DINNER TO MR FOX AT RANGITIKEI.

Southland Times, Issue 902, 19 February 1868, Page 1

DINNER TO MR FOX AT RANGITIKEI.

(From the Wellington Independent!) A Complimentary Dinner was given to Mr Fox at M'Dorinell's Coach and Horses Hotel, Bangitikei, on the evening of the 22nd ult, and was attended by between 70 and 80 persons. W. J. Willis, Esq., J. P., occupied the chair. : After the usual loyal toats and the health of the Duke of Edinburgh had been drunk, : The Chairman proposed as a toast " Hearty good wishes for the prosperity and long life of Mr and Mrs Fox." (Great applause) The toast was drunk with great enthusiasm. Mr Fox, on rising, was greeted with loud and long-continued applause. He said: I ana deeply grateful for the manner in which the toast has been honored by the large company present, although it is not without diffidence that I rise to express my thanks for the kind manner hi..w hich you have received it, and for the way in you have drunk the health of Mrs Fox and myself. It is such a long time now since I have heard the sound of my own voice hi public, that I feel an amount of diffidence that you will hardly give me credit for. In addressing the many kind friends who have come to welcome me this evening, I sli all endeavour to give an idea of how I have spent my time — pleasantly enough I may confess — since I left the district some four years ago. Before doing this, however, I would allude to what Mr Willis has said respecting my antecedents in the district,^ My experience, I believe, will carry me back farther than that of any other in 'the room, with the exception of my friend on the right, Mr James M'Donald, and three natives, that I see before me. I believe lam correct in saying that on the the very spot where I now stand — where I see before me such a large gathering and such a fine display — on this very spot, nineteen years ago (in 1848), I spent my first night hi the district in a flax bush (applause). Along with Mr M'Donald, Mr Fitzherbert, and Mr Park, I was one of the first settlers in this district, when the land wasunsurveyed and the only Europeans known were Mr M'Donald and Mr Scott. On that night nineteen years ago, on this very spot, we bad slept in a flax bush, and if anyone had told me that at the end of such a time, I would be treated there as I have been to-night, I would not have given it credence — I would have looked upon it only asthefancy of amagician's wand (applause) . I would have thought the man who spoke of such a thing was dreaming. The progress evident since then on every side spoke well for the willing hands and brave hearts of the settlers. I look upon Bangitikei of the present day as one in which as much improvement is to be seen as in any other district 6f the colony, and, I believe it is more sound than most of them (great applause). On quitting New Zealand, Both Mrs Fox and myself regretted much that we were unable to bid farewell to all our friends ; but with my health broken and my mind harassed by political warfare, I was only too glad to get to fresh air and new scenes— to get away from strife to "fresh fields and pastures new " hi the province of Otago, where on the goldfields there I spent six weeks. We know— indeed, we have been told oh the highest of authorities — that money is the root of all evil, but money rightly used, as in Dunedin, is the source of much prosperity. The change I found in that settlement since it was first iuhabited by a small fraction of the enter* prising race that come from the north of the Tweed — was very surprising ; from the little fishing village of former days, where the-inhabitants had been living on each other, Dunedin had grown hi six years into a. populous city, with public buildings^ institutions, amusements, schools, hospitals, cabs, and railways, with a rush of population in her streets equal at times to Che'apside- — the land seemed as if struck with the enchanter's wand. It Bpokes volumes for the character pf ; the inhabitants— not only of the old identities — but also the new comers who spend their labor hi drawing the rich ore from the earth. Mr Fox then went on to describe his journey into the interior of the province— how he had travelled two hundred and fifty miles to Lake Wakatip by one fine metalled road, and back again b\ another. After leaving Otago, Mr :an<3

- Mrs Pox proceeded to the Australian B colonies, where at Melbourne, he said, he found a change more wonderful than he had thought possible in the time between his first visit some twenty years before — it was without a parallel a anywhere for the growth! of wealth 3 and prosperity and grandeur. It had . sprung up almost in a day. Prom Australia they proceeded to Tasmania — 3 which he described as a pretty; pictu--5 resque colony in a state of depression, so - much so that most of the enterprising 3 young men had gone to other shores, leaving the population mostly composed 5 of the old people and the girls. South • Australia he described, as one of the • most flourishing of the Australian group, 1 though not capable of much further ex- [ tension — it had not the wealth of Victoria, nor the capacity for Colonisation of 5 New .Zealand; still, it was an important r j wheat growing country, besides being the ; | best and largest wine-producing colony, j By way of King George's Sound— a port of call. for the mail steamers, and whose principal settlement Perth, they did not visit, .Mr and Mrs. Fox passed over to ■ Point de Galle, in Ceylon, where, by the courtesy of the Peninsular and Oriental ► Company they were allowed to stay some I I time, and penetrated into the interior as ] ; far as Colombo and Candia. By way \ of episode he would mention the fact of travelling over Ceylon by a counterpart of one of Cobb's coaches to • be met with in every part of the world, . and he did all he could to find out who, what, and where Mr Cobb really was, i till at length he was forced to the conclusion that there was no Mr Cobb &t all. (Laughter.) From Candia, the capital of Ceylon, they proceeded to Neuralia, where they stayed for some time, close to the spot where Sir Samuel Baker, the discoverer of the sources of the Nile, twenty years before, while pursuing the life of a colonist, had built a sawmill. It was while staying here that an accident occurred which, insignificant in itself, yet was sufficiently suggestive. One morning at breakfast in the hotel he found a printed card inviting his attendance the following morning to a meet of hounds to draw a certain cover. This showed how Englishmen will carry their tastes for dogs and horses wherever they go. By a further furlongh or favor of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, whoare willing to let their passengers go where and stay as long as they wish on the line of rout, Mr and Mrs Fox proceeded to Bombay — a city most thoroughly eastern, and one in which more of the variety of nationality is to .be seen that in any other city- of the Eastern World. At the time they arrived in Bombay, it was the scene of the utmost excitement, brought on by immense speculation; the very day. they arrived, the " time-bargains," as they were called, had expired and the Exchange and every street were filled with excited people demanding or shirking payment. It was such a scene as might have been seen at the bursting of the South Sea Bubble Scheme, or during the great financial crisis lately felt in London. Caste is strong in India, but railways have already done much to break it up, and Christianity is gradually penetrating the whole country. There is one great drawback to living in India— that is the climate ; ovens are nothing to it— steam engines are nothing to it — it is the most terrible of visitations and shows itself in a disease from which all Europeans suffer — that is, the prickly heat , under it one gets as pink as a camelia, and the worst of it is no one sympathises with you ; oh ! they say, it is lucky to have it, you are getting a new lease of life! From Bombay they proceeded up the Bed Sea and on across the Isthmus of Suez during the night, by railway, by which they saw most effectually that most Egyptian, sight — darkness. From Alexandria they proceeded to Marseilles. Soon after they had the pleasure of setting foot on the shores of Old England, where they were most heartily welcomed by their friends after ten years absence (applause). In the course of their stay in England they visited most of its counties, and saw more of the country than they ever did before ; it. is a fact, that those who live in England all their days ofcen see the least of it. While in England (continued (Mr Fox) some most important events occurred, but as many of them were of a political ! character, I think it only proper to avoid them on this occasion, but I may say that while there I had to lift up my voice in defence of my fellow colonists (cheers). For years the colony had been maligned and slandered on every possible occasion by the fellow countrymen of those -who are working their great work in the colony ; men seemed to take every oppor-: tunity of throwing obloquy and contempt on the actions of the colonists. From ■, the first time I saw this, I made up my , mind not to allow a single instance of it to pass unnoticed by putting pen to paper (great applause), and it is matter of great . satisfaction that as soon as the plain and . simple truth was told the English public, i they readily believed it, and since then i there has not been another attempt made, I so far as lam aware, to throw unmerited i discredit on our colony. On this matter • I may also state that Lord Carnarvon > rose in his place in the House of Lords ■ to acknowledge his mistake in reference r to New Zealand, and make the amende r due to the colonists (cheers). Leaving I England for a time, Mrs Fox and myself

started on a long contemplated continential tour, just at the time the great war broke out between Prussia and Austria — indeed on the very day for starting we were stopped from ascending the Rhine by a telegram that war had opened on that river. "We then went to Switzerland — whose charming, but not luxuriant beauty delights the tourist— a lann.of the grand, the impressive, and the sublime — a land of snow-peaked mountains, ravines, cataracts, and avalanches, with cultivation extending td the utmost limit on the mountain sides — where indeed, is present every feature of sublimity as if fresh from the hands of the great Creator, and where stupendous and wonderful sights are all concentrated in such small compass that in a month you may visit the varied beauties of that most magnificent country. But Switzerland is not only interesting for its scenery — it is interesting for its past history and present condition — it is the land where" republican institutions have flourished longer than* in any other ; for. five hundred years it has been.surrounded by all the great nations of Europe with large standing armies, while it has needed none, nations jealous of 'each other,' and jealous, most of all of the little country that maintained intact the freedom and happiness of its people, while all around were contention and discontent (cheers). Thus it is that the 'fine character of the people, and the splendid character of the. institutions that have taken root in Switzerland, make it of more than ordinary interest. Away from Switzerland we proceeded to Italy by the Pass of the Simplon, one of the roads made by Napoleon, and one of the greatest works known before the modern achievement of the Stephensons had been introduced. By crossing the Alps we stepped from cold Alpine grandeur into sunny, flowery Italy — passed, as it were, so great was the change, from one hemisphere to another; and on returning in the month of May (in Europe) the same transition was experienced as if leaving the delicious south for the bleak .hyperborean climate of the north. From! the Alps we looked down on great United Italy, where everything present seemed to charm the mind of man. In Italy, we spent some five or six weeks devoted for the most part to study the progress lately made under the free institutions of .that country which had risen against the great despotisms of the world. Italy is now no longer a bundle of petty duchies, tyrants' kingdoms, and papal prisons ; but a free land — free from the foot of the Alps to the shores of Sicily (cheers), and more than that, for now the magnificent territory of Venetia has also been handed over to form the brightest gem of that splendid crown of a United Italy. (Cheers). There you see none of those petty provincialisms (Hear, hear, and applause) | which dismember a country — none of those discreditable hagglings of which and where is to be the seat of Govjernment. (Laughter and cheers). .The' one — the present capital — was fixed and ] will ! remain that capital, till the last remnant will have been won, and without contention Florence will render up the claim to that city further south. (Cheers). Besides, United Italy has now got a great ally in United G-ermany. In no other part of Europe — not in Britain even — have such practical results followed that campaign of nine days — a campaign whicn broke and hurled back the bonds of Austria — a result due to the character of the Prussian nation?— and which ought to be a stimulus to us as to many others to seek that an extended, a national, education should be provided for the rising generation, so that in after years they too may be able, if required, to repel any attempt to deprive them of their free institutions. (Great applause). Mr Fox then went on to describe the further travels of Mrs Fox and himself through Egpyt and Syria, their visit to the Pyramids, Mount Sinai; and the Holy Land— a tour which he sketched briefly. It was a subject, he said, he woui d not speak much upon to that meeting, but might have an opportunity of describing more at length to some of the Literary Societies and! Institutions he saw in existence in the district. Passing through Syria to Beyrout they embarked on a Levant steamer for Athens, and from thence to Naples, which he described as something not unlike in a degree, but still surpassing, some of , our colonial harbors — the beautiful of Naples studded with islands, the long expanded town with Vesuvius in the distance, clear against the rainless blue, with its white puff of volcanic smoke appearing at intervals — all this Mr Fox described in a graphic manner, and in a way that interested all his audience. He said the old proverb " See Naples and die," might, in his experience, be changed to " See Naples and live as long as you can." On their return to England, the Paris Exposition was visited, which he | accounted a great success — not so striking nor so interesting as the London Exhibition of 1851-r-but a greater success in being better managed ; the French Emperor having made the most admirable arrangements for the carrying out of the Exposition and attracting a large number of princely visitors to Paris. One fact, established by Professor Playfair, touching the Exposition of 1867 was, that while in the Exhibition of 1851 there were only twelve things in which the English did not excel last year, proved that there were only twelve in which the English did excel,— a fact, Mr Fox said, which goes to prove a falling; dfll

- in England through the fearful system of t strikes, prevalent among operatives of ■ of late years— by which the indolent man \ has kept the industrious working man. ' back. (Hear, hear, aixd applause). Great I changes had taken place in England ■ during his absence — wealth Iras become & supreme — colossal fortunes were famnfr 5 nade on all hands by commerce and ■ speculations, so that wealth holds now i the coveted charm of power and influence, i Wealth was making itself felt on all hands ' to the extinction of the old gentry and : even of the titled aristocracy of the 1 land. There was one change in the r political world of England that he would ■ mention — although in doing so he hoped he would not be considered as touching l on colonial polities,- a great political advance, some might sot consider it an ; advance, but he did by the appearance of > the Eeform Bill from the Tory camp— s> measure five hundred years in advance ' of the Chartists, far beyond the hope* even of John Bright — a measure which all but gives manhood suffrage to the people of Britian, and he would gurantea — as far as man's prophecy might gothat rapidly* speedily, and vigorously a ' great reform or revolution would bo carried out, so that the England of twenty or thirty years hence will bear no resemblance to the England of twenty years ago. Let the people of New Zealand, then, keep their eyes on the great changes that are taking place in England, and let us watch— not that we ■ are to see our destiny in such, but for the guidance of our political actionswatch narrowly the radical changes that are taking place there. In giving some account of how they passed their time in the old country, he trusted they had been acquiring some information, which, in a manner, might be useful for their guidance here (applause). On returning to England from the Continent, they began to think what next they could do, and found that they had nothing to do in a country where every man has three other men to think something Tor him, and where there are three benevolent women to take care of every woman (laughter) — they found that they had actually nothing to do. He said : And yet as sen" tient, thinking beings, we wanted something to do, and so we made up our minds that our field of action was in a newer land— that this district was to be our home and field of action (cheers), here, to aid you all in working out the good of this country to the mutual satisfaction of all of iis— work which may hot fade with our short lives, but remain from generato generation (long-continued cheering). Mr Chairman and gentlemen, I would not be doing my duty did I not in the most emphatic manner allude to what you, Mr Chairman, have-already mentioned of our escape on our return to New Zealand. We consider it as a direct interference of Providence that we were preserved for some future work. We consider ourselves as dead, bat again preserved for some good in this country where we hare cast our lot. Mr Fox resumed his seat amid loud and hearty cheering, which was caught up again and again.