A BANQUET IN THE BACK BLOCKS.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12456, 4 February 1909, Page 3

A BANQUET IN THE BACK BLOCKS.

HON. R. MoKENZIE AT MANGA- ; RAKAU. (By our Special Reporter.) The residents of the far-distant settlement of Mangarakau, at the head of Westhaven, have had the honour of being the first community to entertain the Hon. R. McKenzie, Minister for Public .Works, at a social function, since his elevation to the Ministry. The visit of the Hon. Mr McKenzie was in fulfilment of a promise made to the settlers of the' district before he . became a Minister, and the residents ,of the locality, naturally, are pleased to think that although he is now a very busy man, he had not forgotten them. When a definite date was fixed for the function the residents determine ed to give the Minister a right royal' wekome, and well they succeeded. The ; banquet provided would have done credit to a larger community;, where the means of transport are" easy, but when the difficulties that these settlers have to with in the. matter of obtaining supplies are taken into .consideration, the function was a veritable triumph. The banquet was held in the loft of the large stables of Messrs Prouse and Saunders. the pioneer sawmillers of Mangarakau, which was profusely decorated with nikaus, tree, ferns and greenery obtained from the beautiful bush in the vicinity of the- settlement. The tables, which had been decorated with flowers by the ladies, were laden with good things, and over eighty . people, including the wives and daughters of 'the residents of the^ district, sat down to 'the' feast. Many had ridden miles along-* the bush tracks— as yet there are no' roads in this part of the districtto do honour to the Minister, and that-the Hon. Mr McKenzie is popular in this district was shown by the cordiality of his reception. Punctually at eight o'clock : the company sat down to dinner,. Mr N. L. Buchanan. manager of the Taitapu Gold Estates, presiding, and Mr N. G. Saunders being in the vice-chair. Apologies for absence we're received from Messrs J. Graham, M.P., E. R. Bean (Postmaster of Collingwood), G. H. Allan, and S. Fittali; After ample justice had been done to the excellent fare provided, a lengthy toast list was proceeded with, during which ■ some speeches were" made. : The toast of "The King" having. been honoured, Mr F. B. Saunders proposed "The future prosperity of the district." In doing so, Mr Saunders said' that it .was five years since he came to 'the district, but during- that time there had been great development. A large area of land was about to be put up for close settlement. 'but better communication ' with the Outside : world was required. It was most important that there should be a track between the Patarau river and Kaituna', which would shorten the; distance to' Collingwood by eight miles, avoid the mudflats, and be of great benefit to the district. A survey of the harbour was also essential. Westhavenprovided an excellent sheltering place for vessels when delayed by bad wea-. ther, and he felt sure the Minister would do his best to have these improvements carried out. .Mr Richards, in responding, agreed with Mr Saunders that the matters mentioned by him' were required for the development of the district. A road to the farm settlements on the West Coast was also urgently needed. Mr. Millar said that everyone recognised that improvements were required to maintain the prosperity of the district, whichi like others,, had its trade depressions 'and trade revivals, but the settlers could face adversity with courage, or prosperity with moderation. In proposing the toast of "The Hon. Mr McKenzie." the Chairman said that. Mr McKenzie!s career on local administrative bodies and in Parliament wa? so well known, especially in his own constituency, that it was unnecessary for him to dilate on them. He expressed his pleasure at welcoming the Hon. Mr. McKenzie to that remote part of ithe and he regretted that the hon. gentleman would not have time to visit the small . farms on the coast, because he felt sure' that the Minister would appreciate that, such selfhelp required encouragement, from his departments.' He heartily congratulated the Hon. Mr McKenzie on his ( elevation to the Cabinet, and said he was sure he would fill- his portfolios with honour to: himself and credit to the Dominion." x In replying, the Hon. Mr McKenzie said it; was somewhat difficult:: to -command words' to prbperly thank" the residents of Mangarakau for the excellent function tendered him. If was surprising to him where they, all gathered from. Although 'he had : represented them for fourteen years, he had only visited them once previously, but nevertheless he had always kept a friendly eye upon them.. As" .their member, he had always en-. deavoured to assist people in the outlying districts. He recognised that they Vere entitled to better communication with , the outside world, and it would be his duty and pleasure to obtain that means of communication for them. He was speaking as "their member, and fnot.'~as" a' Cabinet Minister.^. After; referring to ■the coalfields' and quartz reef s in the .district, the Hon Mr McKenzie, sppke r of the timber industry, and congratulated Messrs Prouse and Saunders On their energetic spirit in investing- so much capital in Mangarakau.' -He felt sure they would reap their reward, and hoped to f see -in- another five years' time five 'hundred people where there were one hundred and fifty that day. He . considered' it. would be' his duty to. get-a traffic road ; through to . Cqllingwobd .- f rom Mangarakau , via -Kaituna.. . In. conclusion, the Minister thanked them for t their : splendid reception,- and for the- kind, manner in .which he had been treated.' - - Mr Percy Prouse proposed "Local Bodies," and expressed the hope that the Collingwood County Council would take advantage, of the powers given them by legislation during ; the past few years. Members of local bodies, he considered, were true', patriots— they, gave their time and experience for the use of the country free. ; Mr James -Walker (Chairman of the Collingwood County Council), in responding, said as. a rule councillors • received more kicks than half-pence . but they did their best for the'district with, the money at ' their dis^ ■posal. •' ■ ''.: . ...',..-—.:.. ':' 1 -Mr J.. Wffl^ams proposed "The Mininst Industry," which- was re-

sponded to by Messrs Giles, ' McCallum and Carroll. The latter stated that tUe Taitapu' Gold Estate had been carrying on work for about 13 years >> but he was sorry, to: say that their gold mining had not been profitable to the company. During the last ten years they had expended £50,000 in prospecting and developing, and these figures represented a monthly payment of about £400, most of which, had gone to the miners. The company had been a great help to the district, and the Golden Blocks Company had added to its prosperity by employing a large number of men. On the Taitapu Estate large areas of coal were' now being developed, and seams varying from 3ft to 9ft irt thickness had been traced for some three miles. In a few years he believed the place would be a busy coal centre, and Westhaven would be a busy harbour. The Taitapu Estate was not only rich, in minerals, but it contained rich farm lands which could now be purchased on easy terms. It also contained large" areas of- milling timber and flax v and he congratulated Messrs Prouse and Saunders on their enterprise in installing up-to-date ; sawmilling and flaxmilling plants,, which had added materially to the prosperity of the district. . He believed that wjth better roads and harbour improvements, Mangarakau would be one of the most prosperous places in the island. ,fMr S. Tulley proposed "The Taitapu, Estate" in a felicitous :speech, to. which Mr N. L. Buchanan suitably responded. " . ■ iMr E., J. Graham, in a capital speech, proposed "The Ministry," tMe men who stood" at '■"the. helm of the Dominion. He spoke of. the serious responsibilities of. 'Cabinet Ministers, and said ;that 4372 Acts had been placed on the Statute Book of the country, to say nothing of the endless numbers of Bills which had received consideration but still _ re-? .mained .Bills. : When a*- Ministry was returned it was the duty of the people to do what they could to make their term successful. He expressed his pleasure at the visit of the Hon R. McKenzie, promised^ when he was M;P. for Motueka, and salid the people appreciated men who did not change with circumstances. ■In the course of his reply to the to^ast the Hon. Mr McKenzie, after thanking Mr Graham for the able manner in which he had proposed the toast,- and the: people for the way in which they had honoured it, sa-id that as Minister for Mines he was interested in about 12 or 13 thousand miners and he would endeavour to carry out the responsibilities to the. best of" his ability. As far as lay in his power he was gding to push on the mining industry in /this country, and he. was quite sure more : prospecting could be dcjne. ' So far as coal mining was concerned they had . only 'scratched the surface. - \ He. was- most anxious to develop the, mineral resources of this country, and said that coal mining deserved every encouragement. He then referred to the .recent mining troubles, and said personally he was dead against medical examination. ■• If this was to be insisted upoirhalf the men in this country would be' idle. far as the Government was concerned they had held office for twenty' years and by careful and honest administration, had •e'ncour-; aged the people to, develop the resources of this country, -which was practically in its infancy,, and reforms could be ; brought - about which could not be attempted at home. The Opposition were about twenty years behind the opinion of the country. Measures now on the Statute Book, which were passed years ago, they now began io: agree with. After referring to some of -the beneficial measures passed by the Government, the hon gentleman concluded by again thanking them for their very cordial reception, and for the hearty manner in which they had dr^ink the health of the Ministry. . It was less than two and a half years- ago since the death of Mr Seddon, and many changes had taken* place.. The death,; of Mr Seddpu had been a great calamity for the people of the country, and the death of Col. Pitt had also been a great" misfortune, not only to ' the people of the- Nelson province but to the whole of the, Dominion. He would endeavour to do ! his best for the country and he hoped that when • he left' the people would say that it was in a better position than when he took office. Other toasts honoured were "The Visitors," proposed by Mr W. H. Buckley and responded to by Mr H. Richardson; "The" Press,"" proposed by Mr G. Haines and responded to by "The Colonist" "The Old Floks at Home," proposed by ; Mr Hoiinsell and responded to by 1 Mr J. Nicholls ; "The Ladies." 'proposed by Mr Pellew, and responded ;toby Mr Graham. The health of the Chairman was drunk a_nd the gathering terminated at midnight ■with the- singing of "Auld Lang Syne," . During the evening items were contributed by Messrs L.Brough, I". May, H. Richardson, T. Carroll, Pellew, R. Daniells, Hounsell and N. L. Buchanan. ' The residents of Mangarakau are to be heartil congratulated upon the success of the function, the organisation of which was entrusted* to a committee of residents -headed by an energetic secretary, ! Mr E. Graham. ,