COMPLIMENTARY LUNCHEON TO MR MURRAY-AYNSLEY.

Press, Volume XXXVI, Issue 5068, 5 December 1881, Page 3

COMPLIMENTARY LUNCHEON TO MR MURRAY-AYNSLEY.

The members of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association entertained Mr Murray-Ayniley at lunoheon on Saturday afternoon, on the occasion of his projected departure for England. About sixty gentlemiß ist down to lunoheon, whioh was served in the rooms of the association, Hereford street. The chair was occupied by Mr J. B. HH, president of the association, who was Rpported on his right by the guest, and on ia left by the Premier, the Hon. John Hall. £r J. T. Ford was vice-chairman. After Bnpls justice had been done to the good things jst**—ed, The Chsanrian proposed "The Health of I the Queen and the Boyal Family," which was i drank with the usual honors. I L*tt_i were then read from the following I |SBtl—ien, apologising for their unavoidable I stance:—Mr Eobert Wilkin, Mr Wm. 1 _rji_U, Mr J. T. Matson, Mr W. Henderson sod Mr Mann. Ths Chairman, in proposing the health of _> guest, regretted that the task had not fall— into abler hands. They were all aware fiat ths luncheon was given by the members i ths Agricultural aud Pastoral Association. —ii.been one given publicly he was perIfsi? certain, that instead of fifty or sixty t~f present there would have been -adreds. The committee ef the Agri«lto_ and Pastoral Assoc—tion recognised —- it would be illiberal, in fact almost disrupt—f_, on their part to allow so prominent i -Ember of their association to go away from "... —leaentry without doing him some honor. ——efore they thought they might meet him to-day, ___ -__ him a pleasant voyage tad a safe return. If the Agricultural —d Psatoral Association of Canterbury, *h-_ might fairly olaim to occupy, - cot the first, at any rate not a teoo—l position, had done any good ia _s country—if it had done anything in the *__■«£ educating tbe people, so as to bring -host a better __s of stook—its suooess was, *_* P—t extent, attributable to the efforts of B «&~_1 members. It might seem egotistical w &s pat of any one of them to say anywsg ia praise of tbe association of whioh **-??[**» members; bnt he thought they S^A_dyd_i m that the superiority of the K—J which they had seen exhibited year after J** in Ohristo-uroh had been owing to the *•/_"• which the Bssociation had conducted ib shows, and to the help it had given to the •p—altsral and pastoral interests of the proP? 09 * Of the individual members there was J* ~» who had given greater help than Mr «_f*y_Ay__y. [Cheers] Occupying, as Mlad done in the past, the position of presitet, there was no one who had looked after *w interest, of the association in a more _Ba-ul way then he had done from the -ginning to the end. On that account he i •rotild ask them to drink his health, and also ■ *_*— a him a dleaaaat voyage and a safe *ter_ [Chee*-] ft She toast was drunk with honours and ac s a jolly good fellow," one cheer more •*jjl gron for Mrs Aycsley. £m Chairman said he desired to take the «»art-dty of publicly acknowledging the gawaautaace which Mr Aynsley had ren- _*» him personally during the time he had **~.™»honor of being president. [Cheers.] « Murray-Aynsley, in rising to respond ® the toast, was received with loud cheers. dikedl them sincerely for having invited ««there that day, and for the way in which «£ had received what Mr Hill had said. ''. _} °* oonrße they knew that there was j Z**?** on these occasions a great deal of added to what was real. \~" No, i i _?_jJ Be had been connected with the asio- "' IT*^ 1 r ei ghteen years, and had always felt «interest in its welfare, and been ready to J* wt »t he could to assist it. They had Z_?..~ B association grow up from a very Ettll Mginning, when the stook shown was 5J*? o,a Qualities, -nta now, when only £«_-*« stock was exhibited, and when, by •- }__, the large shows at Home, they * a-i^ 8 tni *- tiie P r *-—«* assoriation of New So *-■--*■* the -Mmb-M of the gf aa f had worked very hard to attain S__?"?•***• He saw around him many of his e_ Wao had heen working on the - SS* 1 ? for ye*"* - otabl 7 late E?*"*.,,-- Gorman, of whom no]£&*s?■ f»J that he had not worked __o Sf- 1 younger men. [Hear, i were many such examples for 1 *a£s!P* mem hers to follow. The comI tt—* unfortunately limited in number I ol W^**-"' timo * — d fcher6 DBHI B n ° power I * job-P** lo1 -* he was unable to give way for I _»_J 8 i_ B ' n to oome ". hut in a .couple of 1 ™» wuld fas s Tatincj. With 1" S-w^u 7 nothing whatever to do, but I w<mi4 not prevent bim from mentioning

that, as they had now become an incorporated society under an Act of Parliament, and their proceedings had to be recorded every year in the journals of the House, they might hope that the publication of their annual reports might do good to the colony, of whioh they were a part. [Hear, bear.] It would depend upon the members of Parliament to what extent those reports would result in benefit to those outside of the society. Canterbury had increased its grain growing; and its agricultural produce altogether, and had been making rapid strides. In certain parland was deteriorating in this colony, but they saw grass growing where wheat was failing. They still went ahead. If they had three or four years' bad times they exerted themselves, and reached a higher level than they were before. They never went backwards; they might stop for a year or two, but then went on. In the United States it was different There if they did not go backwards, they had to keep on seeking new land, and were sot progressing to the same extent that New Zealand was. There was no doubt that if the people of Canterbury continued to use their best energies, and if the association did not flag in its efforts, they would sucoeed in shaping out a good future for themselves; and he hoped to meet them next year and to witness still further signs of progress, f Cheers ] He wished to thank them for the honor they had done him in inviting him as their guest on the present oocasion, and also for their kind reference to Mrs Aynßley. [Cheers.]

Mr Bolleston, who was received with loud applause, said he had been called upon to propose the next toast and he would have great pleasure in doing so. It was " The Health and Prosperity of the Agricultural and Pastoral Interest throughout the colony." At first he had some slight misgivings as to why it had devolved upon him to propose this toast. Some donbt had passed through his mind as to whether it was in consequence of qualities whioh had reoently been attributed to him as those of a most valuable adjunot to an agricultural farm, or whether it was because of what had also been attributed to bim in the publio papers—an interest in tbe grating pursuits of the colony. [Laughter."] But, joking apart, he felt that there was a certain propriety iv this toast being proposed by bim as a Minuter holding the portfolio of Minister for Lands. [Cheers] He did not say that suoh a toast would not come well from a Minister holding any portfolio. He would feel equal confidence in proposing it as Minister of Mines, representing in that oapacity an interest whioh was more closely bound up with the general interests of the oolony than was ordinarily supposed. But as Minister for Lands he felt very strongly that he had a certain claim to propose this toast. The department over whioh he presided was more largely conesrned than any other in the development of the pastoral and agricultural interests. Those interests in this province had set an example whioh his own experience showed him the rest of the oolony had not been slow to follow. In his eapaoity as Minister for Lands he had been from one end of the oolony to the other, and with some small acquaintance with tbe subject, and certainly taking a great interest in it, it had been bis business and also his pleasure to find how thoroughly the experience gained in Canterbury in the matter of agrioulture had been spreading itself throughout the oolony at large. He was thankful to think that the shows which the society, of whioh their guest had boen a president, had held in Christohurch had caused a knowledge of implements and of stook to spread through the country. Wherever he went he found people quoting what had been done here and tbe interest that had been developed in this province. He found Canterbury machines and Canterbury stock, and, above all, wherever he went he found a Canterbury farmer setting the example throughout the country of what oould be done in the way ot agrioulture. [Cheers.] His hope was that the meeting at which they were assembled would show to the old oountry the respect they entertained for men who had been foremost in promoting this great interest in the oountry, for say what they would it was the interest upon which the future prosperity of the colony depended more than another. [Cheers.] At the present time it might be premature to speculate to what extent that interest might be represented in the ensuing Parliament, but he hoped it would be represented there in a more practical manner than had been tbe ease up to the present time— that gentlemen practically engaged in agriculture would give up more of their time to the publio interests than they had done in the past. [Cheers.] It was his hope that the industries of the colony would be more speoiaily represented both in the Ministry and in Parliament than they had been. The Legislature in one of its enactments had contemplated the appointment of a Minister of Agriculture. He hoped the time was not far distant when the agricultural interest would be so largely represented in the House as to oal 1 for the appointment of such a Minister. He did not know that there was anything more that he could say. It was a great pleasure to him to be present to do honor to one whom, in common with other gentlemen in the room, he had known for many years, and who, he was sure, everyone present wished a safe and speedy return to the colony. [Cheers.'; The toast having been drunk with honors, the Chairman called upon the vice chairman, as representing both interests, to respond. Mr J. T. Ford, who on rising was reoeived with cheers, said he remembered the first meeting of the Association, more than twenty years ago, and how very small a thing it was then as compared with to-day. There was one respect, however, in whioh there was a resemblance—the first meeting was as oonviviai as that of to-dsy. [Laughter.] It afforded him very great pleasure to be present on this occasion and to bear his humble testimony to the great good whioh Mr Murray-Aynaley had done for the association, and to the way in whioh he worked to further its interests. As a working member of the association he felt proud to think that he, with the others, represented the premier society of New Zealand—in fact, he might say, the premier Agricultursl and -Pastoral Association south of the line; because he did not believe there was a town in the Australian colonies where they oould get up such good shows as those whioh were held in Christchurch. [Hear, hear.] With regard to kindred associations and local shows, when the latter were first started he thought they would have the effect of injuring the Central Association. He did not think, however, that they had done so, nor that they would in the future have such a result. They would bring together the best stook in their respective localities, and the association would have the best stock they oould produce there brought into its show yarde.where would be exhibited the very best stook that could be produced in the colony. He was quite aware that from time to time they might be able to make some little improvements, but in the meantime he might be pardoned for saying they felt proud of what they had done. That the outside publio appreciated their efforts was sufficiently proved by the amount of support which was accorded to them. He hoped the association would long continue to flourish, but it would only do so if it had men like Mr MurrayAy nsley to support it. [Cheers.] ___. John Olliv—r, in a humorous speech, proposed the health of the chairman, which was drunk with honors, and responded to in suitable terms. This concluded the list of touts, and the party separated.