THE PREMIER AT TIMARU

Evening Star, Issue 12872, 23 July 1906, Page 8

THE PREMIER AT TIMARU

■ ♦ A PUBLIC WELCOME. The Hon. W. Hall-Jones on arriving; at Timaru on Saturday afternoon was welcomed as Prime Minister by the mayor and a large. number of the public The mayor made

reference to tlie inomentous changes, and spoke very feelingly concerning the late Right Hon. Mr Seddon. He was proud that the member for Timaru had been chosen as Premier, and while they sympathised ■with him in the trying and arduous duties which had devolved upon him, his constituents, as well as- the people of tho whole colony, admired the able, tactful, and very dignified manner in which he. had carried them out. On behalf of the people of Timaru, he wished to heartily congratulate the Premier. Their wish was—and it* was the wish of tlie whole colony—that Mr Hall-Jones would be long spared in health and strength tocontinne to do good work for New Zealand. Mr Hall-Jones thanked the mayor for the hearty welcome. ' He said the circumstances under which he had been called upon to assume the responsibilities of his present position were very sad. Richard John Seddon was New Zealand's greatest man, and his work was of lasting benefit to every member of the community, from the inmate of the Old Men's Home upwards. His death had been a sad'blow to New Zealand, and was felt keenly by the speaker. Mr Seddon's services were not confined to New Zealand alone, but were also given to and valued by the Empire at large, to which fact the enormous number of appreciative letters and telegrams received bv the speaker from all parts of the Empire abundantly testified. Mr Hall-Jones concluded by saying that in his future conduct as Premier of this colony he would be rilled only by the dictates of honor and the best interests of New Zea land. Interviewed, the Premier said the outlook was still srood for the colony, there beintevery indication that the prosperity so long enjoyed would continue. The la=t"quarterly revenue returns showed an increase of £IIB,COO as compared with those of the same period last year. The importation of navvies had been stopped for the present the weather conditions being unfavorable to the work for which they are roqiiired. Regarding the complaints made concerning certain of the back-block roads in the North Island, he explained that these roads, being unformed, cut up very badly when the trafli. passed over them in wet weather. During the last summer there had only been five w-eeks of good weather, and this* of course, "had delayed the work of metalling; bui during tine weather every effort was bein: made to pot the roads in good order. Two thousand tliree hundred workmen were now employed on the Main Trunk Railway.