LORD AND LADY BLEDISLOE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20991, 2 April 1930, Page 12

LORD AND LADY BLEDISLOE.

A FAREWELL DINNER. PASTURE LANDS OF THE DOMINION. TRIBUTE TO ITS NEWSPAPERS. THE BINDING LINK OF . EMPIRE. (From Our Owy Correspondent.) LONDON, February ISi. ' At the dinner given by the High Com-, missioner for New Zealand and Mrs Wfl- | ford in honour of Lord, and Lady Bledisloe, on the eve of their departure for the ' Dominion, the Governor-General-Dssig- | nate made at least two very interesting i points in a speech of more than usual in- | terest. . The first one was that a few days previously he and Lady* piedisloe had been spending a night, at Sandringham with the King and Queen, when his- Majesty had reminded him that there was such i a place as Lake Taupo where the fishing would be very hard to heat in any partof the _ British Empire. The King has very vivid recollections of his tour in New Zealand, and its main»featureßVof attraction and beauty. ** The next interesting remark was that, although the pastoral industry of: the Dominion was at present the most important, and was likely to be the'most important there for many years to come, yet: he was glad that other industries were likely to make their appearance to the advantage of the country. He. had good reason to know that there was every likelihood of a great industry being established in New Zealand shortly with the help of a large amount of British capital A HAPPY FUNCTION. The dinner was • held at the May Fair Hotel, on February 10, Mr Wilford presiding, He was surrounded rngjuly by New Zealanders representative of shipping, commerce, and the banks. There was one large oval table and a number ("• SI JL- , ones ' Lord Bledisloe was on tne High Commissioner’s right hand and Lady Bledisloe on his left. Lady Bledisloe looked charming in a dress of rich crimson moire embossed chiffon velvet with ropes of pearls, the shade of her gown toning exactly with the carnations used to decorate the tables, Mrs Wilrord was in black charmeuse, Quite a number of the ladies were in dresses of gold lace. Present .were:—Lord Passfield (secretary of State for the Dominions), 1S cf-T 10 Prefers to be known f Mrs Sidney Webb), 'Lord and Lady Thom™°r S r? lr 9 h T rl 5 8 Thomas, Mies ihornas. Lord and Lady Strathspey, Sir aD IU L A ( y Mr and Affli v- £ lr , and Robert ar ’T> the Mon. W. Pcmber Reeves and Mrs Reeves, Mr and Mrs R. g, Forevth, H Eavis -Mr John RenT? H E v Stephens, Miss Stephens. Dr and Mrs J. MN, Christie. Dr and Mrs Bernard Myers, Major T. M. Wilkes, r . Mrs A. M. Michie, Mr and-Mrs A* filmms, Captain T. E. Donne. C.M.G, Mr and Mrs Leo Myers, Mr and Mrs L. E. L. Donne, Captain and Mrs H. L Milsom, Mr and Mrs A. Crabb, Mr and Mrs H. J Beswicfc, Mr and Mrs H. E. Hale, Mr Ernest Davis Mr F. W Hayhittle. Mrs E. J. Riddiford, Mrs Hector Rollsston, Mrs P. R. Sargood, the Rev. S’ Jjjrapson, Mrs Simpson, Lieut.-colonel NV W. S. B. Thoms and Mrs Thoms Mr and Mrs C. J. Wray, Mr H. T. B. Drew, Dr A. J. Harrop. ’ A very pleasant quarter of an hour passed before dinner was announced, and Lord and Lady. Bledisloe seemed to be thoroughly at Jiome with the guests who were invited to meet them. l The actual dinner was good, and there were many flashes of humour when the speeches were in progress. - POLITICIAN AND BANKER. Mr Wilford began by announcing that the day was the birthday (the thirty-first birthday!) of the Hon. W. Pember Reeves (chairman of directors of the National Bank of New Zealand), and suggested that he should be specially toasted. In returning thanks, Mr Reeves said that Mr Wilford had indicated that he was still on the verge of youth—“mv thirty-first birthday. I - shall not fell you what the anniversary is, but I will merely say that whatever my age is I don’t look it.” He expressed his great pleasure at meeting Lord Bledisloe. " I am perfectly sure that Lord Bledisloe will be happy in our country, that he will like our people, and our people will like him. The only opinion I venture to offer is my humble and respectful advice that he labours under the defect of knowing a great deal about agriculture. Now he must not let the New Zealand cookie know that. He must go there prepared to learn, and, believe me. our farmers-will be ready to teach him. They will tell him what is what, and I- am sure that if Lord Bledisloe learns his lesson with great humility he an? the cockies will be the best of friends within sis months," PASTORAL PROBLEMS IN NEW ZEALAND. In proposing the. toast of “ Our. Guests,” Mr Wilford said that Lord Bledisloe was singularly well equipped to go out to a country like New Zealand. He had had very many years of experience of agricultural production, and ho would find his knowledge of farming—particularly of grassland farming—of very great value when he arrived there. Probably more than any other country. New Zealand depended for existence almost entirely on grassland production—94 per cent, of her exports were “off the grass”—and a very large proportion of those exports are sold in Great Britain. New -Zealand is. in fact, as closely linked to her chief market, Great Britain, as if she were no farther away than Ireland. He would find that production in New Zealand was phenomenal, due to ’ temperate climatic conditions, ozone, and to the fact that to-day New Zealand Lad. married to agriculture.' How best to increase, her economic produetion from grassland, and how best to develop the prosperity of the Empire, were the two great problems with which New Zealand is faced. Lord Bledisloe would find in New Zealand a Department of Agriculture the most progressive ih the whole world. It devoted more attention to grassland problems that any other department of agriculture —a big statement to make, but a true one. The growing of grain and root crops, and of fruit, were of importance, but of lesser importance than better grassland production. What grasses should he grown, how improved strains cou!d_ best be produced, what improvements in the quality and quantity of the pastures could be obtained by the use of fertilisers, how mineral deficiencies —particularly in some ai;eas — could be overcome, what systems of grass land management were most profitable, how the problems of animal nutrition were affected as the result of application of the recent grassland knowledge—those were the questions he would find being discussed, not only by the British and New Zealand scientists, in the various centres of agricultural research, but by keenly interested farmers in all parts of New Zealand. Everywhere Lord Bledisloe would find farmers who were conversant with the recent pasture work of Europe and its application _to the somewhat different conditions in New Zealand, and he would not in consequence be surprised to find a high standard o: pasture management in the leading dairy areas. . They were trying to develop the poorer lands to-day, and the knowledge that Lord Bledisloe had would be of great assistance. Perhaps it would be found, at the end of his term of office, that New Zealand was leading the world in the study of grassland problems and in the application of the soundest methods of grassland production. SPORT AND SCENERY. Mr Wilford referred to the opportunities for fishing and shooting that New Zealand could offer, and to her beautiful scenery. Every country had its own particular type of lake scenery, and it was not possible really to make comparison one with another. But when Bledisloe had seen the lakes of New Zealand he would be satisfied that they had a beauty all of their own. He knew the people of New Zealand would be very glad to see Lord Bledisloe, and that his time would be happy, while, as for Lady Bledisloe, the people there would love her. TRIBUTE TO MR WILFORD.

Lord Blodisloe thought that Mr Wilford's appreciation of him had been couched in much too laudatory language. “I myself am no orator as is High Commissioner Brutus, for a man with more ready command of language for post-prandial eloquence I think I have never vet met. My wife and I are very much honoured at having the toast of our health submitted by a wonderful Admiral Crichton of the British Empire. Whether as an eminent lawyer, as a distinguished statesman, as a successful racehorse owner, or as a white man, Mr

Wilford will be Lard to beat anywhere in the British Empire.” With regard to Lady Bledisloe, her husband added; “The best that I can desire for her is that she may develop in New Zealand the same love and affection which ehe finds in her . * own home.” For himself he had much less confidence _in undertaking the responsible position which had been filled with great success by his many distinguished predecessors. He had one serious -racial defect-—he was not going to apologise for it—but he was not a fullyfledged Scotsman. His father was English; his mother was a Lowland Scot; ■arid his wife was a 100 per cent, Welshwoman. On the whole, therefore, he claimed-to be a representative Britisher. The dour side of his nature, inherited from his mother, would be more than counter-balanced by the joyous nature imparted by his wife. He had heard very much about the fishing, shooting, and other sporting activities available in New Zealand, so he had supplied himself with four fishing rods, a. sporting rifle, and ' plenty of. golf clubs. Lady Bledisloe seemed to be more adept with the rifle than he himself.

A POSITION OF GREAT HONOUR. To represent his Majesty the King in any part of the British Empire was a great honour. The Grown was the great link that bound the whole Empire together, and the position of a GovernorGeneral was a supreme position. He would do his best worthily to represent the King in that beautiful, productive, sporting, health ily-climatic country to which he was about to proceed. He took it to be one of the duties of the GovernorGeneral ■of a dominion to do all in his power to be a harmonising and consolidating agency, both as between the Mother Country and the dominions, and as between all classes,' interests, and creeds in the dominions. He would do his best to carry out all these duties. • Next, at some length. Lord Bledisloe talked about agriculture. At the outset he said: “I should like to make it perfectly clear that I do not £0 to New Zealand as-in any sense a specialist without interest in _ other industries, activities or , enterprises which arc. operative in your Dominion. Still less do I go to Kqw Zealand as one who intends'to preach to others on the subject of which I have some knowledge, for I know by personal experience of the fa’rming conditions or activities of- New Zealand I shall sit at the feet of those who do. The fundamentals of agricultural science are much the same all over the world, and if I am able to give advice to any. who ash me to do so,, it will he at their disposal. I am going to listen, to those whom Mr Reeves has referred to as the ‘' Cockles/ When a man keeps his ears open and listens to what other authorities have got to say he learns much and is better able to impart well-balanced information than if he appears to be the pundit learning by himself.” FERTILISERS AND GRASSLANDS. At the same time Lord Bledisloe could not refrain from suggesting that the improvement of 'grassland was not altogether a question of When the first agricultural research station in the world was founded at Rothamstfead too much attention was paid to the value of chemistry and the importance of artificial fertilisers without regard to physical and biological agencies which were at work, and particularly the micro-organic activity of the first six- inches of the soil itself. . ' , He was-greatly impressed by the pro' duction-statisties of New Zealand, and did not believe there was any country’ in the world that could show such .figures with so small a population. Such per capita trade was remarkable and was a fact of which New Zealanders had every reason to be extremely well pleased. APPRECIATION OF THE NEWSPAPERS. _ “ Before I conclude;” said Lord" Bledifeloe, “I should, like to refer to the efficiency of the New Zealand 'press. I have never come across ‘so many wellwritten or so well-illustrated papers than those which have reached me. The Dominion is to be congratulated on the excellence of her press. By the entire getup and the writjiig in the papers I cannot help thinking that New Zealand is exceptionally well-equipped in'this connection. "I thank you most cordially. If your valedictory welcome is anything like a foretaste of what we are likely to receive on the other side of the-world, well, then, my wife and myself will not take long to feel thoroughly-at home in your most delightful country.” . - SOME BENEFITS OF MIGRATION. ' To Lord Passfield was entrusted the toast of “The High Commissioner,” He said ,it was already realised that in Mr Wilford New Zealand was going to have a very good and influential representative. He hoped that Mr. Wilford would go on singing the praises of New Zealand as a place to live in. It, was 30 years_ since he himself was there —Londoners did not have much time to travel about in the distant parts of the British Empire, As a Londoner born, he used to say there was nowhere he would ever dream of living except in London—until he went to New Zealand. It was borne in upon him then that was because it was so Unlike London —it had mountains which rivalled the Swiss, fiords as good as those of Norway, lakes of majestic beauty. ! He envied Lord and Lady Bledisloe their chance of going to New Zealand and seeing all these features. New Zealand >he had found to be an-extremely democratic country with the sense of equality prevailing throughout. Lord Passfield wished it were possible to induce more of our people to go out, carrying with them that self-reliance and that willingness to work which he believed they still possessed, to more fortunate circumstances in the dominions than those amid which they lived in this country. He had never believed in emigration as_ a panacea for anything,, but ho did believe that there was an enormous future for migration about the Empire in order to avoid misfits; Lots of people might be misfits in one place who might be successful and happy in another place 1 f only they could be shifted about. One or the problems to ba faced was to reconcile complete Dominion autonomy with co-operation with the Motherland. He believed that problem could be solved with the slogan of voluntary co-operation in unrestricted freedom. Mr Wilford. who apparently is well known ns a teller of amusing stories, wound up the evening very happily with a new one which caused much merriment.