VICE-REGAL VISIT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 6, 7 December 1931, Page 7

VICE-REGAL VISIT

IIBP AND LADY BLEDISLOE » IN FEILDING

» WELCOME TO THE TOWN ■ ffilWr'• •• •" Excellency Lord Bledislocs, accompanied by Lady «»i£oe, paid an official visit to-day to Feilding, and at the reception in Manchester Square this mornjng was welby the Mayor and Mayoress (Mr and Mrs C. E. Taylor), of the Feilding Borough Council, and representa|BßH|fflgK|of local and public bodies. J. G. Cobbe, Minister of Defence, was also prewith Mr J. Linklater, M.D. for Manawa,tu, Taite Te Tomo, M.P., for the Western Maori district.

■ ore the appointed time for ' ..ttiffip&toellencies arrival citizens had in. the Square in large numgrouped around the raised Mpßßp were the school children of Street, Ly.tton, Convent', Colyton and Alakino together _ with the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides .‘wfflHspfearade of local returned men B. McLeod. The guard was furnished by the FeildSchool cadets under Cap-v.S-!|piffi®NwsGlure, and their smart apreferred to later by His '^^W* AYOR ’ S ADDIIESS- ' Lord and Lady Bledthe Mayor said that, ''alfponjllfc it was the first time Their •>s*lßiwSfP'i es had visited Feilding, ’.vTlrMiljWl i already well known to the IMP thn trnrn “With their eviand kindliness and ■^»Wißr lre help all classes of the 'lwnhinKity, they have endeared thempeople of this Dominion," said. of Governor-General beof His Majesty’s representaDominion,” continued the “is an important office and has ever been favoured appropriate choices on the the King’s advisers. The years have been among the both for the Mother and her Dominions, and New : during this period has been VlfisMnMfy favoured in the choice of the (Applause). Lord and Sir Charles Fergusson live in our memories,' and . :.;£fUH9nUedisloe. the present holder of '■)-||l|ijßMpgh and exalted position, has Dominion-wide esteem and -|9K. (Applause). ' 'Ts^® recognlse that we are living in ■Hufficult times, both financially The present period sacrifices must be made ..•v/MMoHBy section of the community. . , jHfejyther Country rightly applauded unNuesty the King for his recent VvjpjHaKjSgj|n requesting a much reduced grlfflWfor the maintenance of his ■ -‘(tfec mßjM|tThe Prime Minister on behalf vDominion suitably acknowis Excellency’s voluntary but request that he share sacriM jßßnpi common with the Dominion : i|^M9HHßi^ : .(Applause). • OF CHEER NEEDED. are days when there is need for the gospel of cheer, and confidence. Hard work and still more production necessities to-day more than Sacrifices will still require to and 'with equality of sacri!jfiH|HjH|kand burden bearings, the future 'ltJilfißSHH?' have in store for us more prosand happier times. His Alamgmmihe King, as we realised from iHnKbl* 5 ’ P la Y ed a conspicuous part yi)*SSmjbly in several conferences with his fvMOTiijqrs. _ Our distinguished guest MpML this Dominion been a tower of ’rtwjjMgth in these difficult days. •)ffsj|BH|rner it be a gathering of • business men, professional industrialists or workers, the words- of advice always caused the Dominion subijfflSj/BKKmtio sit up and take notice. We |il|wgg|tk - him for his cheery optimism, note of confidence at all times by him, and his words of adfroely an d generously given. Excellencies are specially inin the welfare of the children sSnjflgl particularly in their moral and progress. For this we are thankful, realising as we do Their Excellencies realise full well ffinSHEfr own and the Dominion’s depenupon the favour and blessings wm9B&Almighty God, and further that character of a real type if only when based on Christian SgSflpjbundations and practices. >!!®ffim“Y°ur Excellencies, in the name of ISfjffilr town and on behalf of our burI extend to you a warm welPPjßMne. We rejoice to know that |P|S#Her recent illnesses you are*both now to health and we trust that will henceforth' be favoured with owjamproved health and enjoy the blessSMBMpf of God in your high and import'’•ifwfiibt office in this Dominion.” (ApHflmjjUise). |»/ COUNTIES’ WELCOME. SaßffiaOn behalf of the surrounding coun(gjjjwSSiFs, Mr A. Campbell, chairman of the County Council, also added a welcome to Their Excellencies. Mr 3|®§||ljunpbell 'said it gave him great pleas* to be associated with the Feilding f ff|trough Council in welcoming the disJi/tihguished' visitors, and he went on to '(ypfeimfeak of the wealth of the counties he representing. Years ago the whole |Mj|>Slrea of the country surrounding Feildconsisted of hush and the present lappjiay citizens rightfully paid a sincere to the old pioneers for the foundations they had laid in making ol Feilding and district. ' |(«iKVHcn. J. G. Cobbe, Minister of De|®pfence, also joined in welcoming Their |f|l§2Excellencies to Feilding. New Zeasaid Mr Cobbe, belonged to one KEtpf the greatest Empires of the world fgHfind it was chiefly due to the work and of the citizens of tlie Empire the progress had been made. ToFeilding was welcoming one such of the Empire in Lord BledisHe was a representative of the of outstanding merit and his and assistance to all classes of «be community in New. Zealand had endeared him and demonstrated |HKs value to the people. Air Cobbe :)|MUso welcomed Lady Bledisloe and ComJBKander Ell worthy aide-de-camp to Lord both of whom the Feilding BHHjtizens were glad to see in their midst. LORD BLEDISLOE’S REPLY. iH§“Th e speeches to which we have Just are characterised alike by to the Crown and friendliness MmsSt’ ourselves,” stated Lord Bledisloe, iM|o rose to reply amidst loud applause. ««|er thanking the previous speakers MIBB the warmth of the welcome extend-i gKgjjlK to both Lady Bledisloe and himLord Bledisloe said that the ex•Mfem|essions _ gave both himself and his additional stimulus in carrying BeSmit the work entrusted to them by JTCgli.s Majesty the King. iMflB-Lord Bledisloe _ was sorry that the BMfchortness of his visit to Feilding would MKgTot allow him to see all the attractions' Hip possessed, hut it had been impossible I ®ffi|l6r him to get away from Wellington' nUßlfhring the last 18 months owing to the jJHKctivity of Parliament. His Excellency the length of the 1 pro-

gramme which, had been originally drawn up for him, but if he was to continue to do his best for New land, there was a limit to the physical strain such as these visits entailed, although the spirit was willing. At this stafge Lord Bledisloe congratulated the Feilding High School cadets on their appearance as the guard of honour for him. Smartness in handling a rifle and in drill was often an indication of scholastic effort as smartness in all things went hand in hand. As regarded the assembled school children, His Excellency said he would carry away with him from the present ceremony a happy recollection in that, when the Mayor had said that the schools in Feilding were founded on Christian faith and principles, an enthusiastic cheer had broken out from the children. Addressing the children, Lord Bledisloe stated that it had once been thought “namby-pamby” to show evidence of scholastic effort against athletic prowess, but he wished to impress on them that many of the finest men *n the British Empire to-day were those who had been keen at both scholastic attainment and athletics.. KEEPING FOUNDATIONS FIRM. Continuing, Lord Bledisloe said that what he wanted to say to-day was thaT New. Zealand had to keep its foundations sound if we were going to solve the great economic problem before us at present—we had to keep- our anchorage firm if we meant to make ourselves a great nation of which the British Empire would be proud. We had to preserve a general harmony—the general evictions were over and the speaker believed they had been fairly fought, but we still had to bend Our minds to the utmost solidarity to reach a period of continued prosperity. To do this we had to work towards the elimination, of dissension whether of a social or industrial character. His Excellency appealed to all right-minded thoughtful people to study to-day points of contact and to work together-,-, no matter in what class, to the promoting of the country’s continued welfare. Lord Bledisloe was glad to meet Mr Cobbe and explained that lie (Air Cobbe) was one of tlie three Ministers of the Crown who had been in office during the whole of the time His Excellency had been in New Zealand. -Air Cobbe was a Alinister of high ability, and the respect that was entrtained for him locally was equally felt for Air Cobbe in the councils of the nations, and the electorate of Oroua had paid him a well-merited honour in returning him unopposed to Parliament. His Excellency alluded to the fact that among the portfolios Air Cobbe held was that of defence and went on to speak of the necessity of maintaining a spirit of defence in the minds of the people. There was no stronger believer in the value of tlie League of Nations than the speaker, but he had every regard for the old saying that the best guide to peace was to be prepared for war. In regard to the Navy, New Zealand had a sure security from attack on its long sea routes and in adequately maintaining the New Zealand branch of the Royal Navy the Government was carrying out its duty. NEED FOR OPTIAHSAI.

.Continuing, His Excellency went on to speak of the economic condition of the country and said that, although times were bad, he classed himself as an optimist and felt sorry for those who were not. The only possible cause for pessimism arose from insufficient realisation of the present economic depression and the outlook of the country. Lord Bledisloe did not want any one to pretend that the crisis was not great because it was. The financial position of the country was not one of which we had reason to be proud, but in other parts of the Empire it was comparably acute. If we were going to forge ahead, we would have to stop all extravagances, individually, municipally and nationally. If we did not, we would not get through. His Excellency believed that the severe economic depression through which the country was passing would bo of great spiritual value to the people of New Zealand. GETTING DOWN TO REALITIES. We had a wonderful endowed by both Nature and Providence, but we had been spending money too fast in good times and now we had to get down to realities. Hard work, resourcefulness and no grumbling would see ns through our difficulties, and all of these the speaker knew the people of New Zealand possessed. His Excellency touched on the wonderful fortitude of the people of Hawke’s Bay during the earthquake, and stated that when he came away from that stricken area, where Alaori and pakeha alike had met their troubles unflinchingly, his first impression had been, “Thank God New Zealand is part of the British Empire.” (Loud applause.) Referring to unemployment troubles, Lord Bledisloe urged his hearers to give preference to New Zealand-made goods, and when these were not obtainable to buy English articles for England was the greatest buyer of our produce. PROGRESS OF FEILDING.

Speaking of Feilding, the GovernorGeneral cc/ngfiatulated it an reaching its jubilee a few years ago and in humorous vein said it now compared badly with the bush covered area Air Campbell had spoken t of in his remarks. Lord Bledisloe drew a comparison between the 50 years’ age of Feilding .and its public utilities, etc., and those of some English towns over 300 years old which did not have any of them. He impressed on his hearers that such social services, etc., could only be obtained at the expense of the ratepayers and lie cautioned them against putting too much of a burden on that section of the community. Alunicipal extravangances were told to be avoided the same as national and private ones in times like the present. ~ , , ' His Excellency said he had reason to believe that what the Government of England was doing in regard to the raising of tariff walls would mean prosperity to New Zealand and as an old free‘trader he personally believed that the surest • way to bring about Empire prosperity was for England to put up these, tariff walls. Concluding Lord Bledisloe again thanked the citizens of Feilding for the warmth of the welcome given Lady Bledisloe and himself and mentioned the pleasure it gave them to do what they were able to for New. Zealand. They were the servants of the greatest monarch in the world—-(loud applause)

—and in serving New Zealand they were serving him. (Applause.) At the call of tlie Alayor cheers were given for Their Excellencies by the assemblage. The vice-regal visitors then inspected the .Scouts and Girl Guides, following which they left to continue the programme. HIGH SCHOOL VISITED. ADDRESS TO PUPILS. Subsequent to the reception in the Square, Their Excellencies made a brief -tour of the town, including Kowhai Park, the racecourse and saleyards. They then paid a visit to the Feilding Agricultural High School, where they were welcomed by the principal (Air L. J. Wild) and members of the Board of Alanagement. Among those present was Mr H. Booth one of the foundation members, Air J. Linklater, AI.P., Mr W. E. Barber (chairman of the Alanawatu County Council), Air A. Campbell (chairman of the Oroua County Council) and Air S. J. Stralian (chairman of the Poliangina County Council). Extending a warm welcome to Their Excellencies, the school principal said the pupils gave an assurance of their loyalty to the Throne and to His Alajesty’s representative in New Zealand. He stated that the Feilding Agricultural High School was one of the youngest of technical schools in the country, but he trusted tha it was not the least interesting. It .was situated in a large and fertile agricultural district. It was, he said, being carried on under the guidance of those who had faith in the soil and the essential permanency of agriculture. With the tuition of farming pursuits was combined the acquisition of domestic, office and industrial learning.

The features emphasised, added Mr Wild, were the spaciousness of country life and its healthy environment. The school was essentially a New Zealand one striving to meet its own problems in its own way. Quoting the school motto of “Kia Toa! Ngakau Nui!” tlie principal indicated its significance and meaning of great-hearted-ness.

His Excellency Lord Bledisloe 'said that the principal had seemed to apologise for the youth of the school, but youth and vitality went hand in hand and His Excellency knew of no more vitalising force than youth in a school where instruction was carried out with an agricultural bias. FAITH IN THE SOIL.

His Excellency said lie also had faith in the soil. If New Zealand displayed infidelity in that respect she had no future before her. What was won from the soil was the only real wealth of the world. - His Excellency said that he was reminded by Air Wild’s words of welcome of an occasion when he visited a similar school in Denmark four years ago when, following an inquiry, it was stated: “We teach them to love their God, to love their country and to love their fellows, and you can do none of these tilings until you have won from the soil the largest amount of wealth it will yield.” Those talking of building up prosperity in the towns to-day were preaching a wrong gospel unless they realised that it depended upon the efficient and economic cultivation of the land, said His Excellency. Grass farming was becoming an extensive subject, and needed the most careful and studious application. “Let us be spacious in our outlook, or we will never realise spiritually, normally and industrially,he added. “If there is a danger of this country drifting into a permanent depression, I think it will be due to a loss of consciousness of the fact that the habitat of most people in New Zealand is on the land.” “The women of New Zealand are the finest in the Empire,” continued His Excellency. The ideal which every New Zealand girl ought to pursue was never to be compelled to ask anyone else to do wliat she was not equally capable of doing herself. FAR AUNG TOPICS. Proceeding to deal with farming topics, His Excellency said: “I find you have a herd of Red Polls here. So have I. I hope I will not offend the suoeptibilities of farmers here, but I think that there is no animal better suited for dual capacity in this country than the Red Poll, but more sires are needed. I understand that you have Romney and Ryeland sheep here. Well, I am going to venture to say to farmers this afternoon that they can expect no improvement in the prices for wool, but I am going to urge them to maintain the quality of the New Zealand lamb. I may mention the possible wisdom —or I should say the gross unwisdomI—of 1 —of putting thirdgrade lamb on the market. Don’t do it. There is never going to be overproduction of the best qcality. Produce the best and nothing but vhe best. That is tlie only ideal worth following if we are going to maintain New Zealand’s position in the market. Your lamb is the best in the world. Keep it so. Let tlie same apply to your honey, fruit and other products.” CO-OPERATION NEEDED. Proceeding, His Excellency said he had looked over the school prospectus for girls, and found it an excellent one. That for the boys was equally excellent, but there was one' omission. He had looked in vain for the word “co-opera-tion.” The secret of success in such a country as this was co-operation. Mathematicians would say that if one bought superphosphate at £6 a ton one could buy a cwt. for 6s. Nothing of the sort. Therein lay the secret of co-operation, which was one of the fundamental rules qf success.

His Excellency urged the pupils to study causation. They must not accept. blindly all they were told, but must learn for themselves to meet problems as the necessity arose. “Why does the pig root? Why does he turn up the grass?” he added. “I only, want to point out the way wour mind should operate in finding out if possible the cause of things. There is an . enormous army of little micro-or-ganisms at work on every inch of the land. They are so powerful in carrying out their important, work that many of our theories may go wrong.” Concluding with an illustration of the value of the application of scientific study to wheat growing, His Excellency urged all to keep their eyes on research. “I nm glad to see that this is a mixed school, and that the boys respect the girls. I hope they will continue to do so alt through life,” said His Excellency.. “Do not go off the land. Stick to it and regard farming as the noblest of' professions. Alay I suggest that you hqve a holiday to-day. Employ it usefully. Good luck.”

Their Excellencies then inspected the school and farm property. After leaving the High School the Vioe-Regal party was taken to the farms of Air 0. Addis and Air J. Corpe where Lord Bledisloe inspected the stud Jersey herds, following which the party was entertained at luncheon .in Feilding as the guests of the Feilding Borough and the surrounding local bodies. This afternoon Lord Bledisloe visited Parorangi where he spoke to a large gathering of farmers and inspected the well-known Hereford herd and Parorangi Romney flock. Later the party was entertained at afternoon tea at the residence of Hon. J. G. Cobbe, leaving afterwards for Palmerston North.