FAREWELL TO MR T. E. TAYLOR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7334, 21 February 1902, Page 4

FAREWELL TO MR T. E. TAYLOR.

— '■■ — * . AN ENTHUSIASTIC GATHERING. The meeting held in the Canterbury Hall last -evening to bid farewell to Mr T. E. Taylor on his approaching departure for England was both large and enthusiastic. Mr H. G. Ell, M.H.R., took the chair, and the applause drawn forth by the several speakers was loud and sustained. Mr Ell, in opening the proceedings, said tbat tbe audience -were, of course, aware of the purpose of the meeting, and he was glad to see that the public of Christchurch recognised the great services of Mr Taylor. It was not the speaker's intention- to delay the proceedings by any long speech, as Mr Taylor would doubtless prefer to spend as much time as possible in the company o. his relatives and immediate friends. Mr G. J. Smith, M.H.R., spoke highly of Mr Taylor's disinterested work for the benefit of Canterbury people. He moved the following motion : — " That this meeting, on the eve of the departure of Mr and Mrs T. E. Taylor on a trip to the Homeland, desires to m-Jt-k its high appreciation of their efforts in all matters affecting the welfare of the community, and wishes them both a very happy trip and a safe return, premising tfciJm a hearty welcome' home." Continuing, Mr Smith said that Mr and Mrs Taylor had the respect and esteem of the community in a very high degree. Personally he bad fought both with and against Mr Taylor, yet to-day their friendship was stronger than ever. There were differences of opinion as to Mr Taylor's attitude on various subjects, but no fair-minded person would deny Mr Taylor's singleness of purpose and honest a dhereqce to bis convictions. Mr Smith also spoke highly of Mrs Taylor, who had not only freely given up be. husband for the good of the public, but had also done a great deal of arduous work herself. He joined with the audience in wishing Mr and Mrs Taylor a pleasant trip and renewed health and strength, to be used, as in the past, for the -public weal. Miss Roberts seconded the motion. If unceasing work and unflagging energy entitled anyone to a .holiday, she considered that no man had earned one better than Mr Taylor. She wished Mr Taylor a pleasant holiday and safe return, to once more take a front- place and lead the party on to battle. Miss Roberta also paid a high tribute to Mrs Taylor, . a helpmate Mr T. E- -Taylor was indeed fortunate to have. When Mr Taylor came back be would have to be harnessed up as he had tried to barness up the Waimakariri. His breaking out in this new place- 'had been due to his being let off a little from the temperance cause, acd he would have to be brought back and kept strictly to the one field of labour. Tbe Rev F. W. Isitt looked upon Mr Taylor as a; brother more than a friend, and the meeting was in no way a joyous one to him. Mr Taylor would not have gone Home, his friends well knew, unless his health, had necessitated the trip. All New Zealand knew that Mr Taylor was as straight and honest as man 'could be made. He could say from bis own knowledge that there was at tbat time a heartbeat of brotherly feeling with the guest, of the evening from one end of the colony to the other. The loss of Mr Taylor for the approaching campaign was a yen' severe one, but nevertheless a great fight was to be made. America's recognised temperance leader, Mr J. G. Woolley, was coming. Victoria's leader, Mr J. C. Vale, was coming, having saved up his holidays for three years for the purpose. Then Miss Florence Balgarnie, who had been described, as the greatest woman speaker on the temperance platform, was coming to. help. Mrs Harrison J_ee was coming back. In addition there would be Mr John Smedley, of England, a man who had made his mark in the temperance cause. How had the other side taken these preparations? The "Tradeißvview" had an article that was literally a wail of terror. The whole article wason the lines of "interests at stake." The publicans had paid the Prohibitionists the compliment of ' saying that they had no interests at stake, that was to say, were working disinterestedly for their brothers. There was one great difficulty in the way. There was only one worker who could give all his time, for every nine electorates in the colony. This meant that the rank and file must be more .active than ever, and be was glad to know that from one end of the colony to the other this was recognised. Mr Isitt then said he had a challenge to make. He would be in Clutha on Monday next, and would stay there for a week if a Christchurch newspaper would send a reporter to see the district with him. No one could say that both were biased. Tbey would see hundreds of people, and he would hold public meetings and throw them open for discussion. He had made a similar challenge

to another New Zealand paper, but had failed to get it. published, and a- letter he had sent had also been refused publication. If Clutha had in part solved the problem, the colony should know it, and therefore he threw out- the challenge. He did not see how a fairer offer could bo made. (Applause). With regard to the coming election, he would only ask that straight, honest men should be returned. He would rather see an honest Conservative than a blackguard Radical. All the prohibitioni-ts aeked was that the men returned should be pledged to give the people the right to sweep the liquor traffic away if it thought proper. What the liquor people were doing was trying to keep the traffic going by the power of the bully. In this connection, he wished to say something about the newspapers. The Ohristchurch newspapers had been publishing beautiful editorials, demanding the suppression of consumption, cancer, and the rest, but, when it came to alcohol, which 'was killing, more (people than any three diseases, it was different. They talked of State control, as though it mattered to the widow, to the mother, whether, the liquor came from the State or from the publican. It was a paltry miserable attempt to escape tbe responsibility of taking a decided attitude. Mr Isitt urged' the audience to keep their heads right, and be influenced by no newspaper argument. He believed with Mr Woolley, that the average editor was a literary prostitute, who wrote simply what he must write. Nine-tenths of the editors Were against the temperance movement, as they 'had been against every good movement in the world's history. If all people stood as true and steadfast, as bravely, as Mr T. _C. Taylor had done, the present year would witness the final victory in the greatest battle the world had ever known. The. -motion was then carried by acclamation. Mr Taylor, who was received with prolonged applause, praised the unquenchable snirit and inexhaustable ene-jsry of Mr Isitt. He first expressed bis appreciation of what had been said .of Mrs Taylor and himself. He was quite sure that he would have a pleasant trip, and that- Mrs Taylor would enjoy it. if anything, more than he would. He would like to say a few words on one or. two local topics. First, with regard to the question of the last ten days — that, a syndicate should tak* uo and control tho tramways of the city. He would be away for six or e.Kfht months, and wished, as a citizen of Christchurch, to protest a.gainst the proposal. No syndicate would raise a large amount of cooitpl in the public interests. He would buck np against the proposal and .hurt it all he knew. It was a most dangerous suggestion. For long enough private concerns had monopolised what should' have been public properties. Cbristchu'__h baid a *ras company paying £12 000 ncr year in dividends at the rate of 10 and 12 per cent, piling xvn large reserve funds, and periodically adding to the capital. These were the prcfits ( on a necessity—_i_ht. Then there was a; tram company, whose profits were not published, but which would be not less than £5000 a year, giving a orofit of £17,000 per year on light and traction, a sum sufficient to more than cover the general rates in the city. With regard to electrical power, a great deal of useful work had' been done in committee in. connection with the matter. Mr W. Recce, the late Mayor, had broueht back witb him from England and America . estimates for the electrical part of the "harnessing" scheme, and these estimates fell considerably below those of the City Engineer. It appeared that all. • electrical plant had of late years vastly decreased in price. He agreed with many business men of Christchurch that the very best possible expert opinion should be obtained on the project before anything was done. Three New Zealand engineers had reported favourably. Mr Taylor would, in a few weeks, under authority from the committee, interview Colonel Turretini, one of the world's great engineers, and a, member of the International Commission which had carried out the Niagara Falls electrical works, and if this man's advice could be obtained, even at a cost of £2000 or £3000, he thought it would be advisable 'to obtain it. Turning to prohibition, he said that he had been going the pace the last few years, and had found his health suffering. He hoped to come back shortly fit and ready to stand once more side by side with his comrades and fight the battle for God and humanity. He believed the vote for "no license " at this election would be greater than ever before. The past two years had been bad ones for the moral tone of New Zealand. The great days of national re: joicing had also been days of drunkenness, and while the war would benefit the Transvaal, and while all admired the splendid courage, self-sacrifice _nd endurance of tho men in the field, the spirit of war was the^ spirit of brutality. Yet he had no doubt' the very aggressiveness of the evil would bring its own re-action, and the war would, perhaps, as in the past, in some obscure way work for the interests of civilisaition. The conclusion of Mr Taylor's address was the signal for prolonged applause, and the meeting then brake up, after a vote of thanks to the chairman.