MINISTERIAL WHITE-BAIT DINNER.

Wellington Independent, Volume VI, Issue 560, 22 February 1851, Page 4

MINISTERIAL WHITE-BAIT DINNER.

A late number of the Morning Chronicle gives a facetious sketch of the'ministerial white-bait dinner. The satire is.remarka bly good. We insert the speech of M r Hawes :— * Mr. Hawes, obtaining the assent of Lord Grey rose and spoke as follows •- "I feel, that is my noble friend feels" (and I feel whatever my noble friend feels) deeply grateful for this comnli ment. As the noble lord who has wo" posed the toast has remarked, the colonies are a very extensive department—l h a d no idea how extensive until I become Under Secretary for them, and until the very obliging and well informed gentle men m my office did me the kindness to point out, upon the beautiful maps which we have, the various localities subjected to my—that is, my noble friend's control The maps are very fine, and the gentle.' men in my office aro very polite. One of them, also lent me a volume, from wliich I have derived great instruction and advantage—l mention it because many of my friends may also find it useful The work is called " Guthrie's Geographical Grammar." The more I read that work the more I wonder at—many thino-g One thing I wonder at is the tremendous and undaunted courage of my noble friend in undertaking to administer the affairs of so many millions of people. Why, what do you think ! I learn from a table which is affixed to a map in my possession (the map cost only eighteenpence, but it is a very good one) that our—that is, my noble friend's—colonial empire, at least her Majesty's, contains 4,674,335 people. I know these are the right figures, because I copied them upon one of my cards. Think of that—nearly five millions of people ! Some of them live in the Equator. Lord Palmerston : Eh ? Mr. Hawes.—l am much obliged to the noble lord for the correction. I mean the Antipodes, where the day is six months long, and the sun shines at midnight. People of all colours are subjects of°my noble friend—l mean of her Majesty. But my noble friend governs them all j with the same impartiality, and refuses to jmake any distinction. He knows no more what colour they are than—than I do. _ He only knows that they are British subjects. Recently, my noble friend has been legislating— of course with the concurrence of the Parliament—for the Australian colonies, and I have felt it my duty to take great pains to make myself acquainted with the place where those colonies are, and with everything connected with them. It was rather confusing at first, but I am happy to say that towards theconclusion of the debates I could easily distinguish, in my mind, between i South Australia and Van Diemen's Land without looking to the map, and I quite remembered the locality of New South Wales. And so long as lam continued by my noble friend in the position I occupy, I shall always give the same devotion and attention to the interests of the public. My noble friend, in his recent legislation, has done everything towards promoting civil and religious liberty. My noble friend, as I have said, knows no distinction of nation or class. He has admitted the squatters, who I understand are a very interesting people, to the blessings of the franchise; and ray noble Trend has also admitted the convicts, in which my noble friend is right, because the object of punishment is reform, aud reform means the extension of voting. And I believe I understand, from a clever young gentleman in my office, that my noble friend intends shortly to extend the franchise to another interesting colonial nation, called the Kangaroos. I am not as yet very well informed as to this nation, nor doesitfy Guthrie's mer state whether they : are Christians or not, but it is charitable to hope so, and I am sure my noble friend will do what is right. And whether the Kangaroos are Christians or not, surely Providence has made all men alike, and we must do what we can for our common brotherhood. In the name of my noblee friend I beg to return thanks for the honour you have done the Colonial Office, and I and the other clerks are also very much obliged to you. (Applause.)