COMPLIMENTARY DINNER.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 9491, 13 August 1891, Page 6

COMPLIMENTARY DINNER.

FAREWELL TO ME E. M'OWEN. The complimentary dinner given at Henry’s Hotel, Ashburton, on Tuesday; night, to Mr E. M'Owen, who has' occupied the position of manager of the local branch of the Bank of New Zealand; for several years, but who is now leaving, Ashburton to take charge of the Invercargill branch, was the occasion of tha! largest and most representative gather-1 ing of the sort ever held in the dii«| trict. _ About fifty gentlemen, repre-’ aentative men from every part of tha district, sat down to dinner. The' dinner itself was thoroughly well served, j and reflected the greatert credit upon Mr, Henry and his able staff. Mr David Thomas, in the absence of the Mayor (Mr i H. Priedlander), who was unable to be! present till later in the evening, occupied'; the chair, and Mr Donald Williamson, that vice-chair. A thoroughly good dinner having been done ample justioe to by all,! the usual loyal and patriotic toasts weta; proposed by the Chairman and heartily 1 responded to. The Chairman, in proposing the toast-of the evening, said that the guest had been well and favourably known to everyone present for the last seven years. When ha first came among them Ashburton waa juat suffering a recovery—a very unpleasant 1 process. They were very much better now. I Some people might dispute the assertion, hut he was sure of what he said, and could! easily prove it. Mr M'Owen had gained! the goodwill of every man in the district, by his straightforward and manly conduct. Any man that could go through the trying times that Mr M'Owen bad gone through, and retain so much , goodwill, must be a man out of the common and one whose actions had always been straight Mr M'Owen was a man whose word could always be depended upon; when he said "no” he meant it, and did net blow hot and cold at the same time. He was also possessed of an uncommon degree of ability, and he (Mr Thomas) wonld advise anyone to follow Mr M'Owen’a advice and example, for by doing so a person would find that he would generally come out right. They were all very sorry to] lose Mr M'Owen, and they heldlhe beat wishes for his future prosperity, >; The toast was drunk ' with musical honours;

Messrs D.. Williamson, E. Fciedlauder. the Bev Father Chastagnon and Messmib . Zander and Isaac Sargent also said a few words testifying to the good qualitioad Mr M'Owen. and expressive of the regret felt by all at his departure. In responding to the toast, Mr M'Owaaj said that he was very much flattered by! the remarks that had been made aboutr him, and' with the reception that had been given him. . The room was well filled! with a thoroughly representative gather* ing of men that he respected, and should! be sorry to leave. When he canseto' Ashburton seven years ago, as the Chur* man had said, the district was in a bad way, but they had given him a very hearty welcome, and he had always looked hack with pleasure to the reception that ha then met. At that time things were certainly not floarishing : men had overtraded and miscalculated; but since than] things had very much mended; losses had) been made, but the losers had borne their misfortunes like men. At present Ash-*! burton was as safe a place as there was in ■ the Australian Colonies. The fourth o£ j the month came now without anydread,i> and he hoped that his advice had done; some good, and helped even in a small way \. to bring about this improved condition- It;, was impossible to spend seven years of a ; banker's life without rubbing someone up the .wrong way; but he had endeavoured, to carry out his duties with as little:' friction as possible. He might have made 1 some few enemies, but be had made more friends. He thanked them also for the! kind cheer given for his wife and family.: He should always remember with pleasure his stay in Ashburton. It was a place on the safe and sure road to prosperity. The other toasts of the evening ware—- “ The Financial Institutions of New Zealand,” proposed by Mr C. W. Purnell, and ■ responded to by Messrs Shury and Hemp-: thorne; "The Health of Mr Harper, Mr. M'Owen’s Successor,” proposed by Mr. / M'Owen; "The Legal,. Clerical and Medical Professions/' proposed by Mr Bestell, and responded to by the Bev Father Chastagnon, Mr Crisp and Dr Leahy t “The Mercantile Community,” responded to by Mr Hugo Friedlander; “ The Agri-, cultural and Pastoral Interests,” proposed ■ by Mr D. Williamson, and responded to by! Messrs I. Sargent, G. Lamb, J. Bonifant, and J. Corbett; "The Ladies,” “The Chair,” “The Vice-Chair,” "The Press”! and " The Host.”

A very pleasant evening was concluded by the singing of " Auld Lang Syne.”