ROYAL MILTON POTTERY.

Bruce Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 1237, 7 September 1880, Page 3

ROYAL MILTON POTTERY.

Abanquefcwwgiyeato ; Mr(3. S. Reeves, the proprietor of the above works, on Friday, ,?}&})*'; last, by nis employe^ who tooK this 'means" of testifying their appreciation oi ! the benefits Mr Reeves .has .conferred by re-establishing those works 1 iii'lkiltbn, and k'mdlyi J considerate; and courteous bearing, as an employer. The tables were -laid along (one . side of the large biscuit warehouse and printing room, which had been cleared of its contents, and decorated in a tasteful manner with festoons of igreen>Heaves,? plants; &c:,' aad must have given the, women folks who did the work a considerable amount of trouble." ;; "" :; •'.' i>! '"'' '•"'*'" "' w '" " '"''' '"'''■ '? :. The musio 1 provided r f6r the oijiasion 1 was a' piano and piccoloV and was excellent/ n'y.l ii<;,r'/-i \ The improvised hall iß,of great dimensions, there was therefore plenty of room- along .one, iside for;all whp^ame.. , . ■, ; ,r'i \ Host Bastings, of the White Horse Hotel, was caterer on the occasion, and we : need ■scarcely say that part of the business could not have: been improved upon. ; Mr. Henderson,,, the Manager, occupied tihe chair, having the -guest of the evening on his right haud. Mr Jameison acted as croupier, and about 70 workmen, their wives and a few inivited guests, occupied the rest of the table. I After the usual , preliminaries had been got ■through, and the toast of the "Queen" duly jdrunk, ■ ..■.•■' ■ ■ ■■■' ' '■** ■•'< ' Mr Henderson proposed "Our Guest and Respected Employer," and, in .doing so, took the opportunity to speak of Mr Reeves in jvery high terms. He admired Mr Reeves' spirit of adventure, and his general goodness, as they all did, and sincerely believed the Pottery would turn out as great a success as it should do, and as he could wish it. Mr Reeves, in responding, after briefly reviewing the history of the Pottery, expressed his gratification at being invited there by the employes. He regarded it as a great compliment to himself, and was sure Buch meetings, if more frequent, would tend, to the development of a better feeling between employer and employed — capital and labor. He went on to point out what he considered the causes why the pottery had not been a success before, and said that had he been guided by the advice of his friends, he wou^d never have taken the works ; but he was glad he had done so. The want of a thoroughly good practical manager had contributed in no small degree to previous failures, and the question of skilled labor had been a difficulty. It was still a difficulty to all colonial manufacturers ; but in his case he was pleased to say his men had met him very fairly.— (Cheers). He did not doubt but they would continue to do so. With their assistance he f sit certain of being aole to secure a market j for his goods, and oi . underselling the imported article. It was absurd that New Zealand should be importing .£60,000 worth of earthenware each year, while all the time we had ready and willing hands, the best material, skill, and ability to manufacture on the spot ; and if to all this, a water carriage of 14000 miles, and the present duty of 15 per cent, were added, it turned out to be impossible to beat the iin ported article, it would be either their faul£ or his.— (Uheers). If he had £1000 wortli of goods ready next day, he could dispose of them all in Dunedia, and undersell the imported article. He did not reqnire protection. — (Cheers). ; but he anticipated no real difficulty in that respect, for he felt certain the people of the Colony were pairiotic enough to lead them to patronise local products if they could, in preference to the imported, always provided all other things were equal, or in other words " the ware as good, and the price similar." Having surmounted all preliminary difficulties, and made what he might call a fair start, and having at his right hand his excellent manager — Mr Henderson — he hoped, with their co-operatioD, to make pottery one of the permanent local industries of New Zealand. — (cheers.) All the material was to hand, quite close, indeed nature seemed to have been quite lavish of her gifts to the'Tokomairiro district. He had workmen, many of whom were as skilled in their art as could be found in the old country ; if proof of this were required he need only poiut to the exceedingly creditable work of their hands, lately on view in Dunedin, and now on its way to the Melbourne Exhibition. — (Cheers.) In conclusion he remarked that that occasion recalled to his mind the first time he had been honored with a banquet ; it was as a defeated candidate for political hoDor3, (laughter) and while he was fully sensible of the kindly feelings, which had prompted his friends at that time, he appreciated that present meeting still more. At that time it was the close of a defeat, but this one he regarded as the commencement of a victory. — (applause.) fl c certainly had every confidence in the result. Had he been successful in bis political aspirations it was problematical in his case, as it was in that of 90 out of every LOO politicians whether his services would have conferred any benefit on the colony, (laught.r.) Whilst he could not but, then, think that should his present venture prove successful, and that by his aid pottery become an established industry in New Zealand, he would have rendered a greater benefit to his adopted country, than he possibly could have done if he had been elected a representative of Parliament. — (applause.) Mr Jamieson proposed " The Manager," to I which Mr Henderson briefly responded. He regretted the short time there had been allowed to prepare the things that had been sent to Melbourne. They were improving their white ware daily, and he yet hoped to supplement the goods already sent in time for the opening. He fully endorsed Mr Reeves' remarks regarding the skill and ability of the potters present. He had been a potter for over 40 years, so he spoke on that subject with confidence. He thanked the men for their kindly feeling displayed toward him, and hoped it would ever be so. — (Cheers.) "Our Brother Potters in the Old Laud " was proposed by Mr Reeves, and briefly responded to by Mr Macadam and Eccles. Several other toasts, including ' : The Press " followed ; all interspersed with songs and recitations. The banquet was closed by all present standing up and singing " Auld Lang Syne." . The, dancing then commenced, and was joined |in by Mr Reeves, Mr D. Reid, (Mayor), Mr R. R. Jones, and many other leading townsmen .present, all of whom declared they never eh-' < joyed a more pleasant evening than "The Potters Banquet." ■ ' - ■ " God Save the Queen " was sung at 3.30.