STRATFORD-ONGARUE RAILWAY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 62, 22 June 1910, Page 2

STRATFORD-ONGARUE RAILWAY

BANQUET AT TE WERA. The banquet given by the settlers in the Te Wera district in celebration of the opening of that section and of the presence of the lion. T. Mackenzie, Minister for Agriculture, was one of the most successful functions ever held inland of Stratford. There was a laige and representative attendance, including Mr. J. B. Iline, M.P., Mr. James MeKonzie {Commissioner for Crown binds in Wellington, and formerly Commissioner in Taranaki)., Mi. Simpson (Commissioner for Grown Lands), Messrs John Heslop and Joe (members of the Land Board), and many .leading Stratford citizens and settlers." A splendid dinner was iput on by Mrs. Flinn ; and after this iuv.l been done justice to the toast list was discusseU.

"The King" was followed by "The j Army and Navy," proposed by Mr. Sax-, ton, and responded to by Lieut.-Colonel ( Malone and Mr. John Leydon. The for- j ( mer referred to what he considered a , grave weakness in our new system of I • defence, the training of but a tenth of • the young fellows between the ages of|, 21 and 25. He thought it better were: the age reduced to the original point, , viz., 21, and kill of the young fellows trained. Mr. Leydon" spoke of his experi-l, ences in the Crimea, where he worked in I atrocious weather on a transport, sans I boots, sans proper clothes, sans almost ' everything, . and hi? service in the Thames Engineers. "Parliament" was proposed by the chairman, and responded to by Mr. Hine, ' who said in the course of ihis remarks, > that the Government had voted more j money for the.construction of the Strat- ' line during the last eight- < een months than they had done during i the whole of the previous five years. ] The railway would prove a great boon < and blessing, and was the most import- 1 ant railway under construction in the i whole Dominion at the .present time, i He did not object to the Government i borrowing money for such reproductive \ purposes. , He gave the Government j credit for doing! their best to prevent ] aggregation of land. The Minister for j Railways had stated that it would be ] impossible to vote more money than j they had been doing to the railway arid , that it would be inadvisable to split the ( work, one staff and plant working at this' end and the other at Ongarue. . There was, therefore, nothing to be gain- . ed by complying with the Auckland demand, and he was glad Mr. Mackenziehad set his face against it. The natural ; outlet to trade was at this end, and ' they should strive to keep it so. The' - Government was responsible for the non-1 < progress of road work this year, Parlia- 1 meiit having closed without the authori- i ] ties for upkeep having .been granted. I ,' He alluded to the Governrhent's promise ' to spend a million on roads over a period! 1 of four years in addition 1 to f j ( votes, but if the Government wre go- } ing to carry out his intentjon'' tfey < would have to make haste very'c[uickly. , He (hoped they would succeed. . He re- | gretted he was not able to take Mr. , Mackenize over the side roads. If he were, Mr. Hine was satisfied Mr. Mac- , kenzie's heart would bleed for the un- J fortunate settlers and that he would urge with all his might the Govern- |j ment to help the settlers and help tne*i ' immediately. "•'"•!'',"fV{Tjn i j Mr. N, J. King proposed" "Local Bo- | dies," venturing the remark, in so do- | in", that members of a Cabinet and {■ members of local bodies were the mostj' abused men in the community.; i' Messrs Marchant (chairman of the : Stratford County .Council) and A, Mere-] difch (member of' the" Wangamomonai • County Council) responded. The former) said the policy of his Council had ever been to supply good roads and to obtain telephone extensions for the backblocks. They had saved at times from one-third; to a half in the cost of repairs by do- j ing the work by day labor, when' they considered tenders too high. He. thanked the Government for the facilities they had afforded in regard to thej supply of mountain me'tUl-itohicli they could get cheaper than frohv any other source. He hoped the Government would ' proceed with the work of extending the facilities at the' mountain -and-rlfoat they I would also push on with the 1 tion of the railway, at any rate to, Tangarakau, where splendid deposits of j coal existed, so that they could obtain; cheap coal for the whole of Taranaki.' Mr. Meredith spoke of the requirements of the district. The roads "were< sadly neglected. If it had not been for' the railway vthey would have heci Miir,»i T | ered' this year. He, V/ent"oii to that'Ht'would- mewi'-'doubling the pr:-' sent rates if they had to bear the. cost /of, administering,,the G,overnman| gronts. ' Sonie of', the settlers' were' paj Big fo u r rates;'arid-'stiir they fed'to vMe through, - seas of-mMf- fie'-hoped tJia! Goterntaem:! would see.theiikway SQ. aSsjst : £h<s?eounty in the njatter.of the supply of mountain! 'metal. ;; " ; -'' ; "' '■' ! ' ; ' : " ;1 " ' "■"' 1. | "Tradihand Commerce"jiwas proposed by, Mt;( J.' McCluggage,. w who trace<| th'eJ history, of the district .during the; past; 20'years,"praising'the''ffptfernmeiijt for ,- the li4ia ; teriiir'es' it"had''tifforded and 1 the co-operative system introduced, which enabled men to obtajn faijms for themselves . and;, become employers of .labor. ' No 'province had got back country like Taranaki.' The" land would- rl carry! two sheep to the'acre, and ';thetfe wlas ft :.; vast extent of it. He , referred to the ■ ' merging of, the Roads Department into ' the Mil ic'Works Department, 1 and said ! the sooner they'went ibacki to the old order "of things the better it would be i) for.Ahe baekblocks.

Mr. Munro, manager of the Bank of New Zealand, Stratford, replied. He uttered a warning note regarding the danger of booming the; price of land, and, alluding to trade ties in Taranaki hinterland, said .trade would not fall into their laps unless theyi exerted themselves. j ■Mr. O'Neill also replied. He had much to thank the co-operative add land.sys-, terns for, as by 'means of them 'he > had | been enabled to rise from the position j of ■»-navvy to the possessor of a thousand acres of good, land. , i The next toast was that of "Our 'jGuest,?. aftdiwas proposed;, by. Mr- Mere-' • dith. )- ■!• ■■,■■'■ ■ „, I On rising to reply, the Hon. Mr. Mae-j kenpie was greeted: with tumultuous applause, and'cries of "Good old Tam."| He spoke for two hours, and with such effect that his auditors, judging by their manifestations of. appreciation and enthusiasm* -would gladly have listened to him for another two hours, so interesting and entertaining did he become. He dealt'with a wide rnngVof "subjects, from; international questions as they affected the trade relations ; and defence arrangements of the Empire and New Zealand,! to'district requirements, sandwiching in humorous stories and allusions, turning with an adroitness that was surprising as the effect was piquant the interjections that were made, "firing off" sheaves of figures from memory, and generally treating those present to an exposition the like of which, it was generally agreed, had never previously been heard in Taranaki. It was a masterly and statesmanlike speech, and the lion, gen-

tleman well deserved the extraordinary ovation he received at rts conclusion. We can only briefly allude to the chief points of the speech. To report it fully would take twenty-four columns of this paper.

He first of all referred to the question I of defence, defending the action ot the .' Government in ottering the Dreadnought, and pointing out the effect it had, not only on the Home Land and the other colonies, but on the rest of the world. It showed the latter that, should the j Old Lion ever get into trouble, her I young whelps would come to her rescue/ and be a force that had to be reckoned! with. He alluded to Britain's comparative helplessness on land, and the weakness of the navy should it have to face a combination of the two strongest Powers—Germany and America —showing the necessity for New Zealand to get in readiness to defend itself from aggression. He spoke of Lord Kitchener's scheme in commendatory terms. Defence was not a party question: it was a national question. He deplored the tendency of a section of men who, owing l everything to the country, went about and abroad and wrote to the financial journals of America and England traducing the Dominion and its administration. This had a bad effect on the credit of the country, which wanted both money and men. "Anybody," he continued, "interfering with our getting either is not a friend, but a traitor to the country." ('Applause and cries of "Introduce a Treason Act," and "Shoot them!") He was glad to hear Mr. Hine say that the Government had done more for the railway during the past eighteen months than during the previous five years. That, he submitted, was an entire reply to those who declared that the Government dispensed favors only among their friends. The Government were genuinely anxious to develop all parts of the Dominion, quite irrespective of party. In regard to spending the votes on roads, and making up leeway in this respect, the Government were doing their best for settlers, and they could rely on him supporting the extension of the railway and the improvement of roads. He 'had been through the mill himself, and consequently knew what the hardships of the bush were and what bad roads meant. He referred at length to what the Government had done in the way of reducing the burden of taxation an the smaller man and the placing of the taxation on those best able to bear t. He asserted that the necessities of ife were now 25 per cent, cheaper man }efore the Government took office. "As i matter of fact," he said, "we extend nore advantages to the people of this Dominion than obtain in any other part if the world." And the more advantages ;hey gave, the more they elevated the )eople and better citizens they became. Che Government hoped to continue their vork in this regard. It had been said he Ministry was possessed of the "seven levils of Socialism." The Ministry was wt Socialistic, if Socialism meant the apping of individual effort. He. paid a | ribute to the men and women who lioneered the country. Truly, they were lobler than any military army. Turning to local requirements, ne laid he would make representations in ;he proper quarter concerning the miiroving of the Mount Bgmont railway netal facilities, and telephonic faciliies, and in regard to the railway it was een 'that'though pressed for money, is they were at the beginning of last rear, the Government had .allocated to ,his railway a larger amount than vney sver had' before, and this was an earnest or the future. In regard to the expenliture and. administration of the wovirnment votes by local bodies, it seemed o him '-/■■''■ the districts had gone a.'d ,übcV 'e counties into smaller ines.-.' ' i: luring it impossible for the oca I bodies to employ efficient enginiers. He regarded engineering as indislensable in any county. He thought f the Government gave the money the louncils should spend it. The co-operative system and land tenires, against which much had been said, (ould not be said to be failures when ;hey heard men lili'e Mr. O'Neill say that ;hey had, from co-operative laborers, be■omo well-to-do- land owners. What vere the' r biso Unoccupied lands in, the Dominion? (A voice: Maori land.) iVhat was the best tenure? (Voice: The optional tenure.) Well, all the Maori ands would be offered on the optional ;emiri. s ' : ' (Applause.) Mr. -Mackenzie proceeded to discuss ;Jne! dairying and other rural industries, flie j-eviv.al.of trade in England und jlspw.nere meant.an increased demand 'oiisei; JZe'alstid produce. The future ivair full 'of tie would like to see preference established within the Emliijejj Qfpiada,.tod, used the weapon of iref^nce rT agai,hsi; the United States ivith' great"'success, and now was forchg'Germany and France to relax their ;ariffsj&«ain,st : ;hei goods. There was a lesson for England. The time ivas ,qomirig' and it was near at hand, ivjieii'the pe"ple of America and on the Jontineftfcr. would rise against the connmialicejof heavy tariffs operating against fl(¥j.j. jhnportations. for cattle and sheep jjre've dimn uhing in those countries and tho prpvilation increasing, and then the xroduee-expoTtinifr''colonies would benefit. In regard to the Agricultural Departiventj he .had cut down the. expenses 'rom £IB7,COQ to •CllO/WJ, iv.it ne w.ilot going to have that as a permanent •eduction;'-as he proposed to lay out noriey o'which he was satisfied would •eturn big profits to the farming commriiity,'. in the way of improving land ;hat was now unfertile, in breeding imu'oved, strains of dairy cattle, in seed >reedin'gi etc. He referred to the pro>osed dairy regulations and the misreiresentations that had been made by ntcrested parties, in regard to them. Vhen he got into office he found that nstead of inspectors the industry wantd instructors, and, accordingly, the best nen available had been secured for the mrpose.

i He'referred at length to the machina--1 tions of the meat rings in the Old CounI try, and of his efforts as Produce Cora- ' missioner to get justice done to the , producer and .shipping companies, and I to the causes leading up to the recent I slump in wool and mutton. ! Vociferous cheering took place when he resumed his seat. I Other toasts honored were: "Pioneer Settlers," proposed by Mr. MeCluggage, and responded to hy Messrs. James Mackenzie and John IJislop; "The Ladies," Messrs. Gordon Calvert and T. Rapley; : "Our Hostess," Mr. Rapley; "The Press," '. Messrs. A. E, Copping and T. C. List; : "The Private Secretary," Mr. L. Jolins- | ton.

On the motion of Mr. Jamos Sexton a vote of thanks to the Minister for ; his attendance and addresses, and of '■' confidence in the Government, was put '.■■ and carried amidst enthusiastic shouts, i Mr. Mackenzie suitably acknowledging. ■ ' A verv enjoyable evening, and one ,' that will live long in the memory of • those who participated, was brought to ; a close by singing "Auld Lang Syne." The visitors left by special train at . midnight for Stratford.