AT MOTUEKA.

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

AT MOTUEKA.

BANQUET AND PRESENTATION,

(From Our Special Reporter.)

The Hon R "McKenzie,- Minister for Public Works, received a most cordial welcome at Motueka, where he was entertained at a banquet at the Post Office hotel on Wednesday night.

The Mayor (Mr F. W. Thorp) presided over the gathering, which was attended by between sixty and : seventy of the leading citizens of the Borough of Motueka and surroundirig districts. Host Wallace provided a repast that would have done credit to the leading hotels in the cities, and after ample justide had* beeri done to :the good things provided, the' company adjourned to the lawn at the back 'of the hotel/ which was illuminated. with Chinese lanterns, and indulged in a ; smoke and conversation for half an hour. On; returning to the dining room a lengthy toast list was gone through. "The' Chairman read apologies for absence from- Sir Joseph Ward, Dr Deck, Messrs'L. D. Easton, H. Everett, A. S. Collyns, " R. E. (Clouston, W. J. Rilly, (Takaka), T. Hewetson and C Thomas. .•. "

The toast . of ' 'The King" having •been honoured, thiß Chairman proposed the health of the Hon R Me. :Kenzie.- He said' their; guest had been : their representative for twelve yea,rs and during that time had done remarkably well for them. In fact he had been. without doubt the best representative they. ever had. He : felt the tiirie had come when' they should convey publicly to him their thanks and' : appreciation, of : his services. His appointment to the Ministry appeared to be a fitting. time to do this, hence the gathering that evening. Since the Yogel Ministry the policy of the . Government had been tb borrow mbijey to develop the country, 7 by constructing , railways, roads and the' means of- communication. As Motueka stood geographically the expenditure on railways *in other parts of the district did not affect them, directly, hut they were called upon to nay their share in the amount expended. . They might not be in a, position toreall for" railway connection but it was ; Onl y: jrist that they should, receive some of the monies that were being .expended by the. Government -in developng the resources of the Dominion. ' In this 'district- they required roads and 'tracks to open up the -back country. As Mayor, he knew, what Mr McKenzie had ■ done for the borough.' He had provided them with

sundry grants wliich were absolutely necessary. A boon for which they had to thank Mr McKenzie was the subsidy for the direct mail service to Wellington, which had brought them into touch 'with the centre of the Dominion. What they wanted now was harbour improvements- and a still better steamer service. Their member had done his best for them in the past and was sure he would continue so in the future. He had -been requested on behalf of the residents of Motueka and district to make Mr McKenzie a preeritation as a token of their esteem and repect, and something that would recall memories of that constituency. The presentation might not rank with one that would be given by a city constituency but Mr McKenzie would agree that it was not the intrinsic value >of the article that was appreciated but the spirit m which it was given. Mr Thorp then handed the Hon. Mr McKenzie a solid silver tea service, which bore the following inscription : "Presented to the Hon. R. McKenzie, M.P. , by his friends and supporters resident 'in Motueka and surrounding districts in appreciation of his, past services, also as a souvenir of his appointment to the Ministry, February 3rd, 1909." He trusted that Mr and Mrs McKenzie would live long to enjoy them. (Loud applause). The Hon. Mr McKenzie, who was received with loud and prolonged applause, expressed ■' his sincere thanks • to the residents for their magnificent present to Mrs McKenzie and himself. As their representative he had always endeavoured to do his duty toward his constituents. Their' requirements had been small, ahd gen'orally' very 'easily provided for;*-"" He; recognised that they were isolated to some extent, hut a. railway was out of the question 1 . In a- few years they might be going to Wellington by airship. (Laughter). He had always looked /upon the back-block settlers as his particular care, as the people in the interior were far worse off than they were in Motueka. He recognised that they should have better accoirinibdation at 'their harbour, which should be made to admit much larger vessels than were now trading to thr port. In his opinion, it would be easier to make a good harbour at Mbtueka than it had been at Nelson. The sooner they got their harbour started the better he would be pleased, as he had been successful when tlieir member in obtaining a subsidy of £500 a year for thirty years. -."* Coming to his appointment to the positions he now held, Mr McKenzie said he had been connected with mining, public works, and railway construction all his life, and that he 'had been engaged in railway construction between Port Chalmers-and Dunedin before railways in other parts of *<the. Dominion. were built. It was now his duty -to see that other, people made the railways', and to see that they did not get paid more than they should be for the work. He lipped that when it came to his turn to leave the Ministry the people of the district would hold the same opinion of him as they did that night. o.*fcie .mining industry wajj faxr-ly prpsporous, and he intended tb develop the mineral' resources of the Dominion as far as was' possible. A geological survey party was now working towards . the head of the Karamea, and it was his intention before long to follow it up with' a prospecting party on scientific lilies. He expressed his surprise at the development that had taken place in that district, and concluded by expressing his thanks 'again to the residents for their handsome present. (Applause.) The Chairman proposed "The British Empire," and Mr Thomas Pattie "The Dominion of New Zealand," to which Mr" J. B. Jordan responded. "The Premier and the Parliament of New Zealand" was proposed by Mr Andrew Sinclair, who, in the course of his remarks, said that the Premier was the right man in the right place, and he did not. think there was any man in the preseiit Parliament, or out of it, who -was better ahle to finance the country than Sir Joseph Ward. The Premier had a great task in reconstructing' the Ministry, and he had shown good, sound judgment in tho appointment of Mr McKenzie. The new Parliament contained a- number of strong men, and' he felt sure they would legislate for the benefit of the country. (Applause). The Hon. R. McKenzie. in responding, thanked them very heartily for the mariner in which they had honoured the toast.% Matters moved swiftly in this country. It was only two years and eight months since the death of the late Mr Seddon, and there were only two members in the present Ministry^-Sir Joseph Ward and the Hon. James Carroll — who were members of that Cabinet. Sir Joseph Ward was unquestionably the ablest man in this Dominion, and any one who could manage the nances of this country with Sir Joseph' Ward's ability must be looked upon as a man with very exceptional ability. The Liberal Government had never had any trouble with .its finances. In regard to the' tightening of the money market, fortunately it was lessening. So far as the Government was concerned,it had made very little difference to it. Certainly the Government had to raise a. little more money to help the settlers along, otherwise the Government had not felt, the financial strain. The Government ;had no intention of taking any risk with the affairs of this country. The Government would look after the people's money, and see that it was spent to the best advantage. The railways had never paid less than £3 8s 6d, and \ the interest in the cost of construction was £3 1557 The Government had no intention of raisirig fares or freights. The revenue from the railways was increasing, and the. volume of trade was also steadily increasing. The Premier was not a -rash man, and he could assure them that there was no other man in the Dominion wbo had the interests of this I country at heart so much, as Sir Joseph Ward. He was a prudent riian, and went on sound lines. The Minister said he looked forward to the present Parliament to do a great deal of good for this country. The present -administration intended to leave the country in a better condi-. tion than when thoy went into office,--and its resources would be -fully developed. There was no reason why this country should not export fifty million pounds worth of productsyinstead of twenty millions, as at present. The pioneers of New Zealand had done splendid work, and in another sixty years the country would be one of the brightest spots in the universe. After further remarks, Mr McKenzie resumed his seat amidst loud applause. . "The Army, Navy and Volunteers'^ was proposed by Mr T .Macmahon, and responded to by Mr J. A. Guy. "The Mayor and Councillors of Motueka" was then proposed by Mr J. D. Beuke, and the Mayor, in responding, said that for the first time in ten years the Bdrough,. if all rates were paid up, would be without an overdraft. -.

"The Commerce and. Prosperity of Motueka arid surrounding Districts'' was entrusted to Mr C. Lowe, and responded to by Messrs T. Pattie f Chairman of tlw Motueka Harbour Board). A. T; Manoy, and J. H. T?ankin. " The speakers' urged that Favelock and the Sounds should _be oliminated from the. present service between Motueka and Wellington', In ' ■vipw of the large quantities 6f perish- ' ablo goods that were now being shipi?°d to the centre of, the Dominion. They exprpssed the opinion that it would not be long before the harbour imnrovements would be commenced, and +hey predicted that the district wo-nld continue to flourish. ■- Tbo toast'of "The Pr»ss" was given by :• Mr A. I.'' Mar oy . tb'« representatives of thelneal and Nelson newsr^snondinp : . "Our Host and Postoss." by tb" Chairman, who complimented Mr Wallace or the oxcollcn s^^pad pro^iclpd : md "The OKoirTtian," proposed by ihe Hon. R. McKptizifi. .. ■ - -. . .. :, .-■ -. During the ; ' evening, items were . given by Messrs Hanham, R. Wafd-

rop, J. H. Rankin, T. Brougham, W. Lane, and C. McFariane, the proceedings concluding at midnight with the singing of "Auld Lang Syne."