COMPLIMENTARY DINNER TO MR. JOHN CORMACK.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 297, 9 October 1873, Page 5

COMPLIMENTARY DINNER TO MR. JOHN CORMACK.

A goodly number of the friends of Mr. John Cormack, one of the pioneer miners of the Blue Spur, entertained that gentleman at a dinner in Mr. Grieves Hotel, on the evening of Tuesday last, on the event of his leaving the district. Mr. Grieve had the billiard-room fitted up for the occasion, and if we form our opinion from the excellence of the spread, and the superiority of the liquors provided, we must say that " mine host " did ample justice to the occasion. Mr. Alex. Thompson, of the Nelson Co., occupied the chair, and on the cloth being cleared, proposed in succession "The Queen," "The Governor," "The House of Representatives," and "The Provincial Council." In proposing the toast of the evening, the Chairman regretted his inability to do justice to it. He had only been asked that evening to occupy the honorable position in which he ! was placed, and he was therefore some- ■ what unprepared for it. He could, however, assure their guest, and gentlemen present, that he would do his best, and whatever he did say would be from the heart, fie had known Mr. Cormack I for a number of years, and although he ! had many a hard battle with him, they still managed to remain good friends | after all, and this, he considered, was j as it should be. Mr. Cormack had been the principal man for years past at the Blue Spur, and liad devoted much time in connection with the school, the church, and, in fact, with every public institution of the place; and they were only performing a duty they owed to Mr. Cormack in thus recognising his services to the community. lie would, therefore, askthecompany to join with him in drink- j ing to the toast that healthand prosperity may attend Mr. John Cormack and his ! family. If these attended them, he was sure that happiness would, as it ever had done in the past. — (Great Applause.) The toast was enthusiastically drank with musical honors. Mr. Cormack, in responding to the to<wt, said he had been at a good many complimentary dinners, and had seen gentleman placed in a similar position to the one he now occupied. He had thought the position an easy one to fill, but when it came to his own turn he found it not such an easy matter. The remarks of the Chairman had been highly complimentary to him (Mr. Cormack.} He felt proud in being* associated as he had been with one of the most important mining ; districts of the province. He wds proud of the Blue Spur and his co-workers— it was always pleasant for a man to feel that his actions had been approved of by his felloes. As the Chairman had mentioned they had, no donbt, had at times many, difficulties to grapple with, and discord had occasionally arisen out of those difficulties. ' Wherever a' body of men were thrown .together, as at the Blue Spur, these results were more or less sure to follow— something was certain to. crop up to mar for a time the good feeling, which ought to exist between all parties. He had aver done his utmost to avoid such difflultiea, and it was not till he saw that fighting was really required that he took hi* fair share of that as of other things, v,He-could not help looking for-

ward hopefully* to the time when there would be less contention at the Spur than there had been. He hoped that before long, arrangements would be made to put the claims in such a position as they ' would' become a marketable commodity —^-in' such' a position, in fact, as would prevent the rich amongst them from becoming richer, and the poor becoming poorer. Although he would be absent from the Spur, he wished all cpnnected with it success and happiness. He would always be ready to give his assistance to the furtherance iof ts. inceresta in every possible way. He concluded by thanking his friends for their genuine expression of good feeling towards himself and family. — (Applause.) Dr. Stewart, in proposing the " Mining Interest," said, the toast could not have been proposed from a more appropriate spot than where they were now assembled, over-looking as it did the scene of the first discovery of gold in New Zealand. He had known Mr. Cormack since his arrival in the colony, and no one regretted his leaving the district more then he did. He (Dr. Stewart) considered it a very pleasant feature in connection with the Blue Spur mining that the shareholders were in a position to leave their claims and invest capital in other speculations without disposing of their interest in the Spur. It must be very satisfactory to Mr. Cormack I to be one of that number. He had I pleasure in proposing the mining interest, I coupled with thp name of Mr. W. D. ' Morrison. Mr, Morrison said it w&tt becoming a usual thing for him to respond to the toast which had been proposed. He had pleasure in thanking Dr. Stewart for coupling his name with the toast. He was of opinion that mining matters had taken a turn for the better — in other districts especially this was the case. The mining interest of the country, he contended, would never be thoroughly looked after until the population as a whole had a personal stake in it — until they invested some capital in it, however small. To this cause was attributable the successful developement of the Victorian and other goldfields. Adverting to the annoyances and discords which had occurred on the Spur from time to time, Mr. Morrison blamed to a considerable extent the lawa which were made^to regulate mining. These laws, he said, had been framed for the sole purpose of raising revenue for the Government, and, as a matter of course, they were in some respects very lax, and gave too much encouragement to sharp practices. He felt certain if there had been more intercourse between miners and those connected with other industries, a Gold6elds Bill, just to all classes, would before this time have been brought into successful operation. He was very sorry his friend Mr. Cormack was leaving the Blue Spur, but it might be his own turn next. Mr. Ralston proposed the "Commercial Interest," which was responded to by Mr. Armstrong-. Mr. Morrison then propoaed the " Pastoral Interest," with which he coupled the name of Mr. Donald J. M'Donald. He said it was not every meeting of miners that could sport the presence of a squatter. He looked upon the pastoral interest as a greac one — it only came second, however, in the order of importance.' Mr. M'Donald, in responding?, said he was very sorry he was not a better representative of the pastoral interest. It was almost tantamount to comicality that the toast of the pastoral interest should be j drunk at the Blue Spur at the very time the people there are waging war against the few who have sheop in their neighborhood. It was indeed an oddity. Still he was ' glad- to see some of the folks had got a little sense. Gold,' he said, was all very well in its way, but it was not everything. Some people appeared to think . the revenue of the province was derived entirely from gold, but that was a great fallacy. The Government had many other^and better sources of revenue ; and the people of the Blue Spur, in their raid upon sheep, should remember that gold is no good without mutton, and mutton without flour, and so on, wi h many other things. He thanked the companyf or coupling his name with the j toast. (Applause.) . | The following toasts were also proposed ] and responded to :— "The Press," "The Ladies," " The Host and Hostess," and "The Chairman." During the evening, songs were sung by the following gentlemen : — Messrs. Kell, A. Cormack, Armstrong, Lawson, Ferguson, Thompson, M'Donald, J. Cormack,jChristie, and Dr. Stewart. After again wishing Mr. Cormack success and happiness wherever he might direct his steps, the company joined in singing •■" Anld Lang Syne," and separated at an i early hour, evidently highly satisfied with, j their pleasant gathering.

ozs. dwt Queenstown Arrowtown Cardrona - Cromwell - Clyde - Alexandra - - Teviot Blacks Duns tan Ordelc - Mount Ida Palmerston Macraes T - 1774 t • 848 18 - 503 18 - 3038 3 - 250 0 - 628 0 - 743 10 - 750 O - 600 0 - 1190 18 - 109 1 - 137 4 Total - 10,573 13