RECEPTION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVI, Issue 1581, 10 May 1861, Page 4

RECEPTION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT.

(From the Ly Helton Times.) On Monday last the usual quietude which pervades the good city of Christchurch was disturbed by an event of some importance. On the previous evening the inhabitants had been warned by the discbarge of cannon that the. Superintendent had arrived at Lytteltoir on his return from Melbourne, 'and early on Monday morning an extra sheet of the 'Times ' informed the public that he had brought with him a con-tractor to examine and determine on the undertaking of the Lfttelton and Christchurch Railway. For some days it had been determined to give hia Honor a public reception, and when it v.as known that he would leave Lyttelton about 11 a m.,on Monday, preparations were made in Christchurch to meet him. At about half-past eleven, a largo cavalcade of horsemen had assembled at the Heathcote Ferry, and shortly after, his Honor arriving there, was received with most cordial cheers and greetings by a body of 100 horsemen. His Honor having taken his seat in a carriage which was placed at his disposal, accompanied by Mr. Maude, Provincial Secretary, a procession was formed, an advanced guard of 20 riders leading and the remainder following in a column of three deep. As the procession proceeded along the Ferry Road various signs of greeting were observable in the way of flags, &c, and at the Town Belt the Christchurch Band headed the march to the tune of ' See the conquering hero comes.' It is certain thatihe 'oldest inhabitant ' never saw such a coucourse of people in tli6 streets of the town as were gathered together on that occasion. Continued cheers, gathering strength as the procession neared the Towu Hall, greeted the peoples' representative, and proved beyond a doubt that, whatever difference of opinion concerning the railway may exist in some quarters, with the people of Christchurch it is in the highest degree popular. Having reached the Town Hall, his Honor left the carriage and ascended the bulcony, accompanied by several gentlemen of his escort. As soon as he appeared he was received with three hearty cheers from the people who filled the street below, to the number of at least five hundred. After the enthusiasm had in some degree subsided, $ His Honor said> It was with feelings of the deepest gratification that he witnessed the warm display of feeling expressed towards him. As a member of a popular government, and as the chief magistrate elected by the voice of the people, he felt proud of the reception he now experienced after a three months absence; a space of time whioh had been spent by him in earnest endeavours to carry out their views and further their interests. It was a source of great satisfaction to him that he felt that he could meet them with the full oonviotion that he had spent this period in their service, and could now stand before them with a clear conscience on that score. He appreciated the value of popular feeling fully, and therefore was proportionately gratified with the display he now met with. (Cheers). He accepted this demonstration as a general endorsement of his proceedings with regard to the railway question; but he must remind them that it would not do to crow till they were out of the wood. Things were not finally settled, though they were in a fair way to become so. He would now enter upon what they were all most interested in, and give them a short account of what he had done about the railway. He had succeeded in aego-. tiating a preliminary arrangement on the most satisfactory terms with a contractor of good standing; he had brought him down with him, and by to-morrow he should know whether his terras had been accepted. But he would assure them that though he was satisfied that the railway was the greatest want of the province, they might rest equally satisfied that he was not going to buy gold too dear, and that if terms of an exorbitant nature should be proposed to himself and his executive he would certainly advise that they be refused. If this contractor would not. do the work for a reasonable rate, others could be found who would. From the assurances be had received from the best financial authorities in Melbourne, there would be no difficulty in raising the funds. He had no do\ibt that in a few months he should negotiate the loan considerably above par. in London. He had received the most satisfactory testimony from the managers of the chief Banks as to the soundness of the credit of the provinoe. He would now say a few words ou a matter that had occurred during hit ab-

sence, and would preface his observations with slating that he never would quarrel with those who differed in thoir opinions with him. (Cheers). He har«lly liked to allude at any length to thtf 1 matter. Insinuations had bean conveyed against his motives and his policy during hi.« absence, and attacks hud bden made on him through the press, of which a ver/ short time would prove the fallacy. He felt greatly obliged by the support he experienced from the people of Chrislchurch. It would not muke him one whit more proud, but it would strengthen his hands and materially aid him in the pursuit of a policy wbicti he had determined to carry through. He had been accused in the public prints* of being " mad, reckless, and a gambler," but if by God's blessing his life was spared, he now again promised them that he would muke a railway to the north and another to the south. (Enthusiastic cheering.)

His Honor then retired within the Hall, where a slight refreshment had been prepared. Mr. Thompson, who occupied the chair, supported by several gentlemen on the platform, called upon the company to fill a bumper, and rose to propose the health of his Honor Mr. W. Sefton Moorhouse. As a political opponent he felt perfectly free to do so; he had opposed the railway scheme consistently till the repeated verdict of public opinion had warned him of the uselessness of continuing to do so any longer. He was therefore in a good position to judge of the strenuous efforts made by the Superintendent to further the public welfare. He admired his indomitable pluck and honesty of purpose. (Cheers.)

His Honor, iv returning thanks, stated that he accepted the compliment not in a political but in a personal sense. During his absence he had read a letter iv the papers which had certainly pained him, as it was calculated to produce a depressing effect upon the credit of the province. He did not object to fair criticism either from the press or his oppenents. He hud occasionally committed trifling errors, 110 doubt, like other people, but the greatest error be ever had fallen into had been the result of following the footsteps of his predecessors. He understood the purport of this letter and saw which way the bull was rushing. He had got him by the horns now, and would take good care that he did not put them into his ribs. As to the press, he never had any paper in his interest, nor had he ever, with one trifling exception, either written or dictated any article for the papers during ihe term of his office. He thought that ihey often made a mess of matters. His Honor then alluded at some length to personal matters, in order to prove that, by giving up his time to politics, however much giatification he rriight derive from being engaged in public affairs, the emoluments of office were no attraction to him. He was proud to say that during the term of his office he had made a vast number of friends, without betraying the interests of bis country, or forwarding the private ends of any one at the public expense. He was not before them now to curry favour for the coming election. He was proud of their regard, and remembered that he stood charged with the political and, so far as regarded his own acts and example, moral welfare of his country. This was the first time he had met with such a public personal ovation. It was alleged that he had oommitted some great errors during his three years' servico : this was not the time to reply to these allegations, but he should in due course avail himself of the proper occasion to do so. Unless his friends recommended him to do otherwise, he should ceriuiulv come forward at the end of his term and offer himself foi re-election ; and for this reason : he had promoted this railway scheme fro t» the begining and he was unwilling to appear at a critical moment to back but of it; he thought also that his successor might possibly be influenced by different views from those entertained by himself, aud fail to carry on the work with thai iuterested energy that was necessary to insure succ ess. He would tell them what he had done at Melbourne. He had seen and conversed with some of the best financial authorities there before proceeding to work. He then invited and received tenders for tho work. A contractor was here now casting up what it could be done for, and the result would be known to-morrow. He thought it both possible and probable that the woik would be undertaken. They might feel sure that h^ would not pay an exorbitant sum for it. He could tell them that the Inspector of the Union Bank of Australia held the most confident opinions on the strength and resources of the Province ; aud others of equal weight concurred j and that they would, if required, make large advances to meet the requirements of the place. He had been taunted with " Jog rolling" and want ol principle in his financial administration, but he would not notice these observations further thau to say that the writers did not serve the true interests of their country by these indiscreet vomitings of bile. He intended if he were supported by the people to come forward again and hold office ; if not, he would cheerfully retire, not altogether from public life, as be would go into the Council, as he believed a strong opposition to be a wholesome thing. He need not impress upon them the necessity of a railway. Events of importance were daily occurring to a'Jd force lo his opinion. The discovery of gold in Otago might be followed by the same event in this Province. Our trade was daily increasing both in exports and imports and would speedily outgrow its

present means of transport. Our export of wool would in a few years be immense. A*ain our farmers mast not expect ihe present prices to keep op, as they were increasing the growth of wheat in Victoria largely, and though they could never come up to us, still it the heavy drawbacks in freight and expenses our farm ers experienced at present continued, it would be impossible for them to find a market in a few years. He had been charged with having caused the financial distress. The want of a circulating medium (he (lid not deal in charlatanism* and therefore ca'led it " shortness of tin") no doubt had existed, but where was the fearful distress? U was an undoubted fact no serious depreciation of real propony had taken place and no " alarming sacrifices" had occurred. And as to the debt, he acknowledged that he had incurred it and would do the same again under similar circumstances. He had extracted £25,000 from the Bank when nobody else could gat a copper. That money had saved many from bankruptcy, and had done more— it had provided a dinner for hundreds who could have got none otherwise. The debt was now paid, and at the end of the month we should have £20,000 in hand ; not that he hoped it would be long in hand, for he knew the value of money 100 well to keep ii idle. He never meant to boast of having a full chest, but would spend every farthing he cuuld legitimately lay his hands on. He had heard a good deal of nonsense talked about our likeness to Mississippi and her repudiates. He believed that that state sold her land for 2s. 6d. an acre, or gave it away in large blocks, and certainly never possessed a valuable means of credit such as we have in an enormous quantity of good land which sells readily at £2 an acre. \V hen he obtained the loan, he intended to expend it, not in feeding ' rapacious contractor* but in feeding ourselves, to organise as in England, though in a rougher way, railways into the heart of the country. He wanted to open a road into the wilderness and to locate the people there instead of keeping them crowding uselessly about the towns. He would urge them to keep up their spirits ; a time of prosperity was at hand. Already the relations we had opened up with Melbourne were yielding fruit in the introduction of fresh oapital, which would be invested in existing properly and enable the vendors to open up new interests. The Union Bank of Australia had declared its willingness to assist our trade to the fullest exte»t. The Bank of New South Wales was coming down, and it was probable that the Oriental would follow. He would say to them—-' Be active, work hard, speculate but be guided by reason, trust to Providenco and you will have no cause to repent.' [Voioiferous oheering.] Thompson then proposed the Pro vincial Government, coupling with it the name of Mr. Maude, the Provincial Secretary. Mr. Maude, in returning thanks, felt proud that his name should be associated with the Government. He was fully aware that all preseut were mainly interested in what had fallen from the Superintendent. He could state with pleasure that the affairs of the province were in a much more satisfactory state than when His Honor left for Melbourne. A heavy burden of debt had been got rid of, and a balanoe stood to the credit of the Government, a fact which had not existed for nearly two yeurs. Public works had been recommenced and there was every reason to believe that they would be continued. He thanked them for the honor they had done him. Mr. Ollivier returned thanks for his health in an able speech, which want of space compels us reluctantly to omit. The proceedings tei initiated with the health of the chairman.