HON. T. MACKENZIE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 89, 13 April 1912, Page 5

HON. T. MACKENZIE.

VISIT TO KATOXGA

The Hon. Thomas Mackenzie, who has been visiting various centres in Taranaki, and' particularly his constituents in different parts of the Egmont electorate, last night was a*-. Kaponga. As at Eltham and Manaia. he received a vary cordial reception, and after lecturing on his exploration work in the South Island, Mr. Mackenzie was the guest of the Kaponga v Town Board at a complimentary banquet. The function was attended [n a large number, including many visitors from other parts, and apologies, were received from Messrs. J. B. Hum and H. Okey, M.P.’s, and several others. The chair was occupied be Mr. A. H. Guy (Chairman of Board), supported by Mr G. W. Brown (Mayoi of New Plymouth), Mr. Cook (Town Clerk) and Mr. Swadling. After a very excellent supper, the usual loyal toast was honoured, and several other toasts were proposed and responder, to, some good speeches being made. During the evening Messrs. J. tlThompson, F. Taylor, and Mnrphv contributcd much appreciated vocal items. .. Mr. Gwynn© proposed the 1 aiiiament of New Zealand,” and expressed pleasure-at the honour of having the head of Parliament present that evening. He was a straight goer, am. they were truly pleased to have him i with them. - In reply, thtjKev. Scott said he supposed it wasbecanse he was m the ministry” he -had been chosen to reply; he supposed also that it was as close to Parliament as ever ne would get. He was pleased to we.come Mr. Mackenzie as their Member and as Premier of New Zealand. • He did not fear but what Mr. Mackenzie and his Ministry would succeed. Mr. Scott-, who specially mentioned that he was a prohibitionist, paid a high tribute to the ability o. the Hon. Mr. Myers, who, he said, was a worthy second in command in the present Cabinet. There had been a lot of criticism of the new Ministry, which called to mind an anecdote u< the effect that while it took an artist to paint a picture, any fool could put his foot through it. They were Honoured. in having Mr. Mackenzie as Premier, he had followed Mr. Mackenzie's career as a keen follower ol ' politics, and was satisfied that he was a straight goer. This being so liecould only nope that ne might long reign as Premier and be enabled do real good for the country. Mr. itoblnsou also replied, and endorsing Mr. Scott's remarks, said he sincerely hoped the countiy v. ouki give Mr. Mackenzie and his Ministry a chance to prove themselves. Mr d. B. .Richards proposed ’1110; Dairy industry,” and in doing fio, re- I ferred to the fact that all depended I on. it, and also to the remarkable success of the industry, to which all in-.,, ranaki could ascribe the comfort anu prosperity existing. in Siratioru alone no less than a quarter or a million per annum was paid out in trie industry. M-o recognised that much of 1 the success was due to the Agn-, cultural Department, and especially to -Mr. Mackenzie’s very valuable services to the country. Mr. Richards m iveirb 'on' to speak of other matters, and concluded by expressing pleasure at being present to do honour to the "Premier. , , Mr. Swadling, replying to the toast, spoke of the great advance made m too industry at Kaponga, and claimed some share of credit. He lurtnpi Stated that he had never ni his, lire been associated with a failure. me lion; Mr. Mackenzie was tne Premier of the Dominion, and he was also tne Member for Egmout. He was thor- • ougnly glad of it, and was proud to • ! B ay he had helped to return him as tlieir member. He had helped to put Mr. Mackenzie there, and he believed ho was going to stop there. (Applause) What they wanted now was tne railway; he made no secret of it, tneir flag was tip, and everybody knew ivaponga’s attitude. He had great pleasure in welcoming the Premier, and could tell him that when the next election came there would bo no election for Egmont, because no one would have tne nerve to oppose their prosen i member. (Applause.)

Mr. R. Dingle also replied, and in doing so, remarked oil the fact that he had been practically the first chairman of the Kaponga Dairy factory. Mr. Dingle detailed the -earh history of the present company, and how co-operation on the right hues had been the beginning of tnc great success now attained, in those cany days financing was a-"big thing, but conditions had altered wonderfully. Much was due to the good work of the Agricultural Department, and expressed the view that Mr. Mackenzie, 'wiien Minister for Agriculture, had done more for the industry than any Minister who had preceded him. Now that he was Premier, and in their midst as Member for Egmont, they expected he would do still more for the industry, and that it. would grow and prosper as he believed'it would (.Applause.) Mr. Mills proposed “The Visitors.’ Tn replying, Mr. Browne, Mayor of New Plymouth, expressed great pleasure in being present. He had known Kaponga in its early days, and after many years’ absence ho had been greatly surprised at the wonderful changes and the improvements made. ■He referred to what was being done at the Port of New Plymouth to facilitate the handling of produce for export, and the sending inland of goods for the settlors, and to the fact that a commission had been set up to report on the linking-up of Upnnakc and the main line. He sincerely hop ed that there would be no delay in carrying out this commission’s recommendations, and that before very long settlers would be linked up with tin. Port of New Plymouth so that, 'the; might receive all the advantages of the direct vessels to that Port and the other benefits a deep-sea harbour offered. (Applause.) Mr. W. P. Kirkwood, who was also called upon to reply, expressed pleasure at being present at Kaponga’s invitation to do honour to Mr. Mackenzie. There had always been a common bond of sympathy and good feeling between Stratford and Kaponga—possibly due to the Mountain air. He also spoke of the growth of Stratford and the possibilities of its becoming a great centre. Kaponga, he thought, should also grow and prosper as Stratford prospered, and he hoped the bond between them would grow also. It certainly would, he was sure, if it so happened that this sentiment were carried on a pair of steel rails. (Applause.) Egmont had been wise to elect Mr. Mackenzie as their member, but if ever they did not want him—(A voice: “No chance of that”) —well, if such a thing did happen. Mr. Mackenzie had only to step across the border to Stratford, where ho would be heartily welcomed. Mr. Betts proposed the health of Sir Joseph Ward, the retiring Premier. the toast being received with musical honours, and" cheers for St Joseph being given. .Messrs; Graham (Mountain House) and Hill (Eltham) replied, both speaking eulogistically of the ox-Promier. and remarking that the office had, however, fallen into good hands.

.Mr. Guy proposed “The Guest of the Evening.'’ Ju doaig this Jio said ho had not known the Hon. Mr. Mackenzie very long. The lion, gentleman iiad come amongst them a stranger in a strange land, hut he had very soon won his way, and they did not want to lose him. if Mr. Mackenzie were only given a fair chance he was jure that his Government would, at next election, have a much bigger majority, and a very much lugger following than it had that day. (Applause.) On rising to reply, the Hon. the Premier was loudly applauded. Ho said he was deeply cense ous of the very r.igii honour done him by the largo garnering assembled that evening, wnich, he found, included not only his own constituents, but many representative men from New Plymouth, Stratford, and Eltham. He had come to the Egmont district, as one speaker had said, as a stranger, but he soon found many good fr.ends, and any misgivings he had felt in the beginning vanished. At the election ho had not expected to obtain a large majority, because many had yet to know him, but he now felt he had their entire confidence and support. The people of Egmont had taken him on cred.t and by returning him as their representative placed him in a position to accept the highest position in the Administrate!!. He was proud to have gained that position, but he was most proud for the sake of the people of Egmont to whom honour came through him. (Applause.) He was their Member, and ho thought they would not want to get rid of him; as one other speaker had sard, lie had never made a failure, and during twenty-five years of Parliamentary life, though lie had by the vagaries of boundary alterations been compelled'to stand for different seats, he nad never been “turned down” by any constituency. (A voice: “No fear of that.”) "would for a moment allude to what some gentlemen had properly termed the groat dairying industry. He had long ago recognised that a man could not become expert in everything, and had chosen to specialise chiefly in matters appertaining to the soil." Agriculture and the Commerce connected with produce had chiefly occupied his attention. He had told them that he would continue to advocate the interests of the great dairying industry for the good of their country as a whole; he was doing so, and intended to go on doing so. So” far as his acceptance of the Premiership went, he had been called upon and had stepped into too breach, and, with the assistance of his colleagues, would do his best for the country as a whole. It had been stated that the present Ministry could not hold office, lint the men he had toe honour to he associated with in Cabinet had left behind them long ami honoured experience on public boebos and in Parliament, and had proved themselves worthy of the confidence reposed in them. They intended to do. their best, and whatever course Par-1 liament chose to take, would bo ac- j cepted with equanimity. It was said , they could not succeed; if, therefore, they did succeed, the greater would be the achievement. The feeling shown was that the country did intend to give him an opportunity to carry on the business of the country. A very great amount of support was now being extended, and spontaneously there had reached him striking evidence of this. Telegrams of congratulation which must total two thousand had been sent to him from all parts, and over a thousand letters of the same nature. (Applause.) Thfe Hon. Mr. Mackenzie continuing 'his speech, deprecated the time wast-| ed in Party bickering, and briefly | touched on some points dealt with in | his speeches at Stratford and Eltham. Jio believed the dairying industry to be the most important in this country. He thought he could claim to have been the first actual exporter of cheese from New Zealand, for over thirty years ago he had with a friend i-iont cheese to South Africa during the l first Boer war. The consignment had realised an excellent price, and he had afterwards turned his attention to considering whether butter could not be profitably and satisfactorily exported in kegs. Since those days wonderful strides hud been taken. In the matter of finance, also, lie had had experience of the lack of credit which thts industry found then, and remom-| bered that twenty-seven years ago not a shilling in the way of advance j could be got from the banks for a factory at inchclutha, but he had been, able to render some assistance himself to help the thing forward. limpid ly running over the history of A. and P. affairs, and what had leci up to the institution of tiie present State Department of Agriculture, Mr. Mackenzie said that while tne Government never dreamt of claiming credit for all the good the Department had done, nf could claim credit for a great deal of it. Two years ago, when lie took charge of the Department, it appeared : to be falling on laid days, and suggestions were being made for its abolition, from country members, too, wnich, coming from such a quarter, i were simply treason. After detailing what had been done, Mr. Mackenzie went on to say that in face of such a record of usefulness it was entirely • wrong for Mr. Massey to say the Agricultural Department was a laughingstock, and that ft would take years to undo his (the'Premier's) mistakes..i i uis was the. sort of unfair criticism j to which they were subjected. It was very easy to adopt a style of destructive criticism, winch would tear everytaingnuder Heaven to pieces, but too often critics of this kind did not possess enough constructive ability to enable them to erect a hen-house, (Laughter and applause.) Speaking of the lending department and the Advances to Settlers and Workers, Mr. Mackenzie said it was not correct that they were reducing the operations, but there were so many demands made and the amount available was limited by Jaw. It was no use crying out that they must cease borrowing if in tiie next breath those who used the cry clamoured for roads and bridges and railways. A cry of this sort was being raised by some people so that they might exploit the money market. Those who were opposed to borrowing must remember that without it further reproductive works, such as the railways they were asking for, could not be undertaken, lleferr:ng to the criticism of the recent leans, the speaker said it had to he remembered that money was steadily going up, and the hardening tendency would probably go on, so long as the: world’s prosperity rout lined. A high i compliment was then paid to Sir Jos- 1 eph Ward, who, the speaker said, had passed legislation they all enjoyed, l while some forgot who gave it. Mis great work in postal matters marked him as one of the greatest Postmaster-G-enerals the world had seen. He had been the author of the Advances to Settlers Act and other splendid measures for the' people’s good.. The last great measure he had promoted was “The Debt Extinct’on Act.” whicli though sneered at in some quarters today, would, the speaker ventured to suggest, be recognised to be as truly beneficial to the country as the Advances to Settlers’ Act bad proved. Sir Joseph Ward’s work as an fmperalist stood out, though he had been beyond the line of thought’at the

late Conference. Ho was sure, however, tiiat unless the idea -Sir Joseph then brought forward, of a truly .Imperial Senate, came about, the Empire would not hold together. In conclusion Mr. Mackenzie said that whatever the future had in store, he would never forget the kindness shown to him in Taranaki. Let the strife and bickering in politics but cease, and all unite in good work, they would find plenty to do. A policy of anathematising their opponents while indulging in self laudation would never do any good for any side or any party. Let them all put forth their best efforts for their country’s snke._ and for the unbuilding of their Dominion. Mr. Mackenzie resumed his seat amidst prolonged applause and enthusiastic cheering. Mr. Guy said a few further complimentary words and proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the Chairman on the Premier’s motion, and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne.”