FAREWELL BANQUET.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13635, 1 July 1908, Page 5

FAREWELL BANQUET.

GOVERNORrGENERAL EULOGISED.

COLONIAL OFFICE £ND COLONIES.

Press Association-By Telegraph-Copyright Received 9.15 p.m., June 30th. '.-..■; LONDON, June 30.

The -\ banquet to the Earl of Dudley, Governor-General of Australia, at the Hotel Cecil was the largest and most representative Australian gathering for many ' years. " The Earl of Crewe,. Secretary of State for the; Colinies,' presided, and in proposingtlie .health;, of the Earl of Dudley warmly eulogised his Irish vice-royalty ;.i> evincing an unbiassed judgment which should prove valuable in his new office, which was one of > the highest in King Edward's service.'- The Earl paid a tribute to Lord Nbrthcote's tact and bountiful hospitality and said he' was ab!y seconded by Lady Northcote. The Earl, added that. Australian politics w;ere not ; ajways very closely v followed or quite properly under-s-itood in England., Australia d<.sire.d..to remain the home of tlie white race, and that desire had sometimes' been misundeistood. It inust be remembered that from the 'standpoint of mere material prosperity it was/in some, respects ■ a self-denying ordinance, and he would never-allow the motives of Australian statesmen and people to be 'misinterpreted if he could help it. Australia had undertaken,' perhaps, the hardest part of all the white men's burden, that of administering territory peopled largely: by a native, race.'' Tn that task lie wished her every .'possible .prosperity. The Colonial Office did not underrate the difficulty of such tasks, nor was the Earl of Dudley's coming task devoid of difficulty. The Australian Constitution was a great-monument to one of the most eminent of his <th<* Earl of Crewe's,) predecessors, and to the energy of Australian statesmen. Now, the Earl of Dudley, as a motorist, was aware that a new machine was apt to have a grinding of surfaced, and overheating of bearings before it had inn a certain distance. -Those who saw the difficulties existing in the working of the Australian Constitution might take heart. t Similar difficulties were associated iin early years with the American Constitution. Ere long «ny existing difficulties of the Commonwealth, ,if not forgotten, ! would be positively rejoiced at. They would say—" If we had not been so virile i a'race; if our statesmen had been less urgent, less energetic, we would have settled down more easily than we did to work under this Constitution; any little rubs and difficulties were merely testing our qualities"—just -as a" high-couraged horse in harness feels the rub of the collar which would pass unnoticed by a humble relative drawing a coster-monger's carl; but if the Earl'of Dudley found any little symptoms of friction the, Earl of Crewe said he was certain that his tact and personal judgment would' contribute to its alleviation. He was going among new faces, not other minds, and would find in Australia that the purest local patriotism was of assistance to the wider patriotism of Empire and that wider patriotism he would find there in abundance. The- Earl of' Dudley, who was -given a great ovation, said that nobody recognised more clearly than he did the responsibilities of office'or how easy it wes to make mistakes; therefore it was very encouraging for him to take up his duties with the goodwill of those among whom he was going to dwell. He was anxious to do so, unfettered by preconceived notions or premature utterances. He recognised clearly that he was not an exponent of a particular policy, but the representative of the constitutional sovereign in a constitution largely formed on that of England. Therefore -he must bear in mind the importance of reticence and caution. Questions were apt to arise wherein the standpoints of the' colonies differed from those of the Motherland but-.there need be no misgivings'lf" they were treated-iri a broad and sensibleway. If there continued' to exist in the colonics and the Motherland a 'constant recognition of the necessity of mutual concession, the Empire''would be a great copartnership, each,partner living his life, and rearing, his family under conditions as differing as .those of associates. Hence while cohesion was vital, elasticity was essential. He described the Earl of Crewe as a wise, cautious, fearless, and broad-' jninded adviser and-hoped that with his help and that of the distinguished advisers surrounding him in Australia, he would be, successful jn discharging his .'duties.