Sir John Logan Campbell.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 8101, 30 May 1906, Page 2

Sir John Logan Campbell.

* A .Scholarly A<J<lre*.s. In ftftknfiwkdging the honour done him by th« erection of a statue ai Auck* land Tawt week, Sir John Logan Campbell, who pn.'*er>ted the eiiy with Cornwall Park, taade h echobrly and interesting ppeech. He said -Your Excellency, Mr Mttchelson, Mr Mayor, ladies and genUeitten. I uncover to the people of Now Zealand, under the statue which they have this day rnKd to the donor of Cornwall Park, I thank you for thin grateful tribute, and your trustee# have endeavoured to make the ante-park worthy the reception oi your great memorial. I ask you to rejoice with mo that it has been tuy good fortune to aavc from tho inevitable eneroaehtnenl of the future groat city destined to arise on this plain, the most historic ground of all Maoriiand, which will be handed down to posterity as a lasting memorial of the great aboriginal people whose country wo now occupy. (Applause.) Hero, where wo arc now assembled, onco dwelt in thousands tho native Maori of the land, a great, warlike and chivalrous race, who challenged ua in intellectual capacity, and whoso reasoning powers commanded oar respect and admiration. Hero the great ehiefa hold high council, arbiters of peace and war. Hers lot me «ay that I consider we have a groat duty to perform, the raising to the memory of this native people, a commanding obelisk on Onetree Hill, which shall be a memorial of the Maori race for all time. (Applause ) A WONDERFUL PREDICTION. Now about ourselvca and the great future which has been predicted for this the glorious land of our adoption and our great inheritance. Away back in the early forties there was written a wonderful account of this country by a great German savant, Carl Ilitter, wha was entitled the " Creator of scientific geography," a man with the far-seeing mind of a great statesman, who told the world that these Wands would become the Albion of tho South Seas, where Great Britain's poor would find a land of plenty, that it lay in the latitudes which secured a genial climate, that it hud down its eoant many magnificent harbours, wonderful estuaries piercing inland, and a shore-lino of thousands of miles, tho cradle for the sailors of a future great maritime people, without which no country c«n become a truly powerful nation. He told of our overflowing rivers watering fertile plains, and that it had mountains sublime in their solitary grandeur ; to dwell under their shadow and look upon them elevated the mind and ennobled the character. My altar.-, are the mountains and the ocean. Earth, air. stars; all that spring from the great whole Who hath produced, ami will receive the souL" Now listen to Carl Hitter's wonderful prediction : "New Zealand, before all other countries, is destined to be a mother of civilised nations." Do you grasp the magnitude of this great prediction, this little strip of territory of ours, which looks like a scratch on the face of the map of the world, lying away in the antipodean waters of the South Paeihc, is destined, to become a mother of civilised nations V And what does Froude, the great modern historian, after visiting us, predict-? "If it lu*s written in the book of destiny that the English nation has still within it great men who will take a place among the demigods, I can well believe that it will be m the unexhausted soil and spiritual capabilities of -New Zealand that the English poets, artists, ,philosophers, statesmen, soldiers of the future will he born and nurtured—the future home, as I believe it to be, of the greatest nation in the Pacific..'' Since the Carl Ritter prediction was given forth little more than half a century has elapsed. Wo have reclaimed the wilderness, and we now send the products of our fertile soil to the ports of the world; wo have made formidable strides in liberal legislation, recognised and copied by other countries, and we already claim to have fulfilled the prediction. New Zealand has conceived and brought forth a civilised nation, and wo aro her finst-born. These are great results to have achioved, but wp must not forget that we are the children of a land bountifully supplied by lavish nature, and wc must take need that we do not allow the luxuries by which we are surrounded to sap our true manliness of character. Look to it that you can shoulder and well use your rftle. The day of danger may come when the summoning bugio enrols you in martial array, and standing sido by side and raiding rides high in tho air, we may have to shout tho Marmion call— " Where's the coward who would not dare To fight for such a land." (Applause and cheers.) PERSONAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Your Excellency (continued Sir John addressing the Governor), you have been graciously pleased to preside over to-daj'n ceremony and honour it with your presence, a compliment fully appreciated by all present. I have to thank you for the eulogistic terms in which you have spoken of me with regard to Cornwall Park. It appeared to me only fitting that I should nhare with my fellow colonists my good fortune, and uiako tho gift which muctj enriches them and does not make mo poor, (Cheers.) Mr Mitchelson, need I say how gratifying it is to me that I should be addressing ko old a friend, who dates back hia recollection of me to his tarlicttt yeara; that it was you, oh Mayor of your native city, who presided at the opening of Cornwall Park. On that day you asked your fellow-colonists then assembled to erect a statue to the donor. That appeal has resulted in to-day's proceedings. The statue has been erected, and 1 stand under its shadow with feelings of deepest gratitude, in much wonder that in the vicissitudes of life it should have fallen to my lot to be so greatly honoured, and breathing the words of Childe Harold; " Would I. were worthier, 1 extend to you the hand of old friendship." (Applauses. Your "Worship the Mayor, I greet you to-day as a brother worker for tho welfare of our people. The action taken by you in si-curing to the citizens of Auckland Victoria Parle, and the libera! manner in which it is to be hereafter dealt wuh, will be gratefully remembered as not the least of tho tn&nv administrative successes of your Mayoralty. (Applause), A RETROSPECT, As a chronicler of ©vents pertaining to the early history of New Zealand and its pioneers, I have to travel back over 40

years. In 1861 thero strode forth from his rxitivo viiisgd and home in the Mother Country a youth, singlc-hamJed and alone, to face the world, peek his fortune, arid fight the battle of life. Thai youth's name and fame arc known throughout the civilised world m the Premier of Now Zealand, When ibe history of the colony comes to be wiittcn it will bo recorded that in his own day he brought this great land of ours to hold ft position in the world aa the young nation of New Zealand (applautsei, My I friends, it is now a long look back to the days when I first trod the fern footpaths of tho Tamaki plain, then in possession of tho native owners of tho soil, before tho advent of tho Government. Great indeed are tho changes since that day, and uiy life has been bo prolonged that I have lived to see the birth of a fourth generation. I have lived to see your children playing by thousands in the green fit-Ida and pure air of Cornwall Park, and that has beeu to me a great happiness, and is tny reward. A PROPOSED OBELISK. Yes, I have lived so long in tho land (said Sir John, in conclusion), that I well might saj, " Now lot Thy servant depart in pcaco," and yet I would fain dwell a little with you were it given me to bo one of the great assemblage destined to congregate here and witness the greatest historical event in the history of Now Zealand—the uprearing heavenward from the summit of One-tree Hill a towering obelisk in memoriam to the great Maori race, whoso traditions and history can be traced for centuries into past ages. (Applause and eheors.) How can I thank you all for your presence here to day ? We are told that " Out of tho fulness of the heart the mouth I speaketh but there are events in the ; course of a life when the fulness of the | heart cannot find words. I ask you to believe this of me to-day. (Loud and prolonged applause and cheers). i ;