SIR HERCULES ROBINSON ON NEW ZEALAND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 1, Issue 146, 31 August 1880, Page 2

SIR HERCULES ROBINSON ON NEW ZEALAND.

[by telegraph.] Wellington, Aug. 30. At a dinner given by Sir W. Fitzherbert, in the Council Chamber, on Saturday night, his Excellency, in replying to a toast, said that had he been at liberty to consult his own inclinations, he should have stayed here. He had told his English friends he was pleased with the climate and people, and that he should like to settle here after he retired into private life. Expecting, as he had, to i-e----main in New Zealand for the full term, he had made private arrangements that would have identified him with the interests and amusements of the country. He regretted leaving this country, which he said, was of surprising interest. It had an unrivalled climate, unsurpassed soil, vast mineral resources, and a most favorable geographical position; but the administration here had not always been above criticism. The resources of the country were so vast that it could not go wrong eventually. In proportion to population, New Zealand was more in debt than any other country. As a parting advice, he would urge New Zealand to rest content with her present pre-eminence in indebtedness; they should not go to the extremity of the last straw, or the result would be disastrous. They were very fortunate in getting so able an administrator as Sir A. Gordon. He was a most conscientious, able, high-minded man, and a better could not be found.