Presentation to Mr F. Back.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5549, 22 February 1886, Page 3

Presentation to Mr F. Back.

THIS DAY. A large meeting of the leading citizens of Christchurch assembled this morning at the Agricultural and Pastoral Association's rooms, to make a presentation to Mr F. Back, the recent Traffic Manager of the Hurunui — Bluff Railway, on the ove of hia : departure for Tasmania. On entering the room, Mr Back was ! greeted with loud applause. I His Worship the Mayor took the chair, and Mr J. Ollivier made an apology for the absence of Mes3rß Sinclair. j The Chairman, as the hour was so early for business men, would not delay the proceedings. The object of the meeting was a pleasurable one, though not unmingled with regret. He was satisfied th -it what vra3 being done was done with a j heartiness not easily surpassed. All would : have been better pleased had tho call to j their friend been oae of " come up ! higher " in the same service, inI stead of to the service of another j Colony. In Canterbury there waa not a ! gentleman more highly esteemed than Mr ! F. Back, nor was there a better public ser- : vant. Small as tho testimonial was, it was ; a testimony of the esteem universally felt. . It would include a cheque for JE3OO, and a I small piece of plate. (Applause.) The j latter bore the inscription, " A piece of i plate presented to F. Back, Esq., by his Canterbury friends with a purse of sovereigns.-" Mr John Ollivier called upon the meeting to drink "Health and Prosperity to Mr Back." Ho waa quite sure that in a very few years ho would bo looked upon as one of the best public servants in Tasmania. (Voices : " We'll have him Back.") The toast waa drunk with three cheers, one for Mrs Back, and one for the " coming back." Mr F. Back, who was received with renewed applause, returned thanks for the handsome testimonial and the kind expressions used towards him. It waa gratifying to him to know that his humble efforts had met with approval. He would never forget the kindness and consideration ho had always experienced while in Canterbury. It was difficult for him to say all that he felt, but he would content himself with repeating his heartfelt thanks for their kind treatment of him that morning. (Applause.) Mr Ollivier proposed a vote of thanks to the Mayor for the nice manner in which he had discharged his duties. The vote waa carried unanimously, and suitably acknowledged by his Worship. Mr Howland moved a vote of thanks to the " Sturdy old beggar, Mr John Ollivier." Hia Worship seconded the motion, apologising for his forgetfulness in not moving it himßelf. The vote was carried by acclamation. Mr John Ollivier humourously acknowledged the vote, statiDg that this was the I last appearance of the " Sturdy old [ Beggar." I I The announcement was received with cries of " Oh ! " and *' Hoskin's Benefit." Mr J. D. Macpherson moved " Success to ! the Tasmanian Railway System," coupled 1 with the name of Mr Back. I Mr Back returned thank 3, in the course of his remarks saying that there waa a great deal too much croaking in this country. (Hear.) Aa all there were no doubt aware he had recently made a flying trip through the Old Country, and he could assure them that he had found wherever he went very much the came state of things as existed here. He had by the last mail received a letter from Mr Williams, Secretary to the Midland Railway Company, who said that traders in England were doing a small but safe business, and a strong organisation was being made there, aa here, to lower railway rates, consequently the railway managers were not having a pleasant time of it. The same state of things existed elsewhere. What he wanted to say waa thia : A writer in one of the Christchurch papera had recently said that the railways formed a property capable of paying off half the National Debt. But in this the writer very much undervalued the railways, aa he omitted altogether the amount of land in connection with them which had been acquired by the Crown. At present the railways were paying three per cent, and if they paid bo large a per centage with the present population, travelling through a sparsely-peopled country, what would they do when the population was doubled, as it must be in the next ten years. (Hear.) He felt confident that with careful management, on commercial principles, the New Zealand railways would then be the best paying railways in the world. (Applause.) Thia might seem a great deal to Bay, but he thought he waa quite justified in the conclusion he had arrived at, that as the work increased so in proportion did the expenses decrease ; that waa to say, a larger amount of work could be done with comparatively a mnch smaller expenditure. He did not think that the railways here would as yet do as much in proportion as the railways in England did, but he believed that they would do quite as profitable a business. (Applause.) This brought the meeting to a clo3e.