Our Stratford Page

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 233, 30 March 1912, Page 3

Our Stratford Page

j PRESENTATION TO MR. J. B. HINE. SOME OF THE SPEECHES. In making the presentation on Thursday might of a purse of sovereigns to I Mr J. B. Hine, M.P., Mr E. F. Hemingway said that it had fallen to his lot to express to two of the worthiest men in New Zealand politics —Messrs. Massey and Hine, two men who would have their names writ large in the history of the Dominion when it came to be written—the hearty appreciation by large numbers of people of the work they had done on behalf of the country, by endeavoring to secure the administration of its | affairs on sound democratic lines. Whilst i he (the speaker) regretted that for the time Mr Massey had been cneated out of the position which according to true Liberal principles he ought to occupy, still he felt sure that their leader would rather be plain Mr W. F. Massey than occupy the Premiership on the terms upon which it was occupied to-day. But the time was not far distant when he would come into his own, and then the. country would .have an opportunity of 1 seeing what true democracy is. He eulo- ' gised the undaunted courage with which \ Mr Massey had fought the true fight of the people in a manner worthily uphold- ' ing the best traditions of the British' race. Speaking of Mr Hine, he said his acquaintance with him dated back nineteen years. Politically their acquain- 1 tance began only seven years ago. It , was when Mr Hine met a conference of ' delegates of the party from all parts ' of the old Patea electorate, who were to ' select a candidate for the seat. At that ! meeting he gave an indication of the type of man he was. There were three j candidates. The first two, after consideration, declined to place themselves ' unreservedly in the hands of the con- ' ference. Mr Hine, however, when as- 1 ked if he would do this, immediately an- •' swered that he would. Since then, they 1 had- never had reason to be ashamed j J of their choice, and he felt they never 1 would. His conduct in those seven years had served to increase the respect they 1 felt for Mr Hine as a politician and as a man. To quote Shakespeare, "They might say to all the world, this was a ( man." Few men had a better record of s public life. He had served his church as j lav reader and in charge of the Sunday j school. He had served his country as a j member of the Stratford Mounted Rifles, ■, rising from the position of a private in ( the corps to that of its captain. He had t been one of the most useful members of j £ the Stratford County Council, and had) been chairman of the Stratford Hospital ] and Charitable Aid Board at the most { important part of its history—when the { hospital-was being b\iilt. What struck { them most in regard to Mr. Hine? It was ( his strength of character. He was one ( of the straightest men in the New Zea- , land Parliament to-day. He was a man , who had never been known to trim, and > had absolutely declined to tone down i , any of his opinions or expressions in or- ] der to catch votes. He was a man with] ( a great future, and was a shining ex- ( ample for other men to follow. He was j the stamp of man that New Zealand ( wanted to-day—patriots first, politicians j afterwards; men who would put principle before party, and principle first every time. The men who were placing expediency first were a clog on the 1 wheels of progress. Mr Hemingway ; made reference to what had become : j known as the "The Hine Charges," and: said that Mr Hine had in that connec- • ; tion done something which would have a lasting effeet on politics in New Zealand. Single-handed, he had stemmed the tide of public opinion which was setting in to countenance improper practices, and he had obtained from a partisan an acknowledgement that such practical obtained. The speaker concluded by making reference to Mrs Hine. a worthy helpmeet for a strong man, a woman i ready with her sympathy in his ideals, but at the same time declining to canvass or take any public part in the political campaign. Then followed the declaration that the presentation of this purse of sovereigns was made to Mr Hine not only as a mark of respect, but of the affection in which he was held, and because he had "played the man." Mr Hemingway seemed reluctant to part with the little canvas bag full of . gold, and there was some good-humored badinage. When at length the weighty bag was handed to the member for the district, and the deafening applause had died down, < Mr Hine made his reply, laying the bag or purse on the table, whence it was promptly annexed by • "Taumarunui Wilson." Mr Hine commenced his remarks under the influence of great emotion. He had ' thought his cup was full when he had I been returned, but now it seemed that his cup of thankfulness was overflowing. When he was first selected as a candidate he had promised to give them of his best. He hoped he had given his best, and, as for the future, he was in I their hands. He still hoped to be able to give his best for Stratford and New Zealand. Whatever came to him he hoped he would never falter or allow his manhood to deteriorate. They knew to what depths politics had fallen. They knew that the position of head of the Government was held bv a slender thread. And he that many members and some of the Ministers, if they had any manhood in them, would have resigned. What was going xm in Wellington now? A game of grab. He wouhl'nt belong to the present governing party for all the gold in China. The first duty I of a politician should be to uplift the j dignity of his position, not to degrade it. 1 The idea permeating every member of the lieform Party was to do good to every class. Every user of hnd was . being assailed by the party in power, and the new Government was pledged to adopt the policy outlined in the Governor's Speech. What a millstone. The Pieform Party's day wasn't far off. He hoped it would not come just yet. TTe would iike to see the present Government stew in it* <uvu fat a while—if there were any fat left. Thev knew the finances were strained in every direction. The new Premie: - would lie left to live the row intended for Mr. Massey. Tf rumor were cornet, the whole of the old Liberal Cabinet was to lie thrown overboard. M hat a fate for the boasted humanitarian party! Ilis next door neighbor, who had sat on the rail for years, the I lion. Thos. Mackenzie, was the only man ( of the old Ministry who would have a • seat in the new Cabinet. What assurance of stability was there in Hint? The party must be in a sorry plight. He wa-i proud to have a meeting like Ithis. It would encourage him, and encourage every member of the Beform Party. U would be an encouragement to their friends on his left (Kgniont), who' lost their Reform Party representative at last election, the Ministerial influence and "Ministerial moneybags bringing about his defeat. But at next election ' he believed the seat would be won hack,

* From Our Resident Reporter. * * * 4» Office: No. 3, York Chambers, Stratford. * * * ******************

and Taranaki would stand intact and whole-hearted for a Ministry with the highest ideals. He thanked Mr. Hemingway for the tribute to Mrs. Hine. She had been a great help to him during his election campaigns. He had gone home every night that he could from his meetings. She was always waiting for him, and had a word of cheer and sympathy (A voice: And supper ready?— Yea.) She had always been confident that the people were satisfied with him, and that as long as he did what was right they would never fail or forsake him. (Applause, loud and long.) MAGISTRATE'S COURT. j CIVIL BUSINESS. In the S.M. Court this morning, before j Mr. W. G. Keririck, S.M., judgment by I default was entered in the following cases:—Kemp and Sawle v. J. J. Flower, claim £2 7s. and; £1 costs; S. H.James (Mr. Wake) v. J. H. Leonard, claim £2O 18s Bd, costs £2 His; A. Spenee (Mr. Thomson) v. Samuel T. Evatt, claim £1 sa, and 5s coats; John Leydon v. Edward Hill, claim £2, and 16b costs; Deputy Official Assignee (Mr. Thomson) v. J. Christiansen, claim £1 4s and costs 13s; Hanna & Co. (jjMHi Malone) v. J. Christiansen, claim 19s lid and costs 13s; Bellringer Bros. (Mr. Fookes) v. L. Eowson, claim 15s and; costs ss; same v. C. McPhee, claim £2 13s and lis costs; C. A. King (Mr. Stanford) v. J. Flower, claim 15s and costs 10s. In the judgment summons case Wm. Lovett v. John Bennett, for a debt of £7 7s fid, Mr. Fookes appeared; for the judgment creditor. An order was j made for payment of the full amount forthwith, in default 14 days' imprison- j mcnt, warrant to be suspended so long as the debtor pays 10s per week. There no appearance of the judgment debtor in the case of J. Masters and Son (Mr. Fookes) v. G. F. Smith, arid an order was made for payment of the full! amount of the debt forthwith, in default 14 days' gaol, the warrant to be J suspended until Ist May. j DISTURBANCE ON THE TRAIN. }

William O'Brien and Adam McKeown, old offenders, were charged with creating a disturbance on the Stratford-Te Wera railway on 2nd March. Sergeant Mc- • Neely deposed that the mien were drinking on the train and eating sardines, which they also threw up and down the carriage. They also interfered with passenger® by grabbing their newspapers j and tearing them up. Both had numerous convictions, and the accused Mc-, Keown had been previously convicted of l am offence of a similar nature. A plea) of guilty was entered. Fined £3 each j and costs, in default 14 days' imprison-1 nient. The same defendants were also j charged with travelling on the train without paying the proper fare. They were fined ss, and ordered to pay.' | tlie amount of the fare. The' Magistrate ! C asked if the men were likely to pay i j the fines, and Sergeant McNeely answeried "Yes. They've been fined a number of times, and have always paid up. In I fact, one of the defendants has been] convicted fully a hundred times, and| must have paid about £2OO in fines." BOROUGH BY-LAW CASES. F. Smith was convicted of a breach of tlie borough by-laws by cycling on the footpath in Fenton Street, and fined 10s and 7e costs, i A juvenile, eleven years of age, was j admonished by the S.M. for cruelly illtreating a horse, by riding it whilst it had a very soce back. . Two old-age pensions were renewed. A 'REFORM" SUPPER. j After a great "rally" on Thursday evening a supper was held, Mr. G. Sangster presiding. Speeches were made lauding the work of the organisers of p the party, and in this connection Messrs • Hemingway and Bond (secretary to Mr. Hine's committee) came in for eulogies. There was' some interesting matter coni cerning the need and value of organisa--1 tion, and about the Reform Party's ■ work generally. The catering was in ■ the hands of Mrs. Brown, and was a credit to her management. Mr. R. C. ) Hughes, of New Plymouth, was one of ■ the most appreciated speakers. He was I in great form. | STRATFORD GUN CLUB. TJie second stage of the match be- ' tween the gun club and the rifle club 7 is set down for decision on Good Friday at the racecourse. r G. W. Hunter was first in the Ballistite 1 Cup shoot on Thursday, and is .now in 1 the lead. Hugh Campbell won the ' sweepstake. The final of the cup shoot • promises to be interesting.

Hunter's score in the cup was 41; next man, W. R. Wickham, 34; Campbell, 31. i Campbell, in the sweepstake, won with { 11 out of 12. after shooting off with | three others. W. Morison was second j and H. It. Wickhajp third. | CRICKET. ■J A cricket match, which has been ex- ) citing some interest in business circles, J was played on Thursday between the 1 occupants of Rosegrove House and Mr. Newton King's Stratford staff, the game being drawn in favor of the former. [Scores: Rosegrove House, 51; Newton j King's Staff, 51. A second innings was commenced, Rosegrove making 50, of which Gibson ma.de 25. The N.K. team lost five wickets for ID, the highest score being Paul's 9. A return match will be played on the first Thursday after Easter. CROQUET. The Stratford Club's B team played its first match to-day, when Inglewood B played a visit to the local greens. The home team were just a little too strong, winning an enjoyable match by 2 points. The state of the greens was practically perfect, due to Mr. R. ■ Dingle's efforts. Morning and afternoon j tea were provided by the home club. 1 GENERAL NEWS. The Liberal Party's function on Easter Monday night promises to draw a big crowd' from all over the electorate. The 1 Premier and Mr. R. McKenzie are 1 practically sure to be present, and it is! 1 hoped that the new? Ministry will be : represented by two ot three of its mem- ' bers. The function takes the form of ! a complimentary social to Mr. J. McCluggage. In the Bowling Club's singles championship series R. McK. Morison lost to Smart by one point. Don Cameron has won the Stratford ) Lawn Tennis Club's championship, beat- - in# R. B. Anderson in the final by three sets to one. J Mr. Massey and his political friends i are away out east to-day. There's a 3 banquet out at Kohuratahi to-night.