PRESENTATION TO THE HON. MR. FOX.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4360, 11 March 1875, Page 2

PRESENTATION TO THE HON. MR. FOX.

The Hon. Mr.-Jfox; who takes his departure to-day in the Taranaki," eii'mute .for "England; via' San Francisco,' was. yesterday' presented ■with' an address signed, by all the member* of; ■the. House of. Representatives who voted 'with' jhiih.' ; after the no-confidence debate /against jMr. Stafford's Ministry, in 1872. Tlie object of malting such a presentation is stated in the itlie address,itself, which, it will be observed, 'pays a high tribute to Mr. Fox's qualities as a colonist, land. a statesman. The members -of, the Hpuse\of ..Representatives resident in'Welj lington were present; included amongst, their number being the Commissioner of.,Customs, the Minister for Public Works ;, G. Hunter, Esq.; E. Pearce, Esq.; R. J. Creighton, Esq.; and G. H. Tribe, Esq. The sincerity of. the remainder' of tho thirty-eight members '■ jwaS; attested by their portraits and autographs' being attached . to the address; which is .1 highly artistic piece of work, by Mr. T. Perham. The style of the lettering is Elizabethian, of varied colors, blended with gilt and illuminated capitals—the border, also highly ornamental, enclosing the ■ miniature portraits, whic-k-are faithful reproductions of the originals.'- The workmanship of Mr. Perham having met with a due amount of admiration, Mr. Reynolds said : Mr. Fox,; I have been commissioned to present to you the testimonial which lies on the table, which, you will observe, is signed by thirty-eight members of the House of Representatives, who have for some time been associated with you in the performance of your legislative duties. Intrinsically the testimonial is of little value, but. I trust you Will accept it as a sincere expression o£ the high opinion we entertain of the services you havo rendered to the colony through I a long series of years. Your labors have been fully appreciated by us and by the people of the colony as a whole, and I will only now add, that while regretting your departure I hope you may soon return with renewed health. I have-only further to say that I am sure it is • the earnest wish of every one of those members, whose signatures are attached to the testimonial, that Mrs. Fox and yourself will be favored with a pleasant trip, and that you will speedily return to lend a helping hand in conducting the affairs of the land of our adoption. ■Mr. Fox, in reply, said : Mr. Reynolds and gentlemen,—l assure you I very deeply appreciate the kindness of yourself and the other members of the House of Representatives, "who have so kindly marked their approbation of my career by presenting me with this testimony of then- feelings-—a testimony which, to my mind, conveys far more meaning than a service of plate or any other costly memorial. The counterfeit presentments of mjrsupporterS of 1873 and the previous four years will form a refreshing recollection to me whenever I cast my eyes upon it, and I shall ensure that it will be placed in a position where I shall constantly have it before me.- I believe that-when I first came out to this colony the colonists of that

period were animated, more strongly perhaps than:'were those who arrived in any other period of its history, by the simple desire to colonise the islands of New Zealand. It was a spirit that subsecpient colonists could scarcely be expected to enter into. They found the islands altogether unpossessed. They were in the hands of a savage race, and the difficulties were great ;■ but the work of colo-" nisation always had a charm for me, and although I have been necessarily, as a public man, largely engaged in the political action of my party, feeling it my duty to take part in whatever effected the welfare and progress of the country, yet I can honestly say that, that part has not been to me the most pleasant; The part in which I have taken the most pleasure, has been the. true work of colonisation—that of establishing proper means of communication, and building' up a national feeling throughout these islands, and to convert them from the wretched desert condition in which we found them, altogether unadorned by the refining influences of social life, to that which we now see them, a country of immense prosperity, arid rapidly—under the guidance of Providence—striving to attain to even a more prominent position than it now occupies. Whether I shall again return to political life is of course problematical, but whether in the colony or out of it I shall always devote' what little ability I possess to advancing its prosperity from the colonising point of view. I trust I may meet you as friends from time to time, and assist you in any work that will benefit the colony—not altogether discarding the political part—and that we, some of us at least, may yet stand shoulder to shoulder in forwarding its interests. The ' circumstances which led to the presentation of this testimonial were of a character which render its presentation very gratifying to me.- They terminated a great political struggle, a great party fight—not a • faction fight, but a legitimate effort to attain to power, conducted iu the manner in which such contests are usually conducted in all well-governed countries. The manner in which that: struggle was . conducted was very satisfactory, and "it; .was to me above all things, pleasing to find that when the. struggle was in its transition state those who had been my friends'stood by me to the last. I shall, therefore, always look upon the collection' of faces, upon that picture with feelings of peculiar gratification on that account. I trust my absence from home will not be a long one. I am not going to travel to those countries visited during my former trip. I need not say that I-allude to my journey %o Jericho and the ! Dead Sea —a journey which has furnished food for many small jests to my opponents, the point of .which no one ever could discover. lam going to see my friends, and may be absent'about eighteen or twenty months. I again thank you, gentlemen, for your kindness, and desire that you. mil convey my thanks also to the absent memorialists.

The following is a copy of the address:—

To the Hon. William Fox, M.H.K., &c.' Dear Sib,—On your voluntary retirement from the prominent position which for so long a period you have occupied in the House of? Representatives, we, as members of the party so ably and so successfully led by you, desire to express our admiration of your high qualities as a statesman,' and our sense of the gratitude which New Zealand owes to you for your valuable services, as also the.regret which will be felt for the loss sustained by the colony through your retirement from the position of a Minister of the Crown.

For more than thirty years you have devoted yourself earnestly, unselfishly, and successfully, to the promotion of colonisation in New Zealand. You shared the ■ privations of the early settlers; you fostered those feelings and habits to which conimuuities owe their. establishment and prosperity, and your example as well as your precepts were incitements to the proper use of- the privileges of local selfgovernment. You have labored for the speedy development of the rich resources of New Zealand, and have unceasingly endeavored to establish and consolidate friendly relations with the aboriginal inliabitauts, without which progress on the part of the settlers would in the North Island have been impossible.

Apart from your strictly political services; you have been identified with every movement for the amelioration of the condition and improvement of the habits of the community, .and your private worth rand amiability have personally endeared you not only'to those with whom you have labored, but to all who appreciate patriotism and singleheartedness. ™ :7 . ~, Should you adhere to your determination to not again take office, we hope that you will at; least not deprive the Assembly of the advantages of your active participation in its deliberations;-and that you Will long maintain your acknowledged position as one of the foremost orators iu the Legislature, and for years to come be s'pare'd to'.give. the. colony theTbenefit of your great ability and experience. . We 'are, dear Sir, '■ . Very faithfully vours, J. C.Andrew, -J. Bathgate,- -W. J. G. - Bluett;-J.-E. " :Brbwn, F. A. Carrinßtoh, TR. J. Creighton, W. H. ' Harrison, T. Henderson,'G. Hunter; W; Jackson, Wiremu. ICatene, T.,, Kelly, >VV Kelly,'; D./M. Luckie, J.: Macahdrew, L. '. McGillivray, E. McGlashan, D.McLean, C. O'Ntill; J.'D. Ormonrt, J. M. O'Rorke, W. Parata,,G ParEer,. J." T. Peacock, E.'Pearce, W. Beeves, 'Ay", H. Reynolds, B. • H. Rhodes; E; Ilichardsoni /A;. P./Seymour, J; Shephard, X. L. Shepherd,, W.'J. : Steward, J. Studholnie; Tairoa, rW. H. .Tolmie, G. H.. Tribe, J. VogeL ..' :' .j'.'.'V. - -':"; ','■',' '