FAREWELL DINNER TO MR. J. E. FITZGERALD.

Press, Volume XI, Issue 1377, 6 April 1867, Page 2

FAREWELL DINNER TO MR. J. E. FITZGERALD.

On Thursday evening Mr FitzGerald was entertained at a public dinner in the Town Hall, on the occasion of his departure to Wellington. Ihe dinner, to which upwards of eighty gentlemen sat down, was provided by Mr Oram, of the Clarendon hotel, in a style which we have seldom seen excelled in Canterbury. Mr C. C. Bowen, R.M., occupied the chair, with Mr FitzGerald on his right hand. At the same table were seated his Honor Mr Justice Gresson, the Lord Bishop of Christchurch, the Very Rev. the Dean of Christchurch, Messrs. F. E. Stewart, J. S. Williams, Tancred, Donald, and other gentlemen. Mr. W. Reeves, M.H.R., and Mr W. Wilson, M.P.C., occupied the vice-chairs. Amongst others present were the Revs. W. W. Willoek, C. Fraser, and J. Wilson, Drs. Turnbull and Barker, Dr. Foster, Cracroft Wilson, Barman, Armstrong, Hawkes, Aynsley, Hanmer, E. B Bishop, C. W. Bishop, Gilchrist, Hill, Palmer, C. Davie, Alport, Duncan, Tombs, Anderson, Ruddenklau, E. Dobson, S Walker, Packer, Lane, Tosswill, Stevenß, Angus, H. Ward, Symington, Luck, Clark, Matson, Hassall, N. P. Thomson, Recce, Wood, Wilkin. Grace was said by the Lord Bishop, and after dinner thanks were returned by the Very Rev. the Dean of Christchurch. The Chairman proposed the " Health of her Majesty the Queen," which was drunk with all due honor. The next toast was that of" The Prince and Prince&s of Wales and the rest of the Royal Family." The" toast was drunk with enthusiasm. The Chairman then proposed " His Excellency the Governor of New Zealand." He alluded to his Excellency's recent visit to the province, and remarked that he had now acquired as intimate a knowledge of Canterbury as of the other provinces of New Zealand. The toast was received with all due honor. The Chairman next gave "The Health of his Honor the Superintendent," who was unable to be present in consequence of duties detaining him in West land ; otherwise, he remarked, he felt confident no man would have been more happy to have been present to do honor to the guest of the evening. The toast having been drunk with enthusiasm, The Chairman proposed the toast of " The Army, Navy, and Volunteers." Mr Harman and Mr Armstrong briefly replied to the toast. The Chairman then gave " The General Assembly of New Zealand," coupling with it tho name of Mr J. C. Wilson. Mr Wilson replied. He said that when he entered the room he had no idea that he was to be called upon to return thanks for what he considered the glory of New Zealand —the General Assembly. His friend Air Reeves, as the youngest member, was the proper person to have replied to the toast. But Mr Reeves, as the disposer of events, had shunted the task upon him. [Laughter.] His friend would find in public life that there were many ways of getting out of a difficulty, and a man with an unlimited quantity of type athis command was not an opponent tc be despised. [Laughter.] He (the speaker) was there to do honor to the guest of the evening, and would confine himself to the business in hand. No man regretted more than ho did that Mr FitzGerald would no longer sit in tho General Assembly, nud in the name of that Assembly ho expressed the regret that his great talents would no longer be ut their service. No longer would his eloquence be heard in that hall, and no longer would his oratory fill the galleries with crowds of ladies [laughter], to the immenso distinction of crinoline. [Laughter] Regret at hia absance would bo general all over New Zealand, whether from friend or foe, and it would bo regarded as nothing less than a loss to the tijten.'Sts of the colony. [Cheers.] The next to.s,st was " Tho Provincial Council," which was briefly responded to by Mr Tancred.

After a song by Mr A. Duncan, the Chairman rose amid loiid applause to propose the toast ofthe evening—the " Health of Mr FitzGerald." He said it was a subject of congratulation that Mr FiizGerald was not going so fa:- away after aii. [Cheers.] The name of Mr FitzGerald was, intimately-associated with every woik in Canterbury that tended to the bc-r.t* interests and advancement of the pro vince. It was one of the characteristics of free institutions that diversity of opinion should exist, but they had learned that i 6 would be a mere abuse of the name of popular government to allow politics to descend

to a mere question of personal partizanship, and it was for that reasons that in Canterbury men were always ready to join together , to do honor to any man, whatever his j opinions were, who was believed to have! done good service to the colony. i_ Cheers J He fe't confident that there were very few people present who did not believe that, Mr FitzGerald had done not only credit to the colony but to himself. [Cheers J All old settlers would remember the exertions made by him to push forward the interests of the province. They would remember that he was one of those, and perhaps was -tho only one, who stood by the cradle of the colony in England among the illustrious men who would always be remembered as the founders of this settlement [hear, hear,]-and in after times in the very early days—those days of struggling and difficulty, and yet he (the speaker) thought that after all those were the brightest days of the colony. His handiwork could be traced in the very best institutions which remained among us. [Cheers.] He did not wish to detain them, but he would illustrate what he meant by a reference to the Waste Lands Regulations. They all knew that the most difficult subject of legislation in all new countries was that of the waste lands of the Crown, and they knew that of all tho colonies of the south seas perhaps Canterbury was the only one which had been satisfied with its land regulations. He thought it only fair they should remember that it was Mr FitzGerald who originally drafted them—every detail of them. That law had worked in its details in a way unusual for a new law to work, and in this case with a very complicated subject to deal with. It had worked with marvellous satisfaction to the community. [Applause.] There was not a province of New Zealand which did not look with regret at his retirement, and no person in New Zealand but would hail with satisfaction the news that he had returned to active political life. [Cheers.] Whatever difference of opinion there has been politically there had been none socially, and every one would learn with regret that an old friend was leaving the province. He would add no more, but simply express a hope in the name of that assembly, and in tho name of the province, that the rest from the overwhelming work in which Mr FitzGerald had been engaged would give him new energy for the future, and that his health would be so far restored as to enable him to take an active part at some future time in the affairs of this colony. L cheers -] He concluded by reading the following letter from Mr Weld : — "To the Chairman of the FitzGerald dinner. " Dear Sir, —I regret extremely that I shall bo unable to attend the dinner to my old friend, Mr FitzGerald. My health is not very strong, and the preparations for my departure this week for England, and the trouble oi leaving, have somewhat upset it. I wish, however, to say that among all those who will meet to-night to do honor to Mr FitzGerald there will be none more closely bound to him by private friendship, by public gratitude, and by strong feelings of admiration for the man and the politician, than myself. " Perhaps in saying good-bye to Mr FitzGerald, and to you, sir, I may be allowed also through you to take leave of the people of Christchurch, from whom as a public man I have often met such generous support and confidence. " Yours very faithfully, "Feed. A. Weld. "April 4, 1867." Mr FitzGerald, on rising to reply, was received with loud and prolongod applause. Ue said, Mr Chairman and Gentlemen, it is at all times a difficult matter to respond to such a toast as that which has just been proposed. How much more difficult—indeed how impossible it is to do so on an occasion like the present, I must leave you to imagine, for I have no words adequate to express that which I feel. Gentlemen, I have lived among you the largest part of my grown-up life, I have enjoyed among you the warmest and closest friendships ; there is not one among you here or among multitudes outside of this hall who have not honored mc by a friendly' and kindly acquaintance ; I have held office both in this province and in the colony almost from the very lowest to the very highest; I have been brought into situations in which I have differed—and earnestly—from the great bulk of my fellowcolonists, and after all this, when I meet you on an occasion on which I have to bid you farewell—although I do not believe and will not hope and expect that it is a final farewell—[cheers] —when I meet you on an occasion like the present, and recollect how you have received mc this evening, and how men of all opinions— those opposed to mc as well as those who have cordially agreed with me —have aesembled here to do mc a kindly and sincere honor on leaving the province, it is no idle formula of speech, but it is indeed a truth of which I am most painfully conscious, when I say I cannot find language to express that which is duo to your kindness, and to my heartfelt gratitude. [Applause ] There is at all times a very great difficulty in responding to a toast such as the present, in that it obliges one to allude somewliat to that which is the most disagreeable subject a man can speak of in public—l mean to allude in some degree to himself. I shall not trouble you long with this topic, but there is one remark applicable to myself which I ought to make, and I think it due to you who have done mc this honor, as well as to myself, to make some reference to it. It has been said that I am leaving public life under a feeling of disgust and disappointment, as though my talents or mi" services had not been sufficiently recognised. I do not allude to expressions to that effect in the public newspapers, because we all know *"re value o2 those graceful little amenities [laughter], which pnss between public writers and public men ; and I am the last man in New Zealand [laughter] to object to such compliments. [Laughter and cheers.] But gentlemen, I think it exceedingly likely that tho course of public events may have given rise to such a rumor, and that some of my friends have been inclined to believe it. It was certainly not pleasant to receive such a tremendous thrashing as I and my friends got in the late contest for the Superintendency [laughter], and I have never concealed my extreme disappointment at the course which my political friends took in the last General Assembly. It may be thought that these disappointments may have influenced my action on this occasion, and I think it right to assure you that there is no ground for such a report. These are disappointments which all public men meet—disappointments not on their own personal account, but on account of the measures they have advocated ; and they do not last long. With regard to tho Superintendency, I can have no personal feeling in the m itter, as I was not contesting it for self ; and my leaving Wellington last year at the very time when a new Government was about to be formed was, I think, an intimation that I had made up my mind on no account whatever to accept public office. Notwithstanding these reports, I am not leaving your service under any sense of disappointment or disgust. And really what reason have I had to feel disappointed in my political career? TCheers.] There is no man in New Zealand who can look back with greater pride and eatisfuction than I can, who had on every occasion, instead of being under-rated, received a recognition of my humble services ten-fold more than 1 have either deserved or desired. It is a fa:t that, with one single exception, that of Mr Stafford's Government of 1865, from the time that the colony bad received representative institutions, no Government has been formed of which I have not either been, or been asked to become, either the head or a member of it [cheers] ; and after that, to suppose that I can look back with feelings of dissatisfaction or disgust at the way in which the public of New Zealand has treated mc, is out of question. [Cheers] I will not trouble you with the reasons for which I am leaving public life, or why I have at often declined to accept public office. As to the latter I will say one word, because I think it is apropos to the honor done to a public man. My reasons have been principally private, relating partly to my health and partly to my means But apart from'them, my reasons hiivo been partly political and public, namely, that I never would accept public office except for the purpose, and with the power, of carrying

out measures which I believed to bo necessary for the welff Vof thi-< country. [Prolonged cheers] Although my friends have done mo tho honor on many occasions of thinking that I might well be placed in office, whether in a prominent or in a subordinate position, I felt that it would not become mc or any man to go info office except to carry out those principles and those views which he had held in opposition tor many years And on leaving public life it is a satisfaction for mc to think that during the two months in which I held office under Mr Weld. 1 had the pleasure to pass almost without a division every measure except one, embodying the views which 1 had held for years; and the one exception to which I have alluded, I feel as confident as that we are assembled hero, will be passed at i\o very distant day. [Cheers ] lam sure you will excuse mc for saying even so much of my own personal career, and I shall not trouble you further. But I think you will expect mc on an occasion like tho present to say a few words on the aspect of. public affairs in this province, and in the colony; not, indeed, in the way of advocating any special or party views, because I should ill repay the kindness done to mc this evening by friends assembled here if I should make a party speech. There is one point, however, on which I think I should say something, because it is one on which all of you are equally interested, that is upon the action that has been taken by myself and those who have been engaged with mo during tho last four or five years, in its bearing on the character of public men. It would be no satisfaction to you, whether friends or foes, to think that I, any more than other public men, have been fighting on both provincial and colonial questions merely in a spirit of idle opposition—merely to get up party strife. I suppose you will b°lieve wo had something more in view than that—that we had distinctive principles at stake, both in this provinco and in the colony, of which I and my friends becamo for the time the exponents, and to which, those whom wo opposed at the time, were decidedly hostile. 1 ask you one moment to allow mc to explain what thoso principles and that policy luve been —whether right or wrong it does not become mc on tho present occasion to say —simply to explain the policy which during the last few years I have advocated, and in the advocacy of which I have sometimes opposed the Government. When I returned to this province in 1860 1 found tho colony just recovering from a period of extraordinary commercial depression. I left it in 1857, in a period of extraordinary prosperity, which increased for another year or two, after which came a great commercial crisis, and when I returned in 1860 I found it in the position I have described. Gradually that depression gave way, and we had another period of most extraordinary prosperity, which has again given way, and we have now another period of depression, which has lasted longer and been more severe than most of us predicted or ever expected, and which we do not see our way out of even now. When I returned to the colony in 1860 I looked round mc everywhere, and this idea forced itself on my mind, and over since has constantly recurred to me—that tho colony was living beyond its means ; not only in its public undertakings, but in its private life, that the colony was anticipating its true resources, anticipating its real credit, engaging in public works rather for the grandeur and magnificence of those works than for the actual commercial result which would bo obtained by them ; and that we were gradually coming to that condition to which every country must inevitably como which anticipates its resources and spends faster than it makes. Gentlemen, wo live in days when tho great questions of political economy are being discussed with an eagerness and intelligence on the part of men who are considering commercial and financial questions which we have never seen in any former period. It seems to mo extraordinary that men cannot realise this fact, that money represents substantial wealth, and that credit represents money ; that a country must create year by year a great deal more than it expends or destroys, and that if year by year it exceeds in its investments and expenditure that which it creates, and lives to a great extent on its* credit, the timo must come, fcoonor or later, when it will be asked to pay ; that the period of financiul speculation which, in every active commercial country that occurs from timo to time, must come to an end. It is not tho action of Banks, or the interference of the Legislature, or of any laws which can be male, which can, (although they may to a slight extent affect the working of this question), make any great difference to the permanent result. If a country is living too fast, and investing year by year more than it makes, no matter what course the Banksmay take, or what public policy is pursued, the day must come, whether with regard to a community or an individual, when every one must be called upon to pay. There must come a commercial crisis. [/Cheers.] Those who thought with mc upon this question, and who agreed with mc as to the position of the province in 1860, were of opinion that the Government of the day wore rather stimulating than discouraging extravagant expenditure both in public and private life, and we felt it our duty to occupy that exceedingly unpleasant position of putting the drag on the wheel. I know very well from experience that it is far pleasanter to sit on the box, with a handsomo coat and gold lace and a fine team to drive, than to act as a drag in the mud. [Laughter and cheers.] If any little service that I may have performed may have induced any of you, however few, to give serious attention to this subject; if I may have, in any degree whatever, either by speaking or writing, induced you to look more closely into these questions, to use caution and enquiry and not to be run away with solely by the magnificence of projects, then I should think that my career for the last few years in Canterbury has not been useless. [Cheers.] I do not mean to say that all speculation is unwise or wrong. On tho contrary, I say there are periods when the wildest speculation is the greatest prudence ; but I say also, that there are periods when the same speculation is rashness, and other occasions when it is criminal. In the career of every country such periods occur again and again, and it is the duty of those who guide its policy to form for themselves soma judgment as to the proper course to pursue. [Cheers.] And now thut I am on tho point of leaving Canterbury, if I may without presumption, and with the utmost humility, leave behind ono single word of advice with respect to the province and the colony at large, I would most earnestly and emphatically concentrate it in one siugle word, —wait; do not be in a hurry. [Hear, hear.] I venturo to say that few of you have realised the enormous extent to which tho resources of this magnificent province are at this moment mortgaged. Do you know, any one of you sitting at this table, to what extent, not only the public landed estate, but private properties, are mortgaged iv this province 'i IMie subject has been brought beforo mo recently, and 1 have taken the trouble to mike i an estimate of the extent to which tho pro- j vincc of Canterbury is indebted at the present i moment. Between General Government and I Provincial Government debts, I can tell you that your estates are mortgaged to the amount' ( of £1,600,000. Ido not mean that the prov- i ince itself has contracted debts to that amount, I but if you take your share of the general debt i of this colony, and add to it the actual debt i of the province, you will find that you owe at ■ this moment tho sum of £1,600,000. Yj i < liave mortgaged your estate to fi-it; ex- t tent. And to what amount besides c is your private estate mortguged ! How much t Jo you owe to the two companies and others i who lend money for the purpose of carrying i >n agricultural operations ? I believe you ■> j-.ve considerably more than £3,000,000 at. s his moment. Ido not say this to frighten i rou ; far it. I only wish to point out t hat you owe more than any other province Joes, and that in point of indebtedness you dis- ' alav, gentlemen, that inagniiient pre-eminenco [ )ve"r any other provinco in New Zealand, as \ jon do in other things. [Laughter.] Ido h lot complain that you owe so much money, v >ut I say take care you do not make tho | I

T i Vit •', v cau "far v load a full-grown liornu win, „ r °»> •h ho can «-any o,imlv, h„Mf to .. Wei * ht > loud Oil till- foul, llii-rowniiia i,, "'O iri'iiking hi* bui-k. [Cheers] - r ,l , ,,an ßer do not break tho b.i.-k „r ,i ear ° ~h,e,]-Mv humble ,ef -»l. ■iot. eiit-rtgo in any other grand mill ' ~""f- Wl----if work* You will „„,. ,i„ v , '" n '»«?n,. to whoso wcihh vW^^Ni. bo as n drop in tho ocean fn" tlio opposite course i 8 •moo will find itaoir in a pU !' f Uw :1» it cannot recover for nm, v v lrs fr ° m , weight you put on vouV l? n<l frighten population away f ro 7"'" ■os. [Cheers.] If with our ,m°l ¥?! population wo continue our agnnt expenditure, something more xmJ*' : than stamp duties will bo ,|, O r £«* colony will be burdened with an ■»,„! ebt which will ruin ,t for •s. I say ngnin.-wait; be content „ urea present. \ oll nro „ J» r lands aro coming into cultivation • Vn plo aro spreading in all directions 11 destroy that prosperity by OverloaJi nc tU . If you only put a load on which ho Z r, be will one day grow into a h * n ,co™.] ll.ere is one other subject on which lould like to say a few words, that i«~t| stitutional crisis, if I may m Wp ' Q eh I sco is coming upon this colony J present moment. There is no one in "th ,n who has been so strong an advocate of vmcial institutions as I have been. I X eitis to our provincial institutions'wo owe t great prosperity which wo enjoy now as >lony. I believe it is owing to the fact that resources of the colony have not been central 1. but divided throughoutall parts of that vast 3oast which we possess, that wo owe that rease of population and wealth whi c } w Zealand lias enjoyed for the last few years t, gentlemen, I tun not advocating— an j j >o you will understand that on this occasion m not advocating one policy more thar ithcr—l am rather Btating what I thin! st inevitably arise than advocating what ] nk ought to arise. If I were to say wha ;ht to bo done it might be very dilfercn in what I am going to tell you will bo done have come to the conclusion tliut if soni, rvellous change does not take pl„ ci ir proviuces will como to an end, and fact, have even now como to at 1. [Hear, hoar.] I believo they \,\\ a linnncial impossibility. I f or m part, shall deeply regret" if tho province como to an end before they have fulfills •so functions for which they were created t they seem to mo to bo in a positioi nothing like that of tlie gentleman in.th rman tale who went to bed, and in tli Idle of the night saw tbo top of hi; i coming down upon him gradu illy mcl inch. This seems to mc to bo tho in table fate of the provinces, which tliir mot escape. Tho provinco of South d has become now virtually insolvent has been handed over to tho Genera vernment, and you, every one of you creditors of tho estate. [Mr Wihoi '.t is not a bad security.] -— I qj say it ia — but so far as tho pro cial system is concerned its fate is sealed cc the groat province of Auckland whicl been, and I am persuaded will bo again iof the greatest provinces of New Zealand ng to its resources. What is its condition i ell you that alio will owe yearly for hei vincial debts alono as largo a sum as th Die of her share of tho surplus revenm ich alio receives from tho General Govern it. There will not bo ono eolitary six co left with which to pay for the expense !ior government. Who has got to pay it ,i have. There is no mistake about it. I fc a provincial system in which such case o ? That is the condition into whicl ikland has got by raising money, aiu i province she will no longer bo soWen r this year, and you will havo to tak debts up. Take the case of Mar! Diigli. That provinco carries on hci ernment with her share of tho surpltu mue, and last year sho received £100 lesi ii nothing na her share. [Laughter.] Can mry has to pay her own debts, and ia «li£ much better position than her neighbours? has certainly hor land fund, but that almost spent. Otago ia not bankrupt, ough hard-up at present. But I sty] , you must make up your minds in the t'few months either to stand by provin ism or tho General Government. My owr rate opinion is that if the province it beyond the next session of tk< leral Assembly some of them will liav, go into court and call their creditori 3ther. I should be inclined to advocatf tho utmost tho maintenance of th< vincial system, but I aay as a matter o orical fact that there aro only tw< vinces in the colony—Canterbury am igo — whioh have ono trace or vestigi the provincial system left, and, side of these provinces the pro ;ial system is practically at an cud. [Ap ise.] There is one other subject whicl occurred to mc to allude to, and that ii express the great pleaauro I have fel having been in a position to aic that great and noble movement whicii made by the Weld Government in 4, for restoring the credit and th( lliness of this colony by what is called the ■reliant policy. [Cheers ] I Bpeak of this laving had a very small share in its practical ilts, although 1 advocated thesame principle! ly yeura before they wore/put into practice ,he sagacious statesmanship of Mr Weld in 4. [Cheers.] Mr Weld showed ho posed the capacity of a statesman in that ha off exactly the time and the circumstance! er which it was possible to bring into jtical operation that policy which Mr Uey among others advocated soveral yeare riously. Mr Weld possessed that peculiar icity which belongs to few men, to strike key-note of a great movement, and he had power of enlisting the sympathies of the ale in its favor. The ad rocates of this cy have been laughed at, and told that it very well to talk of chivalry and heroism all that kind of thing—and one speaker emember, anoeringly alluded to that nificont sentence ofßurke'a in which ho ribes the chivalry of the Middle s. That speaker aud others forgot that ke when he spoke of the age of chivalry, decay of whicli lie so vividly describes, ;o of it not only as " tlie nurse of maniy imentand horoic enterprise," but also 83 icheap defence of nations." We havolouaa c cheap defence of our nation, as we shall ys find that all heroism, all chivalry,« as doing our duty in all we havo to ao, in the end, bo the cheapest remedy, sxpressing this, I look back with some co of pleasure to having been ono of those helped to carry out that policy vrwoa w forced upon ua. I say forced, foralthoagtt jresent Cabinet have not shown themselves dently eager to c*rry out that policy aa le sending away of tlie troops, tho recent uctiona from England will sompelthemto o whether the Government wishes it or [Cheers] I have occupied your attea* a long time. I wish to assure you H»M )ing to Wellington to live there, to tawa lanent office, I do not consider that I «w» ug Canterbury. [Cheew.J I *W* i I am leaving Canterbury, because o not think that Canterbury «J to be a part of the same colony with W» r ellington, and that none of us will cea-» s a part of New Zealand. I «cc arouno iereral who strove to divide the colony two, but I am certain of one tluog tnotever shall bo disunited. [Cheers.] in of tint. If I know anything ol hi ;of thU English community. * that this colony never will w t» cd. I think tint those interest' vhich we aro closely connected aro■ p» mt, while those which are merely temporary, and while v ug our antagonistic interests will out, aniwo shall cjme closer taturul course of timo a.il oiraunu.aj*- • efore when I lo.ive Canterbury to g ington, I shall feel lam still a P' r * 0I ha ers.] There is not a p<*» »»> j' 9 1, having tlie instincts of a g« ttt P" ' fl) r are content with a «na I «•*% ~ If the Northern you to-morrow, I believe m ten y*»r

« would have it conquered by force of arms. Seers and laughter] Yon do not want to j- I tho Northern Island. Ye may abuse i'l" another in the newspapers but depend n r notwithstanding that abuse you will Up °e (-lo'ertogether.and uitiiuatelyyon will find Selves that wliich you will be—one great y r«ntrr influencing the whole policy of S Southern F«S ■ Ocean I say !i!f no people 'uo ..re not worthy StS«np ? led , o«i.ofM ? ..cartb are likely to nt tho natior.aluy of a parish when they the nationality of an empire. That is ' Sat jou have got within your reach. The Ocean ook to you for ■ SSeTer they recede :. civilization and life. Ton have before you a career which has been • to no nation on the face of the earth, &*j R t a 0 not believe for a moment that fhat people trith *rbom I have labored for rwiteen rears are going to relinquish the «ria» Placed within their grasp I believe this P lon J-will continue one, and I leave you to • mv services to the colony at large, not . £ T t I love Canterbury less, but that I love < se* Zealand more. [Cheers.] I sfee by the ] ?" aro und mc that lam speaking in the M nf some of the earliest settlers in ESbuiJ, and I say you would have < V a " only half your work - had you con- I IZi tout attention to your own narrow . -,\ .o.t« Canterbury has come to be the - 1 f nowerful and wealthy and influen- ] 3 pice of New Zealand She has moulded the whole public policy of Sew Zealand, and \ £pregnated it with a higher and more 3e tone than any other province. [Cheers] , Sat part of your work I am proud of c f have beard it spoken of even in the General . \ mhlv by men from the extreme part of the "Tlonv who stated that they looked to Canterv liU the key-note which was to guide the "vtiS Sior of New Zealand. I do not S v gentlemen, that in leaving you there is 3 Shine exceedingly painful, and I would ] tlier not dwell upon it. I have received much t Personal kindness in the midst of great un- , laritv • I have received such an unusual P °oant oi friendship, that I would rather not l speak on that subject. I will I ■it down by assuring you that Ido not consider 1 that in going to Wellington I am leaving t Canterbury. lam sure I shall often be down a here again. I shall be heart and soul with you y • what I know of your feelings and wishes to help on tho colony of New Zealand at large in r that career to which I believe it has been s ordained by Providence. [Loud and long- c continued applause] t Mr Reeves proposed the next toast— Ine Health of Mrs FitzGerald and her family," in highly eulogistic terms. r Ac toast was duly honored. t Several songs were sung by gentlemen pre- t gent, and after spending a pleasant and y social evening the company broke up at a late b° ur - .