THE SPEECHES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1136, 25 May 1911, Page 4

THE SPEECHES.

' ADD,R ESS BY T H E ' P R ESID £ NTv •■ c ••' INDUSTRIAL OUTLOOK. ' ' ' j In'his'opening-address, Mr. Thos.-Bal- c linger, chairman-of the Exhibition Cora- I miosiohors and president ui' the Welling- ] toil Indnstr'ial Association, extended a wel- i come to the large, gathering, amongst whom were members of kindred associations from other parts '.of New t Zealand. . On behalf of the Commissioners and Executive,'hothanked the Acting-Prime .Min- . isk'2''{the Honi Jas. Carroll) for attending 'ind opening, the Exhibition. .Some of those invited bad, said Mr.'Ballinger,'sent . letters regretting their' inability to' bo' ■; present. One such letter had .been re- ' calved from-Sir Robert 'Stout .(Chief Jus- j tice)'antl another from Mr. A. L. Herd- ; man, M;?. "'Mr- Herdman said "the movement deserves the warmest support, of every 'citizen, and for that reason I. am ! disappointed at not being able to 'show by my presence at. the-opening ceremony. ( that ; I' thoroughly approve and heartily .. support' your effort's "to stir up tho indus-' . trial spirit in...this, city..": The . patron ; of the Exhibition (his Excellency the Gov- \ ersor) was unable to be present,, on.acr ~ count of engagements in Auckland. Thi3 , Exhioitioiv under the auspices of the Wel- .. lington Provincial Industrial Association, '■ was. saMd Mr." Baliihger, the largest New : Zcftloud Industrial.Exhibition yet .held in . the Dominion, and manufacturers from all parts of New Zealand' were exhibiting. After referring to the Wellington Provincial Industrial-Association, which was establish--ed nearly 'sixteen years ago, ha said lie thought*the'aims and objects of the association should appeal <to all who had the welfare of New L Zealand,ot heart, and who wished to see the Dominion become a selfuupporting country. They had one of the finest countries ' in - the' world,' and one richly endowed .with. mineral wealth. They could not, however, claim to be anything like "self-supporting," Importations played by far too great a part \vith.iis. . Personally (and there were.doiibtless many i holding .'s.tmilar views) ho had a--very-• strong leaning towards manufacturing. It . was gratifying to a manufacturer to be able to era ploy' skilled labour, and to a-s- - sist in the'. development of the country; Legislation surely should tend in tlie direction of assisting, manufacturers, and thug provide opportunity for such employment, . . ,:'-. "Something Wrong." i There was something wrong with' a young country like ours when a falling away in our industrial life' was shown. Last year the increase. In tho number of factories was only 2G2, whereas for tho preceding/nine years the'average increase of 'factories 'was 622. Owing to representations .'made, the Government had appointed Mr. Camerou to,visit all the principal cities' and towns in tho Dominion to inquiro into the conditions of the iron trade,' which was' reported to bo in a languishing condition. Visitors'would have an ' opportunity of inspecting Now Zealand manufactures of'almost every class, and it was hoped that they would bo convinced that our goods were certainly equal' to those imported. Mr. Ballingor hoped the legislators would take tho opportunity afforded of inspecting tho exhibits very fully, and they would, he was sure, realise the necessity and great importance of doing all in their power to fosteT and encourage out productive industries. The Exhibition was being held during the winter months owing to the' fact that the Harbour Board could not grant the association tho use of the buildings n.t any other time, and it would test tho question of tho possibility of a winter show being carried out successfully in Wellington. The fact that employment for certain classes of labour was slack at such a time of the year.also impressed ,the- association, and "giving employment to workers nfforclcTl satisfaction. Considerable labour had Ix'en entailed in- preparing- the • Exhibition, and something' like .£Bl per •iTCrjk had been paid away in wages alone fcij the association. All tho work had fon successfully carried out by day la-

bonr.- 'Besides the workmen employed by the association, a small army of workers have been employed by the exhibitors in erecting-stalls and preparing 'exhibits. He hoped the enterprise of the, association would bo recognised by the" people, and that attendances would be such as they were -entitled to expect, and the very good display warranted.. He looked for and hoped to see a credit balance. A.Self-Reliant Policy. A policy of self-reliance had been adopted. No subsidy had been asked for from tho Government—(applause)—and they had granted free space to several Government Departments, who occupy nearly the whole of the gallery in "U." store. Many citizens had ' cheerfully become guarantors, in the undertaking. . Nothing had'been left undone to provide ample amusement during tho season. In the Stadium, all kinds of sports would be conducted—athletic sports, running, gymnastics, tennis, bowling, etc. . The Home Industry section, and primary and tech-, nical school exhibits, would.be found to bo of. considerable interest,, whilo the Art: Gallery contained many valuable pier tures and- curios. The 1896-97 Exhibition. ,:.' , A few facts and figures in connection with tho Provincial Industrial' Exhibu tion held on the site of the Town Hall in 1896-97-were then given:—The space on that occasion 'for' general ■ purposes, said Mr. Ballingcr, totalled 19,599 square feet; Home Industry spaco allotted 1,210 square feet; Government .Kailway Department, SIS square feet; spaco allotted to Public Works, 200 square feet; total, 23,423 square feet. Spaco for refreshment /corns, 48b square'feet; spaco for Concert Hal and drossing rooms, 5835 square feet; ladies rooms; 354 square feet; total GG/osquare feet. This gave a grand total of 3u,tWS square feet. .'The total receipts of tho Exhibition .-referred to amounted- to ;i E9Sab 7s- (which, however, included the Government grant of .£500).' .The total, expenses amounted to £8218 lGs. .Bd., leaving a net gain of Mm V>s- 4d. Of this, balance !eisoo was handed .over on certain conditions to the Wellington Technical Education Board; which-was sadlv in .needof pecuniary assistance in order to continue'its important work. This donatio" was subsidised by the Government and thus the Technical Board reaped the ■•SStome sum of. .£3OOO, which enabled them to build Hie lino block of. buildings in Victoria .-Street.

The Present Exhibition. The pfesentrexhibit-ion-.has- an area of linmp industries' section, has .an area..oi S \ Sect, education 2200 square feet, ar.t gallerV > ana fstiuaroieet, railway:: 2 34 .square teet stadium 21,120. square feet, and To-M .Sd Olograph squge feet-a.total of 03,lSl'.sc|uare leet Tho* 4 ? ricu!tural, Kailway. Postal ■ and Telegraph',., and. Defence Departments h<uo been granted free-space. Mr. Ballinger. hanked.'.tho Harbour. Board,-Mr. J. B. -Harcourt, chairman of thrv Finance Com.mittee,.the Sports Committee, the Minister fo-.Railways, Union Company, and Huddart-Parker Company,'and .-the com dubtor. and.members .of tho -Liedcrtofel for'assisf'arico: given. ' ~,...' ■•■.',''-; "After the -Exhibition has been . de, Cla'red open by thV Hon.'. las. Carrol'V '-concluded.'Mr.'. Balling, ./'a- cable message' will be dispatched q his Majesty •the King, from the. Exhibition Telegraph Office. During the terni of our ixhibi'tion his Majesty King George V will bo crowned. Slav he, under Almighty G«l s protection, have a long, lirosperoiw and peaceful reign, and may tho old and the new' land prosper." (Applause.) '

- THE CITY'S PROGRESS, x; HEALTHIEST TOWN INAUSTEA-' ' : '; : .:-:'-' : i LASIA. ' '".'r,-', The' Mayor, Mr. T. M: Wilford, M.P'-,,j congratulated Mr. Ballinger and .-.those associated with him who had brought'i about the result they were now 'able to ' see, arid hoped their highest expectations.i would be realised, and that even better results than had ever . been considered possible would be attained:- If industrywas fortune's right hand -then *the;;products'of industry>to be seen iir the.van-' ous stalls hlight-weH'c'reatea broad-'high-. way towards commercial 'prosperity: Peo- ; . plo who suw the Exhibition dould not go. away 'with the opinion that was -sometimes preconceived that exhibitions were dry-as-dust affairs.. The Exhibition showed the excellent ,work done in the technical schools, and from it ono must realise the high standard attained by technical education in Wellington. Again, the thrifty housewife would find' hlany new ideas introducing-economic reforms. The arrangements of the -Exhibition"for all classes wore the finest' for every class ever provided in- any. exhibition in' any part of-New Zealand. Outside of tho" exhibits practically every branch of sport was-provided • for. This new "building- in' which the Exhibition.was being held was a mark" of the progress that 'the-city- of Wellington 'was making. It "Was ,proof that the city had passed tho knickerbocker'stage of its existence,- and was get-ting-into' long trousers. (Hear, hear.) The Harbour Board and the City Council were always ready to ■ co-operato in any iinoveraeht which spelled progress and improvement. Civic responsibility v.-as being understood and appreciated, while the relation of the individual to tho civic autho--rity was under a broadened franchise, harmoniously co-operative.

Wellington's Proud Position. To-day the City of Wellington stood in the proud position of being the healthiest city in Australasia. (Applause.) There was.no fear of contradiction of this. On behalf of tho council ho represented he desired to congratulate tho citizens of Wellington (and Now Zealand also, because oxample was precept) on the position Wellington had attained. Last week, ho had-received from Melbourne tho .statistics of that great, and progressive city with its. large expenditure oiv sewerage, drainage, etc. . Wellington was ahead of Melboumc.and. wasjlio Healthiest city in the. whole of Australasia. Wo. could, now, if •a. new name were required for the city, appropriately confer upon ourselves the Maori name of Mauriora, which was the mi mo given by the Maori? to that spot on tho earth's surfaco which was tho most health-giving. Ten years ago, added Mr. Wilford, the capital value of Wellington was .£9,581,000, whilst to-day it was .£17,627,000. These wore the only figures he proposed to quote. (Hear, hear.) In conclusion, the Mayor said: "Allow mo to wish the executive and those concerned tho success that the movement undoubtedly deserves. Self-reliance is the watch-word of tho City of Wellington. Sturdy independence is tho motto of .the city, and with an awakened interest in civic affairs by the people, I have no possible doubt, as Mayor, that the people deservo trio description of tho town in.flio annals of tho city. 'Suprcma a situ.'" (Applause.)

THE OFFICIAL OPENING. SPEECH BY THE. HON. J. CARROLL,' Called upon to perform the opening ceremony, the Hon. James Carroll (Act-ing-Prime Minister) said that he felt it

a high honour ami privilege to perform tho important task of opening the. Exhibition. All realised that they lived in un ago of industrial development and exhibitions were a very salutary means of drawing people together and encouraging peaceful and profitable competition. Exhibitions similn'r to this were bem; held all over tho world at the present time and they formed a valuable object lesson of ait "educational nature. The Industrial Association was to bo commended for its enterprise in'promoting the Exhibition. Displays of this kind nmonnted to a kind of stock-taking. They enabled a community to gauge'the extent to which energy. and enterprise were being successfully exerted in its midst. In offering congratulations upon the energy and enterprise hero manifested, gratitude to those who pioneered this country in the days gone by should not be forgotten. These people established homes for the succeeding generation. The spirit they established at the fame time had descended and.the force of example had been tho means: of .promoting .a healthy, vigorous spirit in this Dominion. It was shown in art, in industry,, and in the support accorded locally to technical education—there was no doubt that tho decay of nations in the past had been due to a decay in the industrial spirit. No such disorder need be feared in this country.. (Applause.)