PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 2451, 4 October 1876, Page 2

PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION.

the iron sand. -

1 .DINNER TO -MR. E. M. SMITH AND THE WORKMEN. „. , That the irou sand baa be,eo successfully, i smelted there is no longer any reason to doubt. I for nearly three tons of pure metal have beeu I run from the furnace belonging to tho New Zealand Titanic Iron and Steel Company's Works at the Henui. The most sceptical in the place are now willing to acknowledge that the sand hns been smelted, and the credit of tbe problem being solved is certainly due to Mr. E. M. Smith, who from first 'to last has shown a dogged pertinacity about the matter. Although since this, has been a settlement the iron Band has attracted tho notice of the people, and several experiments on n small scale have from time to time been made with it, it has been owing to the exertions of Mr. Smith that Companies have beeu formed to test it on a large scale, and he has at, succeeded far beyond the expectation of the most sanguine persons in the place. Mr. Smith has been laughed al, sworn at, and called ft mauiac on account of this very iron sand; but he has never been daunted, and every failure has only tended to make him more energetic. To celebrate the, event it was decided that, a dinner should be given to Mr 1 . E. M. Smith aud tho workmeu engaged in the 'smelting, and a 'Committee ' consisting of Messrs. A. Laird, J. Pugb, A. Drew, H. McLenn, M. D. King, W. R. Townsend;- and "R. Sncll was formed for the purpose of collecting subscriptions towards it. Mr. Laird acted as collector, aud we learn from him that the response to the appeal to the public was* most liberal., ;' ' As a large number were expected to attend the dinner, tho Odd Fellows' Hall was the building fixed upon, and during the whole of Monday, Mr. E. M. Smith and and,, a number of willing helps assisted him in ! decorating it. The walls 'were decorated with evergreens, flowers, pictures, and manufactured irori goods, all of which were voluntarily lent: or supplied for' the occasion. Photographs of local Objects, as' well as flags, • were" ? freely supplied. On the stage there were corn, flour, and a huge loaf of bread weighing' 241bs, baked 'by Mr. D. Callaghau intending to represent Peace and Plenty. Local manufactures in the shape of soap and candles from Mr. lioshford'e were exhibited. Guns, swords, with ramrods and bayonets made into the form of a star, and other emblems of war represented the Army aud Navy. A huge barrell of beer from Mr. jfaul's brewery, and marked XXXX, beside which, on a pedestal, was a decanter of pure water, which represented teetotal and beer interests. The hall was surrounded with appropriate mottoes. Across the front of the gallery was placed " Mayor and Corporation," aud underneath 'Iron is the King of Strength, Steel is tho Emperor of Might." Over tbe proscenium on the stage was " Advance Tarauaki." On the walls to the left of the entrance tho mottoes "Science Conquers" ,ond ' M Art and Agriculture" were hung aloft, whilst on the other side were to be read ''Harbour and Direct Trade" and "Trade and. Commerce." A locally-mude plough also on the stage, and was tastefully decorated witli flowers. The tables were laid to accommodate, nearly three hundred persons, In front of the chairman's seat was a plate of iron saud, standing in which, was a piece of a pig of steel, a portion of which had been turned and polished, showing the superiority of the metal. The Kin's Volunteers, at a few hours' notice, paraded in uniform, and, headed by the Volunteer Band, marched, in procession to Mr. Smith's residence, where they loudly cheered. He was then escorted to tho Odd Fellows' Hall. In the procession were to be seen officers of the various Friendly Societies in full regalia. On the line of march there were a great number of people, and a large crowd assembled in front of the Odd Fellows' Hall, over the entrance to which un evergreen porch, surmounted by a coloured representation of the furnace, was exhibited, on epch side of which bunting was displayed. • At ' about seven o'clock the doors trore opened, and the seats were soon filled) Jlhe workmen occupied a place neur the etage. His Honor the Deputy Superintendent (W. M. CromptoD, Esq.), occupied the chair, whilst (A.' Standish, Esq.). acted as croupier. To the right of the Chairman sat the Yen. Archdeacon Govett> Major Stapp, a,nd, Dr. O'Carroll, . and to the left the Commissioner of Waste Lands (O. D. WhitCbmbe; • Ksq.V Keys. Isitt and Hammond, and Dr. Warren, and scattered 1 around were some of tho lending 'merchants and tradesmen. - The country settlers from far off districts were also iri 'attendance,' whilst of townspeople every class was well represented. The dinner waa prepared by Mr. Revcll, of Currie-street, and to whom great credit is due for the excellent manner in ,wh,jch, be carried out the arrangements. It is needless tosaV that t|ie^dinner was thoroughly enjoyed and heartily partaken of. . The attendance, considering there wns such a large number pre* sent, was very emoient, and t gave great satisfaction. The good ' things having been dispbs'dd'of;" ;' ' ' > / The ChaibMAN rose and said, befbro pro-' 1 ce'eding with the toasts of the , evening, ho' woujd. read, an, apology from' Mr. Flight for his absence, In which' hp stated it w,as old age that alone prevented his being prcßent. He always had confidence in the iron sand, and felt sure that at' some time it, would bo ( brouglit to perfection. The Chairman then proposed "The Queen' 1 which" was drunk upstanding with musical honors., , • ; ' The' CIIAIRM Art next proposed " The Army Arid Navy," coupling with it the names' of Major Stapp and Captain Holford. Major Stapp, in' replying, said ho had for many years been connected with the army, and was proud to say that although there had. been no opportunity of late years of showing' its prowess, ■ still it had lost none of its efficiency. The English army, although not so large as those of some other, countries, <was compact ■— there wns no doubt, if brought in aotive aorvico, it would not be in any way found wanting. The policy of England was, however, defence not I defiance. In replying for tho navy (in the I absence of Captain Holford), he said, nlthough npt belonging to that branch of the, service, f till. he could speak from his own knowledge of the bravery displayed on many occasions by the officers and men belonging to it. There was no doubt that the English navy was the terror of the world. He should never forget) the 28th March, 18G0, when Captain Cracroft, of-H.M.S. 'Niger,' with his men marched out and stormed tbe pah on Wairekft bill. Capt. Mace, and the two brothers Messengers (one of whom was afterwards kiljed) Were also there,* and^the bravery displayed by all . tbnt all were ready to ( dio in defence ' off their' country. • . ' ' '"■.'', The Band then played " Rule Britannia." ' The Vicb-Chaieman, in proposing the "Volunteers and Constabulary," said .when volunteers, we're first enrolled they were looked upon as a toy aud v plaything, but it had been Bbown that they were ready to fight if necessary. He referred to the volunteers in 1 Taranaki during tho war with the natives, and specially dilated on their conduct at Waireka in eulogistio language. Ho said that event would bo recorded in the history of tho placo, and which they all might look back to with pride. Not only was credit due on that occasion to tho men, but it could not be denied that great praise wns due to that gallant officer who had just pat down (Major Stapp) who ■ during the engagement had inspired the, men with couu'douce by bis cool

'demeanour and pluck. >Ho then referred to „the -Hob. Major Atkinson, who, at the head ~oi ; his gallant Volunteer Bushrangers, had -cl&red the forest of the natives by fighting them in their own way and on their own ground. This had beeu the meaus of saviug many oMbeeot tiers' lives, nnd also much oftheir property. He then referred to the Constabulary in 'highly complimentary terms, and concluded by coupling Dr. O'Carrpll's name with the toast. Dr. O'Cakroll .briefly' replied by saying that they had endeavored to do their duty, and were ready again, if called upon, to turn out when Wanted. < ■ ■ ' > The CHAIUMAN said before ho proposed the toast of the evening, he wished to take that opportunity of retracting much that he had said ngainst Mr. E. M. Smith. He certainly had been agreeably surprised to find that Mr. Smith had successfully dove what he had so long said he' could do. He used to think that Mr. Smith ' had iron sand on the brain, and that after a time he would be 'sent up to the asylum; but he was now satisfied he had been mistaken. He (Mr. Crompton) wished to take back all he had ever Raid against Mr. Smith, and having done that would now pro* ceed to speak on the' toast he' was going to propose. Mr. Smith had shown a great deal of energy and perseverance. He had before him come of the iron in its crude state, and a piece that had been polished, which was pure steel. He had some little knowledge of steel, but he had never seen such an excellent specimen ns that before him, aud he shouldlike to have it placed in tho Museum, with a proper inscription, to .show what had been done with" the iron sand. There was no denying that what had been dove had been accomplished through the perseverance of Mr. Smith, who had beeu assisted by Mr. Blanchnrd. He had made Mr. Blanchard's acquaintance under very painful circumstances; but he had proved to be just the man they had > .wanted. There was another connected with the success — n Mr. Jack — whom he did 1 not know; but to tjho.se three, and, in fact, to the" workmen as^a whole who were engnged iv the smelting, was due every praise for the manner, i a, which they had worked. He concluded by proposing "The health of the men who were,, engaged in the successful smelting of the iron sand," coupliug wjth it, the, names of Mr. Smith, the manager, Sir. Blanchard,' ( tho 'furnace m'an^ atid'Mr. Jack, the engineer; and he 1 , on behalf of the public at large, , begged to thank them for their' exertions in the . matter. ' (Great cheering.) ". ,',!'.' "' Mr. E. M. Smith .then mounted the stage, and, was' loudly cheered, the band playing "Seethe Conquering Hero Comes." It was some, seconds before quiet, was restored, and he then spoke , as follows:,— Lhavejtothank you for the manner you have responded to the toast, and to the chairman for his remarks regarding myself, and. : for /his with^ drawing the expressions he has ■ mode against me. With, regard to .what the , chairman has Raid, I need-only say X forgive him ; hut I not only forgive him, but I freely forgive every one in this Province and' put. of .it for all they have said against me. For ten years I have striven hard to develop- the working of the iron sand. I have done it through good' repute and evil repute. I have fought against obstacles which ninny tnigbt have thought wero' insurmountable,' but for all I have dove,' and for all the anguish I have undergone, to-night's proceedings repay me. I do not wish to take all the credit to myself, for I feel I am greatly indebted for bringing the iron sand to a success to those who nssistai me in carrying out my views. There arc many others who' are entitled to the thanks' of this meeting, and to no one more, so than Mr. T. Hirst, who has throughout assisted me many ,a time when he has been in Wellington in getting me introduced to persons with whom I had no other means of coming into communication. I am not the only one who deserves praise, for there nre i several others who have devoted much of their time and labour. ' in trying to ,bring to a , successful issue that which we , have at last ncconf^ plished. There are Mr. Perry and Mr. Suttoh, who have devoted much of their time to the matter, and I ..have, but been following . out what they had begun. I say that those gentlemen ,deßer,ye, every, .praise- for what they have done. Although, the. smelting of the iron sand is a success so far, there is yet something else to be^ dpne ; before it j becomes an established business in the place. I have, however, proved. thattho sand, can be .smelted in a charcoal blast furpace, notwithstanding that an eminent metallurgist (Dr. Percy) has stated tjiat it cannot be done; but,ithasyet to ,b^' proved tliat it can be made a cpramer? eial bucc6sß of. I have jsroved that it can be smejted,,and if • there is any one who can prbve that it can be made commercially successful, why I nm that man!" (Great cheering.) Gentlemen, Xdo not want to see one ' company 'monopolise ' tho whole of the shore'} what "l ; w'atit ' fo itek'h half a dozen companies at work in'the'p'Uice, managed b} ; ' the best practical men that can be got.. If better metallurgist, c;an. be foiind thWra<' I will bow to them: I have don*' my best, and given, credit wiiero "credit is. due. 1 men all worked well— there' Was 'not h single grumbler amongst them. Ttae~men were so enthusiastic 1 oVdr ' the : jhattef" that 'bomb , vblui*-* 1 teered to stay at {he wdrlt&'ftveifthe twelve hours that was fixed upon'^f or -' them' to be there.' I htiW pUßhed }( th«S matter to 1 a practicaUuccess"., I hai^ tr beeli u 'dbtibtcd, I ! i have been 1 laughed at, t have been sneered at, ' but I am Wisfied how that my efforts have, been crowned with success, for I have proved Itfiat the" iron sa¥ff"can'"be" < Bmene"ain*'S'Bh6lby' charcoal blast furnace. 1 I purpose/ shortly to visit the other districts in 'New Zealand for the purpose ef getting capital to work the iron sand, but I Bhould not like, to see the working .confined to this Colony alone~ but that men of capitnl nil over the; • worldshould bo induced to take nn interest,. ,iv it. The only, gentleman in, tin's Colony who seemed to know anything about the matter was a Mr. Davis, who was unfortunately drowned; his father was an iron-master. Ho, had been in Belgium, Sweden, Germany, and America, and had seen tho largo sums that had been made, by working the iron ore. He had stated to the Government; that it only, required a proper Wast furnace and .proper blowing apparatus to Brpelt the sand., They had that now, and the result had '.shown that he was right. They never till vow had had a proper furnace, ahfl they had smelted nearly three tons of metal 1 from it,' But that quantity, when .they had the furnace in proper working order, would bo produced at every tapping, and I shall not be wrong in stating that more than a hundred tous a week could be smelted. They- talk-about wiuding up the present company: The)&avesot£lo,oootocnll up. Now what I want to see is that instead of spending ttfafc sum iriliquidoting theiiabilities of the compauy, and dividing the remainder amongst tho shareholder*, is to push on with the works. Mr. Anderson, the chairman of the company, said td trie, "Ihaveßpentu'early £700 in this company,.and you have Bayed it 'to me." He 1 said-, •* Kit had uot been for you I should have lost all." Geutlcmen, if Igo to Wellington I will be the means of getting the shareholders. to, consent. to wprkinc that ,fur. mace, "and thus, instead of losing money, they will be in pocket by, it. It must be, .admitted, now that th rt' Iron 'flaml fe^i be eihelted in a blnst furhncc. Ndw, T wn'n'tf to' sep, not one here, but a dozen or. more at work, and then' Tarauaki will bii one of the most important, places in New Zealand, It will be the moans of getting the harbour, nnd from our position ships will visit this port instend of going through the Strait', for if they Want to' go* to Sydney they hare only to set their rudder and they can go straight there. I lmvo detained you n considerable length of time, but let mo ;uow conclude by thanking you for tho enthusiastic mannor iv whioh you have drunk tho, | to^ lt *. i At : ,:.• . ho ,■ ' ' •

Mr. Blanchakd (the furnace-rann), in replying, said he waa satisfied that Mr. Smith had dove his best, and he was glftd that Mr. Smith was satisfied with him. They had certainly run the iron, but he was not really satisfied with the result himself. There wns something yet-to lie done.- He wns not at all satisfied with the slag. That there was iron therei n any quantity, there was very little doubt, but they had uot yet got hold of tho proper flux. He had managed to get the " beach stone. out of Mr. Smith's head, and when they had used the red brick the furnace worked very differently, but they wanted -a better'flux than that. It would now bo Smith's duty to search about for a better flux. The difficulties which had arisen had beeu solely pwing to the fluxes used. He was satisfied that the ' Baud could he smelted in a blast furnace. When Mr. Smith got a better tlux) and tried it again, if he wanted him to assist he would be dlways found willing to do his utmost. •Mr. Smith said Mr. Blanc'hnnt had told him that if they wanted to smelt the iron suod the slag must be made more livch/. Now, he knew where hundreds of tons of 6tuff could be got which would be just the- thing. All he could say' was that if Mr. Blanchard wanted the slag lively, he would make it lively enough for him. He had hoped to have seeu Mr. Chilman present , The Chairman said Mr. Chilman would have been present, but that evening his sou had been brought home very ill from low fever, aud it prevented him from being there. Mr. SMITH said he had only intended to say that that gentleman had takeu ereat interest iv the matter; and had gone to England to get a company to carry on tho works, but had failed in his mission. However, be hoped to sec an English company take the matter up, and then instead of irou being sent to New Zealand in the quantities it was, thej r would be shipping from 50,000 to 100,000 tons away a year. —Mr. BLANCEUUiD, in reply to. Mr. Smith, said ho iv no way wished to say anything that would souud like detraction, and he had only mentioned about the flux because he saw that something was wantiug.' He had known a uew mineral 'that took four years to find out tho necessary, flux that was wanted, aud if they attained a success ( in two , years they ought to be'very well satisfied. ' ' Mr. Jack said it was two years now since be had becotne connected with the Taranaki Irou Sand Company. Ho had then been appointed to erect the engine, which he had done he hoped to the satisfaction of all concerned, but whatever he had done, he had only tried to do his duty. He had apparently taketi no active part in the matter, merely attending to his work as e"ngineei\ 'still he did not see any difficulty in smelting the sand. He had known a little about smelting,' haviug beeu from a boy upwards,- 'never plea* of the smelting furnaces in Scotland. He had been there when MrVWhattou was at the worke,' and 1 since Mr. Smith had taken thenrover; lib hrtd assisted on both occasions as well as he was able. He thought'lhey had got on the right man in Mr. Simth^and they should stiok to him. The Vlbk-CHAIEMAX, said ' all would be unanimous in doiug' ' lionor to those who assisted in carrying out . the smelting of the iron ' sand! , \ JThpy lidd xWo honor to the men I who Im'd'assisted at the work, and now it. waa but only right they hhould drink the health of the shareholders of the Compan}'. They had | Bpent;&, large i^utn of money; in b;u.ildiqg n.furnace'without, which .the men could not have , worttbd; -they'were therefore' Entitled to their I thanks., .Ho .begged, to propose the health of , the Shareholders coupjing.with it the name of Mr. Mathiesok^ sen., briefly replied on behalf <rf Ijis.spu, who was absent. Mr. HULKE then proposed a vote of thanks to the guarantors. For had the}' not come forward in the manner they did they would nojt have been there tbftt day celebrating tho success. - The guarantors had made themselves liable for a largo sum of money, and the thanks of theJcbmmunity were certainly due to them for. them pluck. He looked upon the day Hie iro» sand <*»# tutras the beginning' oj[ a new erain Twianaki, fot;:they jwero likely by its means to be put into similar, positions as other places. They had a great deal to thank the guarantors for. They knew the works were shut up, and if they had uot actively come forward -"as Smith's guarantee, they would noUiavc known that the iron saud could be smelted£ £ 'lfr~t&ftngh£ v ihe directors of the compa^^ t ha34|lj|e w "n/fef«at illiberality in not relieving tlie'guaranlors when the smelting, had, proved a, success, aud gouo oa with' the w6rlc.' fhe'^hairiuan the conipany, although he owned that he had been saved £700 ,tjl^rpugh .Smith's,- success, refused, to, give even live -or six shillings towards the] dinner to'the worktnen. '.' The public of Tara.-' tiaki.were indqjjt^d ( t,o , those, gentlemen who had so' liberally conic' forward, and he hn&' great pleasure in proposing a vote of thanks to J them, ' ,'., 'j . „ Mr. R. C. Hughes, in replying, said that when' Mr. Mnthjesbu, Mr. tJncles, Mr. Jackson, Mr.' Jftynti f ,'a'niJ,M!r.''Vman signetf (heguaVan-| tee, they' little thought 'such a success would Kayo been accomplished. He might mention how they came, to ; take part in fhe matter. Some twelve months jOgo, fjndiqg that things were going on very slowly, they called a meeting 'of the shareholders in the placc t aad represented to, the directors in Wellington" what, Was being done at the works. There could be no doubt that their action tended to do good, and things went on till Mr. Whatton made a trial and had given it up. They then telegrapHWlfothcldireotoris, asking 1 'that ilr. Smith might be put in charge before the furnace coolcd,rbu.trthiß trjey dcclftied t.oT.do. The 'next thing was ifoat ,Mlv Smith was sent to > Wellington, where ho' succeeded in talking the directors over. HJs abflUy at Bpcaking they h'a<T Hefirir ttiaf'evc'nipg; and although thi dtfecTSoW were''aeMmWcd ; t6;?e.fuse his>'pplil ioatibri^thcyh'tW' riot : bbeir'ftb'le to''withstandhid fldent'tobgu'e,'but. lia'a"been' talked over. They'gaVS'fiiin permission to use tho futn'aoc, btit tWere' Svas' one .thing attached to' it— namely, that tne'Shhreholders here should be, hid guarantors that tho furnace be left iv the same 1 conflifidn' as when taken over. On" seejb'gthe ? agrcement, they had an- interview with Mr. Chilmah 'respectiug it, and telegraphed to the directors asking that it might be modified ; but this'thjey would not consent to. 'When the Clrairmun arrived they went to him and explained tho matter, but he declined to abatbtljer term's of the agreement one jot. Tlie" guarantors) "'however, after B'omo con-, Biderati,oH lf deterrtiin6d *° "?'< 'the' matter, but when tncj' : agreemrfnt none of them, expected' that tW'r'ekiTr would" have been so' successful. The shareholders' 'were ;tip't ' the only ones co'n'ticcted''withttio r bdrid, ' f c¥' "when it was signed Mr. Atkinson, Mr. Vivian, and Mr. Williams also added their signatures, aud they were entitled to the thanks of the people more than'the shareholders were. Mr. Courtney proposed the toast "The Iron Trade, of Hew Plymouth" connecting, with it tho name of MY. Vivian. He spoke of the advantage that would be derived from 1 the iron and steel works in the Proviuce, aud tho 'population would be considerably increased. Ho had seen Mr. [Smith' id Wellington, and whnt he had told him about the iron sand had 'greatly influenced him in ; coming to the place. , „ „ ; i Mr. Vivian replied, and spoke at some length on tbo part he bad taken in the matter. Mr. T. E. Hammektok proposed tho "Commercial Interest" and pointed! out tho advantage the place would derive from large iron works in it. Mr. Gledhih replied, and referred to seuding somßKind'to Sydne3% but had not heard that anything had resulted therefrom, lie concluded by ptoposiug tho "Agricultural lutercst of Taranaki." ' Mr. DINGLE replied iv a characteristic .speech. . ' '

Mr. Whitcombe proposed "The Press," which was responded to by the representatives of the papers present. The Chairman proposed "The Committee and Contributors."

Mr. Laird replied stating that the public came forward 4n a very liberal manner, and he found little difficulty in getting subscriptions. The VICBCIUIBMAN propD6e& "The Host," which was duly responded to. During the evening some songs were sung liy Mr. W. Gilbert, Mr. J. Ptiul, and Mr. W. Morey, and Mr. E. M. Smith gave a recitation. Mr. Stunucy presided at the piano. The band, during the several speeches, played appropriate selections, and one of the most successful demonstrations that ever took place in New Plymouth was brought to a olose at about 11 o'clock.