THE GRIGG MEMORIAL.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12378, 18 December 1905, Page 4

THE GRIGG MEMORIAL.

THE UNVEILING CEREMONY. REPRESENTATIVE GATHERING AT j ASHBURTON. Some hundreds of people reprcsenta- ' tive of every part of Canterbury.and of its chief industries assembled in Baring Square, Asliburton, on Saturday afterJ noon on the occasion of the unveiling of ! a statue to the- memory of the late John , Grigg, of LongbeatOi.\ Farmers from many miles out were present, and professional and commercial men mingled i with the crowd, while a very large number of ladiea added a bright appearance to a gathering that had assembled to do honour to a great pioneer. Amongst those present wero Messrs J. C. N. and E. P. J. Grigg, sons of the late Mr J. Grigg, with their wives and families. Mr C. J. Harper., chairman of tho County Council, tsiid he'was delighted to see so many people present. He read apologies from Sir Geo. Clifford (chairman of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company, which Mr Grigg founded), Messrs ldy. Overton, A. L. G. Rhodes, Win. Recce, and many others for their unavoidable absence. He also lead extracts from several letters, in one of which the late Mr Grigg was described as "i\ worthy, honourable, and upright man. , ' Another writer eaid: "No more worthy and indomitable colonist ever dwelt on our shores. ,. He (Mr Harper) took it that he had b?on asked, as chairman of the County Council, to take part in tho proceeding* because of his official position. For eighteen years he had bcon connected with Mr Grigor, but ho had hoped that a ckairman who would have been in a 6ense v representative of Canterbury, would have been chctcn to act on this occasion. At the same time, he was glad to see that the Hon. C. C. Bowen, Speaker of the Upper House, and one or the oldest pioneers of Canterbury, was with them. Speaking of their late lamented friend, ho said his mind was carried back to 59 or GO years ago. Mr John urigg was one ot the original pioneers, flmlwhen ho started work at Longbeach he commenced o determined effort to subdue the swamp. After remaining in Chris'tchurch for a time he '"tackled" the impenetrable bog as few men would havp done, and in the end had the satisfaction of seeing it one of the most blooming gardens in tho whole of Canterbury. (Hear, hear.) How did ho succeed? Simply by working day and night, and employnig armies of labour—men to whom he paid high wages—and many -men could now look back with pleasure to their association with Longbcach beeaueo they earned enough while in Mr Grigg'e employ to be ablo to start as farmers on t'iieir own account. It was something for a man to be able to do that,, and to feel that he had benefited his fellow creatures as Mr Grigg laad done. The tendency of tho day was to put down Largo estates. That might be good or it might not be; but wo must not forget the men who in the early days of the province braved all tho hardships of pioneering, crossed the Rakaia, before it was bridged, taind travelled, and slaved in the interests of Canterbirry. He was quite euro that those standing round would agroc with liim when he said that large land owners who employed men ac Air Grigg had done, and enabled them to start on their own. account in after life, had /lone a great deal for the interests of Canterbury. Mr indomitable pluck Siiad carried the frozen meat induet.ry to a buccv. .sful issue, and he Jiad the pleasure of seeing it established on a sound and pernwuiont footing before the died. Ho remembered Mr Grieg telling him on one occasion how he was almost swamped for funds, and how he had driven up to the late Mr H. G. Moore, of Glonmark, who had come to his assistance in a most liberal thaanner. In this connection ho would say again that the tendency of the present day was to deprecate ttho rich man who lwsd brought capital here. But it was useless and foolish for the labouring or any other class to do this. Inere was no justification for such on attitude. Hβ pointed out that Mr Moore's daughter, who was a veiy rich woman, had recognised her responsibilities to her country, by giving £1000 to the Coiifeumptdon Sanatorium in Chrißtchurch. Ho could refer to other grand old pioneers like the Rhodes tainily, the McLeans, who had employed large armies of labour, Duncan Cameron, of Springfield. Geo. Buckley, John Studholme, and others. Mr "Harper then gave a short account of the movement to ereot tho statue, end referred to those who had carried out tlio work. Before ho unveiled tho statue he said it was to bo regretted that the Mayor of J Aehburton was prevented from attending and accepting tho statue on behalf of the people to maintain it for ell time. (A voice: That will be all right: mo will look after it.) It was a great acluevement to be able to erect a. statue. There were only four in Canteroury—those to Her late Majesty the Queen, Jolin Robert Godley, and W. •vefton Moorhouse—and a statue to the late Air Rolleston would ibe erected in a .short time. The statue which they werei about to unveil h-ad cost £720, and ?44. - sum had been collected, iduO being raised in the county <rf Asfobuiioo, and £250 outside. A email ba once ires required to dear off the •debt, and he was sure ho would not enpeal m ram to fcho farmers of Canterbury for this amount. But for the frozen meat inausliy New Zealand would v ghfc fall from time to time, but taken .-i I over it was tho most stable branch ot the colony's trade. Mr Harper then un»ve,fed the fine statue, wS \f a " wrapped in the Union Jack. ill i ned,an <fcr *aid the gentleman who had brought about the alVanoTS trade spoken of well deserved tho recog" "l! W y W< w° beet . OTrin F on 1>» labours Jiat day. Ho referred to tho great work done by tho largo landholdersinen who deserved better treatment ct • o bauds of those who came.lonj; after rlicnn—otul the mariner in which tho hczen meat industry had been built up' .'.evioiis to the establishment of the trade thousands of sheep were knocked on the head for the r fat. Porsoiiallv ho though, if Mr e rißß ij^aa <lie mother of -the frozen meat industry it would have bson a mere appropriate i Kf* T-°. in , d "i stl i y ™ s Hke a P litUe cliild which had b-><?n cradled and vafch-xl and carefully guarded till it reached maturity.. LVory mon, woman and child in the colony was under a deep obligation to Mr Grigg. They luul scarcely _ recovered from (ho turmoil-of an ekction. Seine of them had heard ol the groat deeds of Liberal and Consorvativo Governments, not to forget the New Liberal Party, but. ho wcufo say that men like the U,i o Mr Grigg, midir they bo or might they not bo Con-wrvativos, had dene more for New Zealand limn all the Liberal and Conservative Governments put together. (Hoar hear.) The frozen meat industry which he successfully established was a Krvat. factor in tho development of tho dairy industry. Mr Grigg and m-n liktem, he repeated, had a great deaJ to do with the prosperity of New Zealand Ho pointed lo the works which had been o>,ablished at Belfast, Pairton and Pareorn, and concluded, "I respect the kte Mr Grigg ns I do my mm father. (Hear, hear.) I thank him for what he has done on behalf of my wife and my children." Tho Hon. C. C. Bowcn said he was Ejlacl to haro the opportunity to say a few words in honour of on© whose work in thi-s colony had been not so much in the political line as what might fairly be raJlcd the practical line. The duty of public men was to secure opportunity nnd leanunc for the young, in order that they n:*ght be properly trained, and in life have a fair field and no favour. The work Mr Grifctj had done would Jive after him. They lind all hea«l what i benefactor tho man was who made two blades of grass .grow where only one ?rew before. What had they to k&v of he man who made two sheep grow where enly one grew before? Mr Grigg bad done Iris best to promote tbo interests of

'■ ' thoso Around him; ho was an useful a I citizen and colonist as ever camo to Now i Zealand. (Hear, h«ir.) Mr Q. W. Leadley said ho took it ' that he was there to represent the- | ! email farmers, and on their behalf l>o I 1 expressed hearty appreciation for tho I ' great work Mr Grigg had doiio for tho small farmera of Canterbury. In look- . ing round the gathering the memory . of a similar function, when a statuo i was unveiled to tho memory of the ; brave men who had , gone from Aehlnr- ' ton and died in South Africa in the ■ defence of their country, was called to *mind. But "peaoo hatli its victories no less renowned than war," and in ( ! paying a tribute to the memory cf a I ' great aaid' good man they were remind- j ed that a man might give his life in | furthering tho interests of his fellows j by peaceful pursuits, and be as heroic , and as noble and as high-minded as the j man who went on the battlefield and J laid down his life for hie country. Anni->j versary Day was particularly fitting for a ceremony of the kind they were taking part in. They might well regard Mr Grigg ac ono of the makers of Canterbury, one of the band who gave this country birth and being, and one whoso giant enterprieo laad the foundation for the progress we to-day enjoy. Mr ! Grigg had stood at the spring of thi:< young nation's life; he had go.no into tho wilderness and subdued it. Of 'him and others like him'it might be p 6aid "they laboured and we have entered into their labours.. ,, Ono could j scarcely estimate how much- the? owed jto tho courage of Mr Grigg. In per- ' petuating the memory of Mr Grigg they ' were only doing their bounden duty. Reference had beeir made to Mr Q ring's , connection with the frozen meat industry. When he told them that in a fow , years frozen meat to the valuo of i £22,000,000 had been exported, they j would recognise that tho labour of;tho . man they were honouring had trouglit odmfort and advaiwjejncnt and prefs- , parity to many homes in>-&t>vr Zealand where otherwise they would perhapfi have ' betin sfanangeju. In miny other toepecte Mr Grigg had been a worthy man and a worthy citizen. In local government ho had taken a very useful part. He (Mr Leadley) wo^ld- .jriever forget the strong common-eeriee, fidelity, and unswerving principle he had brought to bear in the interests of the people. Ho I was there to pay hiti humble tribute ' <to hiaii and to say, on behalf of ti>V3<» 'he repres?nted, how-much they approoiatod his life's work. Tito statue would always remind them of tho good man he was, and would be an incentive to the young people to cultivate the virtvreß which were his. (Applause.) ? Dr. Trevor, one of the oldest residents of Aehburton, also epoke. They could not think of Mr Grigg without thinking of Longbeech...... Hβ referred to tho change brought about after thirty years of industrious toil, and said that when the history of New Zealand was being written it should contain a chapter, "History and Romance of Longbeach," because it was a romance. There was a time in tho hisiibry of: this counirj when nearly every farmer was struggling for success,, but that time had .passed. If Mr Grigg had done nothing else than the part ho had taken in the establishment of. tho frozen meal industry he would have been a great benefactor, but ho. was & broad-minded man, who saw that somehigher life- wae ' necessary. He had always been first and foremost an' promoting tho v eocial, educational, and retgious welfare of those around hkn. In ishort, he was a • model pioneer. Dr. Trevor concluded by , euiogieing the work of Mr Kidson, the sculptor. . ;.-.._ Mr J. C. N. Grigg, elder eon of tho late Mr Grigg,.. said ho would bo locking in feeling and duty if he dia not come forward and say a few words to thank the people for all they had said, and what they had done, on behalt of his father, and of all the members of his family. He thanked all most sincerely for the generous recognition hib life's,work had called forth. By erecting such a beautiful statue they had i perpetuated him in lasting remembrance. I He also wished to thank all the speakers most sincerely for pointing cut that his father, as ho went through life, had tried to help others along. Of all tho good opinions a roan could collect in this life, it seemed to him tho gratitude and goodwill of these with whom he came in contact wcro the/greatest. The status, he 6aid. was a remarkably good likeness of his father in tho prime of life. Ho concluded with another expression ot" " heartfelt thanks for what liad been done. Tho statue is a remarkably fine piece of work. The height of the monument is lCft, tho base and the monument each being Bft. Tho base stands on steps of Port Chalmers blueetone, and tho figure of Sydney bluff sandstone from tho Pyrmont quarries. The base is 3ft Gin in width, and from it projects, at the angles, buttree.*» determining in symbolical reprewntations of the virtues: Prudence, Fortitude, luunirtry, and Justice.. Between.these buttresses are panels representing "Ploughing." and 'Shearing," tho whole being worked in sandstone from tho West Coast. Tho figure is in an easy standing attitude, in tho midst ot swamp foliage, which reminds one of Mr Grigc's groat work in converting Longbeach from & huge swiamp into "tho finest farm in the world." The eymbolism of the buttresses indicates the virtues for which Sir Grigg was revered, and the carving and tho panels the industries with which he was connected. The work was executed by Mr Chae Kideon, of Chrietchurch', from the design and under the supervision of Mr S. Hurst Seager. Great credit is due to Mr Kidson for the admireblo end artistic manner in which he executed the work. The- contractors for the masonry and erection were Messrs Graham and Grei'g. ■ - l^