THE YORKSHIREMEN.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1862, 23 September 1913, Page 8

THE YORKSHIREMEN.

DINNER & SPEECHES.

THE COLONY & ITS OUTLOOK.

PREMIER'S REMARKS,

The eighteenth annual dinner of tho Yorkshire Society of New Zealand was held last. evening in Godber'B rooms, Cuba Street. There was a large attendance, the president of the Society (the Rev. J. H. Sykes) being in tho chair. Apologies for absence were received from His Excellency the Governor (tho Earl of Liverpool), tho Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout), Sir Joseph Ward, and Professor Eaßterfield. The Rev. W. 11. Walton proposed the toast of "Our Native County" ("t' biggest, t' bonniest, and t' best"). Mr. J. Hall responded. He said that the time was not far off when the Yorkshire port of Hull would be connected with tho Dominion by a direct line of steamships. Then, with a system of canals, the great towns of the north, like Leeds, would become great consumers of New Zealand frozen produce. Illustrious Yorkshircmen. Mr. J. H. Helliwell proposed the toast of "The Dominion." The people who had built up the Dominion, lie said, had been a splendid race, and Yorkshiremcn had always taken a prominent place amongst them. He referred especially to Captain Cook, the great navigator; Mr. Samuel Marsdon, the first Bishop of New Zealand, who laid the foundations of Christianity in the Islands, who also sent the first shipment of wool from New Zealand to England; and to Edward Gibbon Wakefield, one of our earliest statesmen. He thought it a shameful thing that tho gravo of this great man and his brother should be utterly neglected in Sydney Street Cemetery. He mentioned also Sir John Hall and William Rolleston. There was no country,' he thought, which possessed so many natural advantages and resources as New Zealand. It was peopled by a race possessing all tho qualities for the making of a great nation. Tho speaker' quoted figures illustrative of the trado of the Dominion, and said that it was an amazing thing that such (?reat progress should have been made in the lifetime of our first settlers. With the elements of prosperity we had, tho sturdy race which peopled the islands, the future was very rosy indeed. (Applause.)

Prime Minister's Speech. The Primo Minister. (Hon. W. F. Massoy) responded. After congratulating tho society, Mr. Massey went on to state that there were several bonds of interest between the Dominion and the northern county. Our most important export 'Was wool, and a great deal of it went to Bradford. l Then, too, Yorkshiremen had always taken a prominent place in New Zealand politics, In addition to those mentioned by Mr. Helliu'ell there were the late Mr. Kirkbride, and, in the present House, the Hon. R. Heaton Rhodes and Mr. T. M. Wilford: He regretted as much as anyone that so little had been dono to keep green the memory of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Mr. Massey went on to refer to tho great changes which had takon placo since their, annual dinner. One of these was the bringing to practical completion of the Panama Canal. The opening up of tho new route would :;ot havo much effect on trade, as the distanco between the Dominion and tho Homeland would not be greatly reduced, but it would onable vessels to make the voyage by another than the difficult Cape Horn route. A great change was pending in tho United States, which was becoming a free-trade country, so far as many staple articles were concerned. Some of the New Zealand products would be welcomed in America, especially wool. And this would open up a great new market. (Hear, hear.) Then in South America there had arisen a decided demand for New Zealand fruit, and he predicted that tho fruit industry would become one of the Dominion's great assets. In British Columbia there was an ever-growing demand for our meat, and a new market was also opening up in San Francisco, And all this time the British market was as firm as ever. The progress of New Zealand was therefore assured for many years to come. (Applause.) The president proposed tho toast of "Our Guests'."

Tho Mayor of Wellington (Mr. J. P. Luke), who responded, said that Yorkshiremen had always shown themselves in tho civic lifo of Wellington as people very much to be admired, and Wellington would always welcome more of them. (Applause.)

The Defence Question. Colonel E. S. Heard (Acting-Com-mandant of the Forces) also responded. He spoke of the provorbial hospitality of Yorkshiremen, He said that wherever tho people of Yorkshire had gone, they had Idft their mark, and every one of the colonies had profited by their preisenco. Referring to the question of defence, Colonel Heard said that soldiers were generally regarded as biased—, militarists, and that kind of thing—as being unaule to see anything but the various branches of tho service. "We soldiers," he continued, "have come out from the Old Country for the reason which appeals to us very much. Wo have tho good of tile country at heart. We know that some day wo aro going to be 'up against it.' We know our regular army is very good, but it is not the role of the army to stop at home.. When tho day comes tho army will have to go out on to the Continent to fight, and someone will have to keep the gate in the meantime. So long as the Navy keeps the shores of Britain, tho country would bo all right, but the role of the Navy was not to keep to tho shores. Other countries had navies, and tho British Navy, in i time of war, would have to seek them ont. (Applauso.) But how can tho Navy go away from the shores, unless it knows that there is someouo there to lfeep the country? We want an efficient defence force at Home, and tho only efficient force is a citizen army. (Hear, hear.) It is an honour to servo one's country, and we want, the peoplo at Homo to recognise that they ought to have some kind of a citizen arrnv. Therefore we have come out here to help you to sot up your citizen army, so that you can show nn example to tho Old Country. (Applause.) We want to make your scheme a success, and if wo do that we shall lmvo dono all that wo wish to do. Then the Old Country will see that there is nothing, very dreadful in the idea of a citizen army and in defending one's country, and will take heart of grace. (Applause.) In the meantime wo want tho sympathy of those who cannot actually servo—those who aro too old to bo in tho ranks. These can assist tho scheme by encouraging the young men to tako an interest in their work. The organisation of honorary territorials in Christchurch and Duncdin is doing very well, and we hope to see it firmly established in Wellington very shortly." (Applause.) Trado and Commerce. Mr. J. Trevor'proposed the toast of "Trado and Commerce." Rosponso was made by tho Hon. John Dnthie, M.L.C. Ho pointed to tho fact that tho manufacturers of New Zealand were not progressing as they should like to see them, and somo form of encouragement was necessary. Manufacturing was not increasing in proportion to tho inoroo.no in tho population, Although the farming of th«

soil . must always be the .principle •industry of tho Dominion, tlicy must also look to manufactures. This form of ,trado was labouring under various disadvantages, and had to bear taxes which were not imposed on other.branches of commerce, 'llioso in authority must- seo that no injustice was placed on any section of our trado. The people of Now Zealand and especially of Wellington—had every reason to bo proud of their progress and prosperity. Wellington had been described as the "corner shop of tho Dominion, and they must keep it so. Wellington was tho premier port of the Dominion. In 1911 3G37 vessels, with a tonnage of almost 3,000,000, had entered tho port. This was a wonderful record, and that it should have, been achieved in the short lifetime of the city was more than gratifying. He hoped that the Dominion would take every advantage of tho opening up of new markets in America. He drew the attention of tho Prime Minister to tlio fact that if goods shipped in America were damaged in transit, the ship was held responsible, but English ships wero allowed to do as much daniago as they liked, and importers had no redress. If this system were persisted in, there would soon be an end to preferential tariffs within the Empire. Tho exporters of Great Britain had no right to take advantage of Imporial preference to impose such injustices on colonial merchants. (Hear, hear.) The Prime Minister proposed the toast of the president, which was enthusiastically honoured. During the evening an excellent programme of songs and stories was contributed to by Messrs. Marcus Marks, D. A. Kenny, A. F. Newton, Twiss, and' Hanley's orchestra.