THE NEW ZEALAND BANQUET.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12145, 12 August 1908, Page 8

THE NEW ZEALAND BANQUET.

(From Our Chyn Correspondent.)

LONDON, Juno 23. It was a splendid sight when tho New. Zealanders and British New Zealanders sat down to their annual dinner at the Yrocadero yesterdayi It was, perhaps,' more largely attended than any which have preceded it, and the attendance amounted to about 160. The banqueting hall was arranged with seven tables, each capable of seating twenty-five pereons, .touching at right. angles that occupied by the chairman in the centre, with twelve guests on ©a.oh side of him. •On the right of • the chairman (the Hon. W. Pembei- lieeves,' your High Commissioner), was the Earl of Orewe, . and on tihe left Mr L. T. A. Coghlan (Agent-General for New South Wales).' Noxt to Mr tJoghlan sat the Hon; J. W. Taverner..; < Agent-General for Vie- ■ t&ria), while on the other side of tho chairman were- tho Hon. J." G. Jenkins, the Hon/ 0; H. Rason (the Agents-Gen-eral for South Australia and Western Australia .respectively), and Captain It. Muirhe^ (representing the Commoiiwealth)y -'~-• - : After grace had; been said by the Bishop of Wellington, the company sat down to a choice dinner, and at its close the Bishop said grace again before the speeches began. In proposing the toast of " The King," tho Chairman referred to him as the greatest ambassador of peace, in terms .-, that were received,withcheers. :: Tho Earl of Crewe then proposed the toast of "The 'Dominion," in a "few. .■. choice words"—in the few words to .which he said he >vas convinced that after dinner speeches should bo limited.' ■ Adverting to the oohstitution of New Zealand as a Dominion! last autumn, he mentioned that Xordv Plunket, whom ho hoped hp might describe as a popular Governor, especially as : he was a connec- ,. tion of his by ttamage>had sent; a :des- ■ patch to England assuring her of, the new Dominion's unswerving, loyalty..; As! '"• evidence of it they ihad a contribution of £40,000 annually given to the Na%*y ungrudgingly, aiid, without conditions, ■ and he; heard of the .possibility, of its. inci'ease-—which, of course/would add to Engla.nd?s gratitude. ,<>f~Sir. Joseph •;■>■■ Ward,; whom he had-met at the lato Conference, Lord said^^ that he. ■:;- - struck hinii ?.s ;ha,ving a peouliarly lot6l head and ft wido sense: of-possibilities. -V-Ho also paid, a . tributeJSo the late "Mr , ; Soddon,; whom ha' liad entertained .at his -country .. house, Though, perhaps, . not a man of ; the first intellectuai poa^ ?;..'ioi'B^:lihib.;.was a man whom ,nQ one. could ••.-:. forgfetrr-a ? maa^who, had the peculiar. ■gift of impresMveness to such.an -esz- • tent that lie, imppessedj. his personality, , not^bnlyoiioNew: Zealand,.but aipon, the ..•; arid whose namsTV'ouid find a place in .history. New, Zealand was 'a i . country/than 'P'hich; none was in rhahy rospects inoro enviable ', and.it : Was fpt-r -tunato in having social exactly suited to its inhabitants. * Tlie speaker then referred -to ,tae excellent' - manner in which New Zealand had - solved iho native difficulty, so trouble- i somoin other'partd of the Empire, and said, in'coupling tho toast with the, namo of tho High Commissioner, that ho congratulated the Dominion in hav-' ing to represent it in Loudon a man' <of such psi-sonal distinction and* political knowledge and insight into social problems as 3flr Peanber JReeves. Mr Reeves said he was glad once "more to respond for his country after presiding at the annual dinner on ten previous occasions.' Ho thanked Lord Orewe for coming, especially, at tho ' height of the season, when invitations rained up<sn one more thickly even than begging lettera. Ho wished to tell tho gathering that he had just received a . pencilled letter—" Tako care and bo-j bright to-night." He firmly but respectfully declined to bo bright. He had ceased to be 50 years of a.ge, and he had tho honour to be father of -a daugh- ~ ier, who had been aoelaimed by the University of Cam bridge, as a. moral-philoso-pher, and therefore it \va* time for Jiiim to bo grave if he could not be -»ise. It. had been said that 'happy is- the .country which has no history, «hich pi-osvmiably ;.meant .history interesting to other people,' for -tihey were always making history interesting to thems*?lves. Within the last twelve months New "Zealand had .become a Dominion, Parliament Had revised" the tariff—not for the first time-^-had passed a land tax, not for the first time either. New Zealand ihad put up stubborn fights on tho football -field, there had been a teientifio expedition/ and rescues of Viiipwrecked sailors, fihough' Providence had sent them a dry summer, they wight congratulate themselves. on being very fairly prosperous, and things might bo very much worse. Ha'^ould remember when there were, and, as ho had been reminded, commercial crises might como again. They remembered the '79 crash, but did not the difference between ±ho New Zealand of 1379 and tho New Zealand oi 1903 make it unlikely that history would repeat itselt. In the former year tho exports of gold and wool were only 43 per cent, of theso o£ 1907. Oi kauri they were 25 per cent.., of hidas 10 per -cent. There' waa an export of hemp in IS7O, and New Zealsmd sent away £18,000 worth then aj against £800,000 worth last year. Or coal, tho production1 had increased irom 7000 to 1,800,000 tens, of butter and clieo3e from £2000 worth to £2,UOO,OOO worth.. In 1879 tho frozen me-it industry was non-existent. Now "New Zealand was exporting millions el pounds' worth every year. On the ether hand, tho exports of wheat and oats, which woro valued at £GOO,€OO in 1379, were now very small, but the valuo of meat alone was now cie;ht ■(.imos as great, being ever £v),OQO,UOO this year. Tho Litter lesson learned in 1379 had not been forgotten. Thero was no longer wild land speculation, nor money borrowed ai fabulous rates. Their banking frionds had cot fergotten tho lesson, and tho Bank oi New Zealand could be proud ef its record in having placed £175,000 to itf reserve, while this year ifc was going to put as:do £200,000. Its examplo vas l>eing copied by other iiistitutions. Now Zealand's population when .ho left v.as 700,000 whites, now it was 940,000. Not a great number, but the increase was, nevertheless, remarkable. Tlie answer to statements concerning tho declining birthrate wao that they are untrue. The rate had nob declined, and i,s the same as in. England, while the -Now Zealand death rate is 30 per cent, lower. The margin between life and death in New Zealand was one of tho highest in tho world. During the thirteen years he had been Agent-General and High Commissioner lie had never known such-a demand for immigration. A constant stream was flo-vying to New Zealand, and he doubted if tha ships could cany ail who desired to .go. He would shortly have to discuss tho matter with his shipping friends. They had gained 60,000 people from outside the Dominion, and the quality of their immigrants was even maro remarkable than their quantity; they were, indeed, people "to bo proud of. Their immigrant policy was one of selection, not of indiecriminate welcome, nnd ho was not ashkmedto say that one of ov«ry three applicants for reduced passages had boon refused. Acceptance of an application was in iteelf a certificate of character and reasonable competence, but they had not only to get "immigrants, but te keep them, and tho work of NewZealand North Island Lands' Commission and the building of the North Trunk railway would give additional facilities for Bottlers., His faith and hope in his country was never • strcn-gnr or brighter

or more undiminished than they were that night. Sir £!. Montagu Nelson, who proposed tho health of tho guests, said he had great pleasure in seeing among them tho Secretary of State tor tho Colonies, whoso ollioo uad gi eat possibilities for good—and of the reverse. H-s-also welcomed'the presence of the Agents-Gen-eral, which encouraged a brotherly feeling, whila each might always learn something from another. He the toast with tho' name for Mr T. A. Coglan, Agent-General for New South "Wales. . Mr Cogiilan, replying, said the Agents-General had been referred tec as tho Ambassadors of Empire. Ho would describ-3 himself as the ambassador of goodwill and reciprocal good feeling of N«w South Wales towards the Mother Country. They had heard of various means of "consolidating the Empire. ?'b would bo trenching on politics to discuss them, but he thought that if-they had good will all other things would Ibo added to it. The message of peace and goodwill brought into the world by tho Founder M 'Christianity was the greatest note of modern history. There could be no better motto for Australia than "Mutata sidera .mens eaden." When they changed their stars they kept their hearts the same. Thoir hearts still beat as if they were in -'^n^.ish bosoms. !It Avas the great desire or Ai;sv tralia and New Zealand to keep ; .r States as British as possible. In" Aus-: tralia. about 94 per cent, were oi lint-'. iah_ descent, and in this councry tlie British percentajge was much leas, '(.'heaim 'of Australia was to keep Australia; white, and as far as possible <ii l-ritish race. ' - ■ ■ -■" ■ ' .: The Agent-General for South Australia, who" followed, said that, like the chairman, he was a politician, and had oiten wasted Ifours of Taluable tiino for. his country.! -He had "known: Mr Ileeyos for lnaaiy. years. ' He had 4 been, 'seizing under Mr Seddon when he (the speaker) was serving under (Mr Kingston. They all - knew lYu- Reeves as a most eaoquenu ■speaker....', He bad .known him also in Southern Europe—that, land ■of clive groves and dark-eyed, maidens, and he had .never aduu'red' him so much as wheat Tie-was dsaling■"'■with -exorbitant ■cabmen ■in the. -Portuguese language^ .(iisoussiiig '-: telegraph matters in the French .language, and using effective •Spanish in' the rough districts of'Spainj' and ho had; never, heard him utter one word of impiety,•.."and hj»> was -proud ..of .Mr Reerves, ; and proud "and.pleased %o b-2 there that-night., "..,." ' . " . ..-> M.U Itoeves, in replying, referred to ''tho'■■spirited-and,yet discreet eloquence '.civhis oldfriend, irb.ieh-h.ad>, .carried him AwayJ-f-rsin^foggy.London-to the^ftcnvcry; Jihraxis of tho Iberian peninsula.' He Vo■tri^mbeted with pleasure a visit to 'South Australia to inquire into-soeiai.gu^stions, when Mr Jenkins, though ■liimself a teetotaler, had hospitably brought under notice the attractions-of-.South" Australian wines. Ho would like to be there again. 'J'ho speaker next spoke vannl.v -of the splendid staff in tlio New Zeaiand office. If tho High Commissioner could not get credit for himself from their-woik.he would be a man who did not know low to get it. He could not wish bis successor bettor luck than tc retain his present staff. He wished to disabuse the minds of some people ox the idea that the High Commissionership was a' rest cure. In his case he had to keep in touch -with tho oxpreaeion_of public opinion by 208 newspapers in New Zealand. Tho=je 'in the -remoter districts seemed to believe that an Agent-General was -a gilded personage, who spent his- days in -feasting and his nights in drinking champagne cut of cocked hats, whereas ho was really a prematurely old man, who sat in a cci of Now Zealand -papers, wearing strong glasses >jn an endeavour to discover public, opinion. It Avas not possible to beat An^ic-New JZcalanders for their loyalty to tho Dominion, and ho thanked -them for their loyal and kindly help.