BANQUET TO SIR JAMES MILLS

Otago Witness, Issue 2801, 20 November 1907, Page 16

BANQUET TO SIR JAMES MILLS

ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION. A -MQST "SUCCESSFUL In N«w Zealand, and perhaps throughout Australasia, there are few more popular prominent men than Sir James Mills, managing director of the Union Steam Ship Company.-" The proverb that a prophet is not without honour in his own country certainly does not hold good as far as Sir James is concerned, for nowhere is he more highly esteemed than :n this southern ■city by *he sea, the interests of wbich^ both mercantile and maritime, he has done so much "to develop and materialise. It was therefore highly appropriate that h?6, return to ths Dominion with the honour of knighthood should be celebrated by -the citizens of Dunedin in a fitting manner. J*he banquet tendered to Sir James nt the Art Gallery building on the«.jt3*h i.rovecl - in every way a" most successful^ iiinctiiott. The hall containing the pictures -of the Art .. Society had been < lent to the committee ior. the occasion, and made an ideal banqueting room. The 6tage; was effectively decorated with palme and hothourt flowers, behind which the orchestra waa posted. One long table was placed running the entire length of the hall. At 4hw the 'principal speakers were seated. Six other tables 'were ranged towards the stage at right angles. The table settings left nothmg to be desired, and the decorations -were in excellent taste. About 200 gentlemen were present—Church, Bench. Bar, •commerce, steamship companies, agriculture, journalism, finance, and mining being strongly represented. H"i6 Wdrship .the Mayor of ~ Dunedin (Mr J. Loudon) occupied the chair, being supnorted on either hand, by the guest of the evening (Sir James Mille) and the Primate of New Zealand (Bi«hop NeviU). >. , The Chairman read the .following telecram from Sir J. G.~ Ward :— " I heartily ; join with the citizens of, DunediiK. who aj;e •entertaining Sir James Mills this evening, in felicitating him upon the distinction tp which he has attained at the hands of his Majesty the King, a-nd hope that he may long be spared to continue in his sphere of usefulness as a citizen of the Dominion." From the Hon. J A. Millar: "I deeply regret that I cannot be with you to do honour to my fellow townsman and your worthy guest. Sir James Mills, amd to heartily congratulate him'upon th<? honours conferred upon him by -his Maie^. 1 tho "King. I fully v appreciate —the action of the citizens -of Dunedin in honouring one who haß_ frony boyhood boen with them and has worked "himself- into such a position «s to demand recognition from our Sovex«ij?n. Th« servjoii* ren&wr-Hy your worthy "jruest ha-re luetW entitled him to * €h« honour conferred. ' Please express mv h party con?ratulation«s to Sir James >lin«. and our .good wishes -for % mx>s* success. ul and enjoyable evening?." Tne Hon. J R. Sinclair: "I heartily join with you all in congratulations to our distinguished citizen, Sir James Mills.'' Messrs J. A. Cook, J. M Oilla-wav. \. J -uith, T. Cole, D. E. Thecmin, F.

H. King, and*Dre Benham and Marshall sent apologies for non-attendance. Punctually at 8 o'clock the Chairman rose to propose the health of his Majesiy the King, which was drunk with the heartiest musical honours. The Chairman, on rising to propose the toast of the evening, was received with enthusiasm. He said he felt he could scarcely do it the justice it merited. However, he would ask Sir James to accept the will for the deed, and to believe that if anything was lacking in outward- expression it w«s • more than compensated by the inward sincerity of ihe people of Otago towards himself, their admiration of his life's work in their midstM" Hear, bear'," and applause).-- *amd their high appreciation of the honour which had been recently foraferred upon him. — (Apnlause.) He would like to refer briefly to the career of their esteemed guest. '-First of all, the name of Sir Jq-jnes-Jvlills., would be indelibly associated WAth., the rise and progress of the Union Steam Ship Company — (applause), — an undertaking of which the people of Ne,w Zeaand were iustly proud, and the \ ebnle of Dunedin particularly so. — T" Hear, hear") They looked upon the Union . Company, and Sir James Mills as their Own.— (Loud applause.) He did not nropose to go into details as to the num•ber of the red funnel fleet or tonna-pe, as other ' speakfers with a better knowledge would probably refer to that. He could, however, safely say that tjie Uniqn. Company held a most invportan?** position in the • srreat concerns of its kind in the world., and- ehjovprl the very highest rfwii-t-atioc in* every way. A great deal of the credit belonped rightly to their truest, who had been fhe mainspring and moving <=nirit for so many years, and he (Sir James) could look bsck with pardonable pride on thp magnificent <rrowth of the company. TKp Pxpansion of tho Dominion and of .the Union Steam Ship Company s>«rl nivx>p»dorl t-nfjefker, and ho felt that their euest could with every justice claim to bo a nion«M" in th<-> best sense of the word^ and to have done more than his fair share in advancing and deyclopine tljeir own land of which they were so proud.— ( H<*ar. hear." and applause.) He honed, and hp- was sure every gentleman ioinod yith him. t\at Sir Jamps Mill* would be In no- spared to direct and «hapo th<* <]<>«< mv £• rhe Ln'on St*»am Shin Company of Nr>w Zoaland. Now. hf> woujd hwt like to rpfer to S>r .Tamos Milk's political carper. To many jti Dnnpdin it was not generally -■n<?wn f-hat their euest hari takwi his oart 'tj the hiirlv-burlv o ( poKtios. h»'t ha had bopn a njember of tho Provincial Council o* OHeo. and also a member of the House o* - tfehrespn+a+ives for cix years. When omie a yont-k he ba^i b^e^n elected a momt ™„ "Provincial Council, a* member for Wa.ko.iairi; and held the position with W«f,t to his ron^fiiuencv and the greatest to himself for many vea'rs— in fact -. 'oNnoH tho notion .in to th«> time of th-o abolition of r.vovincial covernment '•hich took r>la<** in 1875. In 1887 h P took his s<»<«t m Parliament, and it was intorcstmcr to note that he filled thA vacancy paused b*- the d«ath of Mr James Macondrpw. his one-time monitor and master. In 1890. at the genera! he oon+«*stod *ne ''eat w>th Mr J. A. Millar fnow fcr-e Hon. Mr Millar), ond wa« returned by a large majority. In 1893.

r finding the stress of hie private business too great, he -was forced to retire,— a matter of sincere regret alike to his fellow-legklatora and to his constituents. During the whole of the time he occupied a seat in Parliai ment hid deliberations were marked by ' shrewd and practical sagacity, and he was always listened to with the greatest respect* No doubt, had he seen his way clear . to remain in Parliament, he would quickly have attained Cabinet rank — (applause), — and he (the speaker) believed that he would have been Prime Minister of the Dominion. — (Loud applause.) Sir James possessed all the attributes of a- leader; — wide experienoe, splendid - organising " ability,' a progressive mind, and an unswerving devotion to everything that made for tlte good of his country. Let them hope that i they might yet see - him taking his share in the councils of the land. — (Applause.) As a loyal and patriotic citizen of the Empire and of Dunedin, he held a high place, and. was entitled to theic heartiest goodwill.,. In. 1899 and i 1900, when the honour of the nation was , threatened and it became necessary for them in this distant part of the Queen's - dominions to show their loyalty to the ' Empire in a fitting manner, Sir James - Milk took a foremoqt part. He (the speaker) looked 'bade wkh pride .to what he felt was the most' memorable meeting he ' >had ever witnessed in J^few Zealand, and in which their guest took a prominent- part. The speakers on that occasion -included his Honor Mr Justice Williams — (applause), — • BiehcJ^- Nevill — (applause), — and the late Soobie' Mackenzie — (applause), — and he , would just like, on behalf ot Sir James Mills and tho3e present, to say how plejsed they were to have his Honor with them that night. The speeches on that occasion, ' even looking back from this time when all danger waS past, were something to be proud of. Sir James had charge of the practical part, and • eyerybody recollected the splendid resultt of his efforts. — (Applauae.) In all matters tending to the advancement of the rfity or ' for the good of the citizens, he h*d ever -taken a loading part, and hia sound advice -and assistance in public movements was always highly i v *iy£d- As to his worth ad a private citizen, it was only ?hpse who had the privilege of their guests eloae. friendship who could speak with* ' authority and do full justice to hfe value; Speaking for himself, in his official capacity he had frequently had 'to approach ' Sir James in connection with various public matters, and he could only say that the response was always cordial and sympathetic. He (their guest) took what was the "right view, and did not adopt the i6le of fault-finder, but encouraged and sympathised to the full with those who undertook duties for the public good. During the last da.v or so he had commenced to prepare a list of the bodies Sir James had been connected with, but the list had become so formidable that he had -given it up. He was a whole-hearted citizen, and at one time or another had bern connected with almost every organisation in the coaxmunity.- — (Applause.) There were important toasts and able speakers to follow, and he would not take up their time any longer, but aek those present to rise and toast with right royal (rood heart, as he knew they would, lonjr life, suooess, and the full«st measure of happiness to Sir James and Lady Mills, and all those near and dear to them. — (Loud applause.)

The toast was honoured amid gTeat enthusiasm. In responding to the toast of his health Sir James Mills, who was received with cheers, said ho found it difficult to adequately express hi 6 appreciation of the compliments that had been heaped upon him by the Mayor and the flattering terms in which his Worship had thought fit to speak concerning the incidents of his life — terms which he would say were hardly merited. He thanked them sincerely for the sentiment* expressed by this gathering, and for their enthusiastic reception. He wished to thank them especially for their congratulations on the distinction which had been conferred upon him by his Majesty the King. One of the most pleasing incidents connected with this distinction was the great favour with which it had been received. He had received assurances of appreciative regard from a host of friends, public personages, and the papers of the Dominion and the Commonwealth. In fact, he was pleased to say that the conferring of this distinction seemed to have met with ! the cordial appreciation of all classes^ He valued this distinction for more than one reason. First, he valued it because it waa a distinction to Dunedin, in that it was the first knighthood conferred on a citizen ' of this town, and incidentally the first to i be conferred on a cjti?en of the Dominin for services connected solely with commerce. Secondly, he valued it as a distinction to the company which he represented, thi« connection it was a public recognition of the, services of trie Union. Company. As such, he valued it, not for himself alone, but on account of hie colleagues on the board, and that capable staff, who had wprked so steadfastly and well for the good of the company, and for the Dominion as a whole, as whole-heartedly as he had done himself. Tho Mayor had referred in flattering {ct™s to the incidents of his career. They woujd pardon him if he gave them a. few reminiscences. HTkx "fccili 1 drawback about this autobiography was that his fcge was public property.—(Laughter.) He could not jujt aar in an airy, vague way, " Ob,. J'm over 50." The papers, with their usual frankness and accuracy, had put that out of all question. Ho waa, he believed, the oldest- Otagan in the room, and he was also the oldest citizen of Dunedin. As novelists said, h© "first caw the light " in 184-7, in Wellington, and ha came to Dunedin two years later. There were no steamers thi*n The voyage from Wellington to Dunedin was made in a 20ton schooner, and occupied 14 days. He landed at Port Chalmers, where hie father became an officer in the Customs. He (the speaker) came to Dunedin when he waa six years of age, and there was no steam even then. They came up the harbour in a 10ton cutter with a cargo of firewood. The children, including himself, were stowed away down in the hold among the firewood. Perhaps they ran on a sandbank, or something, but, at anyrate. the trip took 12 hours. That boat took a long time • to arrive, and when she did could not get within half a mile of the shore. They were carried to land, and deoosited in Princes street, where the Stock Exchange Building now stood. This was his first appearance in Dunedin. The first impulse in the direction of steam was given in 1858, when a small steam service was started by the late Mr James Macandrew between Dunedin

■ and Melbourne. The first boat was the oid j Queen, about the size o.f the Invercargill. i This service ran for some time, and then i ruined the founder through proving uni profitable. After this followed the dis- : covery of gold, and the late Mr Jones proi cured some steamers, and this service \ developed till the speaker's appearance :n. i the concern in- 2869, wnen Mr Jones diea, - and he, at the. age of 21, found himself at the "head of a fleet of ateamcre^ Enterprise ■ gradually extended trade, and in 1874 their fleet was further extended. It *wae dei cided that he should go Home to buy more • steamers. They had no money, but, 1 fortu- [ nately, a confiding banking , ftr^Vy ' was approached, and he (Sir James) ''went' Homei . with £10,000, and the steamer* were proi curqd. The Union Gompany was formed the following year, *a it was deemed ■ advisable to incorporate. The fleet then consisted of five small steamers of -a- gross h tonnage of 2050. They had had upe and downs— come pretty etoep downs some- '■ times ; but on the whole the progress made \ was 6teady,,and goad. „At .the. present day, , in" contrast, they had a fleet of' 62 steamer* , of a gross tonnage of 150,000 tons, (and | worth o*er a million. Sir Jameß went on i to say that he considered that he was quite , ' justified, in placing the public in a position , to realise the, magnitude of the company's ■ work. Their, suareholders had been longeuffering and accommodating. They had \ been content to ftand by and to an, extent I forgo large dividends in order that the ! 'directors might devote effort and capita} , to the extension of the service and for tho . greater convenience of the travelling publio ' of New Zealand, which public had cup- , ported them so consistently and well. Sir • James was deeply indebted to tjje Mayor I for his very kind reference* to hw career. Some eta-lements made had been rather ' overwhelming. Th§ Mayor should remem- ; her that he had not, always hod his own ! way. He did not know that it. had been , vefjr much, of a career when all had J?een_ i said and done: Wt^^g.thafc *• it inignt, ; ha Has ufoUd. orteing a citizen of Dunedin ami a native of, this Dominion.— (Applause.) As to tb© future of this I Dominion, New" Zealand wai email, but what there was of it was very good. The climate was most favourable for. the production of the iieoeesaries of life and th« sinews of trade. There were people who I regarded the future with downcast looke. j Whether they had reason to be downcast uwas another question. There ff&S talk in, , certain quarters of New Zealand bein£ i driven out of tho markets of the world. i This, he could cay with certainty, was by. no means the case. As New Zealand had grown and progressed, so it would continue to grow and progress. Population would . necessarily follow the expansion of trade, and increased prosperity, both in the colonies | and also from the lands across the eras. He I thanked them most cordially for tho manner of their reception and th<» way they had responded to the toast of his health. I His Honor Mr Justice Williams, who was greeted with loud and continued applause on rising, said the toast he had 1 been asked l to propose was that of " Commercial and Manufacturing Interests." • He supposed ho had been asked to propose this toast be- ' cause he had bo very little to do with commercial interests and knew «o little about them.— (Laughter.) However, h» ratber liked talking about things which h«

did not understand, as commerce %>went, his cpnne^tion-.Tyitfi it w& oonnned Ao paying monthly I ' bilji* and as to manufactures, tihe, only article, he' manufactured .was suckfing lawyers— (load laughter),— 'and he nranufac^uredj/hfe supposed, about ■"one a week.— (Renewed ltfughter.) The men proposing a 6erioue . toae*. like this should be full .of information,, and should be able •to impart hi* knowledge!" to the' audience. '.If he ihad done' his duty he wouW have s been Rafale to '"explain-; .toM.them how each; 'of* cbxain&vice wap made, and he 'Svoulft also hi»e'"seen in a position to give thenif statistics Am fto bow many factories were in ' itss"i piece, how many . men *were> employed iri^each -,'factory, and now ■^inanv- stamps the -office boy licked on an "%verise »«; the week.— (Laughter.) He >liad not these «tattstipi, Hjb "knew very .little^ atout> <»n»ietcß- and manufacture, but he did know one thing, and that was that industry and fair dealing were at the Toot 'of ( :,commecc{al succesat — (Loud ap_j v plause.) - An eminenf e;xample of that they had in therr friend there.— (Applause.) In * a neyrepapet -acooont of- a -'bangttet" r grren i>y the Pre^j^Mt^pf the Board 1 of Trade to > of ' the Shipping and Coolmeroial 'tbexe hid been, •Jtec-dinner ~ speecbea, , md one was made bjr > 'gentleman wlffj, «w spcal|4Oß p{ Bir Jsmes Mi ye, -Jbad saia« : ll».«p<|ke~s4p iatiriy-.^iii -could not whether he 'was *peakin#r on behalf of ihe shipowncre or on behalf of the seaT--Snen.—(Applause.) Tha^-was a magmfieent Hestimonv. If leaden of oommerce folkwedi tlvo, example of Bft Jatnee Mills there ■was £o fear for' the future of our comjrnerce, or of our manufactures. They were ifcll prond'pt jKherTionoiu: that sad been confeltckvr 6i«Ben— (applause), —and he and Lady Mills wQuld oarry tkeir '•Itooa **i*km wrflT them wherever they went. The old Greeks used to say there were three gifts the gods conferred—first was -to .be in good health, the eecond'was to be good-looking, and- the third was to be rich without fraud. They wished their i" end .there all these. Probably be had *»«n "ll.— (l«nghter and applause.) They wished nil* long life- to- enjoy them" and when, they talked of lon* life," it might be •uppoeed that Sir James refliwded himself *•. ■» «W man. Why, he ww only a chi«k*«i.-(LQnd iaaohter.) He (his Honor) proposed this toast, and, coupled with it the 'names of Messrs Gow and Burt — (Applause.). • ' The toast was drunk with musical , honours. Mr falter Gow, in responding, said he appreciated very much the fender, delicate way his Honqr bad d«alt with the toast. rtw main purpose for, which' they were tner« that evening must not be overlooked, and it wae his duty and pleasure to e*pre« gratification that Dunedin should fcave been so distinctly honoured by the honour that bad been conferred upon their «ue«t.— tAptflauae.X'He hat) been acquainted - WJ*h guest when, 'as a 'boy (the speaker) used *to call at the- Union Company's office; and he bad al way* found Sir James considerate and kind, and be believed that had been the espenence of every "person who had had JtttMtiesß dealing with Him. He was quite "certain-., that ' Bit James felt no greater pleasure at the distinction that had beer, conferred upon him than the mercantile community did. It "was a special honour, as honours ef thekind were not often conferred upon mercantile men for purely mercantile services. The speaker then went " on' to refer to- Ruskin on the five great 1 professions, among which the mercantile came last. TBre'peiieyed" there mi as much honesty and" self-sacrifice in the commercial world as there was in any other profession, and he believed ' the aims and aspirations of those engaged in commerce were jusj; as high- as of those engaged in any other pj-o-fessjon. He hoped Sir James might have •any years pf happiness and prosperity before him'. — (Applause.) Mr A. Burt, in responding to the toast proposed by his Honor, said he "had first come in contact with Sir James in 1862, and had. been'' doing business with hinf up to the present. Sir Jamc6 had always taken a liyely interest in what was called the *-*l>lack squad "—that was, the engineering and metal trades, — and had .helped forward those engaged in them. His company had beeh the means of encouraging people engaged in these trades to extend their businesses, and bad been of great benefit to the trades. The speaker then touched upon the subject of population, hie remarks causing some amusement, and said «s7ew Zealand was a self-contained Dominion, .and everything that man required cou'W be obtained in it. It had any climate that might be wanted, and would grow anything —in faot, if we were shut off from the rest of the world New Zealand would come out on top. All that was required was population. The more people that came here the more factories would be required, and the more work there would be created. One thing that had been of great benefit to factories of lftte years had been tbe meana

! of technical education afforded.' This Had 1 ! assisted young fellows enormously in their | [ trades. Ih a country like this, where labour i and other things were expensive, they must ; • foUow in the footsteps of America, «pnd l eniploy tbe best mechanics and get the beet-, . machinery that could be got. Then the ' • employer would be able to pay a living ' wage tq the employee and make a profit,, • . for' "himself. In concluding, Mr Burt re- i • feared" to the prejudice that existed against 1 anything made in the Dominion, and urged 1 that "local industry should be encouraged 1 and fostered. , ; • A pound of hearty and sustained an- • ' p'lause greeted Mr J. H. Hoskinjr, X.0., j ' • who rose to propose the toast of " Agncul- '. tural and Pastoral Interests." Mr Hosking | did not know .to what reason to attribute j . the fact that he had: been selected as the . proposer of this toast, unless it was me '' profound ignorance of the practical charac* ' teristics of the ajcxicultural and pastoral interests. At one time in his life he had 1 . i»cbed as an agent for. >an absentee land1 lord, and in tikis capacity went out to in- , spect a farm in the Taieri district. He J , afc>p>roacfeed the subject with aa open and j guileless mind. He muchj astonished thej ,* farmer toy ■his manner o? discussing grasses, wHfc him. The farmer .marvelled greatly ■ 'that-"' he could ""-not discern the difference between. .Yorkshire fog, - &ondon fog, or tour,' -other kvad- of fog. Tfee farmer was ' - also ■ profoundly astonished "when he was . 1. obliged to confess that fee did not knotf ' what a -hoßget .was. Since then, his practical knowledge of agricultural and pastoral ' -matters had *ot increased. Having said ■- \ Uri** lie was no* prepared to say -that "this" 1 toast shquld have taken precedence of # all ' the" toasts proposed lhat 'evening. 'Agridul-' 1 tural and pastoral interests -were a very ' ■ old established firm. They would remem- ' per that it was Cain wbo til lea 1 4he land, 1 while Abel minded sheep; thus agricultural ' and pastoral interest* bad emerged from ' chaos with primitive man, and progressed > , wath him «* he became a hunter and wore | ' garments of skins. There were no fences 't\ in those days, and all land was common. I ; Agricultural and pastoral interests dateol back to the primeval, and on those grounds 1 he gave them: the precedence over commercial I «nd> manufacturing interest*. He had ' alluded to their venerable age, but he would ' j aak his hearers to note thai: agricultural ! and pastoral interests ,wefe the mainstays ' of the world in providing it with food and cloth inc. and the first essentials <>f life. 1 He had been glad to see in an able leader ! in the Otago Daily Times that in New Zealand in particular seven-eighths of the ex- > ports had been due to the enterprise of agricultural and paeioral circles. The fact* i that wool-growing, stock-raising, and dairy- [ ing represented no less than 17£ millions s made them feel that they could drink this • toast with enthusiasm. Then there were I the collateral interests they supported : the , woollen trade, the flourmilling. freezing ■ works, butter «jnd cheese factories. Mr > Hosking went oh to refer to the stock and j station agents, who, he saidT paid great at- »» tention- to encouraging a taste for' art I among- ""their client*, the farmers. In , tfa«ir ante-rooms wore wonderful ficturet '. ' representing sheep with eyes oboeured by , i density of wool; portraits of moWtaous ' | cabbages and turnips done in lurid colours. j Their motive was doubtless not to get what ' ! tfiey could out of tbe farmer, but to* in- ' • struct him in art. — (Daughter.) In Italy, , even now, women .jcould be seen behind the ; wooden ploupta of the identical pattern ' that existed 2000 \«are ago. The colonies ' haA. ho**mv<nr. onliateJ tlas. scr<nc<» of | science and invention. Flail and scythe 1 had been long aince replaced by the reaper and binder and thresher. In 1 addition to this, agricultural and i , pastoral Kew Zealand had cabled to her . ■ J aid agricultural * colleges -and veterinary '■ schools. There wereyalsp inspectors. The* rt , country «ac full of inspectors- (laughter),— 1 1 and with these aids agriculture would , ; doubtless be placed on a level with com- | : j merc<L Then they had the Agricultural I and Pastoral Society, whose .efforts were • everywhere apnarent Like the old Roman ' festivals, they had their cummer and winter. 1 I shows, at whioh _the farmers' wives dressed, j - not like the Roman ladiea in white, but in { 1 their best, attended in force, anxious and • willing- to guess the -exact weight of the r prize cheese or to hunt for the hidden I £5 note. In spite of all this farmers had t their, troubles They were oppressed with i the Land Bill. They did not know whether s . they were to be freemen or to be held in 1 servitude to a landlord State. He was • a frequent victim to "the weather, with : which he was never 6atiefied. The be6t t weather might be better. The subject filled f I him with fear and apprehension ; not (it t J was to be hoped) for himself, but for the J t i disastrous effects a bad season would have ! -' on the community at large. Mr Hocking » j had been unable to quote statistics, or to s i advance any new ideas in matters agricul- ' J tural or pastoral, but the "few incoherent > remarks" he had been able to make would i commend the toast to his hearers. Sir

panics* it^iia had ence owned a sheep run, kjid the. tremendous success Sir James had 'made of it was <k>ubtle«s responsible for that toast haying -been placed on the list.. Agri- < cultural and. pastoral interests had never "suffered', afc*i3i« J hands of Sir James Mills. He had tnvxth pleasure in asking them to drink to this toast, coupled with the name of Mr Duthie. ! In responding, Mr E. F. Duthie said in no part of the British dominions S could agriculture generally be carried on ! with so much certainty, and with better result3j than in New Zealand. Farmers need not .-solelyr (depend on growing grain, but could 'profitably include dairying, breeding early lambs for export, and the frozen meat trade. Sheepownere and dairymen for [ some ' years- past had received fair prices | for their wool, frozen mutton, and, dairy j produce, ahd,- whilst seasons were not 'always the moot- favourable, <nw climate generally and pastures, were such that we could produce nn^tton. equal to any placed on . the London'-marketJ and owing to Government grading and care in manufacturing, our dairy produce trade wae 1 - now fairly e.etab- ! lished. We. must not, however, neglect to f p*yf cl^Sse -attention to the quality of our otherwise we might 6oon lose our ■''remitition, but <: both producers and manufaatarett -.recognised the iolly of paying freight on any p_roduet not of the best quality.' JFlife present puice of agricultural produce w*&' phenomenal,' 'and -he 'believed it wa* over "25 'sears since wheat waa sold •»Jt''ruling quotations of to-day. The value of—oats -wes about 3s lOd per bushel, with beet, chaff selling at £6 103 per ton, and aklie«g> there w«ie j?xog|>ec4a «f *, record laW«t •tUI tl»lflS*^rtjSp!iefc of fhe -wwW w«re.*o :sJ*ort 4ih»i.4ihe.»ew._-*eji*pn.'a trade would open at fair prices, and he trusted that these abnormally high price* wb'uld not encourAge our farmers to 1 : secure land beyond .-Ha true value. tt Was expected that aOch prices would have disclosed any reserve stocks, but he wa# assumed th»*. all the available wheat was barely Puffioiettt to meet requirement* between now a»d> tbe new season's croptTbe welcome rains t*at bad occurred lately throughout the Commonwealth might ohock a further increase in the price of wheat. Still, from all accounts, the Commonwealth would not have much surplus wheat for exporf, and this was confirmed from the faot that a Sydney jtfiller purchased for local consumption a whole cargo of wheat loading at Adelaide for the London market. New Zealand as a producing colony had wonderful resources, and, without going into detailed figures, the value of our exports in round numbers now reached I§4 millions, of which wool contributed seven and a-half, frozen mutton three anda-quarter, and dairy produce over two millions; and when it was considered that, in addition to -these figures, the quantities required for local consumption, and that this colony- carries 21 millions of sheep and a million and a-half of cattle, the importance of; our agricultural *r_d patioral industries' must be recognised: The practical' farmer oVt the land represented an *tset which' could hardly be Estimated/ andtiter could lust k claim to be tfie backbo'ne < of iNew .Zealand. Farmers were much indebted to ' the various shipping companies and to Sir Jtmet Mills for their assistance in the distribution of their products by providing euch magnificent steamers at reasonable rates, and thus enabling produoare to compere -with other countries on the -London market. Take dairy produce. The IJnion Company h&d fitted up some of its*- steamers wjth cool storage, and at I "the present time , was va-rrjinj( coastwise about two-thirds of oiir dairy produce, so I that produoera could arraiwre for r^prular 1 fortnightly shipment to London. Their honoured yuest, Sir James -Mills, in, addition to directing the 'Mmoue red funnel lme of . Bteamer*r l»d considertble experience in agricultural and pectoral pursuit.^. He did v not know whether his -.experience was gained during what is termed fhe seven fat years or (he seven lean years, but he sincerely trusted, Jn confirmation of his remarks . as to the prospects of fhe farming community, that Sir f Tames 'Milk's farming experience had been .a success financially. Sir James waa not only a strong supporter, but had been a member, of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral', Society for a num- | ber of yeaje. and the speaker took this opportunity, on behalf of the members, of congratulating Sir Jamce Mills on the i H-hour that hw Majesty had conferred on him, Jje desired to jexpress appreciation that one of th-tj-ir members should be so highly honoured. . - . The Hon. T. Fertfue^ ki proposing the toast of " Shipping Int6r-sste," said his remarks would be brief. Bfe -had been rather pleased with the reminiscence* of their friend tho guest of the e%-ening. : They would find he w«s, a citizen of New Zealand before the Province of Otago was founded in 1848. He (Mr Fergus) had had 1 the pleasure of sitting with Sir Jamee in Parliament,- and he could «ay that during that time he never made -one single enemy. He wm respected and liked by both sides

of the House. Coming to the Union Com- ' pany, the speaker said that where it had ' led others had followed, and it vas larjf^ly due to Sir James Mills that a direct line of eomarunication was established between the Dominion and the Old Land, from ' which most of them had come. He referred to other companies of which they might be proud, and v. bich had, with the ' Union Company, had a great deal to do with the prosrooribT of the country. The backbone of the prosperity of the country '< had been, was now, and would be in years ; to come, the agricultural and pastoral in- j dustry, and during the^ next few months a ! very large sum would" be pduring into the country from the .wool 6old. He wished to give the Unidn Company credit fox the way it had met producers, and he had somettiinft to say in pmise of the larger companies that had- carried produce to the other end of the globe. It had_been the desire to give every facility to vessels coming to our, ports, and if companies oo^timied as lift the^part to give- rea«on«ble~ i freights there was no doubt, so long ac we „had large products and facilities for transport, the Dominion could stand even tbe worst Government in the world. — (Applause.) He thought the present Govern- ; ment and the present Prime Minister were deceiving of the warmest commendation in . connection with the carrying of produce ' at a' minimtfhi ' cost. ' > j The toast ! "wa(i duty faonou*ed, Mr J. M. Ritchie,, in responding, «aid i h<» liad to acknowledge the compliment ! paid. Shipping interests were- of great importance to the Dominion. They ' were > oi. great value both, in i-egard to the capital i' c mVeßTe3 4ftd~the iservioes twey'rendered to l th,e Dominion- -.He woaJd-dfloieahem^ioto » i two parts — exotic and indigenous. — and j t tbousrht he would be consulting the wishes i of the meeting if ie Ifeft exotics to Mr Bullockv A great deal had beep said that t evening about, the Union dprapany, but ■ , there was one point, that had not -beeff > touched upon, and that was that it was not ■ perhaps quite appreciated to what extent . they were indebted — he spoke as en outcider — to Sir James - Mills for the- way he - had, from first- to last, made the headquarters of the Union Company Dunedin. — (Load appla««e.) H« had- been intimately ; . associated with J&r James for five-arid-1 , twenty years as a director of tbe company, ' . ' and- had admired immensely the way he ■ had got over diTnouiiies. He- had stuck to \ having ths control and adminktration . .centred m^the Dominion — in this city. Sup- ; ' pttsing 1 headquarters of the company bad been London or Sydney, what a difference it would haye made !o New Zealand ! • They should keep that in mind, and give him credit for it. He ' ( (the spe?lter) considered the Union Company had prcbablv laid the foundation 5n a 'aacst excellent way o£ what was likely to be in the end the ,' making of the Dominion ac a maritime nat'on, which would •Sot oajy do the largest part of its own shipping work, but would carry it to i\ie adjacent islands of the Pacific. He ihoutjnl" the company had laid * the foundation for rr»&ny refcrnaj) which would have an effect upon the administration »of the skipping of the Old Country. — (Loud auplauae.) , ' • Mr G.~ B. Bullock, in responding to the ' toast, wished to congratulate Dunedin on , poscessing such a Tuagnificent banque f hall j as the one they now occupied, it had j taken time and money 'to build. It was most fitting that they should hold their first banquet therein on the occasion of a meet^ ing with their guest, Sir James Mills Sir , James had told them that the Union Coin- i pany- had been started in the harbour of - Otago. How it had spread ! India wvd the Pacific Islands were bow included, and prac-. tki»}ly. .the whole o' the Tasmanian trade. What energy muat'have been concentrated jn such ' an enterprise I He believed that the time waa not fat distant- when this company wocld jform one of thejiuks of the All Red Route. The line he -(the speaker) represented o-jmed -larger steamers than the Union Company, but fewer. All the shipping companies in New -Zealand had done their best to develop the -trade of the ! Dominion. Whenever there had been any - -trade, the comftinies had xlway* had' their vessels on the -spot to do it; ' The direct companies had always done their best to ■ land ; goods at tbe merchants' own w»re- ! houses, and as long as ships could be brought up the harbour to Dunedin. the direct ' companies would never be backward in '. j bringing their qhips to Dunedin's %herfs. — ( I f Applause.) From what Sir James Mills had told them about the expansion of the Union Company's fleet, from a small beginning to 63 steamers, valued at over a million, he would say that Sir James was a wizard of finance. When from next to nothing a million of money was made— j well, tnere was business about.— (Laughter.) „ Reverting to the direct companies, the first ; steamer built for his line had stowage capacity sufficient for 15,000 carcases of mutton, but now the vessels were de-igned to carry more ihan 100,000 carcass, and from

12,000 to 15,000 bales of wool. Growth oC shipping pointed to the growth of a colony. New Zealand was small, but in comparison her shipping was magnificent. As far' aa shipping companies were concerned, ho would say that one and all would re-echo the ssntiments that had been cxpt-ssed l that night concerning Sir James Mills. Sir James Mills represented shipping, in spite of what Mr Gow might say to the com trary. and shipping companies claim*! hirf. "as their knight. If the " commercials " wanted a knight they could produce one ofl their own. — (Laughter.) Another cause for congratulation was that the fastest vessel in the world's mercantile marine now flew the British Ensign. This had only\ been the case quite recently, but it must} never be otherwise. The guest of the evening had their good wishes, and he wished long life and prosperity to Sir James, Lady Mills, and the children. Sir James MilJ» then proposed the toast of i-'.'Thft! Maror -and Councillors of the City of Dunedin," to which his Worship the Mayor and Cr Walker responded. The , proceedings then terminated.