. A. J. En-triean (Chairman of the Harbour Board). Others present included tho Hons. E. Mltchelson, B. Harris. _L.C, D. Scotland, M.L.C, W. Bee__, MX.C, W. W. McCardle, M.L.C., ' Messrs C. H. Poole, M.P.. F. Mander, M-P., F. W. Lang. M.P., F.'Lawry, MP, ; L. R. Phillipps, MP.. J. H. Greensh.de, ' __P, A. Glover, M 3?.. E. H. Tavlor, ' M.P, C. C. Settle, SAL, E. C. Cutten, ( S.M., and Leo Myers (vice-president of . the Chamber}_ The toast of''The Eing"'was duly hon- ( tmred. The Chairman (Mr Gunson) said there were a few matters which he desired i to deal with expeditiously, as it was not his wish to- take up too much -time, and thus debar his __reis of lis- < toning to their distinguished guests, -the opportunity of which they | were so anxious they should avail . themselves Kef-erring to the question of . ocean mail services. Sir. Gunson said the public were thoroughly conversant with The negotiations for the improved Van- . couver service which Avere being carried en by Sir Joseph Ward (PostmasterGeneral), and he believed the. consumn— tion, with Auckland as a port of call, Avas near at hand. This claim, was no doubt paxtly based upon the postal district of Auckland having 504 sub-post ©_ccc, which compared with.-the leading towns so—h of Auckland was as follows : —Chris—hitrch 267, Dunedin 254, Wellington 244. Further, the new post ■oiiiees opened in the respective districts during the year ended March last Avere as follow——Auckland 42, Christchurch 21, Dunedin 9, Wellington 5. These surprising figures afforded conclusive eviaenee as to where progress w-as being •nrade and settlement taking place. (Applause.) Failing a successful issue to the present negotiations, the Chamber ; trusted thai the undivided support of all Parliamentary representatives would . be given to .the Postmaster-General to- • warns .the very-early inauguration of a fast and up-to-date New Zealand Van- - co-uver service, of which Six- Joseph Ward was an able advocate. NOBTHEItN. _AJLWAYS. -In regard to the question of railways, he felt sure that it was now generally recognised (if we would not. thwart the progress of this prosperous country) that it was imperative that the towns of the North Island should be linked together, and that speedily, so as to open up and develop our mineral, agricultural, and pastoral resources. That the completion of these railways was worthy of a supreme effort and of the utmost expedition, he Avas sure none would gainsay. He trusted that these works would be vigorously pushed forward, and every effort made to hasten -their completion, and in this connection he desired to call attention to the urgent local need of a modern railway goods shed in Auckland, and to the need for a general railway station. The need for the Chamber -of Commerce having representation on the Harbour "Board was urged by Mr. Gunson. In dealing with the matter of Harbour Board representatives, he said his Chamber deemed it necessary to have a representative on these Boards to watch the requirements iof commerce, and -to imbue the London financiers with confidence that while they -were to a certain extent democratic, their Legislature had not overlooked the fact that there should- be a fair representation of 'financial and trade interests. Mr. Gunson then went -on to Tefer to the necessity for an amendment of the Bankruptcy Act. The mercantile community throughout the Dominion- was pressing for urgently required amendments in this connection. The Minister for Justice (the Hon. Dr. Findlay) had a very complete knowledge of this question. The suggestions submitted by this Chamber were of pressing importance in the direction of acquiring for creditors greater security from, and the fullest protection against dishonest and reckless traders, and also extending to debtors that consideration Avhich was due to them in connection with the realisation of their assets. <_EA_l*>—' AND BDX_TNG. M Speaking -of share registers, Mr. Gunsou said he would at an early date consider the advisability of bringing before Ids Chamber the urgent necessity of drawing the attention of the-Government to the alleged anomaly that now existed j in regard to these, viz., brokers being able to hold large numbers of shares in their own names, and '"bearing and bull-ing-'-the markets at the command of unknown speculators. (Hear, heal.) Ho recognised the difficulty Of finding a suitable remedy, but the matter was one which was worthy of careful consideration by the Government. GP__T EXPOSITION TN 1915. An interesting statement made by Mr. Gunson -was to the effect that be vrould ask the Chamber to suggest -that a large Government Exposition be held in Auckland in the spring of 1915 or 1916. He understood that the Panama Canal would he opened during the former year, and it was politic that we should not be slumbering as to the importance of this Dominion. Following the traditions of this Chamber, the items of the toast list would be discussed with an entire absence of political feeling, as t_3 function was for harmony and not discord, and their voice that" night was the voice of Commerce. Applause.) NEEDS OF THE NORTH. Mr Leo. Myers, in dealing with the requirements of the north in regard to settlements/roads, and railways, said the .■people of the North had been blessed with a -tract of. country bo- good as to t srfiaM in jfcj-eiu, WAS^ti<A.imm^k^^^

i^rrv—a. genuine love of the laud. Had they fully honoured their stewardship? No, not till, figuratively speaking, every acre ox this fertile,soil had been tickled by the plough and made to laugh, with •the harvest. Not till eveiy acre of this land had been made productive. (Applause.) The North was capable of producing fruit sufficient to supply the markets of Australasia, with a, surplus for ■further export. Our .butter output was increasing year by year, and bade fair in the near future to outrival the value even of our gold production. Our present returns paled into insignificance with, those rendered possible when every acre of land at present Crown and native , land had been taken up for settlement. , (Loud applause.) Our first necessity was settlement on a solid colossal scale. We had at the present time in the Auckland province about two million acres of Crown lands and about the same ; acreage of native lands, wihieli with every possible dispatch should 'be unlocked for select-ion. But settlement on su-cli a . scale was largely illusory until we bad , roaded and railed the North. At the ; present time half the rural population . of the North -was handicapped by these ■ disabilities. Regarding railways, he urged : that greater expedition must be shown ill tie construction of the line from - 'Auckland, to Mangoooi touching at ■ Hokianga. It was .just 40 years since Sir Julius Vogel propounded his scheme of a. grand trunk railway from Wei- j linn-ton to Mangonui. It did not refect well upon the people of this Dominion : that this work was still in on unfinished state. The Gisbome-Waihi railway • wns being constructed from the former ■ end alone,. Why it was not being built from both ends at once was that no one da Auckland c-ould understand. Surely, he ?aid, there could be no reasonable objection to commencing work from the Waihi end simultaneoi:isly with the Gisborne construction. Whilst w Auck. landers readily admitted the soft impeachment of unselfishness, our altruism ' did not carry us the length of desiring • to see our friends, the Gisborne merchants, capture the East Coast trade. This same principle of commencing a railway at 'both ends together applied equally to the Stratford-Ongarue line. • The way freight -was handled in Auckland left much to be desired. The accommodation at the goods sheds required to be at least doubled, whilst the facilities for handling goods were quite primitive. He -suggested that the time was ripe for the establishment of an Agricultural College in the North, whr.re farmers' sons and oiflers desirous of following a rural occupation would have the opportunity of obtaining a. thorough, practical and theoretical knowledge of that industry that is the mainstay of Ihe Dominion. In conclusion, lie paid thai we were asking eeeminjErly a. grp<it dra.l, but not a bit too much. Tior more than we wei-e entitled to. The guests would Tecognise that excessive roor'psty was inherent in North-emers. and w«s the desrnair of the South. We wanted hnt little here up North, 'but we wanted that little soon. (Loud applause.) A FEW REQUIREMENTS. In proposing the toast of "Our Guests," the Chairman (Mr. Gunson) said he had the greatest pleasure in stating that since he had been president of the Chamber Sir Joseph Ward had already done more for them than any other Premier, ■and from those of their members with whom he had come in contact he had received the greatest assistance. He felt certain that those present; who might be -concerned about the future would cautiously admit that if their worthy Premier secured the up-to-date Vancouver mail service for the Dominion, with Auckland a3 the port of call; earnestly expedited the construction of the East Coast railway through the rich and fertile Bay of Plenty to Waihi;" pushed vigorously ahead the Nortfh Auckland railway; and hastened the opening up of our native lands, they would exclaim, "Long live Sir Joseph!" Fox thfc eonsummati'on of these matters he was sure their friend Mr. Massey would heartily lend his support. He would now ask them to drink to the health and prosper- | ity of their guests, coupled with the ■ names of Sir Joseph Ward, Mr. Massey, the Hon. Dr. Findlay, and Mr. F. W. Lang, M.P. THE PRIME MINISTER. Sir Joseph Ward, responding to the toast, was received with cheers and loud applause. He said that he did not know whether he was right in saying that in some respects his colleagues and himself felt very much like the spider and the fly. He congratulated the President on i>eing at the head of such a.representative assembly. He wished to remind him, howeveT, that some of the matters to which he had referred had had the consideration of the Cabinet for some time-. He ihad Tieard and reo,d of Chamber of Commerce dinners in the past, and he had heard and wondered as to how the good people at Auckland had heen able to appreciate the importance of the proposals raised by the speakers. For the (speaker's own experience he vras of opinion that they generally did very well on the whole (laughter and cheers). Ha wished to show some of the difficulties ■which "beset ths Government, more especially in regard to the matter of arranging overseas mails. ■MATT. SERVICES. Auckland members had been active in importuning the Postmaster-General on the subject, adv.oeaticg a service via San Francisco. He had reeentlv been in communication with the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth and the Prime Minister for the Dominion of Canada, but there was little to report, the position being much as it was. The Commonwealth Postmaster-General was understood to -he in New South Wales or Queensland, looking into the question oi mail services, and -endeavouring to overcome local objections to the .proposed call at- Auckland. It seemed evident, however, from Press -reports that the feeling against a change was very pronounced in Queensland, and fairly strong in >New South Wales. Although, the matter of delay of mails was put forward it "was not likely that this was considered of paramount importance, the probable delay to malis "between Sydney and Canada being about a day under the proposed new conditions, which would ensure .faster steamers. The whole question seemed to resolve itself largely into one of trade advantages. It was recently reported that the Union Company was "beirg asked to increase the cold storage space in the Vancouver -mail steamers, so that it was evident a trade was growing in the shipment of perishable products from Australia; and it might be taken for granted that the fear of competition in. trade of this class weighed largely with the Brisbane pub- ! lie in connection with the proposed call at Auckland. .As far back as November last Sir Wilfrid Laurier expressed his willingness to fall in with tha views oi New. Zealand if Australia concurred; but notwithstanding repeated representations to the Priras Minister of the Commonwealth, no replies beyond formal acknowledgments iad yet teen received. Immediately after-the present Oommoni wealfl*/ Gmesmmh- toofe' /fiffiqe^Sir

Joseph Ward cabled to the Hon. Mr t Fisher fully summarising the position.. ± The following was a copy of the tele- j gram: — n '"Vancouver Mail Service: On 22nd q November last I wrote Mr Deakin iv- t forming him that Canada was agreeable to participating in extension Canadian Australian mail contract for period of ~ five years, from first August next, in- c eluding Auckland as a port of call-. My j letter was acknowledged, and on reminding Mr Deakin on 30th March last.. * I was informed that the matter would g receive attention. Position is that New Zealand is willing to join in subsidy to t extent of £20,000 per annum if steamers are allowed to call at Auckland; and 1 trust that, as matters are so far adA-anc- , ed as to secure the promise of Canada to enter into a contract for five years, the Commonwealth will see its way- to meet the desire of Nbav Zealand By mak- J ing Auckland a. port of call. In view * of possibility of an All-red service, I ' am strongly of opinion that it is most desirable Commonwealth and N-eW Zea- 5 land should work together to put present r service on such a satisfactory footing s that its substitution by an Imperially '<■ subsidised scheme Avill be possible later J on without difficulty. The addition to A the subsidy as proposed by New Zealand - would be a great incentive to tbe con- s tractors to place two more vessels like C the Makura in the service, which would c -then be one of the best equipped in the I Empire. With faster vessels the delay <■ in delivery of American mails at Sydney by Auckland route would not, I think i exceed present time by one day, and t would not interfere with commercial ad- f vantages of service, which Avould still, I owing to Brisbane being t terminal port i of call, be entirely in favour of Com- a monwealth. Principal desire of New i Zealand is to secure fast mail route to England My Government has been approached by reliable people with a view of establishing a service of our own; but I am very averse to this, as it would ( probably mean that two services, neither ' of them of the first-class would bo run- 1 ning, whereas by combination a really ' up-to-date service should be possible. : Another factor is that if New Zealand * should be compelled to establish a service * of her own, attitude of Canada might be ! very different to what it is at present ' moment. The time appears to be parti- " cularly opportune to secure cordial co- 3 operation of Commonwealth, Canada, and " New Zealand; and I trust the -oppor- 1 ttmity will not be allowed to pass by 1 renewing present contract on present 1 basis for another year." Sir Joseph 1 Ward continued that he had received 1 that day a cable from Sir AVilfrid Lav- ! rier: "Calling for tenders. Already issued a few days ago, including alterna- t live proposals called for New Zealand. 1 CopitT? have been s«mt by to-day's mail, i Time for presentation of tenders expires I Ist November.'' So that -there was a | possibility of New Zealand getting s i direct service via the Dominion of Can- i ada. (Applause.) The obtaining of a ' suitable mail service was a very diffi- i cult matter to achieve, and if we could not get it via Australia, we must cr C t it for ourselves. AUCKLAND'S COYERNIiENT HOUSE. He did not know whether the president or vice-president had dealt with one of the matters which were a 1 ittle touchy : at the present time with the people of the North, but ho would make reference s to it. They were in a magnificent room : in a building known as the Government House. (Laughter.) And it had a splendid area of ground. Now, iv carrying his memory back to the time of his predecessor, when, it was proposed that a portion of that area should be set aside for University purposes in the North ' Island; many representations were made to the late Mr. Seddon iv connection with that matter. (Hear, hear.) The tendency of feeling then was to cut that area of land up for two or three purposes, one being for that of Government House, another for University purposes, and another, he believed, for a portion of the area to be devoted to the use aud recreation of the citizens of Auckland. But he would like to point out and assure them all very sincerely that of his own knowledge the successive Governors Avho had represented the Crown in New Zealand had all greatly objected to the proposal. And the present Governor had permitted him to say that he also had a similar objection. And wherever the Governor, representing the King, expressed an opinion that opinion had to be considered. And that was why the Government found itself unable to confirm the request to have the Government House area allotted for the particular purposes to 'which, it had been urged, the area should be devoted. Owing, therefore, to the objections raised by the two previous Governors, this area of land had" never been cut up. (Applause.) Now, haAdng said so much, let them all approach the matter from a practical standpoint. And at that point he would desire to remove a Avrong impression started in Wellington a short time ago concerning the furniture of Government House. Commonsense men would recognise the practical impossibility of turning up records to know what exactly occurred. But he found at the time that he was himself informed that the Avhole of the furniture Avas be—" removed. And in that connection he Avould like to read a letter sent to itlie Governor on April 2 by himself, and the Governor had probably sent several months before to the Home authorities wl—t Avould be practically a verbal outline of that letter. This letter would convey to anybody who took interest in the'matter, what position the Government took n.p respecting this question. "The Prime Minister presents his compliments and desires to inform his Excellency that with reference to the Governor's residence at Auckland, it is ' proposed to dispense with this residence, and to ask Parliament to increase the ■ present allowance of the Governor by an additional £500 a year, in-order to enable his Excellency to stay at Auckland, or elseAvhere. as the Governor may from time to time desire. In order to carry out this proposal, it is intended to utilise . the present site on which the residence stands for educational purposes, and legislation to enable this to be done will be introduced and Parliament asked to pass it. It is intended to return the furniture at present in Government 1 House, Auckland, to the new residence lin Wellington. If from any cause it is . found to be impracticable to give effect by legislation to the above proposals, ; then the Government will continue the i Governors residence at Auckland, and ! renovate and refurnish it in ample time for occupation by the Governor during I next recess." THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE. ! Ho desired, therefore, to indicate to ■ them that unless legislation were passed . to devote the Government House area . : to educational purposes, their Govern- . ment House area would be retained for Government House purposes, and should; . be carried on as such as in the past-;

to Parliament,.through their representa- I tives, what were the views of ±the people 1; iv the North on this matter. The Govern- i ment only wanted to establish a system n of University education on an improved i basis in the four centres Auckland, E Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. a To put this proposal forward, which the » Government--, desired to see in working P order for the educational benefit of the Dominion, would mean a big financial proposal to also make it practicable —it It would mean a sum of about £350,000, o and in providing for this, it was intended f to make provision for the repayment of J" the whole amount within a period of " between 28 and 30 years. Government * contemplated that arrangements would *' have to be made for the Governor's visit ~ to -Auckland from time to time, but it Sever contemplated the possibility of j umbrage being taken in Auckland at T its proposal, and that the idea would be- t come established that they were trying to slight Aucldand in any way or endeavouring to prejudice her dignity or " a interest in anyway. ATPhen they proposed ; a practical scheme for the future benefit r of the students of Auckland, and esti- v mated also that a large area of land ( Avould be available to the citizens of t Auckland, they little thought that the t scheme would be killed by the hostility a of Auckland. As far as Government were 1 concerned, there Avas no feeling in the t matter at all. or hostility of any sort a designed against Auckland. They had t no desire whatever to do Auckland any \ injustice. They were quite open to dis- " cuss the situation quietly and temper- 1 ntely, to submit the question to the ar- ( bitraqient of the people' 3 Avishcs, and t to do as far as Avas humanly possible -' what was considered to be tbe best thing I in the interests of tho whole country. (Loud applause.) AN ERRONEOUS IMPRESSION. The gathering he addressed was a body 1 of commercial men, and he would like I to disabuse them of an erroneous im- ! prcssion that bad gone abroad as to ' the way the North had been treated, < and especially how the North had been " treated in reo-ard to railways. Let him ' say that there was no such thing—and ' any business man could find it out for himself—as differentiation of railway ( rates between the North and the South. Except in tho North, or in the South j where they bad to compete against transit by sea, it was their bounden duty : to preserve the interests of the people of . the Dominion as a whole by making the railways return a fair rate of interest. But if the railway administration were going to allow any differentiation, then the railways should not be allowed to continue under that administration, and ' the men responsible for such a state of affairs should be dismissed from office. Such a condition of things Avould be : grossly unjust, and tho time would have arrived for the State to caaso railway administration. But lie could assure them that there was no ground whatever for such a report, and that there could bo no possibility of any such injustice under the present system of administration. (Hear, hear.) RAILWAY RATES. Sir Joseph discussed also the question, recently discussed locally, as to the alleged difference in railway rates and revenue in the North and the South Islands. In this connection be referred »o a critic of the Government (Mr. S. Vaile) and some of his criticisms, quoting incidentally a telegraphed statement from Mr. R. McVilly, Chief Clerk of the Railway Department in Wellington. Tho report of Mr. McVilly was ns follows.- — "Mr. Vailc has dealt with the railway question in his usual extraordinary manner, his deductions are entirely erroneous and misleading, and the method he has adopted of ascertaining the average freight rate renders his figures inaccurate. Ministers have repeatedly pointed out in speeches delivered both inside and outside tbe House that it is impossible to accurately ascertain the average rate per ton for goods by adopting Mr. Vaile's system of simply dividing the total goods revenue by the tonnage. The following figures show the absurdity of his statement that the South Island has in three successive years paid nearly £1,070,----000 lass than the North Island goods tonnage:—l9o7: North Island, 1,400,750 tons, revenue £060,836; South Island, 3.185,348 tons, revenue £91!),795. 1908; North Island, 1,553.459 tons, revenue £722,996; South Island, 3,281,075 tons, revenue £949,085. 1909: North Island,! 1.554,836 tons, revenue £769,040; South Island, 3,317,038 tons, revenue £961.750; total traffic for three years—North Island, 4,515,045 tons, revenue £2,152,872; South Island, 9,753,461 tons, revenue £2,830,672. The South Island tonnage has therefore exceeded the North Island tonnage by 5,268,416 tons, and the South • Island goods revenue has exceeded the North Island goods revenue by £677,800. ■ Mr. Vaile's calculation is therefore out to the extent of £2,347.800. His result is arrived at by adopting the extraordinary proceeding of taking the tonnage in the South Island and calculating it at the difference between the tonnage rates in the North aud South Islands (as • ascertained by him) regardless of the difference of conditions respecting the ■ length of half tho class of traffic dealt with." To Mr. McVilly's explanation Sir Joseph Ward added his assurance that no ' principle of preferential treatment such as that suggested existed in fact. ! SOME OPPOSITION POINTS OF VIEW. Mr W. F. Massey, M.P., was the next speaker. He had no intention of 'making i a political speech, but he wanted to reply to some of the points made by the Prime Minister. He avos not speaking as the Leader of His Majesty's Opposition, but •as the member for Franklin. Ho desired ■■ to congratulate the chairman of the i Auckland Chamber of Commerce (Mr , Gunson) on 'his speech, and he thought : the day Avas not far distant Avhen that . gentleman avould be in Parliament. (lApi plause.) Mr Massey paid a tribute to • the memory of the late Mr F. E. Ikame, [ and after dealing with the question of • North v. South, in the course of which , he traversed the Prime Minister's re- . marks on that subject, he Avent on to i say that -there was a matter jnentioned- [ by the Prime Minister which peculiarly , appealed to him. He saw in one of the , local newspapers the other day a .state- . ment to the effect that the Chamber of ' Commerce dinner that night would pro- ' bably "be the last function to be held in I the Government House at Auckland. He spoke bimself as an Aueklander, and he j believed as true a one in training and ' sentiment as any native of the city, for he came here as a boy, and 'his interests ' and ties were o_ here. It might be re- • garded as a matter of sentiment, but he wanted to say there, as an Aueklander, that he emphatically protest ed against the abolition of Government . House. (Loud applause.) Tli ere were associations connected with that old 1 j place that dated back to -the days of "" Grey, Wynyard and Brown —associations r | that dated back to the days when the I British -redcoats did sentry-go at its gates -| —to the days when gleesned the s,l3iW£^<o^Jsii;-SEe»^- : _i4,^taw&_6Q,"' >

He knew, as they all knew, that Auckland Avas entitled to a University, but a Auckland ■was also entitled to a. Govern- hi ment House. (Hear, hear, and applause.) qi And when the matter came up in Par- tt liament they might make no mistake e 1 about it, his vote would be for the re- w tention of Govermnent House for the *q people of Auckland. (Applause.) b. THE STRATFORD-ONGARUE LINE, oi One thing there was-that he patticu- A'l ilarly wished to emphasise—the necessity w of the commencement of construction, bi from this end of what was known as w the Stratford-Ongarue branch line. That n line had been an intense disappointment tl •to a great number of settlers, who had ir looked and hoped for the start -of that k construction. There was another-point h to consider. Here were the two great ti provinces of Auckland and Taranalri,.the t< two most prosperous provinces of the C Dominion; and a very large proportion of si the people of these two districts were a , occupied in the dairying -industry. And n yet they were only connected one Avith another by roads, really by roads only |in name. For the greater part, the arte-. tries of traffic between 'these provinces were tracks, innocent of metal, and for the greater part, of the year Avere practically impassable. Railway commuuieation there was absolutely none, but as an aQtcrnative to those so-called roads, they had a 120-mile rough water journey on the AVest Coast, with the Manukau Bar at the end of it. (Applause.) Ha hoped that the Auckland Chamber of Commerce would bring its influence to bear towards getting that Stratford-Ongaroe liiic started from this end without loss of time, so that we might be able to say that it was tolerably possible to get from Auckland to Taranaki and vice versa. (Applause.) FACILITATE THE MAILS. v Time after time he had brought up the " subj—'t of mail services iv the House. t] He did. not forget the 'Frisco service, ix and ho did not forget its opponents, but that was not a matter he wished to dwell upon. Hut he would say tliat if the Government ever subsidised a service that was the ideal service, both from the point of view of Auckland and of the Dominion as a whole, it was the 'Frisco sorvire. (Applause.) The Van- ~ couver service would not equal it, but if J we could not get an adequate outside c service, it was essential that wo should P have a service of our own. (Applause.) And the proposal of Sir Joseph Ward " in that direction would, have his very n hearty support as Leader of the Opposi- n tion. (Hear, hear, and applause.) He v was of strong opinion, however, that wo P should meantime have a fast boat to connect with the A'uncouver service at "" Suva —a boat jto meet the mail going ° north and also coming south. Such an c auxiliary would be a tremendous im- ' provement on the present service. (Ap- > plauso.) Our present mail service was s not worthy of this country or of this ~ Dominion, and he hoped wo would soon t have a mail eervii-e that would enable " us to avoid being dragged at tbe chariot r wheels oi Australia. (Applause.) a CHAMBER AND PAP—LAMENT. [ Mr. Massey went on to express his ( pleasure at seeing that the Auckland 8 ■Chamber of Commerce was in a very j j flourishing condition. It would be a { great benefit to a large district, of which ] Auckland stood the centre —not only a . benefit to the population of Auckland, j but he ventured to say. a -benefit to the representatives of Auckland in the Parliament of tho Dominion. Their mem- ( bors in Parliament knew that the opiniou exprnssod' , 'by the Chamber of Com- j merce was the opinion of the commercial and business people of Auckland, and they would act accordingly. He was j glad to know that the members of the . Auckland Chamber took a very keen and lively interest in their members of ' Parliament, and members of Parliament took a keen interest in the Auckland . Chamber of Commerce. He himself re- ' membered a bill which passed it* second reading and went to the Legislative ,' Council, and one of its provisions was that every member of Parliament should be a member, cx-officio, of the Chamber of Commerce iv the district ho rcpre- ' scnted. a statutory member, and what . was also important, perhaps more so, one who should bo exempt from tbe an- " nu«l subscription. (laughter.) That ' ■bill, however, was rejected. But he wa3 '■ "lad to notice how exceedingly anxious ; ' members of Parliament now were to be- ■ come member* of the Chamber of Com- ■ 1 merce, and lie would like to bo able to ' I say that members of the Chamber of j Commerce wre anxious to become mem- ' •bcrs of Parliament. (Laughter.) He ; was sorry to see that such, however, • was not the case, but he believed if such ■ were the caSe, it would be a very good ' ■ tlung for the country and for Parka; ! ment. (Laughter and applause.) ■ IN LIGHTS VEIN. ! The Hon. Dr. Findlay was facetious. . 'An Irish Judge of distinction whose '. health had, be said, heen drunk with ' true Hibernian good-feeling, said, on get- ' ting up to reply, that "be had never in his life risen'with greater pleasure," ! and when the applause had subsided, he ' added, "because I have been sitting for ! two hours in the hardest sate I have ever ' occupied." To-night, Tin—cc that ' Judge, he (the speaker) rose Avith great ! reluctance, because he had left a de-j " lightfuUy soft seat for a particularly | hard task. Two leaders had precededi him—both had a splendid faculty for — ' he would not say, proving the worse the 1 better part; but stating their case, however weak it might be, with great * success. He had thus, as it were, t heard two eminent advocates, and fol- ; lowing them, he was, in a sense, called f upon to sum up. This must be done 3 with judicial calm and without that 3 forei—ie force, flourish and exaggerat tion which was allowed the man Avho i took a side. (Applause and laughter.) He Avould, therefore, in replying to the r same toast as the Prime Minister and t the Leader of the Opposition, endeavour t with becoming gravity to limit himself ", to ■ the cold severity of an impartial D judge. Before he did that, however, ■> he would first discharge the obligations * of courtesy and thank them for the 1 manner in which they bad received the '" toast. As their guest, he was entitled 3 to say that Auckland hospitality was *' proverbially generous. He began his 7 public life a comparative stranger here, c and yet he had received more enter- ~ tainment in this city than, perhaps, in * any other city 'in the Dominion. "Be " mindful to entertain strangers" might a be this city's motto—modesty, however. c prevented his referring to the Scriptural ? reason. (Laughter.) Hospitality, one of the most genial r of American philosophers had said, was 3 a mere matter of latitude... In. a -colder x climate a man kept his door closed; in a climate like this it stood nearly alj iways hopitably open, and what, for mxx stance, had been attributed to the c Scotch as meanness of temper,, was really j due to meanness of temperature—host - pitality, in fact, followed latitude. The s hotter the place the warmer the wele come—(laughter)—a fact which, he *>bs served, seemed to have some unintended c significance for certain • gentlemen f' fiEtffl— l'jol_i4w.-dr iCM#2"^^^-C&,_

He passed now to a few words of. 1 congratulation to- the Auckland .Cham- ] •her of Commerce upon this splendid ban- ] quet, at which he felt it a great honour i to be -present. He had spent a-pleasant. 1 evening. He had heard, learnt, and in- : wardly digested everything —except the : 1 ■speeches—and yet the speeches had not: i been nearly so indigestible as Chamber ; of Commerce deliverances almost in- j variably were. ,The . menu of . dishes, t wherever the dinner, was always good; " hut the menu of toasts y?a§— —- But he ] was not quite sure that he ought to i refer to a menu. There was an old s tradition that a Minister of the Crown in this country once lost his head and . bis place over a menu—(laughter)—and i he recognised the perilousness of the topic; but, perhaps, if he avoided at- : tempting the French, he would be safe. ' Critics said that an analysis of the speeches of Chamber of Commerce din- ; ners in Wellington would lun something like this, put in the shape of a menu: — Statistics ou shell. ' Thick soup.—Essence of the FTesi- ' dent's address. | Clear soup. —Extracts of Tear Book. Fish. —Flounders in finance, Avith egg sauce, a la mare's nest. , Entree. —Stewed sea routes Avith I Tewslcy trimmings. Ragout of i imports and exports, highly flay- < . oured. Fricasse of trade returns, 1 well cooked. Auckland farcies on : toast. i Roasts. —Cuts of Premier beef. MillaT roasted with freights and time- : table stuffing. Fowlds boiled in 1 Customs and other dues, rather ' high. Thus they could see how heavy the j verbal viands were reported to be. It was only when one came to sweets that ( the Southern dinners got lighter—as, for ' instance: — . . Port Nicholson puffs, dock fancies, ■ harbour taradiddles in sugar, ■ souffle of mutual admiration, as- < sorted sweet-meats, and then, finally, after midnight, ill-assorted departures. That, in rough outline, was, he he- , licved a Chamber of Commerce annual , dinner in Wellington, from an Auckland point of view. Here, as had been seen that night, things were different. Tho menu was not a mass of figures, freights and facts. As they were aware, they had had very few figures, and certainly no facts. He would not overtax their patience by attempting to define those differences; but tho one indicated was not the only respect in which Auckland differed from the other three great centres of the Dominion. Each of the four cities of Dunedin, Christchurch, ' Wellington and Auckland had its own special features, both of situation and af people. But it often seemed to him :hat Dunedin and Christchurch made, as it were, one pair connected by the harness oi one main line; and AVellington md Auckland another pair connected by the harness of another main line. In this team of four —Dunedin and Christchurch were tho shatters—Wellington and Auckland the leaders. He was very fond of his birthplace—tho grand old Eity of Dunedin; but he recognised that her days as a leader of the cities had passed, except in intelligence. Her gait had steadied down. She and Christchurch jogged along together in the shafts, doing much by their reliability to keep the coach of state steady— their wild oats all sown; or, should he not rather say, eaten?—a good, reliable, quiet, staid, old pair. So much he knew they generously conceded. It was the two leaders that, while they had much in common, had also much in difference —each sometimes wanted to go a different road. Each thought her rights and claims ignored. Both gave the man on the box "a devil of a lot of trouble," but he rather thought it was Auckland that Avas the hardest mare to handle. Sometimes when 3he got tho bit in her teeth and kicked over the traces, it looked as if she Avould pull the whole d • coach into the ditch; then those two old shafters got back in the breeching a .bit, and things settled down. But ■Auckland, notwithstanding occasional outbursts, Avas really a good-tempered animal, strong, sound and with plenty of go in her, tbe daisy of the team. Her stride was free, but her wind Avas, perhaps, not quite so good as that of Wellington. Above all, Auckland was high-spirited and high-spirits boiled at a low temperature —(laughter)—and what rarely wanned Dunedin put Auckland into a perspiration of perfervid indiguation—(laughter); but then she cooled as rapidly as she got heated. Like politicians, high-spirited animals Avere mercurial and sensitive, not to say thinskinned. This exposed Auckland rather unusually to local irritation. Just now she was annoyed by two gadflies closely related, called the situs academkus and the domus gubemat-oris, both exceedingly irritating to a sensitive animal, aittt both attributable to a person called Massey. Then those two leaders —Auckland and AVellington—had a difference oyer, not perhaps a sea-horse, but an ocean mail,- and that difference had caused a violent eruption called the "Gunsonitis-Tewsleyosis — (laughter) — iwhich had now, he believed, happily passed its acute stage. Auckland, as being the last, loveliest, and loneliest, felt .the need of that mail more, probably, than her rival. But ho would not pursue those local disorders. They" were largely due, like Auckland's occasional megrims, to a trying climate. She was really sound in head, heart and limb, although he confessed that he had at times, Avhen she got violent about her wrongs, been disposed to think that she suffered just a little from the staggers of a mismanaged imaginatipn. Now, having established all these uncontested facts beyond question, he proceeded to refer in sober", vein to a topic of paramount interest here—the settlement of surplus native land.

Br. Findlay continued in more sober vein. He impugned the accuracy of certain statements made by Mr. Massey concerning the administration of native lands. Mr. Massey was, he believed, a fair-minded man, but, with all respect to Mr. Massey, the speaker did not think that he had done justice to the Native Land Act now on the Statute Book. It was the most serviceable, advance ever made in connection with reform of the native land question. Under the old system there was room ior delays and obstacles, but under the law as it was at present, df the presidents of the Maori Land Boards wquld do their duty, there wa3 in the Act a quick solution of the difficulty. It was no longer a question of whether the Native Minister was doing his duty or not. It the presidents of the Boards would recognise that they were not merely' servants of the native race, and hold the balance between the native owners and the European claimants for land on which to settle, they would find that the. Act supplied one of the most effective methods of settling the native hind difficulty. It had become a fashion to sspaak somewhat slightingly -of a Minister who

better treatment nt the hands oS /thepeople of- his , country than he- ever got~ He (Dr. Endlayjt. had-seen, the North,, and he was free -to- confess that if theland settlement "policy of the Government were to be.-judged by what was to be eeen in the North, ii> would be ■impossible to claim for it-anyvery great success. But it would be unfair tojudge'the native land policy bywhat one saw there. The- difficulty of finding surveyors had been a seriou3 one in the past. There were now on active service for the Government some 100 surveyors, and there were about 30 or 40 surveyors working under contract. If a Maori Land Board asked for the services of a surveyor, a surveyor was senL Generally, he thought that under the new regime, the native land question, would no longer remain, the burning question it now was. (Loud and prolonged applause.) THE BACKBLOCK. SETTLER. Mr. F. W. Lang, M.P., in responding, said he was pleased to see four Cabinet members present, and he thought that they could not fail to be impressed with ilie speeches made. There had been great progress in Auckland in recent years, but if the Government Iliad expeditioasly settled the Crown and native lands in the North the population and prosperity of the North would have probably doubled. He referred to the great privations of the back-tblock settlers as a result of the lack of good roads, and also spoke of the manner in which those on the land were handicapped for lack of adequate railway facilities. He hoped that the new Native Land Act would be effective, but they had had new Native Land Acts nearly every session for a score of years past, and they seemed no neaTer a solution of the problem. The member for Manukau . further spoke strongly against the proposal to do away with Government House in Auckland, and said that while a new University was an absolute necessity it would have to be built in some other part of the city than on Government House grounds. TRADE AND COMMERCE. The Hon. J. A. Millar, Minister for Railways, Labour and Customs, was called upon to propose the toast of "Trade and Commerce." In doing so, the Minist ter said he was glad for once to have the opportunity of departing from muety, fusty politics. It was not' the trade .and commerce of this country alone that they would have to interest themseives in, but the trade and commerce of the Empire. What had made this country what it was? Nothing else but the success of its oversea trade. It was a question of world-wide interest, and had a vital relation to the peace of Europe. To no other cause could be attributed the enormous increase in the armaments and defence force 3of different countries. If they carried their memories 'batk far enough they would remember that until the question of preferential trade was raised at Home, there was not a very great stir in regard to armament in other countries. Foreign Powers were preparing to protect their trade, and the ports they considered they had a right to trade to. In New Zealand they were deeply concerned in tbe trade and commerce of the Empire, of which they formed a part. Great Britain, while increasing tho amount of her trade, was not doing so in proportion to other countries. Slowly but surely other nations were taking the trade that formerly belonged to Great Britain. In New Zealand they had every right to 'be satisfied with the post and present outlook. In a small country such as; this, with .scarce a million people, they were able to export in one year twentyone million jjounds , worth of produce, after supplying their own needs. Many failed to realise what the increase in exports meant to New Zealand. Last year it was pleasing to note that there was a surplus of £0,000,000 in the totixl exports over the total imports. He hoped that New Zealand would continue to develop its resources aud industries, for an increase in imports was anything but desirable. Every £1000 worth of goods brought' into the Dominion meant a lesser output from local industries, and if they failed to support their own manufacturers, then men and women would be thrown out of employment, and compelled to wander the streets. Every part of the Empire should be loyal to the fountain-head, and trade with the Motherland, rather than foreign countries. The great proportion of New Zealand's £ 21,000,000 worth of exports found a place on the Home market, and he hoped that this fact' would always be borne in mind as New Zealand continued to thrive and prosper. In proposing the toast, he coupled with it the names ol Messrs. L. J. Bagnall, F. Bodle, and S. Milroy.

Mr. Bagnall, in reply to the toast, expressed the opinion that as Mayor of the city, he could see that their guests recognised that Auckland, extended to them its hospitality with an open heart. He did not wish to boast about Auckland. Such should , not be necessary. But he believed Auckland would be better appreciated in the South when a greater number oi iheir Southern friends would come and see for themselves the things that interested Auckland. (Applause. )

Mr. F. Bodle, also responding to the toast, remaTked that Auckland, the Cinderella o.f the colony, really could not quite grasp its position now that the faL-y godmother was smiling upon it.

(Laughter and. applause.) As to the North versus South, he would like to bury the wretched thing. Let there be amity between us. About 30 years ago he remembered a 'big indignation meeting in Auckland, held to discuss a proposal of the provincial treasurer to put a poll .tax of 10/ per head on the people to pay the school teachers. And yet at the same time in' the South there were £250,000 in funds for the same purpose. When Auckland was deluged with Maori wars and troubles incidental to them, the South was quietly prospering, and now that we were going ahead, we feit the time had come for us to in some measure assert ourselves, and demand our rights. Those who dubbed us parochial were likely to become over fond of the term. Aucklandere were New Zealanders just as were the Southerners. We had our little wants and grievances, but now let us drop the North versus South feeling, and emerge to the grander spirit of national politics. (Hear, hear.) Then 'he believed that this country would increasingly the place on God's earth where riches would be equally distributed, and happiness and content be the keynote of the people. (Applause.) Mr. Stanley Jlilroy, in responding, contended that trade and commerce were the mainspring of civilisation and the forces controlling its establishment. International civilisation and its great aim, international peace, would be established through the agency of trade and comj merce. (Applause.) Its history was a

proud history, its destiny a great destiny,

its ideals nobler than the quest for the holy grail. He hoped that their distin-

guished (friends "would go 'back to Wel-

lington firmly resolved to carry out every suggestion.-.placed before- £h.em. (Ap-

■Dr. H. Dean. Bamford proposed the toast of "Th& Press." He had a little to say aibout latitude- and longitude—■ •the latitude of the chairman and- the longitude of the- speeches. 'He -thought that in. saluting "the Press they -would be saluting an institution which transcended' in importance and outstayed in time the most stable of Ministries- The Press had two functions —to record events as they occurred, and to circulate opinions, but to these it sometimes added a third —that of recording events as they did not occur. He was happy to say, however, that the Press of Auckland were free from reproach on this latter account. When the great difficulties confronting an editor or manager of a newspaper iv \ es - Zealand were remembered, he thought the Press of the country was deserving of all commendation. The ■Press was not merely an institution for earning profits and paying dividends, bat a semi-public institution, which existed for the benefit of all. The toast of "The Press" ™*™V™s ed to by 3ir T. W. Leys and Mr W. S. toast of "The Presidentproposed by Sir Jceeph Ward, was dvuy honoured. .... ~ The fathering then broke up with the the National Anthem and cheers for Sir Joseph Ward and Mr Massey.