HON. T. MACKENZIE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1519, 15 August 1912, Page 5

HON. T. MACKENZIE.

COMPLIMENTARY DINNER, HIGH COMMISSIONER'S IDEALSSPEECH BY PEIItD MINISTER. The Hon. T. Mackenzie, tho newlyappomted High Commissioner for Now /oaland in London, was the guest of tho w«lhngton UtimbMf of Commerce nt dinf.?'™ Orond Hotel Jnst evening. Mr. A. h. Mabin (president of tho chamber) «as in tho chair, and amongst thoso present were: Tho Prime Minister (tho Hon. n. 1. Massoy), tlw Hon. A. h. Hcrdman Minister for .lWice), tlio Hon. P. MB Hsher (Minister for Customs), and a largo and representative gathering of tho mercantile community. Apologies for unavoidable absence mercj received from the Hon. James Allen, tho Hon. E. H. Modes, the Hon. H. D. Bel], tho Hon. w. Irascr, and several others.

In the Interests of Commerce. The toast of the evening, "Our Guest' was proposed liy Mr. A. 13. Mabiu, whe ielicitatod Hie Hon. T. Mackenzie upor ms appointment to the high and honour able office of representing , the interest: ot the Dominion in the Old World a' High Commissioner for Kcir Zealanc m London. Tha appointment refioctet Ino highest credit upon tho head of tin Government, who bad thrown aside tin trammels of party-an appointment whicl had evoked a chorus or approval fionthe North Capo to tho Bluff. (Applause.) J. ho mercantile- community had boon os. pecinlly pleased to know that tho new iligh Commissioner was a man who, bj ins knowledge and training, was mosl adequately equipped for tho responsibil! ties ot his important office. One of th< nro things awaiting his attention a< High Commissioner, continued Mr. Mα bin, was the reorganisation of the ofh'ci ami stall in Victoria Street, London, tlu personnel of which had now grown to 48 Again, they desired to eeo established i systan of preferential trade within tin Jimpire. This, ho regretted to say, hat been made a party question, in tho Oli Country, with the result that tho dooi of preference had been slammed. If Mr •Mnckenzio could succeed in edueatinj those in England to the bolicf that thii question should bo placed outside the am of,party strife ho would accomplish some thing in the way of what the Chambei of Commerce hiul, by resolution, affirmed L'liially, they hoped that he would tel people at Home that before evorythhif else we desired peace, not war, Hint 1h would in his official capacity, help alonp tho movement for a better understand ins among (ho nations. All the same they were preparing for war-they al Home should know that also-and put tin? their defences and defence forces up on a proper basis. .(Applause.) High Commissioner's Reply, foplyine to tho toast of Ms health, (h< •A 1, ■, ' M <«*«nzio, who was greeted f\l\i , rty a PP lau se, remarked that h( lelt that almost too much was expected ot him, to judge from tho good opinion; which had been voiced that evening. Ii would bo his aim to maintain the trndi tions and ideals of the country which h< had the honour to repres-eut, and to bem his energies to the realisation of its ideal' 1 and aspirations. With regard to tho reor ganisation of the High Commissioner , ! Olhco, it was evident that a stage- had now been readied in tho development Oi tho Dominion's interests in London when its agency should bo no longer sidetracked, as it was in tho present location of tho High Commissioner's Office. (An. plause.) A better sito should be procured, where displays of New Zealand produce, etc., could be advantageously arranged, Ho felt confident that without more ex. penditure it would be possible to obtain better results than, had been obtained. II would be his endeavour to establish, il possible, Bomo basis of reciprocal tradt with the Continental nations, so that lh< people of those countries would bo given an opportunity of'buying.our products. Iho High Commissioner also referred tc the frozen meat trade,- and' said that tlu pioneering work which mid been done b> private enterpriss in this regard should not bo. overlooked. Ho agreed that th< ellorts of oil classes should bo exerted to the utmost in the preservation of in. ternational peace, but it was plain thai the oversea Dominions, in their overincreasing development and resources should be accorded some monsuro of representation in a central Senate or Council of War. Prime Minister's Felicitation, The Primo Minister (the Hon. W. F. Massey) was greeted with applause on rising. In proposing tho toast of "Com•aerco, ho roierrod to tho fact that one ot tho Departments controlled by him was Wiat of. Industries and Commerce, and said that so long as ho had anything to uo with tho Government of tho country it would bo his duty to prevent friction, nnd keep trade running smoothly and for the benefit of all concerned.- (Hear, hear.) louching on tho appointment of tho Hon. Ihos, Jlackeiizio as High Commissioner, ill. Massey said he was glad to notico that the appointment, had met with approval from one end of tho Dominion to ;ho o'jher. In making the , appointment, the Government had endeavoured ■to piease themselves by doing the right thing, and when they did that it was gcneralfv mind that they pleased tho peoplo of this country as well. At tho present time, when tho High Commissioner's office required reorganising, it was felt that Mr. Jiaekenzie, who had a long commercial ciporience both here and in tno Old Country, was just tho man to lako tho position, to run it on business lines, do push trade- and open up new markets for tho Dominion's produce. Ho (Mr. Massey) was one of those w.ho believed that it was possible to do a great deal more in this direction than had been dono up to tho present time. Ho had recently been arranging to try a small shipment in France, and, while Mr. Mackenzie might not think this was wise, ho pointed out that they would get probably as good a price for it as in England, and, in addition, it might have a desired effect on those responsible for placing a prohibitive tariff on our exports. After touching briefly on tiro work beforo tho now High j Commissioner in connection with the financial operations of tho Dominion, the l'rirae Minister went on to refer to tho question of immigration. New Zealand, Jig said, was a great country, with a handful of population. Wo wanted heto plenty of immigrants of the right sort— people who would benefit themselves when they came here and .benefit tho country as well. In this particular department of the High Commissioner's office, sufficient had not been dono in Iho past. In saying this, however, ho had no desire of reflecting on Sir William Hall-Jones, who, it was felt, had, through illness, been prevented from doing himself justice. Tho Prime Minister then produced ,i pamphlet which had recently come under his notice as one issued from tho High Commissioner's office in London. He proceeded to read from it to give the gathering an idea of what it was like. It told, amon? other thing.?, that New Zealand "enjoyed responsible Government," (hat. it. was "almost entirely peopled by the British, race, and the-Mfofti tho English language is spoken almost; throughout the country." (Laughter.) More than that, "the newspapers and magazines wore printed in tho s-amo language." (More lausfhter.) "Think' of thorn." said Mr. Mawey. "telling that iTiiß Dominion , and tho 'Evening Post , firo printed in tho English language." They would agree, he continued, that it was just about time the High Commissioner's office was reorganised, and Mr. Mackenzie wits just the man that, woe wanted, and ho could have tho pamphlet to see what ho could do with it. In conclusion, the Prime Minister said he wos glad to' be ablo to say that New Zealand trade was extending in different directions—in America, in Canada, and particularly in Australia. It would be tho duty of tho New Zea> land Government to extend it Still further wherever possible, and as Britain had always taken our produce in such largo quantities, it would be the duty of the Now Zealand Government (wherever , -possible, to place orders abroad) to place 'them in England; (Applause.) Commerce Responds. Jlr. C. W. Jones, in Toplying to tho toast of "Cemmorce," referred to tho question of reciprocity with Australia, and expressed the opinion that any efforts on tins «'do to promote tho scheme tlio Federal Premier hnd in view would bo welcomed by the whole comnnmity. The lion. T. Mackenzie then proposed the toast of "The Chairman," and Mr. jWabin briefly responded.