DINNER TO GOVERNOR GREY.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 175, 3 April 1847, Page 3

DINNER TO GOVERNOR GREY.

A public dinner to his Excellency the Governor was given by the gentlemen of Nelson, on Thursday, March 13th. Captain Hoseason, and the officers of the Inflexible, were invited ; but, as the steamer had to leave the harbour with the afternoon tide, two of the officers only were present. Captain Hoseason, however, kindly permitted the band of the steamer to be in attendance. By the kindness of the Rev. C. L. Reay, the Church School, which was the only room in Nelson sufficiently large for the purpose, was placed at the disposal of the committee, and upwards of sixty persons sat down to table. The guests were his Excellency the Governor, two officers of the Inflexible, Colonel Wakefield, Mr. Thatcher (his Excellency's private secretary), Mr. Crawford, a gentleman from Wellington, and the Rev,"C. L. Reay. The Hon. C. A. Dillon filled the chair, and Mr. Domett and Dr, Monro acted as croupiers. The table was supplied with the best of everything which could be obtained, with the exception of fish, the absence of which we heard regretted. The desert was entirely the produce of the settlement, and consisted of peaches, grapes, melons, and apples. i On the removal of the cloth, the Chairman gave " The Health of the Queen." The Chairman gave, as the second toast, " The Health of Prince Albert." The Chairman gave, as the next toast, "The Health of his Excellency the Go/ernor," and expatiated on the benefits which Captain Grey had conferred on the colony. He drew a vivid picture of the wretched state of the colony when his Excellency arrived here ; and contrasted it with the present aspect of public affahs. He observed that his Excellency was the first Governor of the colony who had possessed the full confidence and esteem of the people, which, as far as Nelson was concerned, was not for benefits lavished upon it by a large Government expenditure, but arose solely from a strong sense of his Excellency's justice and wisdom. The toast was then drunk with the most rapturous applause. The Governor rose and said, I beg to return my most sincere thanks to my friend in the chair, for the very kind manner in which he has proposed my health, and to you all for the flattering way in which it has been received. It gives me great pleasure to meet on this occasion so many of the Nelson settlers. My attention had been directed to this settlement long before my arrival in New Zealand. At the time of my return to England fiom Australia, in 1840, the plan of the Nelson colony was just being projected, and I had to meet on several occasions its lamented founder, the late Captain Wakefield, whom I had formerly known. Owing to this circumstance, when in South Australia, I watched with interest the arrival of the first expedition, and of the early body of colonists ; and afterwards sympathised deeply with them in the difficulties and disasters they encountered in the earlier period of the history of the settlement. But throughout this period I never felt any doubt as to the eventual success of the undertaking ; and my confidence was founded upon a knowledge of the character of the person

engaged in it. Nelson has had the advantage of being founded by a class of men whose character, station in life, and abilities, must have entitled them to distinction in any community ; they were accompanied or followed by a body of emigrants from among the working classes, forming with them a thoroughly British community, which I felt satisfied was capable of overcoming any difficulties they might encounter. That those predictions are being realized, the events of this day sufficiently prove ; the agricultural exhibition which we witnessed today, together with the rich display of fruit upon these tables to-night, show that your climate and soil are eminently suitpd to the most useful productions of the earth. And that you have surmounted the many obstacles which impeded your early progress, and are now on the highway of success and prosperity, is to me satisfactorily demonstrated by the fact that Nelson is the only settlement in New Zealand which yields a revenue more than equal to all the expenses of its government. I find, also, that in pastoral capabilities Nelson is not behind any portion of the colony. And in one respect, and that a most important one, Nelson stands pre-eminent not merely above the other settlements in New Zealand, but perhaps above any community of equal extent in the world — I allude to morality. Since learning the excessively small amount of crime occurring here, 1 have become rather alarmed at the idea of spending £800 on a gaol, seeing how little it is required, and considering how much more usefully the money might be employed. Again, your settlement, contains extensive coal mines, and, from the geological formation of this portion of the colony, I have no doubt that its mineral resources are great, and will one day become of incalculable value. Upon the whole, looking at the capabilities ot this settlement, and the character of its inhabitants, I feel confident that it is destined to become a great and important community. In some future day pertaps, in some distant country, it will be a pleasure of my old age — should my life be spared so long — to . hear of the sons of the present settlers distinguishing themselves in the councils and government of their country, to recognise the names of those now seated around me, and I shall then look back on the present day as one of t!ie happiest of my life. The Chairman gave * The Memory of those who fell at the Wairau," which was diuuk in silence. The Chairman proposed, as the next toast, " Prosper ty to the Sister Settlements." Mr. Crawford returned thanks on behalf of Wellington, and said that the settlers there had always entertained the kindest feelings towards Nelson. He hoped soon to see those settlements brought nearer together by the aid of steam navigation, and then a greater intercourse would spring up, which could not fail to be highly beneficial to both. The Chairman proposed " The Health of the Rev. C. L. Reay," and said that his approaching departure from Nelson was viewed with universal regret. Mr. Reay had come among us very soon after our arrival, and had always identified himself with the settlement, while his conduct as a Christian minister had commanded our warmest e>teem. The Rev. 0. L. Reay, in returning thanks, said that, though his duty called him elsewhere, he must always consider himself as a Nelson settler, and entertain the strongest regard for the place and its inhabitants. He had offered to join the first settlers when he heard they were about to leave England, unaccompanied by any religious instructor ; and though he subsequently came to the colcny under other auspices, yet Nelson was the spot to which he was directed. He hoped on some future day that he might return among us. The Chairman proposed " The Health of Captain Hoseason and the Officers of the Jnflexible" and expressed his gieat regret that circumstances had deprived us of their company. Mr. Sullivan returned thanks. Mr. Domett said the toast he had to give, though last on the list, was far from being the least in importance. Indeed, the stewards seemed to have formed their list on the principle of rocket-makers, — -the brightest part of the explosion, the shower of silver stars, and bursting balls of gold, were kept for the last. Thinking thus of the toast, he need hardly say that he could not even attempt to do justice to it. It should stand on its own merits, and luckily it was one of such a kind that it had only to be named co be responded to corJially by every cne, — to be accepted, unlike many other toasts, without the slightest } ossibility of hesitation, mental reservation, or any qualification whatever. To beauty and talents, to amiability and kindness, every body was ever ready to pay the tribute of admiration, esteem, and respect. That tribute he called upon them to pay, in flowing bumpers, and with hearts equally full of sincerity, when be proposed to them the toast of " Health and Happiness to Mrs. Grey" [loud cheers]. The manner in which they received his toast must

be taken as an expression of the desire of th< settlers of Nelson — a desire they had in common, he might say, with those of the othe' southern settlements, to become better acquainted with Mrs. Grey — to see her oftener among them. The Governor, in returning thanks, said that Mrs. Grey would fully appreciate the verj flattering manner, in which her health had been drunk. She had a strong desire to visil Nelson, and it had been his intention to have brought her with him on this occasion, bul circumstances prevented his doing so. On his next visit, however, Mrs. Grey should certainly accompany him. His Excellency then gave " The Ladies of Nelson," and spoke in the most flattering terms of the way in which they had borne their part during the troubles which the settlement had encountered. Whatever success now awaited them, it was in no small degree attributable to their admirable conduct. Mr. J. F. Wilson returned thanks on behalf of the ladies. The Governor gave " The Health of the Chairman." That gentleman had set an admirable example to the young men of family in England, by abandoning the ease and luxury wliich his station could command, to engage in the noble work of founding a new colony. This task he still attempted to carry out by liberally supporting whatever tended to advance the prosperity of the settlement. Mr. Dillon thanked his Excellency for the compliment he had paid him, and the company for the manner in which his health had been received. The people of Nelson had stood by one another like one family, and it was through this that they had succeeded in so remarkable a manner. It was always his desire to view them in this light, and to act with them whenever his services could be useful. Shortly after this his Excellency retired, but the great jjpaj or ity of the company remained, and formed themselves into a compact body round the chairman. Mr. Joilie said that a toast had hitherto been passed over, which ought no longer to be delayed. It was the health of a gentleman to whom the settlement was under great obligatiens ior his able and energetic advocacy of its interests in the Council of the colony. Mr. Joilie concluded some further remarks by proposing the " Health of Mr. Alfred Domett," wliich was responded to in the warmest possible manner. Mr. Domett returned thanks, and proposed the " Health of Dr. Monro," as one whose labours in the service of the settlement entitled him to great praise. Dr. Monro was highly flattered by the handsome manner in which Mr. Domett had proposed his health, particularly as that gentleman differed with him on some subjects which afFected the welfare of the settlement. Several other toasts were drunk, and many capital songs sung, before the company thought of dispersing, which they did at length about three in the morning, all highly gratified with the occurrences of the eveuing.