PUBLIC DINNER TO THE HON. JULIUS VOGEL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 36, 11 February 1874, Page 2

PUBLIC DINNER TO THE HON. JULIUS VOGEL.

■j A public dliiner wa^ given: to die Preraier|< T i?i tlie^rov|q&"al\Hali( lastlnigh^^o whicfi^ betw^ln eigS^ anßniriety^lfc^dlffn. tW chair was taken by his Honor the Superin•Hendent, and the vice-chairs by the Hon Dr I Rcnwick and Mr Barnicoat, the Speaker of !tne<Pr?vffi"ciiil Council?" \At the Chairman's %igi£t^a^'tne PFemiel ) in^bn..his left'ihe . Hon E. Richardson, Minister of Public Works. Seated at the upper table there were also Major Campbell, the Clerk of the House I of Eepresentativcs, who was an invited guest^ the Hon N. Edwards, M.L.C., Messrs Shep-r-----hard, Parker, A. Richmond, and W. Gibbs, M.H.R;*a, tho Provincial-Secretary, and the Residenj; Mag|Btraj:e r .^ A The« .dinner ..was ,pro- : r jifek 'by"'Mr v JohM,^ and 'c'o'hsiSe'ring* the ' absence of all conveniences for cooking, was sot on the table in excellent style. A magnificent nine-pounder trout that had been caught \n the Maitai in -the. -morn^ng^ graced - the board, lind' was prdb'ably the -^first fiWh oi i the kind that had been set before Mr Vogef in New Zealand. After the cloth was re- , moved thecusuaT. loyal toasts woredisposed of and the Chairman then proposed the " Army, Nav.y, andXolun^eers," which was replied to by Major Canipbell, and 'Captain -Pitt of'lhe • Nelson Artillery Company. : In proposing the next toast, the Chairman said, I have now to ask you to join mo in drinking the health' of the guest df the even- ■ ing, the Hon Julius Vogcl. In doing so it is • riot my intention to make a long speech nor shall I pass any eulpgiuro., upon him. If the toast requires any rec6mm'enda'tion to you it ' is to be found in the distinguished position he lias attained by his great taltnts and indomitable,fbrce;/)f: character,; ja^ position 1 in which he is sustained by the increasing confidence of a great majority in this colony. Having said so much r -and-~ knowing how nnxious you all are to hear him, I shall merely ask you to join with me enthusiastically in drinking the health of the Hon Julins Yogel. ' "''• 1 : The invitation was responded to with loud and prolonged cheers, which were redoubled Mr Vogei> rose to reply. He said, Mr Chairman and gentlemen, I thank you very , much for the kind mauner in which you have » responded to the toast-so kindly proposed. It is also vaoii gratifying to me that 'such a compliment as is conveyed in this entertainment should be paid to me and to the position I hold, and more .so still to. receive it. in , the City of'Nels'on,- wheh has" always been- the centre of the strongest opposition to the different Governments with which I have ) been associated. It is therefore highly gratifyI ing to read here such an-. honest sign of a change of opinion among those who have until lately been hostile to the policy with ;, which lam identified. The policy to which I more particularly allude is that of reawakening,the slumbering spirit of colonisation.' Isa'y it' was natural to expect opposition > to this policy in the Province of Nelson, beI cause this settlement was founded on a totally ; different ppl'CF- .You will readily understand ; tjiat if I speak to you this evening in a plain [ amd candid manner it is because I beliieve you would- rather have my •honest . , than that I\should- pay yojii eititpiiy • .eortipli- ' ! liients, and at the same time you may be quite sure that I shall say nothing to hurt the most itender feelings of anyone in the ! prd- ' vince. It is well that there should bo a difference of opinion on all political matters, and so long, as it is honest and sincere At-Mv. fight' and healthy that it should continue to' exist. It is also well wheu those who took up a, certain position find that they were,, in the wrong 1 that they should acknowledge' it and give way gracefully. There are two distinct types of colonisation here and in othen.colonies/i J Theonetyjjeisieeks.for ihßpiOr "' ) neers of the settlement a division of. the property and the wealth they started to develope. They are anxious to, ;:. dev,elppe the resources j of the country, but they are exceedingly ' jealous of a division of the wealth. They " think thajj colonisation should merely bo,, carried on^ with the revenues' 'aY their" '-ootd- • - mand, and they have au excessive dread of "• anything in the shape of taxation. Their - : idea, in fact}, is to prqcej?d. a^ slowly ,an.^ steadily as possible, and on no account to "" hand down a burden for posterity to bear. On the other shand . therejs a^cqlpmsptipn, i; '» starts* upon I ' entirely'- diff6reh't v theories.' ; "lfc j i girc3 a fair but ample value to the waste lands; it recognises no hardship in taxing a people who are able to beaieflh&taxatito£tfafrß in banding down to posterity a burden of debt so long as the property that goes with it is more than commensurate to meet aHp^ts^i * liabilities. These two distinct types o^' colonisation are, I consider, represented by Nelson and Canterbury. I am not very well — np~ in the early r history of the colony looking at each proA vince separately, but I believe lam correct in saying that when Nelson was founded there ? trafc a de'sireHhtit it! sh6uldCbe>#herfe feSn&Sf ' bury now is, but chance, and the arbitrary decision of Governor Hobson, fixed it here. 1 Nelson, indeed,,may he said to be Hobson's : 9hoice7" p lt^wduld be" ; it{strucibrvb' ? ''to- all'who " Ijako an interest in the development of the resoxirces of a new country to ask themselves this. -, quesjion ; s-;-So,pp^ng f IjfelsQi\ h.ad;*eßli^ p-nVrbury, and" Canterbury Nelson, * what would be the results to-day ? I cannot help thinking that the same policy that has left Nelson as^i^V6Ul6Vihaveae^t€ft'rite'rb'uryAwsth J all her lands disposed of at a nominal price, no tunnel connecting the port with the chief \ town, no money; .fprihe, ..Treapurg,. no public ' 'frorks of any'^ntySothirigMri f&ct to show thead vantages of borrowing money forsuch purpose. On the other hand had the Canterbury i policy beemcarrtod, out in- Nelson jJhete mijiht . have been a splendid road and perhaps a railway through the province, no part of it like the Amuri completely cut off from the rest, and the chief city, without having formed the object of any '- particular care, the natural outlet. pPrf r a Jarge . and prosperous country. That -rhighc bten, that I yet hope some day to see, the condition of Nelson. I have heard since I , came here that an -unanjmojjs-^^alres exists for a change, that onVpolicy ha'vingl)ten v tried and ,^iot been productive of satisfactory results, another should now ba tried. I hope those ifrho have arrived a^. this conclusion will not think that'4nVwojrK WfyfearVis to be done in a few days, or be disappointed if immediate results do not follow. It is unfortunate that, just .previous to the time when a change hvth'e' orSer of things was determined upon, opposition should have been expressed to proyl Jcial loans. Yovl cannot however expect large and radiodFchringes to be < Authorised at a few hours notice, and when I hear people saying they must not lose the present summer I frel disposed to ask them, hpv many sum- " mers they have been content to lose in the ' past. I shall not be indiscreet in saying this < much, that, , without givipg^aciy , indication.- ofthe fu^urej[)pl^jy h( hflifef, G^vej'nnle|t, I ainf sure' it is scarcely "'poYslbe "to suppose a th ! at the General Assembly will refuse to admit the high that Nelson- has to reap the benefits of a polfcjr' t that '"' has proved at beneficial to other provinces. I cannot pretend fa say what would be the result of an attempt to press those'-cMmson theGeneral-Assembly fcut lam sure that no portion of the colony is entitled to a larger amount of consideration than 1 w.biclj/ after, lying) dprmamt for.. 80 nia»y years, is now beginning to wish for ' apbapge, It is a pleaeure to me to have the

present ..opportunity of removing some amount of misapprehension tuat appea r s to cxUjbj with regard to the action of the Gaylijfnraent in the matter of the Nelson and West jCoasil rail way . Lai tycar a prcj ost was subniitted.to usr.fbr the coristru tion of the Mine by>"a private company by means of a guarantee I expressed the utmoist sympathy viththe proposal and welcomed it as the evidence of a strong desire on the part of the people of the province t> accept the ; *esp9neibil,ityj'though I'scarcely .considered it /feaeib'e;'. This railway question liaa been iOri "the tapis for many years. Your Superin- i tenfant has been an untiring advocate of it and has tried to obtain it in evf ry way known in the process financial, but he was not backed tip by the general approval of jthe people./ A. prpj-ct he once had in view fell through, and a desire was expressed to obtain it not at the risk of the province -but pf others. The idea of the province becoming liable seemed too bold a thing, but at last a change took place and a desire; was expressed to come in to the scheme of public jn^orks on the same terms as other provinces. The Government has since been accused of a want of earnestness because it did not place a j3tini for ihe railway oh the estimates, but, while" we' 'were prepared to undertake the responsibility, we first insisted upon being placed in a position 'to'sny what'amburit of security there was to be offered lor it. We are now carrying out our part of the .undertaking, and before the next session shall be in a position to say whether the railway can be construced within reasonable limits, and if so we shall be prepared to ask for sufficient money to proceed with it. „Itis a source of the greatest satisfaction to me to find that simultaneously with the expression of a wish to improve the province by borrowed money, there exists a desire to obtain additional population, and I received with great plcasufe the invitation of the SuperintendenVbacked up by the Council, and my friend Mr Shepbard who liaßalways been anxious to secure the progress of. the province, to bo supplied with immigrants monthly. Without delay I answered the Superintendent that his wishes should be carried out .at once, and as 150 was father a small number fora ship, wo determined to make up the complement with immigrants for Marlborough who hitherto have been taken first to Wellington, but will now be brought to Nelson, and 'from hence despatched to/ Marlborough. Without wearying you M-ith details I may say that I have had a conversation with the Provincial Government with respect. to the erection of barracks for. 'the- new arrivals, and also to their distribution, through the, province, and have had no. difficulty, in making -the necessary arrange- . ments. At the same time the Provincial Go,v ) er ! nm i eiij;,. expressed, a desire to establish special settlements, and negotiations are now . jgoing on iii that, direction which I, hope will terminate satisfactorily. When I tliink what piay, be the. result of the new order of things, the opening up of communication throughout the; province, an d tlie infusion of new blood. I haveji.o difficulty in foreseeing that a better and more prosperous state of things may be looked for without any unreasonable delay. With regard to the City of Nelson, apart from the province/ 1 have no fault whatever to find. Its exceeding beauty and delightful climate are recognised on all sides, and in connection with it. I. may be. excused for quoting those lines, hackneyed though they be, from the " Bride of Abydos" — ''Where the virgins arc soft as the roses they twine, ! And all, save the spirit of man, is divine." When you work out the energy, and enterprise that are now being developed, snl your country is peopled with [ prosperous settlers, you will o ten find them coming ii to enjoy the beauties and delights of this fair town, wbicti'is not yet, but soon, I hope, will b.°, the outlet of the commerce of a large arid prosperous province; In many respects you set an example toothersiti social matters. Touroystemo' education is as perfect as any in New Zealand, and I find that here your gas and" waterworks are in the hands of the Gov rnment, and vill probably one day faU into the h>niis of the MunicipalT)ody,and_thuß you wtU'b'e free from jthe monopoly of private companies, and so enjoy/advantages for which larger ;cities have sighed in vain. Your province possesses all the elements of greatness and prosperity, and I hope ! soon to see them achieved. Take a child who fey ill health, or the neglect of its parents, has been prevented from going to. school early. When that child does "go to school you often find that its. is very rapid. I hop© jsome of yon who are now converts to the policy of , borrowing arc- not so merely because "you wish to participate in a scramble, jand ojily care about the temporary prosperity joe'easioned bjFthe expenditure of money, consoling 1 yourselves with the Idea that the day of reckoning" is 'far distant, for if you" are Sucting on any >uch theories you are only halfbeared ihthe : 'riiaiter. . The principle of spending borrowed' money' is "a perfectly justifiable one. The Government cariobtain money cheaper tnan private persons, and they W,it_ qutjfor the r .benefit of the .community, potTfor^hafr-of private individuals. They irijcur liabilities for. works that yield njore than jcomrfe'ns'SratQ' advantages; As your population increases your, revenue Increases, ' and jyou dp -no. injustice to those who.are.to follow byrhandirig to them liabilities, with tha one hand and ample means to meet them, jwith, ,the Other. The great argument used at one 1 time against that which is now the policy pf the country was th t it would of course lead to temporary prosperity, but then would jconie- a time of depression. The knowing pnetf "srtid that. as soon' as a rise took place in jthftsyailue of property, They should sell out, knd.let J o.taers bear. flip, brunt. The. rise has come, but have they sold put? No, on the conjtrary the-o are. innumerable instances of some jof the largest property holders increasing thir stake jn the country. Very -properly they separated their political cries from their private business. They gaw clearly that the revenues were increasing, that the colony was occupying a higher position in ithe world, and that it was beyond all question that the policy must prove a success, and they adhered $Q;their property. Of course there may be instances, of depression, people may be over rash, arid if so they will probably suffer for it, but, unless an abrupt termination is put to theupresent pplicy, I say that New Zealand is ; btiiirid to advance, arid to become a prosperous and!, successful .colony > 3j have .confined my remarks to isoriie extent' to matters of a purely log'aj /nature tKis evening, and I'trust that I have said nothing that might appear, personal. Eor your Superintendent, although we'.!are.r;ri6t' politically allied; I "entertain the highest respect, and I have Reason to believe that the feeling is mutual. What I have said this evening about the state of th£ nrpyin.ee does not apply to him, as just . at thie" time ' Ti e-came into office, Provincial^ borrowing was at the height of its unpopularity. Withu' ieg&td to the condition of the colony, I may say that it. seema to me that there ore evidences of great financial improvement, and the assertion of it Ja not what Antony Trqllope would call "blowing/ but the outcome of that honest pride that every man has a right to feel when he finds success crowning a life-long work. It is sometimes asserted that the prosperity we are now enjoying is owing,; not to the, enterprise of the colon jstsj? -but, to the rise in the price of wodl.' ''Remember thai wool has risen everywhere, but ace. all , prosperous, alike, or is it not only:., those who have : tafcen part in the Work of 1 colonisation thai; are so? You are none of you real hearty co-operators in tho great work of colonisation unless you experience deep satisfaction at the progress to which it gives rise. -I have now to thank you fonlhe pTitienco with which you have listened to mo; It speaks well for tbe estimate I had forme* of y<w that you. wouja fw rathe* J

should speak my mind frankly and freely, than address mere empty compliments to you. You have fulJy borne me out in that estimate, and I trust I may ere Jpnsr bo amongbt you again, and that whan I next arrive I shall be able to congratulate you on biing as prosperous as any other portinof New Zealand (The hon geatlea-au sat down amid loud and prolonged cheering). Mr Sclandirs proposed the health of the Superintendent and Executive. The captain and crew had taken their places in the boat and started on a new voyage, and we wished them a successful trip, the more so that each one of us would participate in the advantages in tho event of it proving prosperous. His Honor the Supeuintendekt returned ihanks. They had only just got into harness together, but they found they ran very well not only together, but with the Council and General Government, He sincerely hoped that the present was the commencement of a better state of things, and that the anticipations of Mr Yogel might be speedily realised. Mr Barkicoat proposed the "health of the General Assembly, a toast which should meet with a hearty response. It cirried one back to the old days when the vliolo legislative force of the c-lony consisted of eight or nino men, and they nominees of the Governor. We.were rather;, in the habifc of speaking in tones of contvriipt of that Assembly, but he would rather speak in praise of them as they adapted their legislature to the wants of the coony. Now instead of one little legislature we h id two larpe lodie>, one elected under a franchise that was almost universal, and both containing a very large portion of | tbe intellect, honor, talents, abilities, and whatever was good in the country. We now enjoyed a lnrge amount of political librrty, t ih ie illy speaking, but whether it was to be so practically, dependod upon our choice of representatives. The Hod. Be Reswick, M,LC., returned thinks. ]t was the fashion to look upon tlra Legislative Council as rather obstructive, but a little obstruction was a good thing, as it gave time for reflection. He was sure that (.very member of the Assembly did his beat to promote the welfare of the colony. He was glad to have an opportunty of doing honor to Mr Yogel, who had initiated a policy which, whenjjarried out successfully, as he had s o doubt it would be, would entitle him ro the thanks of every man, woman, snl child in the <olonv. The Chairman said that the next toast he was called upon to propose was that of the Ministry. The position, of a Minister was one that involved a large amount of hard work and anxious thought, and as a rule he was rewarded with more kicks than halfpence. The least they could do on the present occasion without regard to political differences was to drink the health of the Ministry most heartily, and with the toast he w.-uld couple the name of the Hon Mr ltichardson with wbotn he had always beon able to work niost cordially, and who, he was sure, tried to promote the interests of this province to the utmost extent in his power so far as was consistent with those of the other parts of the colony.^ The toast was drunk with all the honors. Mr Yogel, avlio on rising was again greeted with loud and prolonged applause, said: — Mr ltichardson would h.ve replied to this toast but unfortunately he is suffering' from so severe a cold that he is quite unable to speak, but he wishei me to say that he is greatly gratified at the manner in which the to st baa been responded to, and hopes at some future date to be able to address you himself. When speaking earlier in the evening I had not an opportunity of saying that which I now wish to say, namely, that no one or two members of a Ministry can form a really successful Government. The change of the whole of the affairs in New Zealand is too onerous for it to be possible that on°, two, or three men enn undertake the duty. Every single member of the Government holds a most responsible position and success can only be ensured by each individual'member doing his work honestly and well, in referring just now to public works, it pains mo to think tliat I did not state how much of the success of the scheme is owing to Mr Richardson's care, attention, and ability. I would also wish to say that the Government owes it to Mr Curtis to acknowledge the candid manner in which he alluded to t he-pub' io works policy of the Government in his opening address to the Provincial Council. He is not a supporter of th^, present Government, but he frankly expressed his approval of the manner in which the public works are being carried out. He does justice, not only to the Government but to himself, in not withholding his moed of praise wher^ho considers that It is due.' There is another subject on which I say a few > words, and I address them not only to those now present but to the whole colony. You have drunk the toast of thelklinistry with enthusiasm, and I judge from what I have seen here and in- other parts of New Zealand that the present Government stands high in the public esteem and is eminently popular. - ,We all love to consider " ourselves free-born Britons, and I would ask, underariy system 1 of Government which finds favor with Bri ons, to whom should belong thp: real power of ith.e State? To the people themselves, j think will be your answer, But is it quite the case in New Zealand that the existence of the. Government depends upon the people? After eleven years experience in the. Legislature of the colony I think I may say that it is not so. Why is this? Look at Great Britain at the present moment. A general election - ; is taking place, and out of the 700 members to be elected I. venture to say that not twenty, no,; nor. even. ten. hold a . sufficiently distingnished position by; a lifelong attention to public .affairs to. enable them to showtho slightest hesitation in saying to which, party they will give their. Bupport. If any one of them were to" go. to his v constituency and say that he would not pledge himself to support this side or the other he would not be elected, as it wou'd op-felt that was endeivoring to -take to himself that power which should by right belong to his constituents. Some very few distinguished men might venture to adopt an Independent line, but it is recognised that independent, membership means the taking froiri the people the power of deciding by what Ministry they should be governed, and placing it in the power of individuals who might be influenced by a thousand caprices" for whicli there was no accounting^ Now in New Zealand a- man. .comes to a constituency and says, " I fnean to. BU,ppqr.t .measures and not; men. So long as every .action of the Government now in power meets with my approval I shall support [ them, but I will not bind myself to vote with them on all occasions;". When , he gets into the atmosphere! of the Parliament house a hundred different' influences are at work, and h9 turns up his speech to his constituents, finds that he has reserved to himself the right to vote with or against the Government as he thinks best,; and he exercises that right, thus taking out of the hands of those by whom ho was elected the power they should possess of saying under which Ministry they wish to/remain. ; ' Everywhere else a Ministry goes to the country when they consider themselves justified in so. .doing, but it is not so here, arid a Government sometimes goes out of offjeo on a question which really does, not greatly affect the people. But the people alone are to blame for they have, by sanctioning such proceedings as I have referred to, voluntarily deprived themselves of the power of deciding. Place yourselves in the position of a hard-worked Minister, and here a '. Minister is ' hard worked, especially during the session, when work is done in three months that in other countries occupies eiy, ana you. yri\\ S«« JthQ difficulties

he has to contend against. The system of government by telegraph is gradually growing; A telegram conns in from a certain district m the morning, and a reply is expected m the afternoon, whereas the question may bo. one that requires much ' time for consideration. Then asari just aMinisters i.hiuk they may arrimge the details of certain measures, a member whom they had good reason to look upon as a legitimate supporter comes and says, « Oh, I don't like this measure, you have the word 'whereas' here instead cf ' hereafter/ and I must vote against you or tikes up fome other trifling (.'round ior ippopHon." Then too the whipsjire always at work, and they go perhaps to some vain member who had not pledged himself to support the Ministry any longer than he pU-ased, but who perhaps had hitherto always voted with thtm, and they Bay, " What, haven't you heard what is going to he done? Haven't you been consulted? Really the Government are behaving very badly to you in not asking your opinion." And the vain member does what is wanted of him. He gets offended, goes to tho Government, and says, " I do not consider that I have been treated with proper respect in this matter, I shall vote against -you." This is far from' being a desirable state of thiDgs. 1 hen again there are difficulties in the way of a newly-elected Minister appealing to his constituents". In accordance w;to cvtry theory of Government by the people, a nan, I Jook upon %' should always Upon accepting so high an office under the Crown placn his resignation in the -hands of the Speaker and go to his constituents for re-election. It surely is not humiliating for men in New Zealand to declare th> ir colors when everyone seeking a scat in the English Parliament does it, and indeed wouLd deem it beneath him not to do so. lam speaking now in the face of the fact that in eighteen months time there will be a general election, and I say to the people of New Zealand that they should be most careful in retaining in their

> .9 Jrphands the power of deciding to what Miriis,i . tr^Lthey jrill entrust their affa'rs. I warn them S» against being caught by any such Bhallow «p^ntitu3eß as independent membership, and re--tiomuiertd tlierhto look carefully to what should „.-■ fb'e«the>v'ery basis 6f constitutional Qovern- : fpienti-andnot to part with a power to which ithejoatbne are entitled. ..-■-- •". .xiriMrnVdo^L resumed his seat amid loud and renewed cheering. S-^Mv'COLtiNg proposed the health of the Provincial Council which had in the late session %Btßjred upon qurte A new policy. He was far from regretting that policy, but thought that 4*rey' were at last trying to" take a turn ih t!ie •righiiclireotioii. It was only two years ago . ■ %bat the Pr6vinci<l Treasurer was so afraid of debt -that he had thought it desirable to JBtidt *hd Work of road inak'ng in order to 2ay'b&the~sum~6f £2000, about the only »u«ouht- the province owed* But we all make *Rtßtftke¥'ocbaßidnally and he was glad to find .: that he was not now to be frightened ' by a much larger sum. To the. Council the people looted for assistance and he trusted that they •they-would-be successful in- diverting in our ■direction if it -were only a small rivulet of the #twaan of prosperity which at present obtained throughout the colony.- By sodoing they k^uld establish a claim upon our deepest firatit^ude. 7 He tbongbt it was also ' the duty ot thb people to unite in giving them their . entire coDfidence and assisting them -outside to the ujmo t extent in th ir. power. MrjSABNicoAX ielt great pride and pleasure in' responding to the toast. The present Council was. by- cpmnnon consent allowed to bo the.b«gt the Province had sea, the members gayjnK>ibeen. chosen with a rare amount of care, thouahtfuloe's, diocrimination, andjudg-menK-*Hedid;npt wish to include tho old ffljeffibeis ift iajihg this. They seemed rather to retain the idea of an Upper and a Lower Housed w jere a' little afrai ', perhaps, of the new members going 100 fast, and were prepa*e'd;to l 'chedls r them if sa inclined. The present Couacil had to do not. only their own - . work but that'loT' previous'- Councils; they wsre* : ahe>uff tb : givp a new face to society. He feiffSure** hat vhey •' would take a pleasure in a ? dipg the Superintendent, and would refrain Irom ail attempts $0 thwart him. Mr"SHEPHARD,in proposing « • the commercial, agricultural, and pastoral interests of the ' province," said that ashort time ago he should haye.felt somedifflculty in speaking on this subject, but, flr ; ch.ange had recently taken place^nd already we were feeling, as it wei c, thexlroppnige of that shower of prosperity which wasjiTalliJag:. heavily elsewhere. We had heard much of the rise in the price of wool, but even tbe|Jarge. additional sum thus introduced into the colony would have had an insignificant , effect but for the public works policy. Here little had been done, but the increase in the Custymsi^emiie for the last quarter was a Rw^nl^iu improved slate of things. The population had not -increased, thereiore the spending jiowei? of the people must have done . .so.-^-ME-Calliris-had eaid that there was a ■ change in his policy. He hai endeavored to keep the [expenditure within the revenue, but c had always felt the desirability of public JVjprks,'.at,the same time recognising' that the f 68.uraho.t;be carried out except by borrowei mtnaey.;^ l"p execute! puWic works the revenue mu^t;b(ea'nticipated,and the people of Nelson vreVe't^at evening ; ehowiog their approbation . of a; policy by.theeting to do honor to the '■ . K*~ at.aP.oßtl.e of .progres s and prosperity in New ' ■ ZtffilajJld. ; Buj;, to be thoroughly successful^ m ittt 1 policy must embrace immigration as . well. 'Jh t end public works must go together. .-:>-. -By opening up thecquntry by roads and rail- " ways we snbuld extend the area of the provinice,rand make it many times larger for all ..useful-purposes, and by introducing immi- : grori^ we.Bhouldbe providing labor for the . phbhc -works, and population for tb© country ,rei}dqred available. He thanked Mr , :l^^l;fty;lii? friendly; allusion '.to 'him as an AO^3cateor'B|.ea/il;Beltlemepts. He had for i|3ong tjme^Btr%gled for some measure by ■*^cti:3pep|le.w]thsrtall capital might acquire ]a&dv"arid ; i|op'ed it mi^ht flow be carried out Bttccedsfiflly with theJa^istiince of the General Goyejooienii; lie beiieYed brighter days were in^s^re.'/pr w;i Alresdy thore was a change ftr.tht* better. There were not bo many unodcupidi'KousSs in town, and notwithsta'd- - tygSj&r&WJtoipg. paragraphs thit occasionally . sppeared iti'thd newspapers there was plenty °&R9 r &$?&3 a 'PW9 t *, wfer6 getting high wages; had ndvr t& consider was hsm ; province cruld work t-ignthex fOT'^hi .general l^ood instead of pullia» one .agms£tfie Other: ' ' «--.*«* -Mr Shabp replied to t|ie toast^.and» stated Ins belief that by ope Ding r up.the country by a railway, and roads, and 1 thus rendering available jite nßneral resotirces of the province its permanent prosperity would be secured. : .._Mt Aorow-A»AMB proposed ■-" The mininsr . . w&.'SfflH&te™ 1 * ;of, pc- province,'. Micerars were,hw hobby, and that was- the liobbyhorseiite-wished.to'ehterin the iiarae of JS'elson.intKfr^reatraeeo'f progress. The vS&fcU^teflt «ur mineral resources was not sufflciently -appreciated either heio or elsewhere. .«;toeW%a?. one long line of goll■Deitius: country fif«y : miles, ia length where , already EOveral-Dat^erieVwere an' wotk. and where there would be many more jwe/4 it not . . for the difficufties of getting Biiachiheryon to the ground. There was coali tooj extending . from Collingwoodtp"; the Grey^besidej the nume*toufe!' iadioations o£' its "existence that hadar.een f fottnd : in thp interior, ani besides these there wer& bur iron deposits of which a moXtPatll*a<)tivecd.Ueetipri had betn displayed at t#'liit'e>E*hibi:.i6n: ; : He wished to call the special attention of the guests ef the evening to-!h6Eeminer»l3; ''Mr Voget had beea the iics%.'tottesbgtii3e the%ealtlr' -that lay hidden in the colony, and to undertake the burden of alargf'pubiio-;debflbr' its- development. He haC jnXtituted. a system of public works wjiic^was .likely to elevate us from a com- . nhinf ty of shcepfarmers to the position of a nalipn. r He. wae i.fiorry he cou.ld not make a longtr^stayj but hoped he had seen enoagh to induce him t<> devote his attention to the construction of railways in this province, as fchev alb'he'w'efe required to develop o-ir mineral trfoiMf population. - *' " *M?^H£viih acknowledged the generous nrftiueriri which the. toast b,aq'>eek propoaed, and thought it was a high' cb'tripiiment to be : cajM r «l>on to ijjeturri" thanks for it. The Prwntei'hacl^Vst represented a mining dis- ; trictin the Assembly.'and this was & cause for ddnsratulation to all who wer% interested in goldfieJidßj'aslhey :.might b^e, sure their want^would be understood asfy attended to. The goldfields of this pr^ipee were no longer a terra inepgai^a. pof.^ere infers now looked uponin t^e v to\m of- Nelsbn as they 6» C c were when e^eryepe turned round and stp.red attbemfa^ walking curiosities (Loud cries -: of NPjf nf>y,\ '■ At all events it had beea so in othQr,,proyincep. I Now there was a dirfcinctly expreesed dosire to encouragethe mirei' D g interests,, and one of the- flrot wayß in. which this should be done was to furnißh the miners with-water, as without it it was absolutely impossible that'the goldfields could be fullw developed. r IMLriDoNNB also returned thanks, and re 3 gretted that the. loast had not been proposed earlier, as there had been sd much excellent oratorviin the earlier part of the evening that scarce/^ tufflcienfc attention had been paid to the SDeeph'in which this subject had been introJuced. The toasts of ."The Press" 1 and "The Ladies '^erp then proposed, drunk, and WPss to/and the patty broke up about midnight, after spending a most enjoyable evening.., v,,, , ;; The PJtemfer.and tha Hon Mr Richardson then dt 6ve"d6wh to the Pore, accompanied by several gentlemen, _an<J embarked on board the Imna, which had steam up. aiid at once Ptarted.forWeUwgebn* -