MR W. T. JENNINGS IN THE KING COUNTRY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 43, 18 February 1903, Page 2

MR W. T. JENNINGS IN THE KING COUNTRY

On Minday cvenicg, 9th February,! says the Waikato Argus, th'i friends and support.rt of Mr \V. l\ J linings, membe;' for Egaaont, tendered to h m a complimeatary social at Oiigarue. Th'i hall was nic >ly decorated with ferns and othar greenery, a"d over tha hsad of the gueit th t motso ' Naumai'! (wßlcjm-:) was susp <nJod. Thorn waw over 100 present, and Mr Russell, of Pirihaki, presided. The hou, secretary, Mr Thus. Hunr, hid all his arrangement most complete, and the ca'ering, whiuh wis in the hands of Mr Gao. S:eadman, was excellent.

Id opening the proceedings the chairman read letters aud telegrams of apo'ogy from the Premier, Sir J. G, Ward, Hon. W. Hall-Jones, and Messrs F. VV. Ling, A. Kidd, G. Fowlds, and F. E. ESauon. The usual loyal toasts were followed by that of " Trade aud Commerce," proposed by Mr McKinley, and responded to by Messrs Ellis and L\ngwuir, In his remarks the former called the attention of Mr Jennings to the extra freight charged between Poio-o-tarao and Ongarue. Thet line bad been completed and should bi ! taken over by the Government. Settlers considered th>i imposition of the extra freight an injustice now that the working railways were running. Mr Tins. Hunt then proposed " The Gu,'St of the Evening," aad iu doing to said the electors of Egment should be proud to think that they had been able to secure the services of sueh a friend and able man to i\jpre-:ent them. Mr Jennings, oa rising to reply, was received with rounds of He expressed the pleasure he f «lt at biing present, though, owing to t.he delay in the departure of the steamer, he had to ride overland, and make a special effort to get there. He was delighted at the saci'il, as it was an expression of appreciation of h 13 s-h'vices since tin election, and that was a thing a membor most appreciated. He would neve;' forgnt as long as he lived the action of Mr Thos. Hunt in taking the missing Tuumarunui returns from Ongarus in order to get to Waitara in time to save the election. That action alone showed that he was a m in who was thorough and severe. The task was one from which many men would hive shrauk, but with tint eirn.staesi of pu -piee chartcterisde of him, he set out to overcame the difficulty. it had proved that there was one amongst them, at any rate, who was filled with sincerity and determination. Somi ten years ago, he hid the pleasure of coining through to 0 tinjjaine from Stratford, aud theaca through the Ohura Valley. At that timo Oagarue possaeied on'y one shed ; but luok what a transformation had taken place, Th->y nowstw a rising township, filled with men and th-iir wives aud families, which bid fair to becomoabigcoatrein r.hi nearfu'u-e Taumarunui had also grown bayoai nil expectation, During hi-selcctiou tour he saw evidence that warranted him in agit itiug to have the work on the North IsUnd Main Trunk Railway pushed forward as expeJitiously as possible, and he had dona his utmost in this direction. Piriskii had also made rapid strides, hod he felt sure iwould become- an important cjntre in time to come. He was certain the Ohura Valley was going; to bi one of the bast placss in New ZaWnd, and he advised those engaged on the works, more especially the younger men, to endeavour to get a pieee of the land which was now being put en the market. There was at the present time a large influx of set tier j from the Continent, the Old Country, and Australia, and while welcoming them he would prefer to see New Zealanders have the first chance. Tae works now in progress were only of a temporary character, and the mo3t advisable thing for the men eugaged would be to tase up laud, thsraby improving their station in life and making a comfortable home for their wives and families. Another thing that struck him on the journoy through from Waitira to P.ieimko' was the tp'eudid scenery which existed in the MangatokaGarge. Thariver was in hisopiuiou equal to and even belter than the Wanganui, and he complained of the lack of accommodation for tourists anxious to visit these pattsr He had noted the destruction of the beautiful forest ia this gorg-}, and had endeavoured to get this act of vaudalism stopped. Settlement could not go on unU-s* better attention was given by the Government to the ro ids in Aucklau 1 and Taranaki, | some of which ware iu a shocking condition. There was no usa putting paopla on the knd ia the backbloeks unless they could get in to the creameries and the markets. Referring to Mr Ellis' remarks with reference to the extra rate oa goods from Poro-o-tirao to Ongarue, the speaker said he had no wish to blow h's own trumpet; but since the 2nd of January he had endeavoured to get the Minister for Railways to arrange to hive the Rama freight here that exited in other parts of tin colony, He had not been successful ; but intended to agitate to luve tha desired auaeadra.-nt all'cted. Way, he asked, should men pay 8s a ton from Poro-o-tarao to here ? It was begins* the Go?e;r;unont had not tuk-n the railway over ; but why they did not doj s) hj« could not imagine. H < liopL-d to j have the matter set right next si.-sio'>j if not bofore. It W;is simply a nutter of adjustment lotwvjon the PuMio Works Department and the Railway Department; but the anom ily should noli exist. He had received word that the Hon, Wm, llall-Jonos would viuit

them at the end of the month and that i the Hon. Mr Carroll and th i Hon. Mr Duncm would be at Te Kuiti in a i fortnight; he would be present and > would ba glad to introduce deputations ) to tbe hon. gentleuan. I", had been l fctatol that the coopera'tve l ibiurern . had bian used to the battl s uf i the Government. He do-iied 'his, at ) any rate, as far as the Egm-mt elec or- ) at) was concerned, as be had only be on i ro'urned by a in Jori'y of 15, and nvfr ; 300 had b<en plac'd on the works sine i ) the election. Mr Jennings occluded -, by expressing a hope th it he would bo a i able to do justice to such a la ge elec 1 j torate as Edition 1 ", which «mb. iic-d pji- ? tions of thu threp rroit important pro- | virn es in New Z a'and-Auckhnd, 1 j Wellington and Tiranaki —that he I would come up to their expeciations, s • and that ha would ba able to cirry tht f sea l ", as lo>g as he had heiltH and I s'l'f.ngth. (Pi'olongtd uppl»use.) 3 Oiher (oasis were given as follows ' Th'i Ytsitors,' 'The Press,' and ' The 3 Ohiirman.' Songs were given bj '' Ma'srs Djnuelly, Logaq, H. Hunt 3 Lwgujuir, W-Iters, Brady, Peace, ? i Frjst, Wall s, Jentiings and a numb ) J' of others, and the social terminated I about midui^ht.