The Premier.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3700, 24 July 1906, Page 3

The Premier.

A VISIT TO HIS OWN CONSTITUENCY. Timaru, July 21. The Premier (the Hon. W. Hall Jones) arrived from the north this afternoon, and was welcomed to Tlmaru by the Mayor and a large number of people. The Mayor said they were proud that the member for Timaru had been chosen as Premier, and while they sympathised with him in the trying and arduous duties which had devolved upon him, his constituents, as well as the people of the whole colony, admired the able tactful, and very dignified manner in which he had carried them out. On behalf of the people of Timaru, he wished to heartily congratulate the Premier. Their wish —and the wish of the whole colony—was that Mr Hall-Jones would be long spared in health and strength to continue to do good work for New Zealand. Mr Hall-Jones said the circumstances under which he had been called upon to assume the responsibility of his present position were very sad. Richard John Seddon was New Zealand’s greatest man, and his work was of lasting benefit to every member of the community. His death had been a sad blow to New Zealand, and was felt keenly by him (the speaker). Mr Seddon’s services were not confined to New Zealand alone, but were also given to and valued by the Empire at large, to which fact the enormous number of appreciative letters and telegrams received from all parts of the Empire abundantly testified. In his future conduct as Premier he would be ruled only by the dictates of honour and the best interests of New Zealand.

In subsequent interviews the Premier said the outlook was still good for the colony, there being every indication that the prosperity long enjoyed would continue. The last quarterly returns showed an increase of /i 18,000, as compared with those of the same period last year. For the present, the importation of navvies had been stopped, the weather conditions being unfavourable to the work for which they are required. Regarding the complaints made concerning certain back-block roads in the North Island, he explained that these roads, being unformed, cut up very badly when the traffic passed over them in wet weather. During the last summer there had only been five weeks of good weather, and this, of course, had delayed the work of metalling, but during fine weather every effort was being made to put the roads in good order. Two thousand three hundred workmen were now employed on the Main Trunk railway. The Premier visits Dunedin, and returns north about the latter end of the week.