BANQUET TO MR W. POSTLETHWAITE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1446, 24 December 1885, Page 2

BANQUET TO MR W. POSTLETHWAITE.

On the return of Mr W. Postlethwaffce from the Old Country about a fortnight ago, a Dumber of his friends mot and determined to give him a fitting welcome, and afford hie numerous friends an opportunity of expressing their appreciation of hia services in coonection with the welfare of the district and colony generally while lie was on his visit. Mr Postlethwait3 having signified bis acceptance of an invitation to a banquet, bis frieDds lost no timf in making arrangements for holding one on Tuesday evening last at Geraldine. The catering was entrusted to Mr and Mrs Tombs, of Temuka. They are now so well established in this lino that it is almost needless to say their duties were faithfully fulfilled. The Oddfellows' Hull was utilised, and the accommodation afldrded by the three tahles erected was ia'ly occupied, the attendance being upwards of eighty-five. The Hon. W. Rolleston, M.H.R. for Geraldine, occupied the chair, supported on his right by the guest of the evening, Mr Poßt!ethwait«j, and the Rev. (i; Barclay, and on his left by Mr 0. G. Tripp and the Rev. Mr Pre»ton. The vicechair was occupied byMrJoahm Page, supported by Messrs J. Mundell and J. Kelland, junr. The meeting throughout was a most enthusiasts one, and pissed off with great eclat. After doing ample justice to the good things on the tables, the Chairman find; of all read le'ters of apology from Messrs J. Talbot, Angus Macdonald, B. Bailey, B. A. Barker, G. J. Dennistoun, and ths Rsr. Father Keane, and personally apologised for a number of others whc wera unavoidably absent, Ho then called upon all present to drink the health of " ller Majesty the Queen," a toast which all would agrea was drunk with •Dihaciatia ;

——————— «■——————>»;>■—■ m wherever the. English language was spoken. The Chairman then said the next toast he had ti propo*a w»» the "Army, Navy and Volunteers." Hu considered thsfc in no p«»t time had events'shewn in. so marked a manner as those which have recently occurred, that the beit «iy to maintain peace ib to be ready for war, «nd it wa» gratifying .to see the exhibition of enthusiasm shown, and warlike preparntioni made, by the colonies to help the Old Country in ease of war. He wag glad that there were gontlemen present who had sarved with distinction either in the service of the. Old Country or in,the volunteer serv;c«» of New Zealand. 'He referred to Major Campbell, Major Young and Captain, White, with whose names he coupled the tOHSt.

Major Campbell, of Wellington, its an old army officer, was pleased to find that the toast of the "Army" was everywhere well received, and especially in the colonies.

Major Young waa very glad to tiee an old Army officer present, and also to see t!«e Army still holding allita old prestige. The circumstances which occurred a little time ago had revived the volunteers, and he thought they deserved credit for the way in which they devoted their time to their country. (Hear, hear). They should be supported not only by the 'Government but by the people. Gsntle* men could assist them in a pecuniary manner by becoming honorary members of the corps in their districts, paying a subscription of one guinea per appum. If this were more thought of, it would be a great help to the volunteers.

. Captain White returned thanks on behalf of tlio volunteers for the way in which the toast was honored. He.had - been, ayked' to respond on behalf of the Navy, but he bad replied that he did not [ know anything about it, and it wan. then said to him that perhaps he had seen the i Navala at drill in Tiraaru. (Laughter). The Navy was so well' known and ifavori ably considered, however, that it did not ( need anything said on its behalf. . Geral- , dine could fairly boast of having a very fine Volunteer Company indeed, able to take their own ~p*rt iu the fiptld or in 1 shooting. Their scores made at the late '.. district prie" firing would compare fa»ori ably with any other CurapiiDy's in „C»n- , terbun/. Ar a young Volunteer'.officer . he did not like to commit himself by saying too hope*! the Volunteers would prove themselves rather by deeds ' than words. Mr C. G. Tripp then proposed the > " Legislative Council and House of Re- ; presenta.t ves." He thought that the . time the members of the Houses spent each year in giving their services to the r country was not fully appreciated, and ' people were ipt to look at the malter in another light and say they simply go to ■ Wellington to get paid. He had never i been in the House, and perhaps never would be, but perhaps those who had , would tell them something of what went od there. He would couple the names of , the Hon. T. H. Wigley and Hon. W. Rolleston with.the toast. . The Hon Mr Wigley returned thanks 1 for the hearty manner in which the toast r wap honored. He believed the members • of both Houses tried to assist the program of the colony in every way. He ; had heard of. a. vetteinary surgeon who r tried to sell a horse to an Army officer, but the horse wan returned after a fair trial with the remark thu alihough.it was unfit for tne Army it might, do frar the i Navy. (Laughter).. Well, it eeegied to him that there was an impression abroad that gentlemen who were not fit to be re- • turned as Members of the House of Representatives were appointed to the Legis.li.tive Council. (Laughter).-" This was a mistaken idea, for there were many good men in the Upper House. Mr Rolleston thought Mr Tripp could not have meant all be seid whan he asked him to give them an. account of what they did in tha House. /That would be beyond him that eveninjr. He,.would Btate before going any further that it was with feelings of pleasure he was there before them that evening. He had experienced phwant sensations in that room on previous occasions—(laughter), or perhaps he ahould say unpleasant sensations, but he was quite willing to subject himself to them again. (Hear, hear). Lord Palmerston said of one of his constituencies that if thev had not a good member,he had a good constituency. He (the speaker) wsa glad to say that he hsd a constituency worthy, of the beat man in New Zealand. (Hear, hear). He had always received the greatest kindness and the greatest courtesy from the people in all ptrts of the district, aid he thanked them heartily for the fewest pro* pwsed by.Mr Tripp. (Hear, hear, and applause). Mr Joshua Page, who was received with renewed applause, next proponed "The Client of the evening." He was quite taken by surprise when the honor of proposing the health of their guest was conferred upon him. It could not have fallen, however, into the hands of anyone who would feel more pleasure than he did in doiog so. It was always l a difficult matter to sail on fine lines when exposing the good qualities of anyone, but ho was bound to -atate, - after having met Mr P<ist!ethwaite in many public pomtions, that that gentleman always did his work with integrity. (Applause..),.- Thi» wae a principle without which no one—from a chimney-sweep to a Premier of New Zealand—rould succeed. Mr Postlethwait* hud rendered ..great' service to the producers while he hid been in England, and never had th«re .beeu a time when help was more urgently needed by producers than at present. The charges must be redacpd before produce would pay. No one had rendered BUch good .service to the ditt'ict in trying to get the burdens eased off the back of the.people. He (the speaker) d : d not wish to be fulsome, but he must apeak his mind on what he knew of Mr Postlethwaite. No one could appreciate him as much as" he (the sjie.iker) did, and he would have greats* pleasure in proposing the health of Mm Pustlathwaite. The toast was drank with musical honors. , Mr Postlethwaite'srising was-lbe signal for loud and prolonged applause. He said he found it somewhat difficult to return thanks for the kindly expressions which.had fallen from. Mr Page, and for the hearty manner in which all had honored the toast to himself. He felt the meeting was a kind of imposture, that he did not denei ve bo much houur. He considered ha had only done his duty as any one should do to the country he had adopted. (Hear, hear.) They all do

doubt lfbfeVd to him for some information respecting the chief items of trade carried On between New Zealand and England which h« had fathered while on hin visit Home, in. regard to the frozen meat trade, he had taken some little trouble to ascertain bow the meat passed to the bands of the consumer. Combination, hefound, was theorily thing that would save Haw Zealand from being crushed from the market altogether by the importation of tneat from other placet—River Plate included. Sir John Hall stated, in a litter, that n guarantee of 6 per sent. ha« been offered to any company who will •and River P'tte meat Horn* at the present time. During the months of September and October 13,000 carcase* of thin meat arrived in London, and in leas than a month all were sold for the same amount saw» ought to get for so many hundreds. Biter Piste mutton fetches 4|d per lb, whilo our mutton, which is lid better ; realises only from id to 4sd, through those dealing with it and selling it at Home keeping all the profit. Mr Gear, of Wellington, has been attending the markets of Leadenhall and Smit'tfield in order to learn how the meat trade is conducted. It we had a company at Home we should get far mor than we do at ths present time for our meat. Should it arrive Home in good order, it is now bandied in such a bad way after it leaves the ship's side that it is scarcely fit for human food by the time it arrives atSmithfield. He had seen it lying in the heat of the sun for hours, till it was partially thawed, and by the time it is put in the cool cbditbflrH at Smithfield it ia hardly fifto look at, and there ia hardly sufficient cold air in these chauuherß to freeze it again. The middle men have got into a way of waiting as long fta they can in the day till the price goes down. Buyers then go to the marketato bay, and the meat is slaughtered dtwn'to them. They will tike precious good care if they can, however,; »ot to sell our mutton, so as not to allow it to interfere with the

Home markets. He (Mr Poßtlfetbwaite) and Sir John Hall had put their hands together and bad mode arrangements for floating a company in London, which only needs to be backed up by the colony. It would be a matter of impossibility for a body of men to carry on unless this was done. He had heard since his return that a company is being got up by Dunedin people, which will simply carry on under the old system. It has risen out of the ashes of the Australian Meat Company. The capital is being raised inside the colony. I contend this is a disadvantage. x Hear bear). It is said that the company hating their money outside the colony will not hare the difficulty of providing it. The Articles of i esociation state that bonus's will be declared to the shippers before they look after themselves. It is ■imply to be a matter of English capital and English Directors, and I say without hesitation things are much better as they are, without the Australian Meat Company. It is detrimental to our interests Uisiodeed satisfactory to know that there is no mutton in the world like ouw, it surpasses anything in England and anything that grows out of it. Doctors will even order their patients to take it before English mutton. Of other products eeut away from New Zealand of equal importance to the farming community reference may be v made to the. wheat trade. The farmers do not mike the most of their produce. He had seen samples of wheat at Bellaney's, on. the Thames, before they were dressed and after. At first it did not look to be worth much, and afterwards appean d fit, ', for anything. Merchants at Home buy upwbe.t, put it through the dressers, and clean it at a coat of Jt per bushel. In regard to cheese, very little is thought of this commodity when seat to London. There was a difficulty in dealing with it, and a number of men informed him that, it was considered a nuisance. He went to see some butter from Taranaki. The pried was then 65s per cwt, and a fe.v days afterwards it only fetched 455. A visit to the batter; market, however, explained this. A more dirty, filthy place cootd hardly be imagined, and the butter appeared to be only fit for baking purposes. If it had been kept in a clean place it would have perhaps been worth 655. Mr Page had spoken j of the burdens of the people in this country, but he (the speaker) would inform them that everywhere he bad travelled he had never seen less depression than in this colony. At Home the expenses of farming were far greater, for we could send grain and mest 1600 miles and still have a greater profit than the

English farmer at the present t ; me. All things tended to make him (the speaker) more satisfied with the country he had adopted (hear, hear), and if we are convinced that a new system is required for the colony we must not sit down till such a course is accomplished. (Hear, bear). As Sir Dillon Bell had snid to him, what we want is " «<tion." In conclusion ho would again thank them for the most hospitable manner in- which they had entertained him, he felt great thankfulness for

the way ia which the toast of bis health had been received by bis friends, and he could only say he was not deserving of what he was receiving. (Loud and prolonged applause). Song—Mr G. Sherratt, " Forgive and Forget." * Mr Flitroan Ihen proposed the " Agricultural Interests." There wbb no deny, ipgthat there was a great agricultural depression, but be thought it was only a periodical one. If farming failed in one rear a farmer mutt not pnt his tail hes ween hie legs and run. (Laughter). He m.ust titke a seven years' average. He did not think the agricultural depression wag canted by over prod action, but that farmers were inclined to get the wrong sort of implements. Instead of getting good ploughs and barrows they went in for buggies. Too little attention xae

paid to the crops, the ambition being to ' get in »■ much as possible. He hopud the agricultuml depression was rolling away, aa in a speech of Sir John Laws it was stated that there wa« one million quarters of wheat leas afloat than at this time last year, >o that there should be still be a chance yet for the farmers heie. He would couple the toast with the names of Msssra J. Holland, Allan Macdooald, and P. McSbano. Mr Kelland said he felt proud of hating been associated with the agricultural interest!". He was truly a farmer, and knew no other calling. Farming was almost at a standstill «t tie pres-nt time, but it was a long lane that had no turning, and he hoped they were nearly ij the end of the depression, lie thought Now

Zealand had a bright future before it—(hear, hear)—and that when thing? bright?ned they would make a good living in the country. Grain prices were very low, but he thought they could tjrow grain at less cost than other countries; Perhaps the dark clouds now passing over would teach them all a lesson.

Mr McShane did not think it necessary to make a long speech. He thought they were heavily handicapped. Their members, however, had been very energetic, and had tried, to help them, but their Premier and Colonial. Treasurer were both very extravagant men, and wanted to lead them into debt.

Mr Macdonald said the previous speakers had left him very little to say. He believed that if the people of New Zealand borrowed less and worked more they would get on much better, (Hear, Mr Mundell next proposed the " Pastoral interests." He quite agreed with Mr Postlethwaite that the interests of New Zealand wanted looking after very carefully. Through the company Mr Postlethwaite was endeavoring to float they would get a market for their produce. The country would produce all kinda of it, and all they * anted was a market. Everyone must take encouragement from Mr Pos f lethwaite'B course. He (the speaker) was almost immediately connected with pastoral interests, and anything connected with them had his sympathy. He had much pleasure in proposing the toast, and calling upon Messrs Tripp, Slack, and Donkin to respond. MrTfipp, who was received with applause, said that no one felt the depression more than the squatter. They must look to the way their produce wbh being disposed of in the Home country, and j work unitedly together to bring about a I reform. Ho had lately been in England, and he had tunde it his duty to find out how produce was disposed of. He found that warehouse charges alone amounted to 15 and 20 per oent. He took a trip to Bradford and other manufacturing towns, and found that the purchasers spoke very highly of New Zealand wool and preferred it to Australian. All they had to do was to be careful in putting it up. No one could have looked into the meat tnde better than Mr Postlethwaite had done, as he always went to the bottom of everything. He hoped thef would weitber the storm of depression in the course of time.

Mr Slack said that though he had not been a squatter for many yeara he had a great regard for them. They had done much good in their time. Ho had great pleasure in responding to the toast, but still greater pleasure in honoring their worthy guest. He bad done much good for the district, and though he was not one of the old colonic he had done more work than some of the older ones. Whatever he had tuken in hand he had done faithfully, especially had he done good service in connection with our local bodies.

Mr Donkin, though not largely interested in pastoral interests at the present time, bad been so once. Ha agreed with Mr Postlethwaite that they must travel in order to see how much be'ter off they were than their neighbors, On a station in Queensland where 60,000 head of cattle were kept a few years ago, only some 20,000 were kept now. He did aot think tbey were so bad as this, and hoped there was a bright future still before them.

Song—" Tom Bowling," Mr Lodge. Mr it. H. Postlethwaite next proposed "Trade and Commerce." In doing so he said he had great pleasure in being in Temuka the previous day and seeing the spinning plant start work at the Linseed Factory. Tun was one of the local industries which would males this a rich ha'ion. All had spoken of the depression, and many had suggested ways to get clear of it. He would point out another. Let all who had a suitable piece of land grow linseed and dispose of it to the factory at Temuka, and the money from it would be distributed in th« district. He coupled tbs names of Messrs Pearpoint Morrison, and Dunlopwith the toast. Mr Pearpoint, after returning thaaks, siiid alt must recngniso that trade was at a very low ebb. The poor prices for wool and grain was the cause of this, and if anything could be done by a company in London to raise the price of these products they should be very thankful to the promoters of it. Mr Dunlop thought that as every line of business had been touched upon, he would be brief. If farmers were net doing well the effect was felt in all branches of trade. As Mr Tripp had said, they must put a good face on the matter, and perhaps they would soon get to ths top of the hill.and things would be brighter beyond. Mr K. t\ Gray, in responding, said it gnve him great pleasure to bs associated with the toast. H« thought ihe local industries were beginning to take up a great deal of attention in New Zealand at the present timt, and thfy were sure to increase in the future. (Hear, hear ) They required all the support that could be given them, and the boys and girls now growing up would help to build np these industries, and form a nation able to hold its own in the world. (H<?ar, hear.) The factories had as yet been unable to pay dividends imd this had been against their success. He had much pleasure in being presect to hooor their guest.and, ia conclußioD,speuking broadly, he would say that he was a lecal industry in himself. (Hear hear.) Ho ! (the speaker) was sure that '"hen the pro-: posed company was floated in London their local industries would not be lost •ight of. Mr Lewis Grant was sorry he had beon called upon, as a Dire< tur of the Dairy Factory, to respond, when there were so many better speakers preseot. He was not a speaker and did not want to bs one. He wou'd say, however, that he had much pleasure in being present to welcome their gn*ai, Mr Pos'tlethwaite. The Rev. Geo. Barclay rose, amidst applause, to propose the toast of l< The Press." T .t was not an ancient inat tntion. They a'l knew the troubles of Mr Wilkis in his endeavors to secure the liberty of the Press. All must recognise it as An influential institution. Sometimes it took the right side and sometimes t«ie wronir. (Laughter.) Very often, however, its influence was on the side of all that was great and good. It conferred great benefits upon all in keeping them conversant with what w«snt on in Parliament. When the House was in session thete was always a rush for the local papers—especially to see wh«t their member, Mr xtolleston, had said in

t: e flou*e. He was glad there were two gi.'iit'einen at the head of affstirs in th? colony who were on the si<le of economy and prngreßs -viz , Mr Pos-t'ethwaitu and the Hon. W. Holies) on. (Hear, hear, and applause.) He also pleased to see such a unanimous feeling pervading the meeting, and that the qualities of Mr Postlewaite were fully appreciated by the people of the district. It wa» dishonorable on the part of tha colonist if ho did not profess some interest in their material welfare. He saw in the papers from time to time they were only getting 4d to 4|d per lb for mutton, while it was bringing 8d to 9d retail at Home. Where did the extra Ad or s<t go tot Mr Postlethwaite's compnny was, he gathered, to endeavor to save this to the shipper* and dr. away with that class of middlemen. He hoped in the interesti of the colony this would be accomplished. In conclusion he said that he thought the Press next to the Pulpit in influence. He coupled with the toasts the names of Messrs Sherratt and Twomey.' Mr Twomey in responding said he thought Mr Postlethwaite's services hud never been properly recognised. Mr C. E. Sherratt, returning thanks on behalf of the Tiraaru Herald, referred to the benefit the local press effected in disseminating news, and as an initanca he would mention a letter signed by Mr PoeUethwaite himself which was of great interest to the farming community and which, had it not beun ior the press, would Jhavo been read by onlj a few instead of by thousands. He wa? plejsed to see the way Mr Postlethwaite had workpd at Home, and he hoped that should he return he would be in a position to do still greater good. Mr J. Cunningham, in a happy speech proposed the toast of " The Ladies " which was drank with musical honors and duly responded to by Messrs Jae. Hay, A. E. Hawkins, and MusgraTe.

Mr Coltmtm then proposed " The Chairman," which was duly responded to by Mr Rolleston, who said he had not been at a similar gathering which had given him such pleasure. He Was glad to see Mr Postlethwaite appreciated by his friends as he deserved.

Mr Mundell then proposed "The "VicePresident," Mr Page, who responded ia a humorous speech. The caterers were then duly toasted, and the meeting broko up—it being the opinion of all that it was the bei?t gathering of the kind ever held in the Oddfellows' Hall.