OPPOSITION RALLY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 78, 28 March 1912, Page 4

OPPOSITION RALLY.

A TRIP TO VARIOUS CENTRES. ’ ! 1 AT MIDHIRST. . i / ThiS'fnorning t Jig party left in splendid weather for a tour of the outlying distrj’As; leaving shortly before 9 a.m. for iiVglewood in Mr J. H. Thompson’s and Ml- Prebble's cars. At Midhirst there was a good array of milkcarts,'and a number of local residents. Mr. J.'B. Hine, M.P., was soon busy introducing Mr. Massey to the farmers. •' 81! Mr. F, Kleeman, manager of,the MidhiiHfc Dairy Factory, then conducted the u party over the factory, they being'fnuch impressed with the machinery and the magnitude of the great industry. From the motor, Mr. A. Brown, chairman of directors of the Midhirst Compfhy, welcomed Mr Massey, in a neat sjifeech, the greater part of this, however, was drowned by an unkind steam Whistle. The interruption having subsided, Mr. Massey, amidst applause, said that before he got the command to move ou he would like to say a row words to them, and to express the pleasure he felt in meeting the dairy farmers and settlers of Midhirst. lie himself was one of them, inasmuch as part of his farm, in the north was utilised for dairying pur-, poses,! ~to supply Auckland city with butter.*,; He wished to congratulate them (jji the season of prosperity they were' present enjoying. Farmers were qpt to grumble at all times, but really.-J/iey had little to grumble about this ' They were all getting good',.prices, and were happy in spite of thfv noise politicians were making. Aft era,! i, the prosperity of this country depended upon its produce. In Auckland they were doing all they develop the dairying industry, iiof in competition with Taranaki dairy,,.fanners, howe-er, but to make the Jqqqditions better for the Dominion as' “a whole. Those were the lines on which they were working. He again wished'them every prosperity, and if they, | had prosperity there, they were bound to have it in other parts of the Dominion. He congratulated the farmers upon the energy and grit they had shown jin erecting such an up-to-date and splendidly equipped establishment. f .’ Long might it continue to pay good prices to. tlie suppliers and good lo the employees. He was not goingjto give them a political address, as he had been told lie was to give a political speech this evening in Stratford- He would give them a hearty welcpinp to that meeting, and hoped they;,wpuld all come along. “I expected,’ v .qqntinued Mr. Massey, “to meet straggei faces, but even here I find old our wothy chairman, Mr Brown,,. whose family I am proud to number among my constituents, up Eortji.u (Applause.) Mr.Vplassey then thanked those present r,o,r their attendance there that mornipg, and expressed a desire to see them‘.ip rtratfprd in the evening. Chiefs were then given for Mr. Massey .{(h/I the Reform Party.' ■him. . v • ,■• vllm# ■ AT TARIKI. , m;i ■ ■ . r—pVr • ;•.■■■••.'• K : Thpanotors then moved on to'Tariki,-, : whcre-la, large. number .of farmers,, set- i tlers'jjgud .their; qhildren, were assemr.'i, Massey .again briefly ,spoke , to tl?c,<resident's/“If have Heard,” .he - : said rf \ ‘ ‘pf ; the white , slaye children. .. '.l-apaiiiqki;, but in, ho partp of the i>oj--,; • piinjpn. Have I, seen,,such( h’appy; lopk.-. ; ingchildren,’ such,/hH'altHyi.-.cbildnoa rqiuas jL see jbefpre .me.thiS'PipripingjJ’t.d: Hp.hfid spenjt. ( » night ip ; Tayiki, some,.) [ i.tjpienagp, and ,hp was'very pleased .to,-, see-that day a number of old friends . ho hqd, met then. /itii,,,,A3j, /NGILETVOQD- , Tuglqwood was reached before eleven, o'clock,* the party making for the Inglewppd Hotel, where they were welcomed; jiy Mr. H. Okey, M.P., and the ; Mgypi-jpf, Inglewood, Mr, George Ben-, ,•> ;( ue,tt, Hfid,other, .exqeilqpt, Tuhcheop'..was, provided.. A.-,; '.shopt,;ipastlli^t .was, gone, through- Thp }; ,, first,,,tpast proposed was th'afo of,(Mr. Tand Hie j members pf the'-Re-/. form, ,Pjarty'. In proposing this, tpast, • . the said" he'congratulated,, Mr. Mass,qy l; and the Reform Party, oh, the.,,, woi. fight they had put., up agajust, the Liberal .Party, and such , an/ablg man as Sir Joseph Ward. He hoped pint it would not be very long befox;q+tbe 'Reform Party was in power, and Mr. Massey at the head of affairs,.’ I JIe apologised for the absenco of .jnqny of the farmers. It was a busy pme for them, and they were nob able ,tp,get away. Most of them were hanging back for to-night, when they wouicj, jbe able to hear .Mr. Massey and tho, members with him at greater (Applause.) 'XTipntoast was then drunk with musical 'honours. Mr. Massey, on rising to respond, was loudly applauded. He thanked tholiS for the exceedingly hearty manner in which they had drunk to the health of the Reform Party, of himself, and the members with him. It was nbt always the lot of a politician to receive compliments, kicks were more common. He thought that during - tfije last six months they had received more than their fair share of buft'etings. In spite of this, he did not thjuk they showed many signs of wear.(/.Laughter.) They were none the woj. it. He did not wish to talk party,.politics, as he would have an opportunity of doing that later. Howeverj jig would take the opportunity of congratulating them on the apparent prosperity which he saw everywhere around) him in Taranaki. The prosperous, jti mes to-day were the outcome of what had been done in encouraging closer„settlement in the past. Mr. Massey was warmly applauded through out his speech, and the same compliment was paid the other members who also responded. Tile' toast of “The Farmers” and “The Press” were also honoured. In conclusion Mr. G. Sangster thanked tho Mayor of Inglewood for the hospitable manner in which he had entertained the party, ad expressed, tho hope that they would attend the “political feast” they were providing in Stratford to-night.