HON. E. McKENZIE AT MANGARAKAU.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12461, 10 February 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

HON. E. McKENZIE AT MANGARAKAU.

(By our Special Reporter.)

•-' The residents of the far-distant. J settlement- of -Mangarakau,-' at . the head of Westhaven, havo had the honour of being the first community tq 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 dato was fixed for the function the residents determined to give the Minister a right royal welcome,, and well thej- succeeded. The. banouet provided would have doiie credit to a larger community, where the means of transport 7 are easy, but when the difficulties that these settlers have to contend with in the matter of obtaining supplies are taken into consideration, the function was a veritable y triumph. The banquet was held in the loft of .the large stables of Messrs Prousearid Saunders, the pioneer sawmillers of- Mangarakau,.. which was profusely decorated with nikaus, tree ferns aiid greenery obtained from the beautiful bush in the vicinity oft the settlement. The tables, which had been decorated with 'flowers by -the* ladies, .were laden with good things, arid 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 wero* receiv-; ed from Messrs J. Graham,' M.P. , E.\ R. Bean (Postmaster of Collingwood), G. H. Allan, and S. Fittall; ; After ample justice had been done to the excellent faro provided, a lengthy toast list was proceeded with, during which some _ excellent speeches were mado. The toast of "The King" having been honoured, Mr F. B. Saunders : proposed X'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 beeri great development. A large ■ area of land was ; about to be cut up for close settlement, but better commtinica.'bioir -vvi-tli -fche cmtsicle world was required. Ifc -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. 'Westhaven provided an excellent sheltering place "for vessels when delayed by bad weather, 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 need- i cd. ■■-" ', .■'•■."...

Mr Millar said that everyone recognised that improvements were • required to maintain the prosperity of the district, which, like others, had its trade depressions and trade revivals, but the settlers could face adversity with courage, or prosperity with moderation. -

In proposing the toasfc of "The Hon. Mr McKenzie.'" the Chairman said that Mr McKenzie's career on local, administrative bodies and in* Parliament was so well known, especially in his own constituency, that it was unnecessary for him to dilate on them. He expressed his pleasure- at; welcoming tho Hon. Mr McKenzie to that remote part of the electorate, 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 till his portfolios with honour to himself and credit to the Dominion.

In replying, the Hon. Mr McKenzie said it was somewhat difficult to command words to, properly, thank the residents of Mangarakau for the excellent function tendered him. It was surprising tp him where they all gathered from. Although he had represented them for fourteen years, ho had only visited them once previously, but nevertheless ho had always kept a friendly eye upon them/ as j their member,- he had always endeavoured to assist people in the outlying districts, y Ho recognised that ; they were entitled -to bettercommunication with- -the- outside world; and it would behis duty and pleasure to obtain that means of communication for. them. He was speaking as : their member, ' and not as a Cabinet .Minister. After referring to the coalfields and quartz reefs in the' district, the Hon Mr McKenzie spoke 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 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 Collingwood from Mangarakau 'via Kaituna. In conclusion, the Minister thanked them for their splendid reception, . and for the kind manner in which .he. had been treated.

7 Mr Percy yPrbuso proposed. "Local Bodies.!' and. expressed the hope that . tho Collingwood County Council would ;take advantage of the powers given them, b y.-. 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 disposal. Mr J. Williams proposed "The Mini" cr Industry." which was responded to by Messrs Giles, McCallum and Carroll. The latter stated that the Taitapu Gold Estate had been carrying on work for about 13 years, hut 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 developirig, and these figures represented a monthly payment of about £400, most of which had gone to the miners. Tlie company, had been a ; great. help to the district, and the Golden ißlocks Com-, pany. had addod to its prosperity by Amployinpr • a .largo -numbor; of men-r On the, Taitapu Estate' la>ge areas of '.■co al -were now beirijg developed, •>.nd : seams van'ing from .3ft to 9ft in* thickness, hpd been traced for some + h'reo t"ilc's;.7;ln-;'a f"w years -he behoved the pte™ would be a busy coal mntnv p'ld Wcpt-havou would be a busy harbour. The Tmitapn Estate was rot '■ ori]* 1 * :ricK in mi^erpls. .'.but-it contained rich .farm Hnds . which oouJd ,nr>w .-h». purchased on ■'. easy, tonns. -It also eoritaified large .ireas of milling •• t'mh-^r and "flax, and he , (-"-mgritulated Messrs Prouse .a.nd Pi.i-'"ders np th n ir ent.erpr'«» 'in in-f-tallirif- up-to-date sawmillirig arid flaxmilliig plants, which had -addod materially to tho' prosperity of the district. He believed that with bet-

ter roads and harbour improvements, Mangarakau would be one of the most prosperous places in the island. Mr S. Tulley proposed "The Taitapu Estate" in a felicitous speech, to which Mr N. L. Buchanan-suitably responded.

Mr E. J. Graham, in a capital speech, proposed "The Ministry," the 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 bf the endless numbers of Bills which had received consideration but still remained 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, promisSd when he was' M:P. for Motueka, and said the people appreciated men whodid not change with circumstances. In the course of his reply to the toast the Hon Mr McKenzie, after thanking Mr Graham for the able manner iny which .he had proposed tho toast, and the people for the way in which they had honoured it, said that as Minister for Mines ho was interested in about 12 or 13 thousand miners and he would en- . deavour to carry out the responsibilities to the . best of his ability. As far as lay in his power he was going to push on tho mining industry in this country, and ho was quite sure more prospecting could be done. 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 he insisted upon half the men in this country would be idle. So far as the Goveminent was concerned they had held office for twenty years, and by careful and honest- administration, had encouraged the people to develop the resources of this country, which was practically iri its infancy, and reforrhs. could be .brought about which could not be attempted at home. The Opposition wore about twenty years behind the opinion of the country. Measures now on the Statute Book, which were passed years ago, they now began to agree with. After referring to some -of the beneficial measures passed by the Government, the hon : eentleman concluded by again thanking -them I , for. their very cordial reception, and for the hearty manner in which they had drunk 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 Seddon 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 thari when he took office. Otlier ■ toasts .lionoured 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" representative; "The Old Floks. at Home," proposed by Mr Hounsell and responded . to by Mr J. Nicholls ; "The Ladies." proposed by Mr Pellew, and responded to by Mr Graham. The health of the Chairman was drunk and.the gathering terminated at midnight witju the singing of "Auld Lang Syne," i During the evening items were contributed by Messrs L. Brough. F. 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.