THE SHOW DINNER.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 817, 25 November 1878, Page 2

THE SHOW DINNER.

The dinner in connection with the Show -took place at Mr. Collis'store, Tyne-street, on Friday evening, and was attended by about forty gentlemen. A good spread was furnished in a manner which was extremely creditable to the caterer, Mr. Pratt. The chair was filled by the President of the Society, the Hon. Mathew Holmes, who was supported on his right by the Hon. John Hall and Mr. J. Grigg (of Christchurch), and on his left by Messrs. Boag and A. Duncan (Christchurch). The vice-chair was occupied bv Mr. H. Connell.

The loyal toasts of " The Queen," " The Prince and Princess of Wales," and " The Royal Family" were proposed by the Chairman and suitably received. The Chairman, in proposing the toast of " The Governor," said : It is a mistake to suppose that His Excellency is a mere automaton in office. The Governor of a colony like this is surrounded by circumstances demanding great descretion, and unless lie lias a thorough knowledge of constitutional governments he would l.e apt to constantly make serious mistakes. There is no doubt that His Excellency lias performed all the functions of his oiiice with great ability and tact. He is not nn<: of those who has come to the Colony to learn to govern. He has served an apprenticeship in the House of Commons as an active and trusted member of a greaty party; and he has also, in the .House of Lords, performed the duties of his high position there, and on several occasions he has represented Her Majesty as Governor of different colonies, and in every case, so far as I am aware, he has | done so to the advantage of those he has j governed and to his own credit. Gentlemen, he is a man endowed with a vast fund of common sense—(hear, hear) —and he knows precisely how to deal with matters and measures as I believe no other governor we have ever had could claim any title to. Gentlemen, there is another point in which he deserves well of the colonists, and that is that he takes a lively interest in all our pursuits. He spent two days at the Christchurch Show recently, and there he exhibited a knowledge of stock and an interest in all that was going on quite equal to that of any expert on the grounds.—(Applause.) Ail this he brought out in the very able i spcecli he delivered on the evening of the last day of the Show, at the agricultural dinner given there. I suggested after the dinner was over that he should come to Oamaru and be present at the Show here and he declared that nothing "Would give him more pleasure, but that lie bad made an, engagement before leaving Wellington to attend the first Show proposed to be held at Wairarapa, and that was to take place on the 20th inst. That engagement he could not break, and therefore he is not with us to-night. There is another aspect in which he would be popular with all gentlemen connected with country pursuits, and that is that when a younger i man he was one of the most daring crosscountiy riders in England, and he is yet a first-class shot and an ardent follower of Isaak Walton, so that he has all the tastes and feelings of the best type of the English country gentleman. " (Applause.) Gentlemen, I fear that he is soon to leave us. We have seen from time to time in the papers notices that he is expected to leave ; at one time it is for the Governorship of New South Wales, and at another time for the Governorship of "Victoria. I feel satisfied that his leaving us will be a positive loss, and I very much question whether we will ever again have such a Governor in New Zealand as the Marquis of Normanby has proved himself to be. Gentlemen, I think I have said enough to recommend this toast to you, and therefore I propose that we drink to the health of His Excellency the Marquis of Normanby. The toast was drunk with enthusiasm. Mr. Cornell proposed the toast of " The Parliament of New Zealand," coupled with the names of the Hon. Mathew Holmes and the Hon. John Hall. The toast was drunk with cheers. The Chairmax in reply said : My friend Air. Connell has omitted one very important matter in connection with this toast. The Colony is indebted to the

;•■;'iirli'iiKin mi my right (the Kim. Mr. !I;'U) f<>r a great many useful measures, bid- t]:e one that, immediately appeals to ih:--- meeting i* the one that was passed hi lho :-.es.-:ion of 1877, which gives a constitution to ouv Pastoral Societies to enable them to hold property and to conduct 1 lieir business with all the prestige and certainty of a joint stock company.— (Applause.) That, although a small measure, will be one of infinite importance to agricultural societies such as this is, and for that you are indebted to my hon. friend, and so I will leave him now to respond for the toast of the Parliament.

The Hon. John Hall, on rising, said : Mr. Chairman and Gentlenien, —I did not expect to have to reply for the Parliament of New Zealand. I thought, perhaps, it might be my duty to return thanks for that branch of it to which I belong, but I must say I fully expected that there would have been among j'ou members of the Lower House who would have replied to this toast; my task is therefore to some extent unexpected. It strikes me it is very kind of you to drink so cordially the health of the Parliament of New Zealand. Looking back over the history of what the Parliament has done, I cannot say it has done very much for agricultural societies. Perhaps the explanation of it may be the one that I suggested the other night in Christ-church, that the Legislative Council is debarred from any control whatever over the purse-strings of the Colony—that is entirely in the hands of another body. I can assure you that societies such as this have the heartiest sympathy of that branch of the Legislature to which we belong, and that anything we can do to promote societies of this kind we shall be glad to do, because tye believe they do a great deal to promote the prosperity of agriculture, and that agriculture is the backbone of this Colony. It may be possible that you have drunk this toast cordially beause gratitude is not only a slight sense of favors past but a lively sense of favors to come. It may be that if you have not to thank the House of Representatives for something in the past you may hope to get something out of them in the future. I hope that may be so. We are on the eve of establishing a society which I hqps«will represent fully the agricultural interests of the Middle" Island of New Zealand—a society that will perhaps have more influence with the Legislature titan the several local societies hitherto have had, and I hope the branch of the Legislature which has in its power to do something material for the Society will not fail to recognise by doing so the first interests of the Colony, and will acknowledge the claims that the interests of agriculture has upon it. I will not detain you longer, but will again thank you cordially for the manner in which you have paid a compliment to the Legislature, and I assure you that I believe all members of it do take an interest in the welfare of the great interest which we hero to-night represent. —(Applause.) Mr. Connell (the Vice-Chairman) proposed " The Successful Competitors," and remarked upon the admirable character of the exhibits which had secured the prizes, and the credit due to their owners for having produced and exhibited them. With the toast the nanies of Messrs. Fleming and Paterson, the cup takers, were coupled. Mr. Fleming, in replying to the toast, said that ho felt very prpud of his position, as he had done pn the previous year, at being the winner of thp horse cup, and also of the shorthorn cup. He rnight say they considered themselves the most successful men in the colony in horse-flesh. ;

They challenged Christchurch last year for a cup of L 5 or LSO, and believed that when the cup was given it would be found that Fleming and Hedley had taken it. He noticed that the merchants in Christchurch gave the cup for the largest prize-takers, but for some unexplained reason, the Committee met and agreed to give it to a single entire horse. He at once set it down that they were afraid of meeting Fleming and Hedley at Christchurch, and so gave it to a single horse. He would again challenge Christchurch to give a cup for L 5 for LSO or for LSCK3, and if Fleming and Hedley lost the cup, they would pay for it. There was one grievance, which, as it did not appertain to him, he would mention. It was that the judges gave highly commended tickets to animals instead of first or second prizes. This was little encouragement for bringing in stock, and he was strongly of opinion that the prizes should be given to the best animals. The general excellence of the stock should lie compared, and not a comparison instituted between pens of sheep and single champion beasts.

Mr. Pateiwon also returned thanks, and in doing so, complained of uie comments upon the stock in the Morniin' Star (! Herald). Mr. Flkmixi; proposed "The ITnsuccessful Competitors," and said that the next best thing to being a successful comXietitor was to be an unsuccessful competitor. He had no sympathy with those who held back their stock, and on the day after the show boasted that they would certainly have been the prize-winners had they entered them. He referred in complimentary terms to what the Chairman had done for the district by the introduction of good stock, and by inciting an enthusiasm in this direction amongst the settlers. Mr. Fleming concluded with a humorous account of Mr. Boag's sale at Christchurch, andreferred in such eloquent terms to Mr. Kerr's brahmapootra roosters that the company were fairlyconvulsed with laughter. With the toast he coupled the names of Messrs. Kerr and Little and the Hon Mr. Holmes.

The toast having been drank, the gentlemen mentioned responded, but the Chairman, in speaking, objected to being classed as unsuccessful, as lie had been successful in several classes, and though he had not taken the cup, lie had made from 25 to 30 points. Mr. Ckakj proposed the health of " The Judges." Many of them, ho said, had come from a long distance at great personal inconvenience. He thought they would be able to explain Mr. Fleming's complaint, and he had no doubt they were men of honor and integrity. The toast was drunk in bumpers. Mr. Johx Gkigg, in replying, said— I thank you for the very handsome manner in which the toast has been proposed and the way in which it has been received. I am very glad to have the opportunity that Mr. Fleming has given me—l having been one of the judges—of making some remarks in reply. If there had been no such remarks from Mr. Fleming, I intended to have said something with regurd to it. The matter referred to I suppose is in the entries of two rams in the same pen—two rams together competing. I would just illustrate the position. It has always struck me as being unwise, and it is a feature I have never seen in any show excepting the Timaru show. I have never seen it in the Old Country or at Christchurch—the custom of awardingcupsto the largest prize-takers. Hence there has been an effort on the part of large owners of stock to make as many classes as possible, and, after exhausting all single entries, then to mako double entries. In the first place that seems to me to be exceedingly objectionable, because it is giving a great advantage to owners of a large number of stock, as against owners of small numbers of stock. —(Hear, hear.) With regard to the question of the L 25 placed in the hands of the Christcliurch Society to be awarded to same class in horses, I may simply say that Mr. Fleming is entirely wrong in his assumption. 1 would say that tilings arc not dune so in Clnistchurch. The members of the Committee do not take personal matters of that kind into consideration. So far as 1 am able to say they looked at it as a matter of principle of what was to the real interest of tile country and the Society. With regard to 'the doul.il e entries, I will give the reason why there was no award. The sheep were badly classed.. An exceedingly good sheep was put with a bad one. Then there were other two which, taken together, would be better than the bad one and the good one. This was so patent that men who were judges passing along would have considered the award a very extraordinary one if they saw the best sheep in the pen', without noticing the indifferent one, and would have said the sheep in that lien are the better. Therefore the judges were unanimous in agreeing that they would not have it so that any man should take an inferior sheep out of a pen it having been classed with a very good one, and say this was what was first-class in the Oamaru Show. Our representation was at stake, and your reputation was at stake.—(Applause.) This is not the first time judges have acted in this way; they did the same thing at Timaru, where, in two pens, there were two good Border Leicesters, but with each of them a cross-bred was put. The consequence was they were inspected and no award made, and yet, notwithstanding, the champion sheep of the whole Show was taken from the pen where the she.ep were together, showing that there was not the slightest intention on the part of the judges to be partial. Ido hope to see that monopolising habit done away with of making any number of classes in order to make points. This is one of the questions which brings up in one aspect the importance of having a National Show where there will be no local interest shown, I believe in every one of our Shows there is discernible local influence, and if a National Show can be established, at any rate it will have the minimum of local influence, and that must tend to give a real value to the prizes which are awarded. I would only ask Mr. Fleming, who says he is great in horse-flesh, whether he would propose entering two entire horses in ana pen, and j suppose that will follow as a matter of course as competition increases in order to obtain points. It will be quite evident, judging from the past, a class will he made for two entire horses, and then I would ask ivhether judges" possibly award a prize where one wai-really good and the other a scrubber, Gentiemen, drop these double entries altogether ; they are entirely beneath an association of this sort. Mr. Boao also returned thanks, and corroborated what had been said by Mr. Grigg.

Mr. Gkigg added that the judges instructed that it should not be the pen that was highly commended, but the particular sheep, and requested this shouM be clearly shown on the ticket of award. Mr. Fleming, after hearing this statement, withdrew his former remarks.

The Hon. John Halt, proposed the toast of "The North Ojago Association," and in doing so, remarked upon the fact that different classes of stock seemed to be favorites in Oamaru and in Canterbury, the shoi'thorns being the favorite 1. reed of cattle in Canterbury, and the Ayrshire in Oamaru. The toast was coupled with the' name of the President, and was drank with cheers,

The Hon. Matuew Holmes, in replying, said—lt may be some time before I occupy this position again. The position of President is a shifty one, and may not come to my turn again while I am in the land of the living, so I will trespass upon you a little more in consequence. The first observation; I would muko would le to refer to the changes that evon in my short life I have been witness to. When I was

i a youngster and first took an interest in i agriculture, amongst the agricultural \ implements then in use there was not j such a tiling as an iron plough in the l whole of Great Britain. The ploughs p were made of wood, with a share and ; colter of iron, and an iron head. The t, implements were rude as compared with i even those that followed shortly afterr wards. The first parties who made ai. k j advance in this respect were a gentleman t of the name of Wilkio and another of the ■ name of Gray. This Mr. Gray was flu r father of Mr. Gray, of Dunedin, of • Timaru, and Oamaru. These were the , first parties that ever made iron plough? I in Great Britain, so far as I am aware s and it is a singular fact that their first- . made iron ploughs were almost as good as i anything that had been made up to the present day. Well, gentlemen, in these i far-away days there was no such thing as threshing machinery. On ordinary farms it was the work of one or two men, .according to the size of the farm, to thresh with the flail the whole winter through. I was i told by a learned man in Otago that when * young he had to get up the whole of the winter at three or four o'clock . in the morning to thresh fodder for the cows, and now lie is one of the lights of New Zealand—perhaps one of the most intellectual men in it. Then, again, look at the advance which has taken place with regard to reaping. In those good old times the best implement they had was; a sickle ; that was succeeded by a scythe hook, the next was the scythe itself, then the reaper, and now we have come to the reaper and binder ; thus making strides that even the wildest imagination could not have compassed in those old times. Then, instead of the old descriptions of plough, we have now the double-furrow ploughs, and we have now a man in our midst representing Fowler and Co., of Great Britain, ready to take orders for steam ploughs to any extent, and in connection with this, gentlemen, I would mention that it is made to appear from time to time a singular circumstance when a steam x»lough is introduced to any of the : colonies. Why, nineteen years ago I introduced the steam plough into New Zealand, and it was the first steam plough ever used in any of the British colonies. That plough was used in the province of Southland. It was supposed these ploughs were not a success, but it was a ">ere question of p-rpense as to whether it was Dior., profitable to use them than horsepower. I ]>loughed five or six hundred acres with it immediately after its arrival, and had no difficulty. Ido not hesitate to say that the introduction of steam machinery for the cultivation of the soil on the plains of Canterbury will be a complete success, because it will do what horse-power cannot—it will plough to a depth of ten or twelve inches, and permit the plants to take root beyond the reach of the drought in dry seasons. With respect to what the Hon. Mr. Hall has said, I may say that no doubt Canterbury has a preference for shorthorns, but it is peculiarly adapted for them by its good land and climate. The real secret of success in dealing with stock is to work with nature, not against it, and to adapt the stock to the farm. Now, for example, I introduced shorthorns into Sour.Hand. and found they did not succeed,' Ai ~ use . the climate was cold and I could no them proper attention. When I noticed this, what did Ido ] I introduced p.p 1 "'! . an 1 Ayrshire cattle. I was the first p._ r who imported these ' largely into Neil ; Zealand. - Gentlemen, you have all ob- g served that William M'Combie, late ' member of Parliament, took all the prizes of LIOO at the Great Exhibition at Paris with poled cattle against shorthorns and every other breed, and I will tell you that of the cattle I introduced four cows were I from his herd. Then the Ayrshirea I j selected were the best I could get in Scotland, and to-day you saw in those beautiful animals exhibited the progeny of the stock I brought out several years ago.—(Applause.) Then, again, that description of stock Mr. Fleming prides himself upon ; I think that I com-, monced breeding Clydesdale horses before he was born. It is exactly thirty-live years since I first owned a j Clydesdale horse imported from Scotland, and intermittently from that time + "' th« present I have gone on importing- and breeding Clydesdale horses. I have ""also done something in thorougbreds and in sheep, having imported Leicesters, Lincolns, Janet, and Romney Marsh sheep. I have attempted to adapt the stock to the climate, and I think that is one of t-lio greatest means of attaining success. It may not be inappropriate to state that in adopting this course I made two runs that no one ever could make anything out of profitable by substituting Janet or' crossbred Janet upon them. I think that experience deserves to be recorded for the benefit of others. With regard to the general questions of farm management, I think a good deal may be aaid on that subject. Ever}' farmer must look to competition in the Colonial and Home markets. In a country such as New Zealand, producing more than it can consume, the value of the produce will be determined by the price which can be obtained for that portion of it which is exported. It therefore becomes a matter of the first importance that the expense should be reduced to a minimum, because it will be necessary for our farmers to be. aware of this—that they are to, compete* with the whole world in markets outside of New Zealand. For example, when you send wheat to England it has to compete with wheat from California, from the Northern States of America, froni South Australia, from the Black Sea, and, in. fact, from every other \vheat-producmg country. Now, I myself am satisfied with, this, that, with the soil and climate we possess here, there is no country that can afford to. produce wheat cheaper than New Zealand. But in order to do so with advantage, it will be necessary for the farmers not to overtax the capacity of their land, not to be taking crop after crop of wheat off land which will not give a. cession of wheat, but to adopt a system, of rotation of crops, and to kecm the land in as good condition at the end of tenancj-—-or for twenty or thirty years—as it was, the first day it was occupied. That H the secret which the farmers of Scotland have solved successfully. We here have far greater facilities for than exiat in Scotland witl? f climate. There is another subjt. has not been touched upon, *j.e removal of the duty on grain. T.V«, Speaker then went on to say that he disapproved of the duty on grain, as it would be of no practical service to the agriculturist, and concluded Q i speech by quoting from Mr. M'Donald's "writings* as follows : —" Farming life »:» one nently calculated for promoting human happiness and, virtue. It is a truly noble occupatirm , and he who faithfully discharges his duty, whether his acres ara few or many, largely contributes to ths well-being of society, and to the peaceful enjoyment of the blessings which a bountiful Providence has bestowed on this happy land, " The following toasts were also drunk : " The Committee and officers of the North Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association," proposed by Mr. J. Grigg, and re--sponded to by Mr. J. Church," Secretary of the Association ; " Kindred Societies, 14 proposed by Mr. J. Church, and re-. ;u -onded to by Mr. J. Grigg and Mr. A, Ouncan ; ;i The Visitors," proposed by Mr. W. Young, and responded to by Mr, A. Duncan; "The Presa," proposed ty Mr. Murcott, and responded to by Mr, Jones (Oamaru Mail).