SPEECH BY THE HON. W. HALL-JONES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2771, 24 April 1907, Page 18

SPEECH BY THE HON. W. HALL- JONES.

j CHRISTCHURCH, April 17. f The last of the series of banquets given

by the Mayor of Christchurch (Sir John Hall) in honour of the prominent Exhibition, visitors took place at the United Service Hotel last night. Mr Georgo Paylipg (Deputy Mayor) presided in tho absence of Sir John Hall through illness, and there were about 70 guests present, including Vice-admiral Sir Wilmot Fawkes, the Acting Prime Minister (the Hon. W. } Hall-Jones), tho Minister of Education (the Hon. Georgo Fowlds), oversea commissioners, members of the Christchurch CityCouncil, and others. A number of toast* were honoured, and tho gathering was % 1 most successful one. j Replying to the toast of "The Parliaj ment of New Zealand," the Hon. W. Hall- | Jones stated that the Exhibition had had i an immense attendance, and the admissions produced a sum of something- like> £53.000. His estimate of tho loss the ' colony was going to sustain was about Is per head of the population, which would be equivalent to £47,000. He believed, however, it would be a little more thaa , that, but even if it were £50.000 the increased railway and Customs revenue i vould cover that amount tenfold. — (Ap- ! plause.) From the educational point of l view alone the Exhibition was worth the , money, and it would pave the way for I future exhibitions. The loss on the Mcli bourne Exhibition in 1889 was about a. '. quarter of a million whereas the loss on j tho New Zealand Exhibition was some- | thing lilco £50.000. New Zealand, however, I had adopted the new .system of conducti ing exhibitions under an excellent general ! manager -(laughter),— and it would pave | the way for fuither exhibitions of a similar • nature, which would be held in New j Zealand, and which would it ill further i tend to bring about the leunicn of tho I British race. The colony generally wa3 prospeiou=, and year by year the revenue was increasing, and this year there would be a greater increase in the returns of j the re\cnue-carning departments than had ! ever been the case before. The outlook 1 v.as hopeful, and he did not think there 1 would bo a falling off in the prices of the main products. The finances of the colony had never been in a more sound condition, an.l sinking funds were being established to pay off the general debt, and the money borrowed under the Land for Settlements Act, and to redeem the Treasury bills issued some years ago. At the end of the present financial year, notwithstanding the transfer of £775,000 to tho Public Works Fund, there would be a surplus of over half a million. — (Applau«\) The outlook for the Empire from tho commercial point of view was, ho thought, more hopeful than it had ever been before in his memory. All were looking forward to tho good work thai; was going to be done by tho Imperial Conference. It was well that the Premiers of the Empire should meet together to discuss the great questions which were of moment to all, and ho had confidence 1 that nothing would bo done to the injury ! of any, but that the course taken would bo fci- tho good of tho Empiro and the \ Up <-ht <>i those belonging to it.— (Loudi