"AT HOOAM."

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1547, 17 September 1912, Page 6

"AT HOOAM."

GATHERING OF YORKSHIREMEN. A HANDSOME GIFT. , REMINISCENCES OF THE COUNTY,

Yorksliircmen, or those of them who belong to the Yorkshire Society, were "At Hooam" in Godber's rooms last night. It was the occasion of their annual feast, and the company to share in the good cheer was a larger one than usual. His Excellency the Governor, Lord Islington, the' Hon. W. F. Massey (Prime Minister), the Hon. W. H. Hemes, and Sir Joseph Ward were among the guests of honour. Tho Hon. R ; Heaton Rhodes, who, by the way, is a Yorkshiremau, apologised for absence. Other apologies wore received from Sir Robert Stout, Bishop. Sprott, and General Godlcy.

A sensation was caused by the reading of an apology from Mr. Henry Mitchell, of Mitchelltown. Tho letter mt forth that tho writer ,could not, owing to. age and infirmity, be-present in person,-but as an earnest of his goodwill.ho enclosed a cheque for .£SO, to bo used' by . the trustees of the-society in any way they thought .fit. ' . The Governor. After tho loyal toast had been honoured, tho president (tho Rev. J. H. Sykcs) proposed tho health of'his Excellency the Governor, and welcomed him' to th'e annual Yorkshire feast. He regretted that Lord Islington's stay in tlje- Dominion was to be of so short duration. They had all .watched with approbation his interest in all-movements for- the'.'uplifting of humanity, and they would lollow him with interest on his mission to the great Indian Empire. "'."■.

Lord Islington, responding to the toast, thanked-the society for the. cordiality with whioh. the toast had been proposed and received. ■Unfortunately he. could claim no T.ery close •association With Yorkshire, but. that was • no bar apparently -t*> the proverbial ■ hospitality for. which • Yorkshire ,was. famed the whole Empire, over. He could,, however, look back with satisfaction oi occasional visits to Yorksh'ii'e, when politics aiid" sport had' been; his pursuit. There-wore many attributes', for which ..Yorkshiremeri-could, take credit. It was the largest county in..' area;; 'it contributed a very, important share to the industrial- pre-eminence of England; it supplied the'best horses:in England, and it. supplied: the men . host capiblo. of selling those horses, whether good or bad. (Laughter.) . Surely this was 'sufficient excuse" for the foundation and maintenance ,of a Yorkshire society. Be congratulated the members 6n having..founded such a society, for he. thought county societies brought men together on such close, ii(timato:terms' of' food fellowship 'as to assist'mate'rially" in binding the Empire.' He regretted that there was no association representing .his own native county of Wiltshire. He again expressed his gratefulness for tlie privilege of coming to"the dinner to meet such a'numerous collection of good Yorkshiremen from the Old Land. ','•■ ' ' "The Land Wc'Love," Mr. Charles Wilson proposed: tlie..Dominion, but he confessed that . ho- had some sentimental regrets that the old title, of colony had been dropped. He referred humorously to the .intense local pride and local rivalry, in tho people- in various, parts of JXew .Zealand.; He thought, although we were- not the most important people in thb world, that wo had reason to be proud country our forefathers had built up. There was a tendency, however, to'mqke things too easy,' and to-live publicly and privately beyond our means.- There was-need for a little of-the Spartan sternness, simplicity, and self-relimce usually associated with, the Scots, Ho coupled the toast with tho names of the Hon. the Pririie Minister (Mr. W. P. Massey) and the' Eight Hon. Sir Joseph Ward.

The president, calling upon Sir. Massey to respond, congratulated hiin upon having attained the honourable position of Prime Minister.

The Hon. 'NY F. Massey thanked the company for the honour done fiiiu Ho .responded with . the greatest pleasure ho said, to the toast of tho laud they nowloved best, tho land they called their home—New Zealand. He had seen most of our land, and he thought it was a land fit for the best of men to live in— abounding in most of tho good things necessary to tho human race. It hod been colonised by the very best of British stock, and with such grand traditions behind us, our course could not be other then to make our country great, to makeour people a strong, vigorous, strenuous people, relying upon themselves,, trusting to thoir own brains, muscle, and sinew, trusting to their own right hands before looking to this or any other Government for assistance. The outlook at present for this country was particularly good, and he said this having regard to the prices likely to be realised for our goods in the markets of the world. The price of wool would probably he higher than it had been for years; the demand for frozen meat was strong; most of the dairy produce for the coming season had been already sold in England, and there was a great probability that the demand for flax would be so keen as to warrant millers, embarking upon tho industry extensively again.' At the sametime, we had troubles—troubles in our mining districts —which he hoped would soon come toan end. ■

Dominions and the Empire. But we must do our duty to our country and to the Empire. " There ' was a feeling, of unrest, in the overseas dominions for a greater share in the affairs of the Empire. We had done onr duty to the extent' of establishing a land defence scheme which seemed likely to work put successfully. Perhaps we had not done our duty so well in maintaining the Navy. ' But there was no need to shout about pur patriotism—our patriotism had already, been tried, and it had stood tho test, and it would stand any other' test put unon it. Without taking on tho role of prophet, ho could say that the nverseas dominions would one day raiso their voices in the councils of the Empire, nhd not. least of those.vdices would bo tho Dominion of New Zealand. (Applause.) Sir Joseph Ward likewise thanked the Fociety for the comnliment paid to him. Referring to the change, of name from Colony to Dominion, he" said the people of the. country would come to recognise what a.great thing it was for this country to have got this title. He spoke of the Postal Congress at which he had been present, and said that at'that conference he found that a certain opprobium attached to the name of colony .as being the name used sometimes for a place to which convicts were sent. He had made up his mind then that New Zealand ought to be raised to such a status as to get full voting rights at such a conference. ■ Now we stood co-equal with Canada and Australia. In all the great overriding concerns of the Empire now New Zealand statesmen and statesmen of the Homeland must seek to bring about cooperation and unity among.the peoples of the Dominions. Was it conceivable that Cauada, for example, which in 20vears would probably nave a greater population than the whole of the British Isles, would stand being'without.having a voice' in great Imperial movements which mi"ht lead to the embroilment of Canada and' to heavy taxation to its peonle. So it would one day be with New Zealand. Of New Zealand, ho need not boasts it had"the best men and the.greenest fields in the world, and it had a Yorkshire Society of which any country might lie proud. (Laughter and applause.) • ■ Other Toasts, Mr J- H. Helliwell, with much anecdote,' gave the toast of "Our Native County," and Mr. John Trevor responded Mr." T. M. Wilford, M.P., proposed "Our Guests." „ _ . , The Hon. W. n. Hemes, whoso name had been coupled with the toast, confessed to a very great affection for Yorkshire, and he. thought there was by no means enough made of tho county at such gatherings. Though he said he was only half a York'hircman, he told in humorous vein an.* with scraps of the proper dialect of the people and places of interest in York-iand thereabouts, and his 'audience enjoyed his chat about the real Yorkshire, and the real Yorkshircman. Mr. John Dutlrle also responded to the toast and thanked 1 he-society for continued courtesies to him. The only other toast, was-that of "Trade and Commerce." proposed .by Professor Knslertield. and responded to by the. Mnvor of Wellineton (Mr. D. M'Laren). A really excellent musical programme wn.s supplied by Messrs. D. Kenny. .J, Cirr, r. T«i*fi "nd riwiv, »nd Mr, .Marcw Harks told como. stone*