Opening of the Dunedin through Line.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2985, 9 September 1878, Page 4

Opening of the Dunedin through Line.

(Pee Pbess Agency.)

THE MAYOR'S BANQUET.

Ditnedin, Sunday.

The Mayor's banquet in celebration of the opening of the railway from Dunedin to Christchurch was held last night in Messrs Guthrie and Larnach's new building. The banqueting hall was 50 yards in length, and for grandeur of appearance was unsurpassed by anything hitherto seen in Dunedin. The Mayor of Dunedin was in the chair, and was supported on his, right by the Governor, Rev. Dr Stuart, Judge Williams, Hon. Mr Fisher; and on his left by Mr Baßtings, Bishop Moran, Judge Bathgate, and the At-torney-General. A number of apologies having been received, and the formal toasts disposed, of, the Chairman proposed ""■The Health of the Gorer. nor.'' His Excellency, in responding, expressed his great satisfaction, at being present to commemorate an event which was pregnant with future good to the Colony'over waictThe had the honor to preside. The event which they were now met to celebrate was the conclusion of the first act of that great Public Works policy instituted by Sir Julius Vogel. (Cheers.) The enterprise of Mr Moorhouse, of Canterbury, in tunnelling the hill between Christchurch and the sea was a bold one, considering the young ftate of the Colony at the time, and, no doubt, it may'have led to the larger scheme, but there was no dispute that Sir Julius Vogel was the man who had the courage to propose it to Parliament, which had the energy and the perseverauce to carry out this proposal to a successful issue. While Canterbury, therefore, owed a deep debt of gratitude to Mr Moorhouse, the Colony at large owed a debt of - gratitude to Sir J. Vogel. (Cheers.) He had been told by many that New Zealand was going to pot, and that her debt was enormous in proportion to their population, and that they must look for the consequences. Well, those who did not know the resources of the colony and the energy of its population might have reason to entertain that, opinion, and he candidly confessed that before he came to the colony he entertained it himself, but he now no longer did so; because he knew of the soil, the •nergy of the inhabitants, and the salubrity and fertility of its climate. He then referred to the requisites of progress in a new country, and to the increase in the produce and the rise in the price of land, which has resulted from the public works policy. The money they had borrowed was not squandered in wars or otherwise wasted, but was invested in great public works, such as men in England infest their Capital in and expect to get a return on their investments. They might look forward to the, time when that investment could no longer be a burden to the country, but would be a source of revenue. He had no fear of the debt of New Zealand weighing: down . the colony, but it should suggest caution; for the future. He believed their great object should be to help forward as much as possible, and as fast as their, means would allow, the great lines of communication .from one end of the colony to the other. He believed that would have the effect of soothing down those little feelings of animosity which he' hoped would soon be buried, and would only remain as matters of history. (Cheers). The next toast of importance was that of " The, Ministry, "; which „was proposed by Mr John Davy, and responded to by the Hons. E. Sout and Fisher. Mr Stout ■aid he regretted the.absence of the Premier, which he attributed to ill-health, arising froiii; Overwork in the interest of . the colony, y. However much anyone might be opposed, to the Premier, they* would give him, credit, for. meaning well to this great country. He then referred to the absence of Mr Macandrewy end the action Which Mr Frederick Moss took in the Provincial Councils 5 of Otagb fourteen years ago for initiation of railways in Otago. '[Reference had that night been made to the man of wonderful sagacity and great ability, and who meant well for the colony, and who was now trying his best for it—that man was Sir J. Vogel. (Cheers.) But this would be a poor colony if it could only boast of one great man. There were other men who would be remembered by . all present. They had their Grey, Stafford, Donald McLean and Donald Keid. (A voice: "Yes, and Donald Beid, too.") The schemes which the present Government were bringing forward might not be most perfect, and if they were wrong Parliament could apply the remedy. The Hon. Mr Fisher also responded, and said that the time was very dangerous for speech-making, as he might be asked what he meant by it. He contended that provincialism was due to the inauguration of the Public Works Policy, and it. was his friend Mr Moorhouse who was the first who. set. the log rolling. He was not going to say anything against Sir J. Vogel, but it was to the ideas of Mr Moorhouse to which the success was due, and it was easy for Sir J. Vogel to follow them up. (Hisses and marked disapprobation.) In a case of this sort they should give credit to whom credit is due. He was not taking one bit of credit from Sir- J. Vogel, but he said the Province of Canterbury, through Mr Moorhouse, was the province which set the log rolling—"Success to the Eailway Enterprise of New Zealand," was ably proposed by Judge Bathgate, and • responded to by Mr Blair, Engineer-in-Chie'f for the Middle Island, Messrs Conyers, Proudfoot, and Higginson. The latter said that - though Mr Blair got the credit, Mr Carruthers was responsible for everything which had been done. The Mayor, in proposing " The Health of Sir Julius Vogel," said that it was a toast which would be received with enthusiasm by all, no matter whether they were supporters or opponents of the present Government. When the colony was in a depressed state, and its credit almost gone, it was brought to the front ranks in the; colonies of the British Empire through thY action of Sir J. Vogel. It had been said that the scheme was not original ; so far as Sir J. Vogel was concerned; but it might as; well be argued that Sir Isaac Newton was hot the discoverer of gravitation. Sir J. Vogel was one of those men whose names would be enrolled on the scroll of fame, and was one of those who, neglecting their own interest!, had devoted themselves to the welfare of the colony. Sir J. Vogel would leave behind him well-defined foot-'

prints on the .sands of time. The toast was drunk with great enthusiasm. Other toasts of a formal character were then proposed, and the proceedings ended shortly after 11 o'clock.