WEST OF ENGLAND

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20087, 17 November 1930, Page 10

WEST OF ENGLAND

SOCIETY. RECEPTION TO THEIR EXCELLENCIES. A COMMON SPIRIT. What hi.-; Excellency. f.oid Uiedisl;>e, himself described as one of the niost friendly and pleaeant ei *;nnigs sine© hie arrival in New Zealand, he and Lady Bledisloe spent among their own countrymen at the reception given in their honour by the Canterbury West of England Society on .Saturday evening. Speeches of welcome by the Mayor (Mr J K. Archer), >lr W. T. Conibear (Devonshire), tile president of the Society, Dean Julius (.Somersetshire), and Dr. J. I*. \\ better (Cornwall), were followed by a most pleasantly informal address from his Excellency, arid later by a musical programme of songs of the four Western Counties. During the evening. Lord liledisloe renewed acquaintance with two people from his own parish in Gloucestershire —one ox them, Mrs Harriet Porter, a member of his father's staff .jij years ago. Lady Bledi.sloo was presented with a beaut 1iul bouquet of flowers by Miss M. Emerson (Gloucestershire;. There were fully 200 people present at the Radiant Haii, including the Mayor and Mrs Archer, the Town Clerk (Mr J. S. Neville), and Mrs Neville, Mr E. J. Howard, M.P.. and Mrs Howard, Mr R. W. Hawke. M.P., and Mrs Haivko, and the Mayor of Kaiapoi (Mr W li. A. Yickerv), and Mra Vickery. Introduction. Superfluous. Introducing their Excellencies, the Mayor said that his task was a. pleasant one, but, h© thought, superfluous. There was no longer need to introduce I/ord and Lady Uledisloo to Christchurch people, for their names were already household words. He extended to tLem the warmest welcome; and the Celtic people, who were strongly represented in the West of England, could be warm when they tried. Personally, he had first got to know Gloucestershire through the famous cricketer. T>r. Grace. He had visited Somersetshire on a courting expedition, and Devonshire had been introduced to him through '"Lorna Doone." As for Cornwall, that was from many points of view—nature, history, tradition. and religion—a very wonderful county indeed. To express his welcome, Mr Archer said he would like to quote a line of &n old Welsh hymn which said: "W© are not to be considered strangers or guests, but simply as friends at home.'' In this spirit, he was sure. Lord and Lady Bledisloe would accept their hospitality. West of England's Proud Becord.

Offering the Society's welcome, the president (,ALr \\ . i. Coiuuearj suiu tliut both auci Lady .bledisloe were ot the \\ est —lie by birth, aua she by marriage and residence, itio Society waa glad to tee bo nobly upheld in Loru illeuisioc the estei u qualities of tenacity, cautiousness, and principle. Those qualities had been shown plainly in his recent speeches, especially those regarding the ethicai and moral side of life. it was unfortunate that he had come to New Zealand during a wave of depression, but surely he would soon see the Dominion again flowing with milk and honey, and would, in fact, himself contribute to that prosperous state, iir Conibear emphasised the close relationship of the Western Counties with Wales, from which many men before Lord Bledisloe had wisely taken their wires. He was thankful that his Excellency had looked beyond his native Gloucestershire, and had come to enrich tho life of one of the furthest Dominions. Continuing, lie emphasised the achievements of the Western Counties in such men as Turner and Reynolds in art; Thackeray. Coleridge, Kingsley, Hardy, Meredith, and by residence, Charles Dickens, in Literature; Robert Ilaikes and Archbishop Julius in religion: Drake, Raleigh, Frobisher, Evans, and Scott in exploration. Indeed. the admirals of the British Navy were more than half descended from the West. ■ Aiming to unite socially all the West of England people in Christchurcli, thj Society had been in existence only for four years, and had a membership of '231 adults and 81 juniors. He repeated the Society's welcome and thanks to their Excellencies. The Call of the West. Dean Julius (Somersetshire) said that unfortunately he had had to leave his native county at the age of four. "I was born in the West Country, and I have a longing to end my days there," he added. "There never dies out that earliest romance and rieh historical memories." He recalled reading of a politician who, finding the boundaries of the United States of Amcriea so neat and straight suggested that the boundaries of the English counties, which seemed as if they had been put together by a jig-saw enthusiast, or a gentleman who had drunk too freely of Somersetshire cider, should all be altered until they too looked nice and straight. Could they imagine Devonshire giving Up part of its land to Cornwall f The thing was impossible because the boundaries wefe the results of centuries of history; Anyone who travelled through the West of England would recognise what extraordinary and different .varieties thero were." The Somerset man, for instance, was supposed to be stolid—slow in tho up-take. Dean Julius told several arnnahig stories illustrating tho individual characteristics of the four counties. "Exiles in New Zealand." A past president, Dr. J. P. Whetter (Cornwall), said he felt greatly honoured to assist in the Society's welcome. They wore exiles iti New Zealand, but they were exiles in a very beautiful and delightful country. The people of the Western Counties had taken a very prominent part in the development of New Zealand, particularly as an agricultural country. Many had come in the earliest days, and worked to prosperity with their land. He waa sorry that no one had named Cornwall's famous sons; he had once named ten to e\-ery famous Irishman, and ?lie could do it again. Even in <Kew Zealand, many of the outstanding families, such as the Griggs of Canterbury, and the Lukes of Wellington, had been transplanted from the Western Counties. A Sacred Gathering. . "1 came to enjoy myself thoroughly in the society of my fellow-countrymen From the West of England," began Bledisloe, "and I a-rr sure Lady Bledisloe felt the same. Unfortunately, my prospect of enjoyment was marred when I heard—erroneously it P rov ®d—that a most terrible invention in the form of a microphone would be hanging in front of me while I spoke. felt that tho sacredness of our gathering would be destroyed if our proceedings were to be spread abroad to the -uninitiated outside world who do not appreciate what tho West of England means to you and me." Two people in the audience he particularly wished to see, for both hailed