THE BANQUET.

Clutha Leader, Volume XII, Issue 596, 18 December 1885, Page 5

THE BANQUET.

A banquet in celebration of the event of the day wa3 given in the Crown.Hotel in the evening. Here an excellent spread, one in every respect worthy of the occasion and of the distinguished visitors, had been prepared, and was partaken of by about 50 persons. The Mayor presided, supported on his right by Messrs Macandrew and Thomson, M.H.R.s ; and on his left by the Hon. R. Stout, who had arrived by the evening train from Dunedin. Mr Wm. Dallas, chairman of the County Council, and Captain Parmenter occupied the Vice- chairs. The formal toasts having been proposed and duly honoured — The Chairman, in a highly complimentary speech, proposed the " Governor and Executive Council." The Hon. R. Stout said he had first to return thanks on behalf of the Governor. He regretted his Excellency was not present, but as they were aware his duties prevented him going about the Colony as much as he would like to do. He (the Premier) could assure them, having had experience as a Minister of several governors, that there had never been in New Zealand a governor who had acted so fairly to all parties— who had held the balance more equally than Sir William Jervois . had done, or one whose aim and desire for the welfare of the Colony had been better exemplified. The mayor had referred to ' the troubles of a Premier, and he might say he often wished the Parliament Of New ' Zealand was like\he people 'of Balclutha.'' In Balclutha the present mayor'had been elected seven times in succession'; he was kept in office long enough to show what he was made of, and what good.he coiild do for the town. But .the misfortune, of Parliament was that •there were.so many members anxious to show thaVth'eyvcpuld be Ministers that the tenure of office was often very short. He wished to , say, one or two words with re- , ference . tO,tjb.e. Ministry, but did not inI tend to introduce any party or political

war cries. They should remember the position New Zealand was in when the present Ministry took office, and the fact that the Ministry had only been in office some fifteen months. On taking office the Government had -to face a deficit of Llso,oooand there seemed no chance whatever of that deficiency being met. During the year that deficiency was faced, and at the' end of the first few months of office there was a small surplus and no additional taxation. Another thing that was entirely ignored by many was that on taking office the Ministry found the Natives apparently at peace, but really in a state of unrest — ill a state what might be called veiled opposition to the Government in everything. Now, after fifteen months of office they find the Natives throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand not only peaceably disposed but showing a hearty co-operation in working with the Government. Not only was the King Country thrown open, but the Natives who were said to be Hauhaus, and who declined to allow Europeans t.) pass over their country, had appealed to haye — and these would be held "during the next five or six weeks — a sitting of the Natives Lands Court at Taupo. These Natives were taking the first step towards putting a million or a million and a-half acres of land through the Court and having the title ascertained Then the Upper Wan&ranui Natives were also asking for a Lund Court. In 1882, when the N >rth Is ail Trui k railway was proposed, all the Ministry 'could promise them was that they might be able to get permission to make the line and landior the purpose. Now, however, not only had the Natives given the land for the line, but, as would be seen from the papers, they had consented to have the whole of their territory prospected for gold ; and he, knowing the responsibility of what he said, would say he believed that, if not within a few months, within a year or so, they would find one or two large goldfields in the King Country. They might now go through the King . country anywhere, and not only were the Natives peaceable,, but they showed the utmost kindliness. How had this condition of things been obtained 1 It had been obtained by saying to the Natives thac they should be treated with justice, and by acting up to their word. They believed that in treating them, as well as everything else, it was only righteousness that could exalt a nation ; that no nation could hope to do anything well that treated any section of the people with injustice, or that did not extend to all the utmost kindness and sympathy. He was glad to say that the Natives recognised the. spirit in which they were treated. .That this was so was evident from what occurred for the first time in the House of Representatives last session, when the four Native members, who were as intelligent Maoris as could have been selected throughout the Colony, were found supporting the Government, because they could see and knew that the intention of the Government was to treat them with kindness and with justice. This was a part of the public policy for which he thought full credit was not given to the Government. Although the time was short he would like to make one or two remarks about the railways. He regretted that he had been unable to be present at the opening of the line, and wished to say he looked upon the portion of line opened as of little value to them and of little value to the Colony. The line ought to connect with the lino that branched off at Mrvtanra, and to be carried through the Tautuku. Bush. If the line were so constructed he believed tljat in this part of Otago there would be better room for small settlements and forforestry development than in any other place in the whole of the Middle Island; He was speaking concerning what h<*, knew, for he had travelled over New Zealand probably more than anyone else in the room. Having seen what the Scandinavian settlers, who were unacquainted with our language and unaccustomed to our ways, had accomplished in the North Island within what was practically a few years, he was convinced that such settlements on bush lands was practicable. He had found th 1 ? settlers comfortably situated with good homes ; their children, who had had to learn English, were far advanced in their school work ; and the people were contented, and the young men pushing further into the bush. All this was done on worse bush country and a worse soil than they had at the Tautuku bush, and the settlement was not on large blocks of land. When he thought of this he felt certain that thousands of people could be comfortably settled if they had the railway which had just beeu opened extended, and aid given perhaps to open ■up roads for the small settlers: : He s be-lieved-'the people of the district would-be false to themselves if they allowed ,the railway to go no further than to Romahapa, and if they did not look forward to its future extension. There was, of course, danger of a Colony borrowing top much. money, just as there was of a man doing so, and he thought that all our borrowing in the past had not been s'uffi-: eiently defined and limited. If -he had had his way the Loan. Acts- should have been passed so that every penny should have been spent in a manner clearly de-. fined, and it ought to have been spent so as to give a return. " Uufortunately. more than half the money for which the credit of New Zealand had been pledged did not return any interest to the Colony. He did not say that the expenditure had not been useful, and that directly the gain to the Colony was not great ;. but it did not give any direct return, and he thought that in future they should insist that the works should be such as would return some interest on the cost of construction. If they had a _ Loans Act framed so that the, expenditure could not be altered — so that it could not be altered by t-he Appropriation Act ; if they had that limitation put on,- and the whole carefulij 1 examined, it was just as right and as necessary for them to have further railwayjextension for further colonisation and settlement as it was for this province in the early days. Many present could perhaps remember that when the proposal was made to construct a railway from Dunedin to Clutha it Was' said it would ruin Otago. It was not at first met with anything like enthusiasm. The extension of this new line with proper, settlement going along, with proper development of forestry, would do much good for the district ; it would develop the resourcas of the country, enhance the value of the

Crown land— for there was here a largo block of Crown land — and it would benefit the settlers, for they would be able to get timber more cheaply, and hundreds of industries would spring up of which at present they knew nothing. He hoped they would not be afraid to urge that thi3 work should he pushed en with vigour ; that the resources of the country should be developed, and the vast tract of land lying between the railway and the sea settled with a prosperous population, for he believed it was just as suitable for settlement as any prut of New Zealand. He desired to say before sitting clown fiat he was exceedingly pleased to see Mr Macandrew present. He only regretted that he and Mr Macindrew were not colleagues now as they had twice b.^en, and he desired to say that whilo they should not forget Mr Thomson's persistency in urging "the construction of the line, they should remember that it was Mr Macandrew's idea to have the railway made. He might also state that lie believed that had Mr Macandrew remained in power they would have had the railway not only seven miles but almost 70 miles in length. He hoped they would have Mr Macandrew in the House and in Parliament for many years to come, on account of- the value of his services, not only to the provincial district of Otago, but to the Colony as a whole. However much Mr Macandrew may have bqen blamed in the North Island for only taking an Otago view of things, he (the Premier) might say he did not know of any member of the House of Representatives or of the Legislative Council, who took a broader or more Colonial or national view of matters that came before Parliament than Mr Macnndv&w. Ha (the Premier) thanked them heartily for their atteution. . Ho was present because he felt that it waf. really to the settlers — to the pioneers of Otago— that thanks were due for the progress of Otago; and he might say that in many things the Colony had to copy Otago. People in other parts of 'the Colony complained that Qtago had fine reserves, but he replieekthat that only showed that the early-s ettlers here had greater foresight than the early settlers in other parts of the Colony. The Clutha district contained perhaps most of the real Otago pioneers, many of whom he knew personally and was always glad to meet. He thanked them for having coupled his name with the toast, and expressed the -hope that the Clutha district would assume the position, when connected by this railway to the bush, and would be the premier district in the provincial district of Otago.

The Premier proposed " The Army, Navy and Voluuteers," to which Captain Parmenter and Lieutenant J. Hogg responded, the latter saying that the present Government had dealt more liberallywith the Volunteers than any previous Government, and he was sure that the Volunteers felt the liberality extended to them.

The Chairman proposed " The Parliament of New Zealand," coupled with the name of Mr Macandrew, the father of the New Zealaud Parliament.

Mr Macandrew, in responding, expressed regret that the New Zealand Parliament still persisted in turning night into day, and performing the public business at ] , 2, and 3 o'clock in the morning. He was not quite satisfied with the adaptability of the Legislature to the requirements of New Zealand, but the personnel o£ the ELonse was, he thought, all that could be desired, and there was no legislature where more gentlemanly lines of conduct were observed than in the New Zealand Parliament. He concluded by expressing the opinion that the Colony was suffering from a too extravagant system of government.

The Vice-chairman (Mr Dallas) proposed the health of Mr Thomson, member for the district, who, he said, was a gentleman they all could look up to. He took an active interest in education and all other questions of public importance. He always gave prompt attention to any matter connected with the district that was brought under his notice by anyone.

Mr Thomson said the toast might justify him in making observations of a political character^ but he could assure them, that politics had not been occupying his mind that day. It had been a redletter day in the Clutha, and he was sure that those who had visited Glenomaru, or, as it was now called, Romahapa, had returned very much pleased with their trip. He regretted that his. -friend, Mr Stout had not been with the excnrsionists, but that regret had been to some; extent compensated for by the remarks he had made. Mr Stout had great influence, and no dcmhVhe -would endeavour to get tho line pushed onward— (laughter) — ac all events they would bp. justified in drawing that conclusion ' from the remarks he had made,;- No doubt there were strangers who : . had taken a trip to Romahapa, and 'if their .sentiments had been of a pleasur--able character, what would haye^been the sentiments of those who had. lived- in that '• very isolated spot for, thirty or forty years? — (Hear.) They must have;, re-> - ,-'. fleeted on the state of the country years ago and of the then modes of conveyance,' and compared them with -the present day.; He concluded ■ by -reminding Mr Stout of, his promise, and. by expressing. -his great,': . satisfaction with the. remarksi'thiatv gentle'rV.. : ' man 'had made, with^'whichf--heVentiirely-r-'.'---"cbncnrred. v' BLe :belieyedJthat ifi the^rail-A ,\; way were extended to! Catlins'; River- arid the Waikawa •aY large; number rof. vsmall '} settlers coidd be located orithalf^a.milhbrl V % acres 'of excellent. forest la'nd,>&nd bnlarioVv: . ■ that 'would carry as J large' a papulation as," ;_••' ,. any similar - extent of - land iv any part > of the Colony.. *:; "->) -^"-V-.^iir ■Mr?'. Macandrew,'; ■'inv-,^pfo_^oßin"g^ , '"^e,; %_ Corporation., of BalcluthaV' sfjoke. of It as ;- a model borough ; and^^he^Cluirman^in:-^..: ; reply,' .assured - : : 'the' f Ccqnipany*. .that'* He,. : : . allowed/ "ho ft Spritlv DiYnedin 1 , tricks his Couucil, which^was« simply Ha)Vappy < ''' family, each member?, doings hiß,^best:fpr' i, the good of the borough.;- . The Preimerj; oMr^ ';-: other Dunedin^visitoi^ ,th^ ing to town ;by sp^u^jtrain^^^O^&^l^ Their departnre v had the; 'i^^x^^&^xa^^ up the company.,^ and a "tnuj^bß^b^i^MS^l^ and speecheahad' to . fe^l^|_|^y6E^r^f| another ocfeasidn.. > ; •)[ , '-frM^^^^J^?i^o^f^ We may 1 ; add^ that diiu^j^ Mr Heunert -; ft^ured some excellent ; sdngs, §and .-Mr ..^Bra'oK^^p recited " The> ' Charge: -. Oof :Hh^JJj_M^| Brigade.*' ;■'-'•; ~ ~\-. : '/ ; '''' . v -" :: w :^V^i^;^